and Orchard Time program, a WTCM staple since 1941. He retired as host of the show on October 30, 2009. WTCM became contemporary (as "14-T") in 1975 under the supervision of long-time Traverse City broadcaster Jerry Meyer. In 1977, former WCCW afternoon host Lin McNett ("Michael O'Shea") became WTCM's program director and morning personality. The Top 40 format was initially successful, but the 1977 format change of WJML, and the 1980 entry of WKHQ, both from north of Traverse City but with strong regional signals into the market, caused the predictable result, and listeners gravitated over a period of a couple years to the stereo FM contemporary format signals. WTCM became simulcast to the FM signal not long afterward. WTCM-FM became a country station in the early 1970s, at the urging of WTCM salesman Leon Purchase, a local country musician, who was convinced that a country format would work in rural northern Michigan. In the late 1970s, Biederman began plans to increase the power of both WTCM AM and FM. In 1978, Biederman started turning over more of his duties to his son, Ross Biederman. Because of FCC restrictions and WTCM's growth plans, several properties were sold, including the Petoskey and Cadillac stations (to MacDonald Broadcasting, founded by long-time Biederman broadcaster Kenneth MacDonald) and the Gaylord station was sold to William Barr, but fell silent several owners later in the early 2000s, due to financial troubles. In 1980, Biederman traded WPBN-TV to US Tobacco for stock, and became its largest individual shareholder. In 1982, after years of planning, engineering and FCC permitting, a major change was made to WTCM, which had since started simulcasting with WTCM-FM. The station was moved to its current position at 580 and boosted power to 2,500 watts daytime. The 1400 frequency was donated to a local church, who made the station Traverse City's first religious station, WLJN (We Lift Jesus' Name). WLJN broadcast from the original WTCM studio on Morgan Hill ("Radio Hill" to the locals), at the base of the 1400 kHz tower. In the late 1980s, WTCM (and other AMs) were struggling, and Biederman started airing Rush Limbaugh's program because he thought it would help ratings, and made the station full-time news/talk. In the 1990s, Ross Biederman purchased or erected several stations in other northern markets, and designed them to rebroadcast the Traverse City signals. First, WTCM-FM added a rebroadcaster in WBCM 93.5