If any programs from the early days of KBOA enjoyed the same popularity and longevity as Old Camp Meetin’ Time, it would probably be Hometown News. All sources suggest that local news was part of the KBOA programming lineup from day-one and that John (Johnny Mack) Reeder was responsible for gathering and reporting. This jingle almost certainly came along later.

In 1972 Hometown News ran for 15 minutes at 9 a.m. Some years later it was expanded to 30 minutes because the demand from sponsors was so great. According to KBOA legend, the reason the main morning news program was at 9 a.m. traces back to the earliest days of the station. John Mays explains:

“Congressman Jones owned the Daily Dunklin Democrat in those days and we had what we called the Home Town Newspaper of the Air. The paper sent somebody out with the stories and we read it. Finally the Congressman sold the paper and then we started doing it on our own.”

But by then listeners were so accustomed to hearing the news at nine o’clock, it was never changed.

I don’t know what comprised the news in those earliest days but in 1972 it included local and regional stories; traffic crash reports; police blotter news; obituaries from the local funeral homes; admissions and releases (and births!) from the local hospitals; school closings during the winter; and school lunchroom menus.