KBOA went on the air on July 19, 1947. It was a very big deal for the little town of Kennett, Missouri. It was the community’s first radio station and one of a handful of stations between Memphis and St. Louis. KBOA was very much the “voice” of Kennett and the region. The idea of radio station formats was still a few years off but the men and women who built and programmed KBOA instinctively knew that the key to success was serving their local communities. They made it up as they went along and created what was –for many years– one of the most successful small market radio stations in the country.

Standing, L-R: Bob Conner, Ray Van, Johnny Mack (Reeder).
Seated, L-R: Paul C. Jones, Berniece Davis, Dona Rae Ford and Norman Shane (Shainberg)

Standing, L-R: Bob Conners, Ray Van Heuser, Norman Shainberg, Joe Bankhead
Seated, L-R: Paul C. Jones. Mrs. Ethel Jones, Bernice Davis and Johnny Mack (Reeder).

The purpose of this site is to share some of the history of the earliest days of KBOA. The focus is the first ten years. My father, John Mays, worked at KBOA for most of 33 years and I worked there for a dozen years in the 70’s, working briefly with some of the people featured here. I collected photographs, interviews and newspaper clippings but this effort is far from complete. I’m certain I’ve overlooked many who played an important role in the early years of KBOA. I’m counting on visitors to help me correct these omissions.

Steve Mays
Jefferson City, MO
Spring, 1997
stevemays at gmail.com