Hanging up the Headphones – After 20 years, Local Yokels will have last show Saturday
Published 9:27 am Wednesday, March 22, 2023
The Local Yokels program, which became an institution for listeners in Batesville, Panola County, and around the world will broadcast its last show this Saturday, March 24, at its regular time slot of 9 to 11 a.m. on undefinedradio.com
The show’s founder, Ricky Swindle, and his longtime producer and on-air sidekick Johnny Pace, were recognized by the Batesville Mayor and Board of Aldermen on Tuesday with a proclamation marking the last show, and congratulating the duo for their efforts to highlight the local talent in and around Batesville.
At the city board meeting Swindle spoke briefly about the show and the 20 years it was broadcast locally and around the world via internet connections, saying it would not have been possible without his faithful advertisers, local artists submitting their songs, and the listening audience who constantly offered encouragement.
For Saturday’s show, Swindle and Pace have invited the community to drop by for refreshments and be part of the last show.
The proclamation presented by the City of Batesville reads,
WHEREAS, on March 22, 2003, Ricky Swindle purchased airtime on WBLE, 100.5FM, to run a 30 minute show, once a week, for six weeks to promote his business, Batesville Tire and Muffler. Using music he had recorded along with music recorded by other local artists and his own humorous stories, he and co-host, John Ingram, began the Local Yokels Show. Johnny Pace agreed to take over as co-host in August 2003; and,
WHEREAS, being a gifted story teller, Swindle’s wealth of good clean humor and genuine words of sympathy that he shared during the programs made the count of listeners grow so much that after 3 weeks local merchants began calling him asking to sponsor the show; so, Swindle decided to carry on a few more weeks playing music, talking, and being described by fans as Jerry Clower with a guitar; and,
WHEREAS, after a dozen or so years of broadcasting Local Yokels, Swindle and Pace lost their slot with WBLE; however, they accepted an offer to resume, restore, and grow their well-respected program with Chad Martin of Senatobia on his popular Undefined Radio internet radio station; friends and fans rushed efforts together to create a studio dubbed ‘the padded room’; and the weekly 9-11 a.m. Saturday Local Yokels program became a showcase for philanthropic events, local musicians, singers, and discussion panels of diverse citizens with specials causes; and,
WHEREAS, 6 weeks stretched to 20 years of weekly programs, yet Swindle admits there was never a plan; he himself paid for the first 6 programs, but the programs that followed belonged to the sponsors and the community; thus, the success of Local Yokels is measured in years with weekly hours of comfort food served up in the forms of conversations, stories, songs and memories made possible by Ricky Swindle;
NOW, THEREFORE, by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Batesville, Mississippi, note that the final Local Yokels program will be on Saturday, March 25, 2023, and Ricky Swindle is hereby recognized for earning a permanent place in Batesville History demonstrating southern Americana at its best in Mississippi.
