Rural Missouri - April 2022 - 28

" Needless to say, it went over well and I began working for
KTXR the fall of 1977 and stayed my entire radio career. "
While the choice helped him switch gears from a
career in education to radio, Wayne says he really just
switched the topics.
" I feel like I still teach history, " says the man who has
read every liner note on the jackets of every album he's
owned. " But it's the history behind the music and those
who create it that I enjoy sharing. "
His radio show " Remember When " eventually became
a seven-hour Saturday show. While his wife, Nira, and
their three children were supportive of his passion,
Wayne admits his career did come at a personal cost.
" I spent many hours each week preparing for the show
and then worked every Saturday at the station, " Wayne
recalls. " I missed many events the children were part of
because they usually fell on Saturday. That's time I'll
never get back. "
The last year or so of Wayne's on-air career, he wound
the show down to a one-hour spot on Saturdays. He's
happy to say he never missed a show, not even when he
needed to have a stent put in his heart years ago. " I just
had them schedule the procedure during the week and
kept on going, " he says.
When he wasn't preparing for the show, the humble
man also penned a baker's dozen books on the topics of
his beloved Ozarks as well as Ozarks music history. Most
are out of print but can sometimes be found locally.
Over the years, Wayne's collection of records has
A 1980s snapshot of Wayne Glenn during his radio days with Springfi
eld-based station KTXR. The author and radio personality worked at the
station from 1977 until his retirement in 2021. His last broadcast was his
2,232nd.
Nixa
grown to approximately 15,000 disks and includes 45,
33 and 78 rpm records. So massive is the collection that
the collector even built another room onto the house. The
tall library-like shelves not only contain records - sorted
by genre - but unique ephemera representing local history.
Concert posters promoting performances by Lester
Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Johnny Cash and Hee Haw's Roy
Clark hang on walls alongside sheet music dating back
to the 1920s. Promotional gewgaws include a collectable
Dogpatch USA Pappy statue, an old metal Butane lighter
stamped with the state outline and marked " The Ozark
State: Missouri, " Rare Ozarks photo postcards and materials
promoting local shows such as The Ozark Jubilee,
the Porter Wagoner TV show and more.
While Wayne's radio show is now musical history, he's
not done promoting the Ozarks or collecting records. His
near daily Facebook posts on the Wayne Glenn (The Old
Record Collector) page share tidbits and factoids about
all things Ozarks with followers. There, Wayne offers
snapshots of favorite fi nds and discusses items he's
still searching for in case someone happens to be cleaning
out a closet like the one that started his devotion to
albums and music in the fi rst place.
" Oh I'm culling down the collection, " Wayne says, noting
he's keeping his favorite records and selling others.
" But I still enjoy hunting down the rare album. You never
know what you'll fi nd at fl ea markets or garage sales.
There are still musical gems to be found. "
You can reach Wayne Glenn " The Old Record Collector "
at Box 827, Nixa, MO 65714; via email at wayneglenn@
att.net or by calling 417-725-5580. Follow him on Facebook
at Wayne Glenn (The Old Record Collector).
28 RURAL MISSOURI | APRIL 2022
Rural Missouri - April 2022

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