Bob Sievers
Photo Courtesy of Radio Hall of Fame
Bob Sievers worked at WOWO radio in Fort Wayne for 51 years. For decades, he hosted the early morning “Little Red Barn” program followed by his own show from 7-10 a.m. “The Bob Sievers Show” on the 50,000-watt station was one of the highest rated morning programs in the country for a number of years.
Sievers was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1917. From an early age, he wanted to be a radio announcer. As a teenager, Sievers was on the WOWO radio station because of his church group, Gospel Temple. As a freshman at South Side High School, he landed an unpaid job at the station.
Sievers officially signed on to WOWO December 4, 1932.
During World War II, Sievers briefly quit his job at WOWO to enlist in the Navy and became a commander. When the fighting ended, however, he returned to his work at the station.
Sievers was well known for his morning show, “The Little Red Barn”, which he hosted alongside Jay Gould, who joined WOWO in 1938. “The Little Red Barn” show’s premise was that Sievers and Gould were on air as they performed daily farm chores. The broadcast involved numerous sound effects, including crowing roosters.
He also hosted “The Bob Sievers Show” in the mornings, which followed “The Little Red Barn”. The show became widely popular and was one of the highest rated morning radio programs in the U.S.
Sievers said that he loved radio so much, he would have worked at WOWO his whole life making nothing, because he enjoyed it so much.
In 1981, Sievers was inducted into the Indiana Broadcast Hall of Fame, and in 2007, he was nominated for the National Radio Hall of Fame.
He retired in 1987 but he continued to record segments for broadcast. He died September 3, 2007, at the age of 90.
March 2025
By Lily Saylor