DJ laments his final day as radio station changes hands

They shed tears and gained weight.

It resembled a wake with country background music. Nobody was buried, but after The Rebel (105.9-FM) and WPFB (910-AM) — along with a station in Portsmouth — were recently sold to the Northern Kentucky University station, Mike “Wild Walley” Schneider, the popular DJ on The Rebel, hosted “the final blast.”

Since the stations have new owners, their formats officially changed at midnight today. Those stations may never sound the same. The days of live weather, news and sports in the Middletown area may be a thing of the past, or at least the near future.

“It’s a sad day,” Schneider said during one of his breaks Monday, his final morning on the air. “It’s been a great ride.”

Schneider, who lives in Springboro, joined The Rebel in 1992, and for the past 18 years has been known as much for his community involvement as his long locks and golden pipes.

This isn’t his first time in the unemployment line. Radio personalities always carry updated resumes. This is the fifth time he has lost his job.

He said the sale of the family-owned stations, long rumored in the area, “pulled the rug” from under him and left him with the “weirdest feeling.”

Since the sale was announced, Schneider has received hundreds of letters, phone calls and e-mails from upset listeners.

On Monday, the studio was decorated with three rubber chickens hanging from the ceiling tile, a farewell banner signed by well-wishers, a shrine to the Naked Cowboy on the wall and a door autographed by the many in-studio guests.

Schneider called the final broadcast — RIP 01/31/11 — “the dreaded day.”

When Schneider addressed his listeners a few minutes after 10 a.m., he thanked God, his four boys — Stone, 17; Foxx, 15; River, 13; and Skylar, 11 — and his fiancee, Teresa Strong.

He frequently mentioned his children on the radio, and listeners followed his oldest children from birth to young adults.

“I surely will miss every one of you,” he told the listeners.

His final country song was Sawyer Brown’s “Some Girls Do,” the first song he played on The Rebel 18 years ago. Then Schneider, a former rock DJ, turned the clock back even further.

He played Van Halen’s “Happy Trails to You,” wrapped up his headset cord and walked out of the studio.

The viewing was over.

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