The Midwestern Man Behind the Voice - Max Armstrong

In the 1939 classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy clicks her heals together and repeats, “There’s no place like home.” The same can be said for Max Armstrong. He reflects, “Southern Indiana is ‘just home’. You feel it in the air.” The rolling corn fields, wisps of clouds in a bright blue sky, and the sounds of trains and tractors are all parts of home to Max.

He grew up on a farm in Owensville, but only tried 4-H for about a year. His goal was always broadcasting and he spent hours listening to the radio. Not long after he got his driver’s license, Max took the test to get his broadcasting license from the FCC. “At that time you had to go to the big city to get your license,” Max fondly remembered.

When he was only a Junior in High School, he started his radio career at Mt. Carmel’s WVMC radio station. Max remembered Dave Kunkel showing him how to shut down the equipment on his first day. He said that he used to listen to “Uncle Dave” when he was in 6th grade. But Max practiced for years before that at the old farmhouse in Owensville. He was always driven to be in broadcasting. Even though he lived on a farm in South Gibson, he focused more on speech class instead of FFA. After playing football all four years and baseball, his letter jacket still hangs today in Owensville’s REH Center (the old gym). In time, Max would combine both farm and broadcasting.

After high school, Max went to Purdue in 1971. He remembered feeling that it was so big and sprawled out. The campus took a bit to get used to. After all, his graduating class at Owensville High School had all of 45 students. Classes at Purdue often had hundreds. During all four years at Purdue, Max was fortunate enough to have another Owensville native, Steve Wade as his roommate. Since Max’s older brother had gone to Purdue he was somewhat familiar with the campus. It was his first step from small town to bigger city. There were more moves to come.

While at Purdue, naturally Max majored in Radio and Broadcasting. He did an internship all four years at WASK News. He said, “It was great experience”. While there, Max covered all kinds of news - from fires, to car wrecks, and more. It was a good addition to the resume that showed experience and versatility.

Throughout much of Max’s career, his practice and experience landed him in the right place at the right time. Just after college graduation, there happened to be a job opening in Bloomington, Illinois, as a broadcast editor for Illinois Farm Bureau. For over two years, Max got his feet wet in the professional world of radio broadcasting with a daily Ag feature. It helped that during those years at Purdue he took classes in Economics, Weather and Agribusiness. Those choices paid off. This was also when he met Orion Samuelson and timing was once again perfect.

The next big move was to Chicago. At just 24 years old and nine years younger than anyone at WGN, Max landed in Chicago, knowing no one. It was quite the experience. He remembers that when he first got to the city, they had him stay at their condo/suite in the Hancock Building. He felt like it was way too much for a young, new hire like him. But quite an experience it was.

He covered the markets and traveled 15 Chicago blocks to the grain traders. At that time there were 5,000 traders in a pit, making signs to buy or sell, and dropping slips of paper on the floor. Everything is electronic now, but it was something to see - and it worked. At first the studio was near Wrigley Field, but eventually the office moved downtown. For years he worked with Orion on WGN radio, and on the station’s TV show U.S. Farm Report. Their dialogue often made folks feel like they were part of a farmer’s family, offering insight and opinion.

Max believes his time at “WGN was the best learning experience ever.” After thinking of the recent trend in remote working, he thinks there’d be so much missed. You learn so much from professional people about the business and make so many connections and friendships.

In those days, on one side of the hallway there was the radio station and on the other was the TV set where many shows were filmed, Phil Donahue being one. At that time, Phil was a popular TV host who interviewed such entertainers as Bob Hope or Jack Benny. Max commented that, “you never knew who you were going to run into in the hallway.”

The weather classes that he took at Purdue would come into play as well. For about eight years, when the station needed a fill-in, Max was called to do the weather forecasts, he remembered with a chuckle. However, there was a transfer of WGN ownership in 2009. This allowed he and Orion to go out on their own with the TV show This Week in Agribusiness and the radio show, The Midwest Digest, aired daily on WRAY and many other stations. This nationally syndicated program about market news, Ag technology, weather and farm information went world wide. Max and Orion’s partnership would last 35 or more years, producing and broadcasting agribusiness shows.

Max in high school at WVMC in Mt. Carmel

Max has gotten to travel extensively to develop the programs. He’s been on farms all through U.S. and other countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Columbia, and Chili. He’s done everything from visiting with fisherman gathering lobsters in Maine and then on to a trip to Tasmania in Australia. The government was paying a farmer to reproduce the Tasmanian Devil because they were becoming sparse. At one point he even visited 10 Downing Street in London, England. One of the few places still on Max’s “bucket list” is part of the United Kingdom - Ireland and Scotland.

One game changer was when Max built a home studio in 1998. It made life much easier by lessening the travel and time involved. He chuckled and reported that he’s “cut down to 83 flights” a year, when pre-Covid he counted up to 116 a year. This way he gets to spend more time with his family, especially his two granddaughters that are five and seven years old. Max tightened his circle and only does conferences, trade shows and other ag events within a 150 mile radius of Chicago or his home in North Carolina. He’s trying to slow down some, but still has his thumb in plenty of pies.

During his career as a radio broadcaster, Max has seen a sad evolution. Talk show broadcasters are being replaced with tracks of endless music. With today’s technology, people can get music anywhere. What they can’t get is local, personable content. Max mentioned how much he likes Weed and Cliff’s morning show on WRAY. It’s that type of interaction listeners want. He also chuckled when he thought of Weed as a youngster in 4th grade or so. Apparently Max and Weed’s older brother were childhood friends. It’s all part of a small town local connection.

Max has another connection to our area. He and Princeton’s Mayor, Greg Wright, are cousins. In small towns, everybody is related to somebody. He wanted to convey how proud the family is of Greg’s work and involvement to improve the city. Max may have moved to one of the biggest cities, but has never forgotten his home town connections. When Uncle Dave finally retired from WRAY, it was important to Max to be there when he flipped the switch on his final show. It was fitting since Dave was a long time broadcast buddy.

Illinois. It’s called “Half Century of Progress” and is the largest vintage tractor show in the country. For many this four day event is a bucket list item and they try very hard to make it a great family experience. Visitors come from as far as Belgium, England France and Australia. Quite often there is a crew from Gibson County that make the trip as well.

Illinois. It’s called “Half Century of Progress” and is the largest vintage tractor show in the country. For many this four day event is a bucket list item and they try very hard to make it a great family experience. Visitors come from as far as Belgium, England France and Australia. Quite often there is a crew from Gibson County that make the trip as well.

Not all men can equally pull off dressing sharp in a business suit and donning a pair of bib overalls. But Max can do both with equal flare. While being very fortunate to work with some of the best people in the broadcast business, he’s also been blessed with knowing so many farmers. He said, “I can hear a name and think, I know that person or I’ve been on that farm. It’s very personal.” After traveling to so many places around the world, Max truly believes that “Midwest hospitality is understated and under appreciated.” It’s those small acts of kindness that stand out – opening a door, waiting a turn, or a smile and nod. It’s what makes the Midwest special and that upbringing continues to keep Max a Midwestern Man.

Some of the guys from Gibson County with Max at the Rantoul tractor show.

Photo credit Dave Kunkel