OGDEN — Radio has changed dramatically during the past 40 years, and in that time the only element of Wasatch Front radio that has remained the same is Len Allen at KLO (AM-1430).
He's not only the first DJ I ever remember hearing, but he has survived almost 54 years at the same station to become a Utah radio legend.
It was back on Saturday, Oct. 5, 1947, when Allen began at KLO. (He'd already spent about a year in New Orleans radio prior to coming to Utah.)
Nicknamed "Mr. Ogden" by some, Allen — born in Dayton, Ohio — turned 75 on Feb. 6 and he's still going strong, doing a 6-10 a.m. weekday show.
"I'm half as old as Ogden," Allen said. The city celebrates its 150th anniversary this year and Allen is involved with the sesquicentennial committee, as well as a half-dozen other community committees like the Union Station Board and the County Fair Board.
When will he retire? Nothing's planned.
The only other radio host with more longevity that I'm aware of — and we're talking nationally now — is Paul Harvey, who is in his mid-80s and who has been doing radio for 68 years.
"I might go that long," Allen said. "But you know you're old when your kids start joining AARP." He now has a daughter in that age range.
"You've got to keep active," Allen said. The spry radio host does that, and unlike many others his age, he can't seem to stay sitting down for very long. He doesn't just sit at a chair with a microphone and do his show, he's got to move around frequently.
After he leaves the radio each weekday morning, he sells cars at Cutrubus Motors, as he has done for the past 21 years. He specializes in motor home sales for the company, and he also helps do their advertising.
There's just something different about Allen's show, now co-hosted with Dan Jessop, a 33-year radio veteran himself.
"We're the last full-service morning-radio show now," said Jessop, who was raised in Ogden. "Everyone else has narrow-casted."
"This is not old-time radio," Allen said. "It's radio the way it used to be."
Indeed, Allen does many of his own commercials live. (That's how he did it in the days before tape recorders came along in 1952.)
The DJs also like doing remote broadcasts and as many community events as they can. Allen was the street announcer last November for the annual Christmas Parade, and any Weber County resident who isn't familiar with his voice doesn't listen to the radio or get out much.
Allen is a warm and friendly type, and together with Jessop, they have more combined years of radio experience than "Mark and Danny" of KKDS. Both DJs say they don't do radio for the money but for the fun of being on the air.
The DJs operate out of the second story of the Executive Building, 4155 S. Harrison Blvd., just southwest of Weber State University. Allen calls the shots, while Jessop does the news, weather, sports and plays the music. Sitting in on their show, it's easy to see how spontaneous it is.
Allen said the main reason he's been at KLO so long is that it has been an unusually stable station. In his 53-plus years, the station has only had four different locations — the Ben Lomond Hotel, Kanesville/West Haven, the Eccles Building and now in the Aerospace Center.
Commenting on how radio has changed over the years, Allen said he remembers the days when you couldn't even use the word "pregnant" on the air. Now there are no radio rules, but Allen said he'll never do anything but good old "G-rated" radio for the family.
KLO has syndicated talk shows the rest of the day but has increased its signal strength to 10,000 watts. It can now reach southern Idaho, Nephi and parts of Nevada.
For the record, Gene Pack has spent 40 years at KUER and is probably Utah's second-longest radio resident at the same station. "Country Joe" of KSOP is third at 31 years, followed by Tom Barberi at KALL with almost 30 years.
RADIO HAPPENINGS — KSFI and its Air Waves Cafe featured a miniconcert by Donny Osmond last Friday during the "Dain and Peggy" show. This was one in a series of miniconcerts the Simmons Media Group plans on sponsoring.
Deseret News radio editor Lynn Arave can be reached by e-mail at lynn@desnews.com or by phone at 237-2168.