Photo – Frances Reynolds, a Talkeetna, AK, retail associate, hosts a local radio show.
In his book “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell describes a group he calls “connectors” — folks with expansive personal and professional networks who effortlessly forge links between them.
They’re “people with a special gift for bringing the world together,” in Gladwell’s words.
Frances Reynolds, a USPS retail associate, is one such connector.
She is the friendly face at the Post Office in Talkeetna, AK, helping the many customers who find a reason to visit — including locals, mountain climbers and temps who work in the oilfields.
She is also one of the welcoming voices at radio station KTNA, “88.9 on the FM dial,” as she has gotten in the habit of saying.
Her 20-minute segment on Tuesday mornings is devoted to community news of all sorts. Lost your dog? A husky was spotted at Mile X. Dropped your passport? Contact the station.
The two worlds often meet. She gets a lot of “I heard you on the radio” or “Were you on the radio?” at the Post Office, or someone may ask about a community event and she’ll be able to tell them, “Oh yes, that’s on Saturday.”
Much like the radio station in the 1990s TV show “Northern Exposure,” KTNA can be a lifeline in the town, especially in Alaska’s frigid season.
“I’m one of the folks that does the early commute into Talkeetna, so I inform my listeners about conditions on the spur road, and whether or not I saw a plow truck,” she said.
Weather advisories are a big part of her report. “The storms can be intense.”
The Arizona native understands it’s tempting to hole up and hibernate when temperatures fall below zero and daylight dwindles. Her community-focused segment is more important than ever then, which is why she braves the cold and dark of sub-Arctic winter mornings — “Ugh!” — to deliver it.
She has lived in Alaska since 1984 and has adapted to its dramatic seasons. “As long as I take my vitamins and enjoy the daylight when we do get it, I’m okay,” she said. But she knows people with seasonal affective disorder and realizes that others may need a bit more help: “It’s a big thing.”
Her reports on school concerts, fundraisers and dogsled races hopefully also double as gentle reminders to those struggling with feelings of isolation that there are lights in the frigid darkness if you know where to look.
The reward for braving those winter mornings comes in summer, when Alaska lives up to its nickname, the Land of the Midnight Sun, and tourists flock to the area, bumping up the town’s metabolism and enlivening the scene.
But whatever the season, “radio is the heart of the community,” Reynolds said, and she is happy to do her part to forge connection and keep that heart beating.
