Part of My Childhood Soundtrack Passes

Saw word in the Mason City Globe-Gazette last night that KGLO radio broadcaster Al Heinz  died:

Heinz, 87, a popular broadcaster who worked at KGLO from 1943 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1998, died in his sleep Sunday at his winter home in Weslaco, Texas.

He interviewed celebrities including Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon, and covered county fairs, North Iowa Band Festival parades and plowing contests, gaining fans with his friendly, resonant bass voice.

He and the late Bob Brown bantered for years on KGLO's “Al & Bob Show,” which Heinz called the “Bob & Al Show.”

Their names may not ring a bell in Eastern Iowa, but in North Iowa, Heinz and Brown, who died in 2004, were a big part of my childhood soundtrack every morning.

They were the guys who told me if school was cancelled in the winter and, if I wasn't so lucky, what to expect for lunch. Tater tot casserole again? Bread and butter sandwich, pears and milk. I knew, based on what I heard, when it was time to go out an wait for the bus. Who needed a clock?

They cracked corny jokes and talked about the weather or whatever was going on locally. We listened every morning on the big console radio in the living room. Now I get school closings on my smart phone.

It was classic small town radio, although at the time I thought Mason City was a pretty big town.

KGLO also carried another big voice that narrated my summer nights growing up -

Twins play-by-play man Herb Carneal. He's gone now too.