Lester Boyd

I was born near Anson in Jones County, Texas in 1931. My parents were both natives of Montague County and just happened to be there three or four years at that time. My dad was a cotten farmer and my mother a teacher. They moved back to Montague County in 1933 and never moved away again. So, my sister and I consider ourselves Montague County natives.

I have been interested in teaching, coaching and radio all of my life. All through school, I was an un-official tutor. Some of the kids wanted me to help them and they expected me to become a teacher.

At the same time, in my early years, I had a love for the radio. The electronics amazed me, and I liked the programming especially the musical shows. I played DJ, newscaster, and band musician before I had seen the inside of a radio station.

I began my association with AM-1410 when it was KBAN in 1962. I was teaching in Forestburg, and for two or three years I had been working with some school kids to get them to improve on playing their musical instruments. One of those students was my cousin, Don Boyd. I had another cousin, Wassie Reynolds whom I had picked guitar for before. Wassie became the lead singer. We developed a Buck Owens style band called the Country Cousins because there were always three cousins in it.

Most radio stations still had a band or two in the early sixties. They had to have them earlier. We became one of these on KBAN with a program each Saturday morning. We would set up in the Theater Studio, which is now the large office on the north side of the building. There were seats and a piano. Some Sunday church services were held there and broadcast.

We had the Wassie Reynolds Show with the Country Cousins for many years. Finally, we began having difficulty replacing musicians who would move away or graduate. Often we didn't have anyone to play, but we had a deal with the station to play country-western music during that time. We began to play records when we didn't have musicians. The station was Top 40 then, but variety on the weekends.

One day when we were playing records, the manager came by and asked us if we were licensed to operate the station. Our answers were no. He brought us a stack of books to study, told us to go to Dallas and take the test to get our radio licenses when we were sure we could pass. If we passed for the first class licenses, he would put us on.

Through the years, I have had many great co-workers and supervisors. I hope they have and do understand how I appreciate their help in giving me the chance to do what I love. And of course, the advertisers and the listeners of KNTX are super.