The world of radio broadcasting has changed since 1972, when a teenage girl from Ashdown, Arkansas, decided she wanted to be a deejay. It was a different era then. The airwaves were crowded with hip young males doing their best Wolfman Jack impressions and spouting antiwar sentiments while spinning rock 'n' roll records.
Enter Fabienne Thrash, soon to be known as "The Ashdown Flash," into the world of broadcasting on KMLA 103.9 FM. And now, 48 years later she is still broadcasting from 103.9 FM - only now it belongs to KPIG in Texarkana.
"Back then you had to really study and take an elaborate test to get an FCC (Federal Communications Commission) license to be on the air," she said. "I had to drive to Dallas and sit in a room for mine. It included a lot of math, in case you had to boot up the station after a power outage. It was hard."
Over the years, Fabienne has worked at several different stations in the area, spending most of the '90s at KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana, before coming back to KPIG 14 years ago. Most listeners associate her with country music, but that wasn't her first love.
"I really wanted to be a 'rock jock.' I loved Led Zeppelin and Robert Plant," she said.
The turning point came during her time at Lyon College when a friend turned her on to Willie Nelson.
"I was given his album 'The Sound in Your Mind' and it changed everything," Fabienne said.
"I listened to it over and over."
In 2012 Willie performed at the Perot Theatre in Texarkana, and Fabienne was fortunate enough to meet him.
"I was backstage with other media while they were setting up the stage and the smell of strong coffee was overpowering. I was carrying a guitar a friend had asked me to try to have autographed," she said. "I walked out into the alley and ran smack into Willie. Now, we were told that we were NOT to shake his hands, because they were fragile; but I couldn't help it. I said 'I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I really want to shake your hand.'"
Willie did shake her hand, and she recalled him having one of the strongest grips she's ever felt. He also obliged in signing the guitar for her.
"He confirmed for me that he really is just the coolest guy on earth," she said. "My life is now justified."
Besides Willie, Fabienne counts as an inspiration, the ruler of the British Empire - Queen Elizabeth.
"I've always been impressed by her. As a child, she and her sister remained in London during World War II, during the daily and nightly bombings. She learned to be a jeep mechanic and became a formidable leader at a young age when she ascended to the crown. And she has had up to 20 corgis at a time. Plus, she feeds her pups herself," Fabienne said.
Another country-music artist she had the opportunity to meet actually recognized her first. It was at an appearance in Nashville that he reminded her of their meeting so long ago.
"When I worked at KMLA in Ashdown, it was during the time that artists would drive around to radio stations passing out albums they recorded themselves," she said. "So when I had the chance to meet Garth Brooks years later, he looked at me and said he recognized me. I couldn't imagine where he and I would have met, but he remembered coming to Ashdown and meeting me."
A lot of people in the area still remember Fabienne's first husband, Jim Lipscomb, who was a biology teacher at Arkansas High School and a classical music aficionado. He had his own radio show on KTXK during the '80s. Jim passed away from cancer in 1992, leaving her and his daughter Gracie Lipscomb.
A few years later, some friends invited her to dinner and introducedd her to Stewart Gessleman. At the time he was a hospital administrator at the Federal Corrections Institution in Texarkana, but has since retired.
"We met and got along really well," Fabienne said. "Within six months we were married."
With Stewart, Fabienne had her only natural child, Ben, who is now a theater major at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia.
Stewart can often be seen helping Fabienne carry and set up her mobile deejay equipment. Since the '80s, she has stayed busy working weddings, parties, fundraisers and other functions in town. Awards on her office wall indicate she's a local favorite.
Before Fabienne discovered her place behind a microphone, she was the child of the Ashdown city librarian. Her grandmother helped to raise her after her father's death when she was 6 years old. Her mother died in 1987 of Lou Gehrig's Disease. There was a 12-year span between her and older brother Larry Thrash, who died in his sleep unexpectedly in 2013.
That's a lot of pain for a woman who has given others so much pleasure. But that pain has shaped her and given her the compassion and strength that others so admire.
"Eleanor Roosevelt once said 'do something every day that scares you' and I love that quote and think of it often," Fabienne said. "The scariest thing I really relate to is when I was in junior high, and I took swimming lessons at Texarkana College. Jumping off into the water absolutely terrified me. So now, whenever I speak up for myself, or work on a new challenge, I remember what jumping into that pool felt like."
The parallel between her and Eleanor is one that she is proud of. The former became a popular radio personality during her 12 years in the White House and paved the way for women like Fabienne to work in both broadcast and print journalism. And it's a career she doesn't see herself leaving anytime soon.
"I could have been a lot of things but this is what I'm supposed to do, and I really don't think I'll ever retire" she said. "I don't do it like anyone else. I do me. I am me. This is what I'm meant to do."