Ubiquitous voice retires from Jacksonville’s WLDS after 36 years on the radio
Story and Photos By David Blanchette
Bob Thomas is well known in the Jacksonville area, although relatively few people know what he looks like.
“I was talking to a friend of mine in the grocery store and this gentleman came up and said, ‘You’re Bob Thomas and I listen to you every morning on the radio,’” Thomas recalled. “I said, ‘Well, this is me,’ and he kind of laughed and went on his way. I don’t know who he was but he knew me by my voice.”
That voice soon won’t be as ubiquitous since the 83-year-old Thomas officially retires from his 36-year, on-air career at WLDS Radio effective February 28.
“This started out as kind of a fun thing for me to do part-time and it turned out to be the job of my dreams,” Thomas said. “The people are fantastic. You couldn’t ask for better managers, fellow employees or listeners.”
As someone who has had quite a few birthdays himself, one of Thomas’ greatest joys has been the daily segment where listeners call in to wish people happy birthday.
“I’ve gotten to know people and their voices on the phone, and once when we had an open house at the radio station people saw me in the control room and said, ‘I talked to you on the phone and I didn’t think you looked like that,” Thomas said with a chuckle. “It was kind of funny that people were expecting something a little different.”
Thomas filled many roles at WLDS since being hired part-time in 1988 including on-air announcing, reading the news, making and scheduling commercials, and his latest gig, program director. But the daily banter with listeners and the other on-air announcers gave Thomas the greatest satisfaction.
“It was always fun and we laughed quite a bit,” Thomas said. “It’s fun going on the air with [station owner] Gary Scott in the morning, teasing each other and making comments.”
Thomas’ road to regional radio renown started in a modest way after the Fort Madison, Iowa native graduated from MacMurray College, secured a teaching position at Lincoln Elementary School, and answered a spring 1988 newspaper ad for part-time work at WLDS Radio.
“I thought it sounded interesting so I applied for it and I was their second choice,” Thomas recalled. “But [then station owner] Jerry Symons told me they expected the first person they hired to leave before too long, and sure enough I got a call from Jerry in August asking if I was still interested.”
Thomas continued to teach fourth grade full-time while he announced part-time on WLDS, with his initial shifts typically occurring from 5:30 to 8 p.m. weeknights, noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Thomas eventually moved to an early weekday morning on-air shift, after which he would head across town to start teaching each day. Thomas went full-time at WLDS after he retired from teaching in 1998.
Thomas remembers working on the air alongside former Jacksonville High School Coach Mel Roustio; Karen Kluge Zink; and local sports broadcasting legends Jerry Symons and Don Hamilton, with whom Thomas had his biggest on-air gaffe in the middle of a live high school football game broadcast.
“I was running the control board at the station during the broadcast, picked up the phone to talk to Don and Jerry, then forgot to press the right button before I hung up and cut them off in the middle of the game,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t funny at the time, but Jerry and Don were so good to work with, and when things like that happened we’d just roll with it.”
Eventually Thomas was asked if he would consider a promotion to program director at the radio station. He had retired from teaching by then and could commit to the full-time job, and “because nobody else wanted to do it, I took the position,” he said. Thomas was the WLDS program director from that point on, working for co-owners Gary Scott and Mark Whalen, but also retained his on-air shift.
Thomas’ broadcast day started when he arose at 4:30 a.m., checked the news on his computer, printed a copy of the weather forecast, and left home at 5:40 a.m. to go to the radio station. He then coordinated the morning on-air schedule that included news, weather, farm, sports, talk, and his favorite part of the day, recognizing birthdays.
“I had gotten to the point where I’d have somebody call and give me a name and I’d remember the town they lived in because I had done this for so long,” Thomas said. “I also enjoyed doing the Daily Dollar Program with Gary Scott and the Pulse, which is our announcement of coming events.”
Although his voice is still sharp and clear and he thoroughly enjoyed the work, the 83-year-old Thomas made the reluctant decision to retire when his vision began to deteriorate. Recently the radio station staff helped him by printing on-air announcements in a larger font, but “it had gotten to the point that even those were kind of a challenge to read,” Thomas said.
“Also, as most of my listeners know I had an automobile accident recently and my daughter told me I shouldn’t be driving,” Thomas said. “At that point, I said to myself, ‘That’s it.’”
Thomas saw a lot of technology changes during his three and a half decades on the air. Music once played through LPs spinning on turntables, and commercials once played on cartridges resembling 8-track tapes, are now all controlled by computer. In fact, Thomas used three computers while he was on the air and had to become adept at using a computer mouse with both hands.
“Several times my kids have asked, ‘How do you do that, use the mouse with your left hand when you’re right-handed?’” Thomas said. “I told them I did it all of the time at the radio station, it’s kind of instinctive now.”
After years of getting up before dawn for morning radio, Thomas looks forward to watching more late-night television and sleeping in a little longer during retirement. He also plans to play bingo and participate in other activities at the Jacksonville Area Senior Center, and spend more time with his children and grandchildren.
Radio will never be far from Thomas’ mind, and he’s happy with the years he was on the air.
“I take pleasure in knowing that I’ve contributed to our community and people,” Thomas said. “It’s enlightening to know that there are so many people who know me by my voice.”
Bob Thomas will enjoy his retirement with his children, Rabbi Rob (Lauren) Thomas, Brenna Thomas, Elizabeth (Andrew) Cole, and adopted daughter Bethany. He has 11 grandchildren.
