Amateur radio started in the Oil City area around 1920 to 1922 when radio was in its infancy.

The distinction of first amateur probably goes to W8BUN, William Jennings of Oil City; the Venango County area was at that time in the 8th call area.

In Oil City, the first meeting place was the 3rd floor of the City Building. Later, a gathering of local Amateurs from the Oil City and Franklin started to meet around 1934 at the Rocky Grove Fire Department, and later at Ralph Seigworth’s electric shop near Seneca.

It appears that there has been a radio club in the Oil City-Franklin area since the mid 1930’s, picking up the present name Fort Venango Mike and Key Club around 1936.

The goal of the club was and still is to promote Amateur Radio and to provide communications in times of need and disasters.

Local Amateurs even provided relay communications for the North Pole expeditions of Admiral Richard Byrd as early as 1926.