Allen Vinson

For interesting stories by Al Vinson, on his many years in broadcasting, and early life in Lufkin, Texas, Click here.

Allen Vinson & his Son, CPO David Vinson

Pictured above is Allen (Al) Vinson, a friend of many years. I first met Al about 1954 when he and other partners bought radio station KNET in Palestine, Texas from Laurie Enterprises. Previously, he had worked for a radio station in Longview, Texas, where he became good friends to Jim Reeves (Great Country Vocalist). A famous Restaurant owner in Longview loves to tell a story about Al and his ability to offer good advise. When Jim Reeves decided to leave Longview and pursue a career in country music, Al, not wanting him to leave, told Jim to throw that old guitar away and stay in radio announcing. Al's wife Sammy, worked in the same firm in Longview as did Jim Reeve's wife, Mary. Al was a good announcer with a very distinctive voice, and also excelled in radio advertising sales. When my son, Fred, decided he would like to go into broadcasting at the ripe old age of 14, it was Al who gave him that chance. I had purchased a tape recorder for Fred to practice, and Al furnished him with old radio copy. Fred practiced religiously, and after about 3 weeks, he asked me to listen to his progress. I told him, that he better work on it a little more. He dropped by the station a couple of days after that, and told Al what I had said. Al said, "Fred don't you know you will never be good enough to satisfy your Dad, come on in here and audition" Well, Fred did the audition, and his first job was to open the station on Sunday. At the time he was pretty atrocious, but with Al's tutoring, he manage to struggle along. When Fred graduated from High School, he moved to another station, where he further improved. Today Fred owns an advertising company. Fred and I will always be grateful to Al for his foresight to see and help Fred's future. At the time Al bought KNET, I was an electronic technician for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, he hired me as a consultant engineer for the station. Al and I enjoyed many days repairing and upgrading the station. The most memorable job was moving the studios from the O'neal hotel to a building that Al bought. We closed the station around 10 PM, moved the control room, and all the peripheral equipment along with thousand of phonograph records, and believe it or not we were on the air on time the next morning. Al sold the station sometime in the early 1970's and worked for several radio stations in the East and West Texas areas until his retirement. He has been and will always be one of my best friends.

Apple of his Eye Al 1956

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