May Seed and Nursery Company
Shenandoah, Iowa

Seed dealers but also sold other items including KMA brand radios and tubes

Earl Ernest May was born in 1890 in Nebraska and became a teacher at the Wauneta School following his graduation from high school. In 1911 he left Nebraska and began studying law at the Michigan Law School. In the next few summers he worked for the D. M. Ferry Seed Company. He was soon to marry Gertrude Welsh whose father owned Mount Arbor Nurseries. With financial backing, Earl may founded the Earl May Seed and Nursery Company at 209 Elm Street Shenandoah Iowa in 1919. The following year radio Station KDKA was broadcasting from a station in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) and had a license to operate for an hour each evening. Some people in the US Midwest were lucky enough to own radios and could listen to these broadcasts. By the end of 1922 over 500 stations were on the air. Hardware, appliance stores an others began stocking radio parts and complete sets were offered to the public. In September 1923 a group in Shenandoah Iowa broadcast a radio program from WOAW, a station in Omaha, Nebraska, just over the border from Iowa. Popularity of these programs grew and regular programs were aired. As a rural area, many of these were related to farming matters.

Gertrude May sang in some programs and Earl May listened to the broadcasts whenever he could. He began getting the idea that he could start his own radio station. Much research went into how this could be done and on February 22nd 1923 Earl May was broadcasting seed and nursery news from WOAW himself. Later he arranged a direct connection between the seed house (where he had built a small transmitting station) and WOAW so he could broadcast from the company premises to WOAW and beyond. Earl May wanted more. By mid 1925 he had begun proceedings to have his own radio station and on August 12th, 1925 KMA began broadcasting programs to the American Midwest from the new station at 208 Elm Street Shenandoah. In 1927 an opulent auditorium was built next to the main seed house and this could hold 500 people. It saw much use but was demolished in 1963-66 to be replaced by new corporate offices. On December 5th, 1939 the May Broadcasting Company was incorporated thus separating the radio station from the seed and nursery side of the business. Earl may was president and E. S. Welsh vice president. KMA still exists today. For a full history of KMA, the excellent book "KMA Radio - the first Sixty Years" by Robert Birkby; c.1985 May Broadcasting Company