The Olde Course at Loveland
Her home course. She walked the front nine when most of the league had switched to carts.
yapFM · Channel 04 · KOLD 1976 AM
Phyllis Ann "Annie" Trautwein
January 4, 1940 — October 2020 · Loveland, Colorado · "The Ninth Hole"
Channel 4 on yapFM is dedicated to Annie. The format is what she would have queued herself: porch-radio classics, big-band swing, country gospel — and a Loveland sponsor read between every couple songs, the way the dial used to sound.
Grandma Radio — Annie
Tune the dial
yapFMOff AirGrandma Radio — Annie
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Grandma Radio — Annie
Grandma Flow & Wren Harper on the porch. Classic country, big band, and the hour she would have wanted.
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Send a message to Annie's station
Family, neighbors, golf-league friends — type a note and Grandma Flow will read it on air in her own voice. Annie still gets her mail.
Why Channel 4 carries her name
yapFM was built by Annie's grandson, Kenneth E. Sweet Jr. The whole product — Family Radio, the dedications between songs, the whole point of "radio that yaps back" — started with one question: what would it sound like if Grandma still got the morning show? Channel 4 is the answer. Her dedication airs once per rotation, between songs, never adjacent to an ad.
Her life
Eighty years, three states, more friends than the room ever held
- Jan 4, 1940
Born in Cleveland, Oklahoma
Phyllis Ann Hart, daughter of Jay and Mamie Hart. Raised through the public schools of Seminole, Cushing, and Stroud — small-town Oklahoma in the years right after the Dust Bowl, when everyone you knew, knew your last name, and the radio in the kitchen was always on.
- 1959
Sterling, Colorado — and Kenneth
Moved to Sterling, Colorado in 1959 and met Kenneth Trautwein the same year. They married inside of a year. It was the kind of fast that only makes sense when it's right.
- 1960s
Fort Morgan & Greeley — three daughters
Two daughters first — Barbara Ann (Barbi) and Kim Eileen — then Katrina Gwen rounded out the family in Greeley. Annie put herself through Hobb's Beauty School in Greeley and earned her beautician's license. She always said it was the hardest thing she ever did, and the proudest.
- 1975
Loveland, Colorado — home for good
The Trautweins moved to Loveland in 1975 and stayed put for thirty-four years. This is where Annie became the Annie everyone remembers — the front-porch hostess, the friend who showed up with a casserole before you asked, the neighbor who knew your kids by name.
- Loveland years
President of the Loveland Women's Golf Association
Annie was a serious golfer. President of the LWGA, regular on the tournament circuit, and yes — she scored a hole-in-one in tournament play. The clubhouse at the Olde Course knew her order, the starter knew her tee time, and the leaderboard knew her name.
- Loveland years
The Chilson Senior Center Chuckwagon team
She volunteered with the Chuckwagon meal team at the Chilson Senior Center because, in her words, 'somebody's gotta feed these old folks, and I am these old folks.' Decades of Tuesday mornings stirring chili, plating biscuits, and refilling coffee for the same regulars who became her friends.
- Loveland years
Sweetheart Festival mornings
Loveland is the Sweetheart City. Every February the post office stamped valentines from all over the world, and Annie was first in line to drop off her grandkids' cards. She'd swing by the Lincoln Cinema after, then up to the Big Thompson Canyon for a slow drive home.
- 2009
After Ken — a new chapter in Nevada
After her beloved Ken passed, Annie moved to Dayton, Nevada in 2009 to be near her youngest daughter Katrina and her grandsons. She made friends fast, worked her yard, and helped raise the next round of boys in the family.
- October 2020
Rest
Annie passed in October 2020, surrounded by the family she had built across three states and four generations. The open house was held November 7, 2020 in Nevada; a Colorado gathering followed in June 2021.
Places she loved
The map of Annie's Loveland
Chilson Senior Center
Tuesday morning Chuckwagon shifts. Best biscuits in Larimer County, by Annie's hand.
Lake Loveland & the Sweetheart Festival
February valentines, July fireworks. The town she chose for the rest of her life.
Big Thompson Canyon & Estes Park
Sunday drives up the canyon, lunch at the Stanley, stop for fudge on the way home.
Dayton, Nevada & the Carson River
Her yard in Dayton — Katrina's boys, hummingbird feeders, sage on the wind.
Stroud, Oklahoma
Where she grew up. Where her sister Lavina still is. Where her accent always lived.
Between the songs
Vintage sponsor spots, call-ins, and on-air moments
The kind of spots KOLD 1976 AM would have aired between songs — small-town Loveland sponsors, family check-ins, and the moments that made Annie's hour feel like home.
Sponsor spot · 1972
Hobb's Beauty School, Greeley
"Become a licensed beautician in eighteen weeks — Hobb's Beauty School, downtown Greeley. Annie Trautwein, class of '63, says it was the proudest thing she ever did."
Sponsor spot · 1981
The Olde Course at Loveland
"Tee times open Saturday at six a.m. The front nine is forgiving. The back nine is honest. Ladies league Tuesdays — ask for Annie at the starter shack."
Public service · year-round
Chilson Senior Center Chuckwagon
"Hot lunch served Monday through Friday at the Chilson Senior Center. Volunteers welcome — Annie says bring an apron and an opinion about chili."
Sponsor spot · February
Loveland Sweetheart Festival
"Sweetheart City, USA. Drop your valentines at the post office for the official Loveland re-mail. Annie's grandkids never missed a year."
Sponsor spot · summer
Lincoln Cinema · Loveland
"Doors at six-thirty, popcorn at seven, picture at seven-thirty. Tonight's feature: whatever Annie wants to see. She knows the projectionist."
Call-in · 1989
Barbi from across town
"Mom, the casserole is in the oven, the kids are bathed, and Chris is mowing. You can stop calling. We're fine. Love you. Bye."
Call-in · 1995
Kim from Omaha
"Hi Mom. Snow on the ground out here, but Craig got the driveway. Tell Loveland I miss it. Tell Dad I love him. I'll call Sunday."
Call-in · 2012
Katrina from Dayton
"Hey Mama. Boys are good. Yard is alive again. Come out for Easter — the hummingbirds are back and the lilac is about to pop."
Hometown moment · LWGA
The hole-in-one
"Tournament play. Par three. One swing. The whole league saw it. Annie bought the round at the clubhouse. Some say she's still buying."
Sign-off · every night
Grandma Flow's closer
"That's the porch light off, sugar. KOLD 1976 AM. The Ninth Hole. Dedicated to Phyllis Ann Trautwein — Annie. Sleep good, baby."
Family
Survived by
- Barbi Burton & husband Christopher — Loveland, Colorado
- Kim Huls & husband Craig — Omaha, Nebraska
- Katrina Trautwein & partner Ron Krakowiak — Dayton, Nevada
- Sister: Lavina Hinman — Stroud, Oklahoma
- Sister: Fay Arellano — Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Grandsons: Kenneth Sweet, Chad Smith, Corey Smith, Brock Eckery, Graeme Eckery, Kenneth McDaniel
- Great-grandchildren: Carlie McDaniel, Aubree Smith, Michael Smith (and one on the way at the time of writing)
In lieu of flowers, the family asked that contributions be made to your favorite charity in Annie's name.
Photos
Photos friends and family have shared
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Sign the guestbook
Leave a memory
Friends from Loveland, the Women's Golf Association, the Chilson volunteers, neighbors from Dayton — anyone whose life Annie touched. Entries appear immediately.
Memorial Guestbook
Leave a message for the Trautwein family
Share a memory, a salute, or a few kind words. Messages are read on-air on KOLD 1976 and saved here for Annie's family.
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Sources
Where this page comes from
The biographical detail above is drawn from Annie's published obituary and a 2012 Loveland Reporter-Herald engagement notice for her daughter Barbi. The Channel 4 dedication and Family Radio context are from yapFM directly.
- Obituary for Phyllis Ann (Annie) Trautwein — Carson Now (Oct 30, 2020)
- "Chris Burton and Barbi Trautwein to wed" — Loveland Reporter-Herald
Found something we got wrong, or want to add a memory we missed? Reach the family through the yapFM contact form and we'll update the page.