Keep on Rockin’ – Turning 70 by Sophia Misle, photos by Steven Hertzog
Celebrated daytime radio station KLWN turns 70 this year, and its longtime announcers remain consistent and timely.
At 7:15 the morning of Feb. 22, 1951, Arden Booth said to the city of Lawrence, “Good morning. This is KLWN, Lawrence, Kansas,” and the daytime radio station on 1320 kHz debuted. Booth had found out a 1320 frequency owned by an individual in Texas would be available for Lawrence while he was helping the local newspaper in Oroville, California, put a radio station on the air. He got a group of stakeholders together, and they got to work. “They took all of their combined money that they put into the business, including his brother, who was one of the primary stockholders, and built KLWN from the ground up, brick by brick, stone by stone, for about $50,000 with all the equipment, with everything in it to broadcast,” says Hank Booth, son of the late Arden Booth.
This year, KLWN celebrated its 70th birthday, and many of the people who made the station what it is today are still as consistent and timely as ever. Hank Booth is one of those people. At 75 years old, he has educated Lawrencians about fascinating people and current events for many years through his show “According to the Record.” The first episode aired when Hank got back from military service in 1973. He has taken occasional breaks from the show, including when he ran for county commission. “Otherwise, I’ve done the show nonstop for all those years, even with my other jobs as head of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and head of the Baldwin City Chamber of Commerce, and other positions that I’ve held after I officially retired,” Hank says.
After Arden’s death, the Booth family sold the station to the Zimmer family in the late 1990s. Hank says the Zimmers did a great job taking care of things after the transition. The Zimmer family grew up with a father who understood the importance of starting a radio station from the ground up, because the family did that in its hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. When the Zimmers purchased KLWN, they maintained the hometown connection it had with Lawrence. As an independently owned family company, it was important to the Zimmers to keep family tradition going, so Hank Booth remained on the air to maintain the deep, local connection established by his father. And now as a part of Great Plains Media, Hank continues that legacy.
The best part of hosting “According to the Record,” he says, has been meeting people and finding out what their hopes and dreams are. Former president Barack Obama was interviewed by Hank before his presidential election. He has also interviewed and maintained relationships with many local and state government officials throughout the years, such as Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, State Sen. Marci Francisco (D-Kan.) and State Rep. Barbara Ballard (D-Kan.).
When the Booths started KLWN, operations took place in a small building on what is now 31st and Iowa streets. Today, KLWN is located on West Sixth Street as part of Great Plains Media Inc., with several studios and office spaces. The expanded space needed to accommodate KLWN’s growth and its sister stations, “92.9 The Bull” and “105.9 KISS FM.” In 2009, “92.9 The Bull” became the contemporary country station most Lawrencians know today. The Top 40 station, “105.9 KISS FM,” came along in 2012, replacing KLZR, “The Lazer,” at the 105.9 FM frequency which has been part of the KLWN family since it first signed on Aug. 20, 1963, as KLWN FM.
He says he was never expected to follow in his late father’s footsteps in broadcast journalism. His father encouraged him to find another niche, but Hank believes Arden secretly wanted him to be in radio and take over the business.
“That’s the thing I love about the show is listening to people’s stories, asking the questions for them to tell their dream, their wish, their aspirations for their club, their organization,” Hank explains.
As a young man, Hank thought of himself as more of a writer and wanted to work for a newspaper in San Francisco. He never thought he would end up in Lawrence for as long as he has, especially working in radio. However, things changed after serving in the army and meeting his wife. The couple met when Hank was 75
