By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Henry Ochs was born in Hoisington and spent just the first four years of his life living in Great Bend and Otis, but he still remembers Central Kansas fondly. It's where his love of radio began - when he tore antennas off radios and pretended they were microphones. Fifty-two years later, Hammerin Hank as he is known on the radio, still pays close attention to the airwaves in Central Kansas. A new autism awareness ad currently airs on B 104 3 The Point.
"My late friend, Doug Bender, he got me started on recording autism PSAs to raise awareness for people with autism," Ochs said.
Ochs moved to Hayward, Calif., cattycorner from San Francisco across the bay, at the age of four. Twenty years later, he got his first radio job at KCRH in Hayward under the direction of the late Rick Strauss, serving as an on-air personality and also the public service announcement director. Ochs then moved to Clear Channel's Wild 94.9.
"I was a member of the highest-rated FM morning show in Bay Area history, 'The Dog House with JV and Elvis,'" Ochs said. "I did all their dirty work like prank calls, stunts, comedy interviews, etc."
Ochs is now an on-air personality for 83.9 KOHL based in Fremont, Calif, where he carries the 10 a.m. to noon airwaves several times a week and also serves as public service director. Though a community radio station, KOHL is still part of the San Francisco Bay Area market which is the fifth-largest in the nation.
Though he is 1,600 miles away from home, Ochs still keeps tabs on Great Bend radio via streaming, namely B 104 3 The Point. He donated during the final Kans for Kids Radiothon, and he toured the Eagle Media Center with Scott Donovan on return trips home in 2004 and 2021.
CLICK HERE to catch Hammerin Hank in action on 83.9 KOHL.