Community Radio by the community, of the community, for the community

In 1987 community radio station WOJB won an award from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. The award was the highest award NFCB has. It is called the Golden Reel Award and was issued for "The Sounds of Community Radio" category. For over 20 years WOJB has remained to be the voice of it's community, thanks to the dedication of the volunteers and staff of this very important radio station. Click here to listen to the "Sounds of WOJB" as a live stream broadcast, 30 minutes. Click here to download as an mp3 file see the information below as to how this award was produced in the old fashion way.

Heart is what was at the center of WOJB - Heart and Soul and love of Radio

 

A long time ago radio producers used reel to reel tape and had to hand cut and splice the tape to make a program. This process would almost be comparable to building your car from scratch each morning in order to drive it. In other words, it took a VERY long time to produce anything in the old days.

But, that's what WOJB did, as did the rest of the broadcast world.

This particular reel to reel tape production is VERY old and it sounds like it. Reel to reel tape has difficulty surviving over the years. Just like with our bodies, as they age, things blend into one another. The same thing happens with old tape. So you will hear this program as it exists today...BUT....it gives a glimpse of what WOJB was 20 years ago.

Here's what the staff looked like twenty years ago.....a mix of Indian and non-Indian

This is a goofy picture of the station at it's Christmas party held on Valentines Day because we were too busy to have it at Christmas time. We used to have a living room in the center of the station, where the community could and did often gather, for live concerts and live radio shows and to have a living space for the family that was WOJB.

From left to right: Dick Brooks, General Manager; Louis DeCora (Ho-Chunk) engineer; "Country Dave" Kellar (LCO Ojibwa) Operations Director; Nicky Kellar ("side-kick Nick") Volunteer Coordinator and program host; Al Baker Jr. (LCO Ojibwa) program host; Sandy Lyon, Program Director; Tish Begay (LCO Ojibwa) radio producer; Mike "Jammin' Iceman" Dukin, (LCO Ojibwa) afternoon music host, Paul DeMain (White Earth Ojibwa/Oneida), program guide producer and program host; Eric Schubring, News Director and program host. Not shown, Camille Lacapa (LCO Ojibwa/Hopi), receptionist....and many many other program hosts and volunteers.

There was one common attraction that brought us all together to become a community radio station...we all LOVED radio and believed in the power of radio. No one was paid a high salary and there was no insurance. everyone was paid about the same and sometimes there wasn't even enough money to pay salaries....but people worked anyway. Why? Because of a strong belief that radio could help spread understanding between the races, could help protect northern Wisconsin from environmental disaster and could make people smile once in a while...... (to get a better view of any of these pictures, click on them and they will get bigger)

This is a picture of Floyd Westerman giving a concert for OJB....four dollars a ticket. At that time there were no Indian casinos and gambling could not be mentioned on the air, so we posted a sign behind Floyd so the newspapers could print who the concert was sponsored by.

WOJB would always broadcast the Birkie pow wow...

and WOJB would always broadcast live community events like this gathering at the pow wow grounds.

WOJB radio producers Tish Begay and Paul DeMain

The original "Patchwoork" show crew...in the parking lot at OJB....Lonna Manthe, Shelly Galloway, Sandy Lyon, Donna Skille, Terri Fuller, Joan Kozak and their kids...some of the kids...we always had tons of kids at OJB and also tribal elders would always be hanging out at the station speaking the language and drinking coffee.

and local musicians were always dropping by to do a "Live From The Living Room" ....just a live microphone and some couches...pretty cheap fun! This is Lew Orsoni and John Pisa inside the station.

this is what the station looked like filled with people for a live fund drive...notice the wall behind that is loaded with the production pieces of the program guide that was filled with listener letters. The program guide was printed on newsprint and mailed out every month. When we did the mailing we always had pizza, lots of volunteers and lots of stamps and laughter....in fact  laughter was most often the sound of WOJB

sometimes the volunteers would gather outside the station and just play music....sometimes WOJB would take a long microphone cable out there and broadcast the fun from the parking lot.

playing music outside the station next to the spirit pole. Glenn Walker Johnson on harp and LCO tribal member/WOJB volunteer Shawn Tainter. "Country Dave" in WOJB's red shirt and cap looks on with other station volunteers wearing the WOJB "Miigwech Niijii" (thank you friend) long sleeve T-shirts.

sometimes we held a smelt feed right outside the station. Here's our engineer "Big Lu" preparing smelt for the feast.

in the this old photo from the old program guide "Country Dave" Kellar is seen in his radio suit. In the beginning of WOJB Dave was the over night rock and roll host and would wear a white tux to do the show (after all...its radio so who would know?!)

and this....T-shirt design by Walt Bresette, former News Director (Red Cliff Ojibwa) and Green Party Founder. He designed it during the first Iraq War....it shows a peace symbol that is traditional; two hands holding a peace pipe, so that none of the hands can hold a weapon. The nine eagle feathers were for WOJB's nine years on the air....

Long may the station live and fulfill the dream and serve the community that helped build it.

Oh and if you drop by the station, look up on the wall and you'll see the Golden Reel for the best sounding radio station in the country, thanks to all who helped sail the ship over all the years. Together in a good way, for the sake of the station and the community which it needs to survive and thrive.

To contribute to WOJB Listener Supported Woodland Community Radio... www.wojb.org

and keep hope alive!