Rockford’s WREX-TV, a long-standing television station, has been a prominent fixture in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin since the 1950s.
On September 18, 1953, the station took to the airwaves, initially with a test pattern, and began commercial operations on October 1, 1953.
Greater Rockford Television, Inc., the licensee, filed an application in July 1952, and on May 13, 1953, it was approved.
Notable stockholders of the company included L.E. Caster as President, Joe M. Baisch as Vice President, Swan Hillman as Treasurer, Stanley H. Guyer as Secretary, A.J. Bilardello as Sales Manager, and H.R. Television, Inc. ‘s Soren Munkhof served as the first General Manager.
The call letters of the station, WREX, were dedicated in memory of Rex N. Caster, the son of L.E. Caster and President of Greater Rockford Television, Inc. Rex Caster, a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, tragically lost his life in St. Lo, France, during World War II in 1944. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his gallantry in action…