Welcome!

We're glad you found the History of WOWO.com!

Our goal is to share and preserve the rich history of Fort Wayne's legendary 50,000-watt radio station. As we celebrate an exciting milestone -- WOWO's 100th anniversary on March 31, 2025 -- we are proud to celebrate a century of broadcasting excellence. We encourage you to explore the many sections of this site, where you'll find a treasure trove of historical content. Much of the material you will find has been contributed by visitors like you, so please contact us if you have additional material to share!

WOWO's roster of air personalities, like Bob Sievers, Jack Underwood, Dugan Fry, Jay Gould, Chris Roberts, Ron Gregory, Bob Chase, Don Chevillet, John Cigna and many others created a lifelong bond with the citizens of WOWOland.

In its earliest years, WOWO Radio also launched the careers of many prominent broadcasters, including comedian Herb Shriner, Fort Wayne TV pioneer Hilliard Gates, and Tom Carnegie, known to millions worldwide as the voice of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

And with Indiana's most powerful radio signal, WOWO Radio gave listeners throughout the eastern half of the United States perhaps their only impression of Indiana.

This site will continue its tradition of celebrating WOWO's century-long legacy and impact on WOWOland and beyond. We'll be sharing special features and tributes leading up to the anniversary, highlighting some of the most iconic moments in WOWO's history.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of longtime WOWO nighttime air personality Ron Gregory, age 77, on 8/21/2025. Ron was a legendary fixture at WOWO throughout the 1970s and 80s, and was a friend to many, many co-workers and listeners. We are grateful that Ron did an interview with us several years ago, to share stories (as only Ron could tell them) about Bodie the Janitor's quirky on-air appearances, the Hollyweird Report with the Real Rick Marr, and many other great memories of his 23 years at WOWO. You can find it on our "interviews" page. And, of course, you can find plenty of Ron's classic broadcasts on our "airchecks" page.

.

.

.

.

.

In celebration of WOWO's anniversary, we highly recommend the 90th anniversary of WOWO documentary, produced in 2015 by then-Program Director Ryan Wrecker. It's simply excellent (and we're proud to say it utilizes a good amount of source material from this site!)

Second, we are excited to bring you a newly-restored comprehensive 6-part interview with Mr. WOWO, Bob Sievers!

And finally, we recommend a fascinating booklet titled Birth of a Station, WOWO, written by KD Ross, who played an instrumental role in the 1925 launch of WOWO

Among other interesting items that you'll find on this site: many never-before-seen photos from station staffers, extremely rare recordings like the morning that Bob Sievers was "streaked" on the air, Chris Roberts' very first appearance on the station, some hilarious bloopers, plus exclusive interviews with many former WOWO staffers.

Our primary focus is on WOWO's decades of dominance under the ownership of Westinghouse Broadcasting, but we will be doing our best to chronicle everything related to the History of WOWO!!