I have a lot of photographs of my father when he was very young and quite a few from his later years, but not so many from the middle years. Among Mr. Rudy’s many treasures, was a cardboard poster promoting one of KBOA’s many news programs.
“John Mays on KBOA at 8:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday for Midwest Farms Regional News Report.” Note on the back said this was taken in 1967 so John would have been 41.
He was at home with friends and family nearby. He was 83 and –until very recently– worked his morning shift at a local radio station. I won’t attempt to sum up such a full, rich life. I had the good sense to sit down with him a few years ago and record some of his memories from the early days at KBOA. Mr. Rudy was a radio personality at a time when that really meant something and it was the perfect medium for him. Radio –and those of us that knew Mr. Rudy– are poorer for his passing.
“Rush H. III has been selected as the name for a son, born to Mr. and Mrs. Rush H. Limbaugh Jr., 412 Sunset Boulevard, at 7:50 a.m. Friday at Southeast Missouri Hospital. The child is the first in the family and weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces. Mrs. Limbaugh was formerly Miss Mildred Armstrong, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Armstrong of Kennett. Mr. Limbaugh is associated with his father in the law firm of Limbaugh & Limbaugh.”
From a Rush Limbaugh fan site. I can’t verify it, but I’m pretty sure Mildred worked at KBOA back in the early fifties.
One of the things I enjoyed most about my days in small town radio was co-hosting a daily, one-hour talk show (Grapevine) with Tom Colvin. The station owner thought it would be a good place to talk about community issues and events (seems quaint today, doesn’t it?). I like to think that Tom and I had chemistry. I could say “refrigerator” and Tom would laugh hysterically. It was intoxicating for someone who thought he was a funny guy. I must say nobody since has found me as amusing.
We had guests some days, took calls every day (live, no delay). Our Trivia Bowl seemed tdo be a local favorite. The show lasted about twelve years, right up to the time Tom and I left in 1984. I came to Learfield and Tom went to KTTR, Rolla, Missouri. Fast-forward nineteen years. Tom is returning to Kennett next week to take over as operations manager at our old station. Sort of. Many years of call letter and frequency shuffling has left me completely confused, but Tom says he’ll be programming 6 radio stations. We wish him well. I know the listeners to those stations will be well served.
My first effort at a website dealt with the history of the radio station (KBOA) where my father (and later, I) worked for many years. A visitor to the site recently wrote:
“I have been trying to find Norman Shainberg who was a college classmate and friend. I last saw him in Halloran General Hospital when he arrived from Europe on the Swedish ship “Gripsholm” as a repatriated prisoner of war. Being 83 years myself I naturally wonder if he is still alive and if so how can I contact him.”
I’m trying to help him find his friend. This is one of the things I like best about the Net.