Loyal Valley listeners tune in to Radio Tradio

They buy, sell and soak up interesting stories.

Published online on Friday, Jan. 16, 2009

Dennis is selling a 2-year-old sleep apnea machine for $350. He'll throw in a humidifier.

Lee "has a want" -- he's looking to buy an exercise bike.

Eleanor is selling her deluxe sewing cabinet, perfect for large projects, a quilters tote and new quilting supplies. Pete still has that one old stadium chair from Reedley that he's been trying to sell for weeks. And five different people are selling five different Lincoln Town Cars.

Forget Craigslist, eBay and classified ads. For some in the Valley, the way to buy and sell is on Radio Tradio (KMJ AM 580) on Saturday mornings from 7 a.m. until 9 a.m.

The ephemeral medium of radio might seem the least efficient way to take a yard sale item to the masses: you can't see the loot and you better write down the info quick. But where else can you hear someone named Butch drawl that he has a 1956 Airstream trailer for sale for $6,000?

Indeed, after 25 years, Radio Tradio is the area's longest-running radio program, says KMJ program director Skip Essick.

"It's a flea market on the air," he said. "At first some people might think 'What kind of hokey thing is this?' But the listeners are very loyal. It's changed time slots over the years and people followed. It's almost always first in the ratings at its time period."

Radio Tradio started after the station brought in a consultant to suggest ways to provide live weekend programming to replace "Chuck Cecil's Swingin' Years" and the program "Poker Party."

"This guy said the format of selling things over the air was popular in the 1940s in the Midwest and he thought it might have a revival in the Valley. Some people have said the Valley is a lot like the Midwest," says Craig Hansen, the show's ever-patient host (maybe it is Craigslist after all ... ).

The format enjoyed a brief revival around the country in the '80s. Elsewhere its popularity quickly faded, but in the Valley -- where the first show aired the third weekend of May in 1984 -- it has thrived. Perhaps elsewhere doesn't have as colorful a lineup of items for sale.

In the past month on Radio Tradio, the list of things people are selling has included two mink coats, a tractor, a lead crystal football -- supposedly signed by Joe Montana, raising the question of how one signs crystal -- and 20 acres in Winnemucca, Nev.

The advertisers on the show have the same down-home flavor as the call-in sellers. One is a car-dealership that touts "no ties, no lies."

Usually there's a $2,000 limit on items for sale. But on the first Saturday of every month, anything goes.

Dean Barbettini, a retired rancher who was hawking the Winnemucca land, says the show reminds him of something his mother listened to way back when.

"It's interesting. You listen to what people have to sell and you get a little idea of what's going on with those people."

Hansen says the show offers more than classified ads read aloud.

"It's a study in human nature. You hear all walks of life, all demographics from dirt poor to well-to-do. You can sort of picture them by the sound of their voice and what they're selling."

The last caller on this Saturday is Josie. She's selling a wedding ring: "Never been worn. The gentleman died before we could clinch the deal."

The price is $100.

Within ten minutes Josie Bobo, in her late 70s, has two potential buyers who want to see the ring set Josie described as "nothing gawky-like, small." She's also had three callers who just want to know the story behind the rings.

Josie says "it's the most wonderful love story you'd ever want to know. Some of my lady friends liken it to Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. But it eats me up sometimes because I ruined it. I've had years to feel guilty. I hurt that man so badly."