If you listen to local radio stations in much of rural America, you may hear a host banter with a caller seeking help installing an oil pump in a Chevy engine. Another caller may be trying to trade a few bales of hay for a wheelchair lift. Maybe even a cat cemetery.
These are “tradio” programs (a portmanteau of “commerce” and “radio”), where people buy, sell, and trade items or services – and show a small glimpse of their lives through such offers and transactions.
In the age of sites like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, tradio—aka “swap shops,” “auction barns,” and “super trading posts”—adds an incredibly personal touch to the give and take of goods and services that are both a throwback to the days of bartering and strengthening community ties.
“On tradio, it’s one step closer to building a relationship of trust,” says Ethan Moore, 39, a tradio host for WSKV in Stanton, Kentucky, who recalls listening to a tradio program when his family moved to tradio in 1992. Eastern Kentucky moved. “It gives you an extra layer of comfort to be able to buy from person to person.”
The operation of a tradio program is simple: calling people with an item or service to sell, trade or find; the tradio DJ lets them pitch; and in voices often tinged with regional accents, they describe their items and provide a phone number or pick-up address to discuss more details with any listeners who might be interested.
Birthday announcements, prayer requests, yard sale notifications, and the date and time of upcoming Kiwanis Club pancake breakfasts are also frequently called, adding to the portrait of communities.
“It’s a little old-fashioned when you think about it,” says Mark Lefler, general manager of WYXI in Athens, Tenn., and host of the trading post. “But that’s how communities are built, and that’s how you help each other.”
Many traditions have been around for decades, some dating back to the 1930s. The success of these programs is tied to a number of factors, including charismatic hosts people can meet live and hot at the local grocery store, and the perennial appeal of hearing (and being heard) from your neighbors on the radio.
In Athens, for example, Mr. Lefler, 72, or “Cousin Mark” as he is known locally, has treated his audience like family for decades, calling them cousins, aunts, or uncles, depending on their age. “I have thousands upon thousands of radio cousins!” he said.
And tradio offers an extra layer of trust and comfort than posting in the airwaves of the internet, where scams, dead ends and ghostings are all too common.
“We’re a farming community, and these kids, when they start growing up, know that this is how grandpa lost things, or how grandpa found what he needed when he was in a pinch and couldn’t get it anywhere else,” said Deb Jackson, host of a trading post in Effingham, Illinois.
“It’s a great way to meet new friends, and there’s always a bargain to be had,” says Ralph Rockwell, 71, a longtime traditional radio listener from Wolcott, Vt. “It bothers me to pay list price for something. I’m always looking for a deal, which I call the diamond in the rough.”
The family nature of these radio programs also means that they are places where people, perhaps with few other resources, can go in times of crisis.
“Maybe their house caught fire and they lost everything, and we just stop there,” said Mr. Lefler, who says heartbreaking calls of catastrophic loss come in several times a year. “We give them as much airtime as possible. We say, ‘Okay, trading post family. It’s time you took some money out of your wallet or look in your closet. How about some pots and pans for these people?’”
Many sought after and sold items on tradio are tied to the seasons. Mr Moore said that if you didn’t know when a trading post broadcast aired it would be easy to tell from the items.
Early fall in East Tennessee brings mason jars and a plethora of produce for the “hanging” (canning) season; spring is filled with requests for help clearing weedy rows of fences and advertisements for lawn mowing in Kentucky; and in Indiana, RVs regularly turn up in the middle of summer. Microwave ovens and other small appliances, along with auto parts, furniture, firewood, and clothing are frequent flyers at the shows year-round.
Each program has its own rules about what can and cannot be sold. Some allow the sale of firearms, but not alcohol and water beds. Others keep a close eye on what type of critters can be summoned. In Illinois, when fall turns to winter, kittens are often matched with local barns to become farm cats, while puppies see most of the action in early summer.
“Whether you’re from here and want to listen to it for the actual trade value, or you’re just fascinated by, ‘Wow, people, really want to trade two rabbits for a shotgun’, the whole barter system is still very much alive on the traditional radio,” said Mr. Moore.
Occasionally, callers call with off-the-wall items. Burial plots are up for grabs at KOFO in Ottawa, Kan. In Monticello, Ind. Jaime Valle and Brandi Page, sisters and hosts of Super Trading Post, remember when their father bought a parrot, which turned out to be more trouble than it was worth.
“It hated men,” Ms. Valle said. “My dad let it go and it bit his ears. A terrible mascot for the radio station.”
Tradio also seems to appeal to younger people. Some stations are using new tools to attract listening audiences, and millennials are increasingly seeking more affordable (and plentiful) housing in Central America. Mr Moore says about 110 to 130 people a day participate via tradio, calling and texting as a way to submit entries while also posting each episode on Apple podcast. He credits the area’s burgeoning mountaineering community as fueling the next generation of tradio callers and listeners.
“We see people using tradio that don’t necessarily talk like the region, so you know right away they’re not from here, which used to be bad because they used to get ready to make fun of you,” said Mr. Moore, noting that his program has been scammed by “The Howard Stern Show” on SiriusXM.
However, the main listener population is older and hosts are sensitive to how important their programs have become to individuals who may feel lonely and isolated as they age.
“For some of these people, this is more than just buying and selling something,” said Mr. Moore. “This is the community they get, this is how they can talk to someone, and this is how people call and talk to them.”
Mike Henderson, 69, is a frequent trading post exchanger in Niota, Tennessee who has been listening to WYXI for 30 years. He said it all comes down to the connections he builds.
“There are a lot of characters that call on the show. You get a mental picture of what they look like, and you form your opinion about aspects of the people,” he said. “It’s really a human interest show.”
Audio produced by Sarah Diamond.
