Longtime radio host called the old CKBX building “home”

The building CKBX called home for decades in the South Cariboo may be gone, but for one of it’s longtime hosts, the memories will live on forever.

For over 3 decades Larry Rode was the bright good morning voice that kept listeners in 100 Mile House updated on everything from what the weather was going to be like to how many “turkeys” were purchased during Turkey Day.

“A lot of people cut their teeth on the air in that old building including current morning man Chris Adams.” Rode recalled.

Rode’s journey that led him to 100 Mile House started at a radio station in Fort Nelson before he moved on to CKCQ in Quesnel in 1980 ending up behind the mic at CKBX in September of 1988.

“When the opportunity came up I jumped on it and I was a pretty happy puppy the first day on the air.” I remember leaving the chair in the studio and my legs were all wobbly and I was giddy. I always left the studio door open, I wanted the engineers to take the door off actually, and anybody that came through the station they were a victim, they were eligible in my view to come on in and join me on the air. People were a little tentative the first couple of years then pretty soon there was hardly a day that we didn’t have someone on the air.”

One of those people Rode recalled was Realtor Dave Lacky.

“He use to come in on Turkey Day and Pizza Day and always brought us donuts so we called him ”The Donut King”. He had a wonderful smile, a wonderful personality just an awesome guy. And it was fun working with Spence Henderson who did the “Radio Man Report.” It came on at 7:37 in the morning and he would come on and we would banter and maybe play a song before the greeting line. That (greeting line) was originally instituted just like Message Time to those areas not really reached by other forms of communication, and if somebody had a birthday then you could get on there and say “to Joe X out in Eagle Creek happy birthday we’re thinking of you. And when it came to events, road and weather conditions, radio was critical for the area.”

Rode also recalled how he started up Turkey day and at one time we had 32 people in that tiny studio and on the air.

“We had the RCMP on the air every Thursday with the Crime Stoppers report, the SPCA reports Thursdays as well and Friday mornings at 6:35 am after the news George Henderson and I would do a little sports thing. Things changed over the years, some features came and some went but certainly I pride myself as never leaving a dull moment on the air. Sure it was an old building but I find that’s what it’s charm was and I loved it,” Rode said.