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A lot of Baby Boomers loved the old KYNO, which won the ratings war over KMAK -- pronounced K-MAKE -- in the early 1960s, and then morphed into "Boss Radio," as I chronicled in this column.

Thanks to the power of the Internet and fresnobee.com, here are memories from readers near and far.

Dick Carr, former Fresno disc jockey and television newsman:

"How long ago did I land at KYNO? My first day was May 11, 1960. I do need to rattle John Wallace's cage. He seems to have forgotten that he was rescued from 20-20 when Gary Bentley at Channel 47 wanted to get off the late-night news and we brought John over and paired him up with Dick Drilling on sports for the late-night show. Later was [John's] call from KFSN. How quickly we forget, we radio and TV gypsies.
[I am] living in Pismo Beach and playing golf three or four times a week. I read your column online and remind myself of when you were a regular on KFRE with the one and only Jerry Lee and yours truly."

Brian Decker, whose father, Wayne, was KYNO's general manager for more than 25 years:

"Thank you very much for your column regarding KYNO. It brought back a lot of great memories for me. In the early 60's, as a boy of 8 or 9, I can remember playing basketball with [programming director] Bill Drake in our front yard on Thanksgiving Day, helping Sam Schwann with the records on Saturday mornings when my Dad took me to work with him, and being in the front row at the Dave Clarke Five concert at the Memorial Auditorium that KYNO promoted. It was an exciting place and environment to grow up around.

"You captured perfectly the ground-breaking format of Boss Radio that was first developed in Fresno, then syndicated by Drake and Gene Chenault to stations such as KHJ in Los Angeles and KFRC in San Francisco, along with many others across the country. Later, when FM began to take off, that continued when KYNO-FM went on the air. In the mid-70's, those radio wars continued with the great 96FM/Y94 radio/ratings wars that I was involved in as sales manager for KYNO/KYNO-FM.

"I shared your column with my teenage daughters to give them an idea as to what their 'Papa' had a hand in creating and participating in. Radio is so different now, with very few local owners and the Clear Channels of the world being the norm. I have always appreciated what [new KYNO owner] John Ostlund has and continues to do in local broadcasting."

C.L. Cake, Thunder Press Magazine, and bikernet.com.:

"Bill, Thanks for the reminder of the 'good old days.' When I was a teenager, I worked for QRK Electronics, manufacturer of professional radio-station turntables. It was owned by Burt Williamson, who also owned controlling interest in KYNO, and was housed in the same building, at 2125 N. Barton. I worked there part time from '66 to '68 while in high school. There was always some skullduggery afoot at the station, and looking back, it was a great part of my life.

"One incident involved Sam Schwan's glass eye. While eating lunch in the station's break room, I heard Noreen, the KYNO secretary, let out a blood-curdling scream, and the sound of breaking glass. When I ran into the reception area, there was Noreen's coffee cup shattered against the wall, and Sam's glass eye among the dripping shards. He'd brought her a cup of Joe with the freshly scrubbed eye at the bottom. As she took the last swallow, she found herself the object of scrutiny by a 'detached' retina!

"I also remember a run-in 'Red Dog' Walker had with Wanda, the KYNO kangaroo, that left him feeling like he'd just boxed 10 rounds Cassius Clay. (Yes, a real live kangaroo. More bounce to the ounce, you Kyno-roos!)

"I remember Ed Mitchell and Dick Carr hobbling around for a week after their endurance record in the KYNO Kart-a-Thon, where the DJs raced go-karts non-stop for several days.

"At that time, I drove an old hot rod '51 Chevy coupe, and one time, I got to clean out all the 'promo' records from the warehouse. I went home with literally thousands of '45s stuffed in every corner of the car, to the point of hampered visibility. Jay and the Americans; The Doors; Moody Blues... Sure wish I had some of them now."

"It's been a while since I've thought about those days. I believe the request line was 229-2635. Either that, or Mike's Pizzeria -- I used them both a lot."

Abe Espinosa, former KJEO-47 cameraman and production ace:

"This brought back some old memories. I was a camera man at KJEO during that time and behind the 47 studio was a metal building that had been constructed for Big Time Wrestling. KMAK had a show that followed American Band Stand called KMAK Cabret. I remember Tom Maule was one of the hosts -- they had a different DJ for every day of the week. The battle between KYNO & KMAK got so bad on the air that KJEO managment had to tell them to cool it. KMAK had a good thing going until the dance party started getting a little rowdy and finally had to drop the program. Thanks for a great article.

Flora Castro, sister of Dick Carr:

"In 1961, at the age of 15, I moved to Fresno to live with my older brother following our mother's death. I was shy and had a noticeable southern drawl, and was scared to death about my new life and how I'd fit in a place so different from home of Tulsa, OK.

"I can't tell you how easy it was to fit in when all my new friends found out my big brother was Dick Carr. My southern drawl, which was initially made fun of, became charming when the kids at school found out I could supply a DJ who was very popular at the time.

"I recall some of the stunts that Chenault and Drake dreamed up to stoke the ratings. They ranged from having the DJ's parachute into parking lots to open a shopping mall, participating in demolition derbys at Kearney Bowl and running ostrich-pulled chariot races at the Fresno Fair.

"That last one became a part of national insurance commercial, when they covered the injuries my brother incurred when he was run over by a chariot driven by another DJ, Bob Elliott. As I recall the commercial started out by asking "Would your insurance cover you if you were run over by an ostrich?"

"Back then, all of the DJ's were an extended family. I just remember how nothing was too outrageous of a stunt if it could attract ratings.

Shane Davis, a "young" oldies radio buff:

"Thanks for the great article you wrote on KYNO. I'm awaiting the chance to hear (if only for a day), what great radio used to sound like in Fresno. For what its worth, I think its a shame they are only doing this for one day, before we are treated to yet another news/talk station. Fresno really no longer has a 1950s-60s oldies station -- there's one that's beamed from Merced, and a couple other 'old school hip-hop' stations.

"Incidentally, this email isn't coming from an old-timer remembering his youth.. I'm 29 years old, and an avid record collector/ record store owner. I'm barely old enough to remember KYNO in its waning days as a rock station in the 1980s. There are lots of younger people out there who enjoy great oldies, and who can appreciate a piece of history.

"P.S. Your article mentions those Top 30 lists that KYNO used to give out. Several years ago, I found a bag of those pamphlets at a junk store, and sold them on ebay for over $400. There's quite a collector's market for those nowadays!"

Ms. Chris Perez, a faithful KYNO listener:

"I graduated in 1972. My girlfriend and I used to go over to the station when we were in junior high and high school. One of the DJs would give us 45s. I think his name was Nick Anthony. A couple of times, he even said our names on the air. That was the biggest thrill of my young life (except for seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan).

"I remember the little jingles you mentioned. Whenever they would play a song which had a pause, I would hear 'KYNO Fresno' in that dead air. I thought that was SO cool! Do you remember the KYNO Millionaire? He cruised around town in a limo, and would get out at different places and just walk up to people and give them money. One day that limo pulled onto the block where I lived. He got out, went up to a door down the street and handed money to the lady who lived there. It was thrilling to see, even though he didn't come to my house! I remember when that key was buried and clues were given on the air; it was found in a field just past Janofsky's Nightclub, which was the last building on Blackstone (where River Park is now).

"Now that I think of it, that could have been the KMAK key, I'm not sure. I do remember my Mom took us by there when the clues zeroed in on that area. There were lots of people out there digging!"

Paul Christy, better known around here as "Harry Miller" while a KYNO DJ:

"Bill, can you help me get in touch with the right folks at KYNO to possibly be a part of the stunt day? I was afternoon drive there during part of the glory days, using the name Harry Miller. I was also the Program Director who hired Sean Conrad, Ted Jordan and others.

"Sure would be fun to be a part of it, if only via a couple of MP3 breaks! I remember the ratings service in use when I was there, from 1969-1972, was Pulse, and we had an astounding 40 share. Amazing days! My office was an added-on room behind that little house on Barton, where many wild radio promotions were brainstormed.

"I left KYNO to do afternoons at another Drake station, KGB in San Diego, then on to KFRC, San Francisco, and finally KIQQ, Los Angeles, the Drake-Chenault owned station, where I was sandwiched between Robert W. Morgan and The Real Don Steele -- what a trip! I had been renamed Eric Chase along the way by Drake and Bill Watson.

"If you could pass this note on, perhaps I can send something -- make some contribution to the day. Sure would love an aircheck of the event, at least!"

Gary Hatcher, McLane High School class of 1968:

"Man how I remember the days of KYNO and KMAK. What a blast. In fact, in those days, I lived just a few blocks from KYNO. It was part of our neighborhood."

D. Cathleen Grant, fan of the Big 13 playlists:

"I just discovered last week, while going through old things, that I have several of KYNO's Top 40 circulars from the early 1970's. I used to pick them up at Kmart when I'd ride my bike there to buy 45s for 79 cents! What a great memory. Thanks for lightening up my day for a minute."

Kathy Long-Pence, who won $10 from the KYNO Millionaire:
"Brought back many memories. I grew up in the 1960s in Fresno and distinctly remember getting my transistor radio and tuning it to KYNO until usurped by KFIG and the stronger FM signal. I seem to remember a promotion called the KYNO Millionaire and traipsing through a vacant lot looking for $$$ that was scattered there. My friends and I were not the first on site and only found about $10, but it was fun to listen to the radio until the location was revealed and then finding a parent to drive us there as quickly as possible."

Brent Auernheimer, who listened to KYNO during the day before it powered down:

"A few weeks ago I bought a copy of a CD of 75 minutes of KYNO from March 1968:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4713495175

"I thought it was funny that one of the first things on the CD was a 'news report' from Reedley High School. I'm surprised RHS had a KYNO spot -- we couldn't hear KYNO after sunset here in Reedley. Anyway, 1968 was before my time, but it's interesting to listen to.

Dennis Hall, now of Billings, MT., a KMAK employee during "The Battle of Fresno:"

"Having worked at K/MAKe 134 from the early days when Ron Jacobs was the morning guy until late '64. I know that you got the basic story right.

"One of K/MAKe's stunts when they first went on the air was to dog-nap the Fresno State bulldog -- Moose (I think) -- and then make a big deal about Jacobs or one of the guys being from the school FSC was playing in football that weekend and maybe kidnapping the dog. The mascot was returned in a pre-game ceremony. The dog wasn't actually kidnapped but was safely stowed away in a kennel. I had encouraged fellow student and dog handler Dirk Van Gelder to go along with the stunt, for which he took a lot of flack.

"The original KYNO millionaire was Dr. Philip Walker, a speech professor at Fresno State. He had a strong resemblance to Vladimir Lenin."

Note: Walker, who died earlier this year, is pictured on the right.

Ed Bergthold, another KYNO playlist devotee:

"Nice article in the Bee this morning. It made me think about the one and only weekly top 40 sheets that KYNO used to give out. Sorry, I only have Aug 11, 1962 and have attached a copy. I was living in Reedley at the time and after 6pm they had to turn their power down. KYNO sent by mail the weekly sheets (at no cost to me). I'll be listening on Labor Day. "

And now a plug for Jim deYong, a seller of Top 40 radio memorabilia:

"Bill, I just read your article about the KYNO Labor Day event. I own a Website called RadioLogoLand.com that sells T-shirts and coffee mugs and other cool stuff featuring logos from Top 40 radio stations from the 1950s, '60s and '70s. KYNO is consistently one of our top sellers."

Still with me?

Great! Here are your regular Daily Buzz features:

On the Net: First Afghan medalist Nikpai returns to hero's welcome. Read it about here.

Laugh of the Day: "And as you know, Barack Obama has chosen Delaware Senator Joseph Biden as his running mate. Well, Biden has 35 years of experience in Washington. So between the two of them, that's almost 36 years of experience." --Jay Leno

Quote of the Day: "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." -- Bob Marley

Remember: Tune into the new KYNO 1300 talk/news format beginning next Tuesday to hear weekday commentaries from Bee Editorial Page editor Jim Boren and me. It won't be hard to tell us apart. I'm the smart one.