By Larry Tucker
A distinctly different radio format has been entertaining and informing listeners in Wood County, Texas for many years. Located in the southern part of the county is KMOO 99.9 FM, with studios located on Highway 69, just northwest of Mineola. The station plays classic country and Texas music.
Serving the Area for More Than 60 Years
KMOO started out as a 500-watt AM radio station at 1510 on the dial, playing country and gospel music. Today, the radio station, owned by Butler Media, covers a regional area that includes not only Wood County, but other areas in the region.
The FM station was originally set at 3,000 watts at 96.7 FM on the dial. Today, the station is 6,000 watts strong and is located at 99.9 KMOO. The station can be heard from Wills Point to the west, Gladewater to the east, Tyler to the south, and Sulphur Springs and Mt. Vernon to the north.
KMOO first went on the air as an AM-only station. After purchasing it in 1977, Sam Curry and a colleague, Dean Angel, took over the station. They were both working in the news department at WFAA Channel 8 in Dallas at the time. “Dean and I were ambitious and wanted to have our own radio station,” Curry noted. “We would get in a car and drive around to smaller towns looking for an opportunity. We stopped by the station in Terrell and they told us Mineola might be available.”
Curry said the original AM station went on the air in the early 1960s and was owned by J.A. Windham. “They had some management issues early on, but we were able to make a deal. We struggled to get it going but it all worked out,” Curry added. “Our plan was to build the station up, sell it, and keep on moving up the ladder, but we fell in love with Mineola and decided to raise our daughters here. One of the memories I have is what used to be the big rivalry with Mineola and Quitman, especially in football. It’s a shame they don’t play each other anymore in football.”
Prior to them getting the radio station, Curry said that the station had a unique idea for a live remote. “They actually would sit at the intersection of Highway 80 and 69 and broadcast vehicles running the red light on the radio.”
Curry made the decision to refer to the station as “Double O Radio” instead of KMOO. “Well, when we got here, the town—especially the younger people—made fun of the name.”
Along with his partner at the time, Curry decided the station needed to make a change. “We determined that the station needed to be more refined. So we started playing easy listening music. That was a mistake, so we changed to country music. Our biggest deal was getting out the local news. We were dedicated to doing news and local sports contests.”
“Mooving” into the Next Decade
In the 1980s, the station was owned by local Mineola men Les Bobo, Virgil Peacock, and Monty Montgomery. Nell French started out as the traffic manager, a job which included all the scheduling of advertisements and events. She rose to be the station manager until she left to pursue other business opportunities.
“We had a talented group of on-the-air personalities with Mike Gunn in the mornings, Larry Tucker mid-day and afternoons, and sports broadcasts with Greg Dillard in the evenings. Larry was also the one who brought Texas music into the format, as well as doing an original show called ‘Texas Homegrown,’ which featured Texas and local entertainers,” said French.
“I loved working in radio, it was probably the most fun I ever had in a job. I loved that we always put our community and our listeners first. We never missed city council, school board, county commissioners, or Wood County Industrial Commission meetings. Back then, we actually covered Mineola, Quitman, and Winnsboro when we could,” French explained. “We had ‘double-talk’ every morning and always had local folks and events on the air.”
“The most important thing to us was our listeners. In case of bad weather, we had spotters throughout the county. There were times we would cover storms and other breaking news remotely from the KMOO vehicle on our two-way radio. I felt like we grounded the community with our music and the local input. Country music helped bind us all together. Our listeners became our friends, and they came to depend on us for the music, local news, ball games, and ‘The Mail Market.’”
Mail Market was a general store for people to buy, sell, and trade on the air. It was renamed to ‘The General Store’ in the 1990s and can still be heard daily today!
The Future for KMOO
In the 1990s, KMOO was sold to Hightower Communications. That is when the station began really expanding. It was moved down the dial to 99.9 and cast a regional net by becoming a 6,000-watt station that was able to reach a growing audience.
Jason Hightower bought the station in the early 1990s. Hightower made sure that KMOO kept its local handprint in Wood County, but with the upgraded power, it was able to impact thousands of new listeners. The growth included covering sports for much of Northeast Texas and widened the station’s influence in the area. Some of KMOO’s previous sports anchors have gone on to broadcasting careers in bigger markets, such as Kenny Smith, Kyle Owens, and Clayton Nevell. Smith can be heard broadcasting sports events; Owens is on the sports staff at KLTV in Tyler, and Neville has gone on to the WBAP news department in Fort Worth.
One of the constant realities has been one person—Tonya Lippencott—who is known throughout northeast Texas as ‘Mama T.’ She is the station manager as well as doing the morning show live every Monday through Friday.
Lippencott first came to KMOO at the age of 14 and worked for Sam Curry. “Sam hired me in 1984. I worked on the weekends; I was on the air and did gospel music. I worked all through high school and after high school. I came to work in the office doing the traffic and the logs. Nell French trained me,” Lippencott stated.
She came back to KMOO in 1999 and began working for Hightower. “Jason’s philosophy was to put God and family first, and everything would work out. I learned so much from Jason. Working here all these years has allowed me to be at all of my kids’ programs, and I never missed any games or other activities,” Lippencott explained. “Jason taught me that when you are talking to someone, be in that moment; connect with them and make them feel important. That is how I try to be when I’m on the air. I want the listeners to feel they are right here with me. Jason passed away too young; he had so much to give.”
How did she earn the ‘Mama T’ designation? “Having four girls meant having kids around all the time, and they all started calling me Mama T. I had been on the air at mid-day, and when I needed to fill my morning show, I just moved to that slot and became ‘Mama T’ in the morning,” she said. “We still bring in new and upcoming local and regional artists. In the 9 o’clock hour, we play Texas music. At 11 a.m., we do an all-request hour. The overall format is real (classic) country with a mixture of new artists.”
Lippencott plans to continue the direction of the station. “We are one of the last remaining live DJ radio stations in Texas. Most stations—even the small ones—are manned by satellite and have no local connections. I miss those days of the vinyl records, cueing up the songs, you know, the good old days.”
Butler 7 Media took over the station in 2021, which also includes KWJB, The Bee, at FM 95.1, where Lippencott also does a show. The format there is classic rock. “I’m an 80s girl, and I have fun playing music on The Bee,” Lippencott said.
Over the years, Lippencott has worn many hats at KMOO. “It’s been a lot of fun. I have done every job at the radio station, from cleaning toilets to climbing the towers. We have done remotes at fishing tournaments where the van almost slipped off into the lake. I have done basketball, softball, and baseball, but I have not done football,” she continued. “Baseball games by yourself can be difficult, but softball and basketball move along at a fast pace.”
Lippencott is dedicated to keeping KMOO relevant to their listeners. “We are now going on our 64th year in Mineola. I can’t imagine a world where KMOO doesn’t exist. Where would we be without The General Store, high school sports, and live reports from fishing tournaments at Lake Fork?” Lippencott noted. “I have enjoyed doing the interviews on the air. We have had Miranda Lambert and Kasey Musgraves, along with many others. I have an upcoming interview with Ronnie McDowell. We do our best to stay updated as well as respecting the classic heritage that is country music.”
When Hightower took over, the station became a more regional entity. “Most small towns don’t have their own radio station. Jason felt that expanding and covering other areas would give those towns a feeling of having their own station,” Lippencott said. “We worked very hard to become each town’s radio station. We carry their functions, their sports, and even do their obituaries.”
Lippencott wants KMOO to continue serving the local community. “I want us to be the first place a person calls when their house burns down, when there are bad storms and bad weather, and if someone has a benefit and needs our help. We stay on the air to keep people updated and help them to stay safe. We are able to talk to people where they are during these times. We are so blessed to live in this community. Every single time I get on the air and say I need help with something, the community shows up. It is a wonderful feeling. Sometimes you get a little jaded with all the news, but around here, we have people who care about each other.” Want to know more? Check out KMOO 99.9 FM for yourself!