“Tumbleweed Smith,” born Bob Lewis in Waco in 1935, has made a name for himself in broadcasting throughout the state of Texas. Inspired by a tumbleweed that rolled across his West Texas lawn and his mother’s maiden name, he adopted the persona of “Tumbleweed Smith” as a radio host in 1970. Lewis’s big break came in August 1969, when he started his own radio show, The Sound of Texas. Amassing a collection of over 14,000 interviews during his long career, Lewis became the owner of the largest private collection of oral histories in the United States.

In 1944, the Lewis family moved from Waco to Fort Worth, where he spent the rest of his adolescence. He returned to Waco in 1953 to attend Baylor University, graduating in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. During his time at Baylor, Lewis joined the theater department and performed in a stage play of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which later won an award for cinematography at the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958.

After receiving his BA, Lewis joined the United States Army as an Army Security Agent and was stationed in Germany from 1958–1960. While in Germany, Lewis listened to the American Forces Network with his fellow soldiers. Noticing how nostalgic listening to the American radio made him and other soldiers feel inspired Lewis to find a career in broadcasting. Upon returning from Germany, Lewis settled in Waco and started his career in radio and advertising. Early on, he worked as an ad agent for William George “Dub” King, Baylor’s Sports Information Director, and worked on advertising the Heart O’Texas Fair and Rodeo. In the fall of 1960, Lewis picked up and moved to Big Spring and joined the KBST Radio team. Then in 1962 Lewis would start working for KPRC Radio and Television. 

Smith married his wife Susan Zack in August of 1963 and had his first son, Robert Kevin Lewis in August of 1964. Later that year, Smith enrolled in graduate school at the University of Missouri, where he earned an MA in Journalism. After graduation, he moved to Iowa and worked for WHO Radio and Television in Des Moines. He also began working as a freelance feature reporter for NBC Radio’s Monitor. The pieces he developed in that position shaped the style of Smith’s future radio show.

Returning to Big Spring in 1967, Smith resumed his role at KBST. His second son, Brian Zack Lewis was born in 1968. Smith taught broadcasting courses at Howard College for two years. Two of his most notable students there were Alan Doelp, writer for Shocktown, one of the first prime-time emergency room television shows, and Jim Ryerson, a reporter for ABC Television’s West Coast division. After Smith was fired from his position at KBST in 1969, he began to write for Texas Parade Magazine. It was then that Smith made the biggest decision of his career and started his self-produced radio show.

The show was originally titled Tumbleweed, but in April of 1970 Lewis would change the name to  The Sound of Texas and took up the radio persona of Tumbleweed Smith. By the end of the year, The Sound of Texas could be heard on ten radio stations throughout the state. The Sound of Texas would garner a decent following after being on the air for a year, with hundreds of listers tuning in to hear Tumbleweed’s interviews with eccentric characters. Episode topics ranged from conversations about high school football, women-led businesses, military history, law, politics, technology, and many other matters. Tumbleweed’s show grew in popularity throughout Texas, and in recognition of his success, he was invited to become a professor at the University of Texas-Permian Basin in 1974, where he taught until 2008. During his thirty-four years at UTPB, he taught broadcasting to thousands of students, many of whom became award-winning journalists. His students won 120 awards during his tenure, most notably the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Award in Broadcasting. After leaving UTPB in 2008, he took up a professorship at Western Texas College in Snyder, a position he stayed at until 2010.

Being a radio personality was not all Tumbleweed was known for. He was also a marketing expert, starting his own advertising company, Multimedia Advertising Company, in 1981. The company won two national awards in 1986. Tumbleweed’s production company, Orange House Productions, also garnered national recognition. The production company won six Communicators Awards, the Governor’s Tourism Award State of Texas, the 2018 W3 Award and two Telly Awards for “The Texas Torera” and “The T & P”. In addition to precuring quality interviews for his show, Tumbleweed also travels to cities all over the state, giving speeches at various academic and professional conferences and entertaining local community groups with stories.

A mentor to prominent radio personalities and television hosts and an innovator in his programming, Tumbleweed Smith earned a favorable reputation in Texas broadcasting circles. His passion for radio and interest in preserving Texas's stories pushed Tumbleweed to local stardom. His legacy persists, and his broadcasting style continues influencing radio show hosts across the state. The show highlights unique aspects of Texas culture and the people, providing a platform for underrepresented communities to connect to a wider audience. The Sound of Texas not only displays the versatility of Texans but embodies the essence of Texans. In addition to precuring quality interviews for his show, Tumbleweed travels to cities all over the state, giving speeches at various academic and professional conferences and entertaining local community groups with stories.

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Wildlife expert and storyteller Harley Berg provided entertainment for those across Central Texas in the mid-twentieth century. Broadcasting from the local KWTX to the homes of Wacoans, the Harley Berg Show emphasized the importance of wildlife and provided conservation tips. Engrossed by Berg’s animal exhibits and captivating narratives, viewers tuned in weekly to the popular show.

Fascinated by wildlife since his youth, Berg enjoyed hunting, fishing, and exploring nature from his family’s move to Texas in 1913. Those early interests guided his career path as he decided to become a game warden. Berg, along with his wife, son, and mother-in-law, eventually settled in Waco in late 1949, where he continued his work as a game warden. His passion for wildlife inspired the creation of a traveling wildlife exhibit sponsored by the Parks and Wildlife Department and often featured at state fairs. The subsequent popularity of the exhibit spurred KWTX’s general manager M.N. “Buddy” Bostick to invite Berg to the big screen.

The first episode of the Harley Berg Show premiered on April 4, 1955, at 7:30 p.m. Donning his game warden uniform, Berg began telling stories he had collected over the years while he displayed a largemouth bass, green sunfish, and bluegill. In the episodes that followed, Berg featured various animals brought in from the San Antonio Zoo, including mountain lions, snakes, porcupines, and various species of fish. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department provided funding for the animals’ transportation, but Berg hosted the show nearly free of charge. He appeared regularly on Monday evenings in a half-hour slot, live and unscripted.

Messages that encouraged the protection of wildlife struck Berg as most important. He taught his audience about ecosystems and how they could improve wildlife habitats. He explained how overfishing led to dilapidated lakes and why listeners should not hunt nongame wildlife. Once, he brought a hawk on the show to explain that hawks helped control rats, mice, and other insects and did not pose a threat. He also outlined the importance of poisonous snakes and spiders and informed viewers of protocols if ever bitten. Many viewers expressed that Berg’s informative show helped them protect themselves and animals when they encountered wildlife in their communities.

Despite the show’s popularity, the television station briefly halted production after they were acquired by a larger network. Complaints from those in the community spurred the show’s reinstatement. Though the network initially provided a fifteen-minute slot, Berg contended that he needed more time to tell his stories. While some stories contained exaggerations, many came from Berg’s personal experiences. His fascinating tales about nature and wildlife remained a prominent feature of the show, and with broad audience support, the Harley Berg Show began once more on Sunday afternoons in a half-hour slot, where the show remained until its final episode.

Though the show primarily focused on wildlife, Berg also diverged into other topics that he felt offered important information to viewers. He provided recipes for deer chili and deer jerky. One episode touched on how to identify glaucoma, which aired after Berg was diagnosed with the eye disease. He also received over two thousand requests for a printed snake bulletin that contained information regarding identification of poisonous snakes and first-aid, which he sent to viewers across Central Texas. And after years of transporting animals from San Antonio to Waco, he sought to form a local zoo. The local zoo project and Berg’s wildlife advocacy aided the later establishment of Cameron Park Zoo.

Those who watched the Harley Berg Show ranged from people in nursing homes to schoolchildren. Fisherman, doctors, farmers, preachers, and professors expressed interest in the show and wrote letters to signal their support of Berg’s work. When The Texas Outdoorsman magazine featured Berg on the front cover, hundreds of viewers requested autographed copies. He received invitations to speak at universities across the state, including Texas Christian University, Baylor University, and Texas Southern University. He also spoke to Boy Scout and Girl Scout camps and elementary and high school students. With over nine hundred episodes airing over the years, Berg relished the support of viewers across Texas.

At the end of each episode, Berg concluded in three languages—English, German, and Spanish. In what became his signature sign off, Berg stated, “This is your old wildlife man saying, amigos grande y chiquitos, grosse und kleine freunden, big and little friends, bye for now.” He continued to close out with that message until the late 1970s. Remembered as a friend to wildlife, Berg passed away in 1979.

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A notorious crime over fifty years ago in Texas changed the way Americans view courtroom drama—not just as fictional entertainment but as reality programming. In December of 1955, the murder trial of Harry Leonard Washburn of Houston in a McLennan County courtroom brought not only scores of observers from around the country but also the eyes of local viewers who were mesmerized by the proceedings.

On January 19, 1955, San Angelo police arrived at the scene of a car-bombing, a rare crime virtually unheard of in Texas. The victim—Helen Harris Weaver, 51, a rancher and well-known architect’s wife—was killed instantly by a bomb wired to the ignition of her husband’s car. Police presumed he was the intended target.

It wasn’t long before newspapers named Washburn, the Weavers’ former son-in-law, as a suspect. Most accounts described him as “a down-and-out contractor.” Further investigation found that Washburn apparently had been unsuccessfully trying to hire a hit man for the job but ultimately decided to do it himself. Police described his motive as anger over being cut out of the family fortune. A colorful parade of witnesses—barmaids, strippers, female wrestlers, and assorted thugs—testified that Washburn planned to kill his father-in-law and then extort protection money from the widow to keep the rest of the family from harm.

Because of the amount of pretrial publicity in and around San Angelo, the Tom Green County district attorney and defense attorneys sought a change of venue. Judge Drummond W. Bartlett of McLennan County offered to move the trial to Waco. Bartlett also agreed to allow a KWTX-TV camera to broadcast the proceedings from the balcony of his 54th State District Court. The previous summer, he had allowed John Bennett of the Waco Tribune-Herald staff to experiment with unobtrusive courtroom photography. Advocates of cameras in the courtroom argued that television equipment could be unobtrusive, thereby not damaging to the decorum of the process.

Critics argued that however inconspicuous, the mere presence of cameras turned the judicial process into show business—jeopardizing the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Asked if he minded live television coverage of his trial, Washburn said: “Naw, let it go all over the world.” He was later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

There was coverage from the opening gavel to the conclusion of each day—unedited and commercial-free, according to station general manager M. N. “Buddy” Bostick. All other programming was nixed, resulting in a $10,000 revenue loss to the young station—an almost $80,000 impact in today’s dollars.

The only special accommodations made for the broadcasters was boosting the lighting from 50-watt bulbs to 100-watt bulbs and hiding three microphones among the furnishings: the witness’s stand, judge’s bench, and prosecutor’s table.

From December 6 through December 9 in 1955, as the story goes, one could have “shot a cannon down Austin Avenue . . . and not hurt a soul” because the normally frenzied Christmas shoppers were all inside watching the trial. After a four-day trial, Washburn was convicted of murder, and Waco television had made history. 

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