TN Radio: 90-Year-Old Host Still Talking

Eleanor Ford

At 90 years old, Gallatin, TN resident Eleanor Ford still has something to say and each week radio listeners from around the country tune in to hear it.

According to The Tennessean, Ford has hosted ‘Lunchtime with Eleanor,’ a weekly talk show since 2003 broadcast on WTNK 1090 AM / W228CB 93.5 FM in Hartsville and online through the station’s website. The program, which airs live every Friday from 11 a.m.-noon, is the station’s most popular program.

“I enjoy doing it,” she said. “I just invite people who are in the news to come on — if they have done something newsworthy or noteworthy or something to be complemented for. Just whatever strikes my fancy that they’ve done.”

Ford, who was a florist for 36 years and served as the executive director of the Hartsville Chamber of Commerce for 20 years, still stays deeply connected to what is going on in the city, said WTNK CEO/owner Lisa Frank.

“She is a huge influence here,” Frank said. “People have just grown to love her. I think it’s because she is just part of their lives so much and that’s why they tune in. They want to know what she is going to say.”

WTNK 1090 AM (1 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

Ford’s connection to radio began in 1929 when she was “Baby Eleanor,” a singing radio star on WLAP in Louisville, Ky. The then-5-year-old traveled across 24 states making personal appearances up until the mid-1930s when she left radio.

“I stayed 5 years old for several years,” she said laughingly. “It was much cuter for me to be five, so I didn’t age.”

W228CB 93.5 FM (250 Watts)

“Radio has lost out on not being as personal as it once was,” Ford said. “I consider myself talking to the guest and the listener. I want to ask question that I think the person listening would want me to ask them.”