After making waves for 14 years, Revelstoke's longest-running radio show will be tuning out after its 167th episode this week.
StokeFM's Mountains, Lakes, and Streams, which has remained the longest-running program in the city without interruption, airs its final instalment at 7 p.m. this Thursday, June 26, after being guided more than a decade by "Mountain Mike" Watson, who has spent more than a decade jamming tunes and discussing environmental issues.
The show has reliably aired every Thursday evening, with Watson taking the reins early on to use it as a platform for exploring the Columbia Mountains with guests, in-depth environmental policy analysis and nature-friendly rock 'n' roll.
Scott Duke, who founded StokeFM as a community radio station in November 2011, launched Mountains, Lakes, and Streams from his basement on Revelstoke's CP Hill that December as his premier program.
"He had an antenna that didn't quite reach everywhere in Revelstoke and was a bit spotty," 44-year-old Watson said,
At age 30, he entered the picture around that same time, having moved to town from Vancouver in 2007 after studying urban planning and taking up work on the tracks with the Canadian Pacific Railway.
He credits the Rotary Club of Revelstoke for financing facilities and equipment to help StokeFM grow, and Revelstoke's Annie Hewitt for nudging him to use this fledgling radio station as an outlet for his passion about environmental advocacy.
"The first show, I was so nervous I had to stop recording because I had so many butterflies," he recalled.
He also acknowledged friend Mike Brown, owner of the Taco Club in Revelstoke, for helping him brainstorm the show's nature-themed name. One issue that particularly "ignited" Watson, who was also involved with the North Columbia Environmental Society, was former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell's policy actions that were impacting fisheries and hundreds of rivers across the province.
"It wasn't per se about the environment, but about the environmental policies that were degrading it," he explained.
The show initially focused on local and regional environmental issues, but pivoted to Watson's love of music, especially alternative groups, after about a dozen episodes. With each instalment clocking an hour, it would now take an entire week to binge all episodes back to back. Fun fact: there will be 167 episodes all said and done — not 166 — because the 100th was broken into two parts!
"Having your own show is great because you can play whatever you feel like," Watson shared in a release. "I’m sad to hang up the microphone but it's been an incredible journey and I am grateful for that."
Years ago, it was when he reached that 100th episode that he first contemplated calling the show quits, though he changed his mind realizing how much he was enjoying piecing together each instalment at home when not busy on the railway.
"I always told myself it would be time to stop when it began to feel like a chore," he said. Dozens of episodes later, "it got to a point where I just kept putting it off."
However, Watson said this isn't by any means the last time the community will hear him through his microphone.
"I love Revelstoke, I love radio, and I love StokeFM... so it's probably not the end for me," he added in his release.
Watson thanks his fans and supporters over the years for listening and supporting StokeFM, including one dedicated weekly listener up in Whitehorse — though his biggest fan remains his mother. He also expressed gratitude to all the other sets of hands involved with StokeFM, whether paid volunteers or board directors.
“I have a lot of people coming up to me and thanking me for introducing them to a new band," he wrote, describing his show as a soundtrack to Revelstoke's great outdoors with bands such as Fleet Foxes, Modest Mouse, Father John Misty, MGMT, Arcade Fire, Mister Heavenly and My Morning Jacket. "That is what has kept me going over the years."
Though Watson now returns to his regular schedule as a BC Liquor store clerk, he welcomes anyone who still wishes to call him "Mountain Mike."
Mountains, Lakes, and Streams' final episode is a "two-hour finale" that will also replay 7 p.m. the following Thursday, July 3.
From July 10 onward, previous episodes from the show will air every Thursday this summer at 7 p.m.
Tune in at stokefm.com/schedule.
