Reading Friends
By Amy Hatter
This past year, over 150 people volunteered at Radio Eye, providing our listeners with thousands of hours of readings. For one volunteer, two hours of reading a week just isn’t enough. Every week, after leaving our Lexington studios, volunteer Candace “Candy†Harker heads over to meet with a listener, Jack Swisher, and continue reading with him.
 Jack got his first Radio Eye radio back in 2009. For three years, Jack was a devoted listener. “My favorite things to listen to were the newspaper and the books,†Jack said. “I loved to hear the books being read about two o’clock. The newspaper and the sports page were wonderful.â€
In late 2012/early 2013, Jack’s health took a turn for the worse, and he had to move into an assisted living center. When he moved, he lost access to much of our programming. He couldn’t get a signal in his room with any of the radios we had at the time. After trying 3 or 4 different radios, Jack was resigned to only getting the 2 hours of our programming that the Lexington Library Channel broadcasts every morning. That’s where Candy stepped in.
“Jack and I have known each other for a coon’s age, as they say - almost 30 years,†Candy said. In the late 80s, Candy worked for the Fayette County Cooperative Extension Services and taught a class called the Master Gardeners. Jack, an avid gardener who still thinks about gardening every day, was in the second class. Over the years, they traveled together to Canada, California, and other places as part of the program.
“When I go to see Jack, we’ve got about 45 minutes, because when I get done at Radio Eye, I immediately go over there,†Candy said. “He was an insurance salesman, and he knew a lot of people. So I read the obituaries, because he wants to hear the names.â€
“I have a lot of policy holders and dear friends,†Jack said. “I’m anxious to read the obituaries, hoping not to see anybody’s name that I knew.â€
When they’re finished with the obituaries, if they have time, they read the front page of the Lexington Herald-Leader and the editorials.
With a new type of radio that connects to the internet at his assisted living center, Jack can now hear all of Radio Eye’s programming. In March, I went with Candy to visit Jack, and hooked up his new internet radio. It connects to our Lexington broadcast – so now, he once again has access to all 24 hours of our programming, and it comes in crystal clear.
“I’m excited to listen at any time of the day,†Jack said. “The other radio had very poor reception, where I am. If I miss the book, I can listen another time of the day. It’s just going to be more versatile.†Now, Jack can hear the front page, the editorials, and most importantly, the obituaries, on his radio.
“We may have to find something else to read now!†Candy joked.
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