The following is a tribute to longtime WCBL Radio broadcaster and Freeland Broadcasting, Inc. employee Harl Barnett, who passed away at the age of 98 at his son’s home in Arkansas on Thursday, December 3rd. We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family at this time.
Harl Gilbert Barnett was born in Kuttawa, Ky. on January 6, 1922 to the late Harl Gresham Barnett and Violet Gertrude Rogers Barnett.
As a senior at the now defunct Kuttawa High School (consolidated in 1947 with Eddyville High School to create the current Lyon County High School) he, alongside with NBA Hall of Famer Joe Fulks led to the Kuttawa Lions boys basketball team to their only Region 2 Boys Basketball Championship, and one of only two titles in combined county history.
Shortly after graduation, Harl joined the United States Army and served as an MP during World War II helping pull soldiers off the battlefield in Iwo Jima.
After returning home from his military career he married Loretta and eventually moved to Arizona where he landed in the radio business as both a sales representative and announcer. Included in this tribute is a photo of Harl interviewing legendary country music singer and NASCAR driver Marty Robbins during that time period, who he invited to sing live in the radio studio.
Harl returned to Kentucky in 1960 and brought his family back with him, which included his children Geoff, Brenda and Marsha. Harl was very successful in the restaurant business, owning three different restaurants in Marshall County that included Skylight Restaurant on the Benton Court Square.
He continued working in small-town journalism when he was hired by then owner Shelby McCallum to become one of the original voices heard on WCBL Radio. As a program director for WCBL, he revamped the morning lineup with a mixture of country and gospel music that merged with local news and community updates. He also helped start and host one of WCBL’s longest-running programs, Swap Shop, a radio-style trading post.
However, radio was not the only venture into journalism that Harl delved into, as at the same time he purchased the Tribune Democrat newspaper and merged it with the Marshall County Courier to form what is still delivered weekly throughout Marshall County, the Tribune-Courier newspaper.
Harl later sold the Tribune-Courier and left WCBL to operate a paddlewheel sight-seeing tour boat on Kentucky Lake.
When Harl returned to WCBL in the 1980s, he help pioneer the long-running weekly radio auction on WCBL (as pictured in this tribute), Bargain Line, which is still on the air each Saturday morning at 8:05 giving listeners a chance to save money on everyday items, while also having a chance to win a weekly jackpot.
Harl finally retired from WCBL in the fall of 2007 at the age of 86 years young. For the last five years of his life, he lived with his son Geoff on their family farm in Arkansas.
We at WCBL, WCCK and the Marshall County Daily will forever be indebted and grateful for Harl Barnett’s long-lasting impact on our business and the community-at-large.