Wayne Glenn, "The Old Record Collector"

 

Wayne Glenn’s soft, Ozarks-accented voice has been familiar to listeners of local radio since the late 1970’s. Glenn, also known as “The Old Record Collector,” is one of Nixa’s most beloved eccentrics. Over the years, he has shared his passion for local history and his talent for educating others in classrooms and through radio broadcasts, photo books and Facebook posts.

In the 1950’s Glenn’s grandparents moved out of their Nixa farm, leaving behind a collection of vinyl records from the prior decades. Glenn and his mother visited the house with a record player and listened to the music, an experience which he said was like being “brainwashed—in a good way.” Ever since this experience, Glenn has been fond of old country and western artists like Gene Autry, Bob Wills and Bing Crosby.

This rare 1931 Gene Autry record is a recent addition to Glenn's collection.

In 1969, Glenn had graduated with an education degree from Southwest Missouri State College and decided to take up the hobby of record collecting. For the next 13 years, he taught history to students in Fair Grove, Clever and Nixa, and held the position of principal at both Clever and Nixa at different times. Glenn said, “If I’ve done one smart thing in my professional life, it has been to do things that I like. History is my strong suit; it’s what I’ve always enjoyed the most, as both a hobby and as a profession.”

Glenn began to buy weekend time slots from local radio station KWTO in 1975, during which he shared music from his collection and discussed the history of the artists he played. “I was not really a disc jockey; I was the show itself, meaning that I would play music, and I would also talk about the songs,” said Glenn. He later began hosting a seven-hour Saturday broadcast on KTXR called “Remember When,” which included a wide variety of music and discussion of Ozarks history. Five years later, he quit working in the school system in order to research full-time for the Saturday radio show. “I enjoy teaching, but when I got into administration, I did not enjoy the administration as much. And so that helped [me make the decision to quit],” Glenn said.

During the next 43 years Glenn never missed a weekly broadcast. When weather made the roads dangerous, he stayed overnight in the radio station. In 2005, Glenn underwent a heart stent procedure; he scheduled the surgery during the week so that he wouldn’t miss his Saturday broadcast. In total, Rural Missouri reported that Glenn hosted a total of 2,232 “Remember When” shows before retiring in 2021.

Glenn also began composing photographic books about Ozarks history in the early 2000’s; in total, he has published 13 books. He considers “The Ozarks’ Greatest Hits,” published in 2005, to be his book which has had the biggest impact. “I feel like [“The Ozarks’ Greatest Hits”] may, over time, be the one that is of help to researchers and scholars and people that want to know more about the Ozarks history from a musical angle.”

Today Glenn lives with his wife, Nira, in the Nixa farmhouse they built in 1979. He posts historical photos and information about the Ozarks almost daily to his Facebook page. After he retired “Remember When,” he began downsizing his record collection, which at one point was 15,000 vinyls strong. Currently, Glenn estimates that he has 6,000 to 7,000 records in addition to the books and CDs he has collected over the years. He also enjoys collecting artifacts and relics of Ozarks history, such as posters, sheet music and magazines.

When I had the opportunity to visit Glenn in person, he explained that he doesn’t see the purpose of historical artifacts remaining “behind glass;” he wants the relics in his collection to be visible and enjoyed. In his “man cave,” which is home to some of his record collection, Glenn displays original framed 1920’s photographs of downtown Springfield. Although the photographs may be fading over time, Glenn said, he does not see the point in owning them if they are not displayed. There is an unpretentiousness about Glenn and his collection. “When it comes to collecting, rare does not always mean valuable. There may not be much interest in a particular item, but still, it may be rare. I’m always looking for things I’ve never seen before,” he said.