Communiqué
Three longtime WOUB FM weekend music hosts are stepping down
< < Back to three-longtime-woub-fm-weekend-music-hosts-are-stepping-downPete Hart’s last day is September 11
ATHENS, OH – This Sunday will mark the end of an era for WOUB FM Radio. Longtime WOUB D28 + 5 Host Pete Hart will be on the air for the final time.
“September 11 will be my last Sunday,” said Hart. “I’ve had a lot of people say they are going to miss me and the style of music I play.”
Hart has been playing Bluegrass music on WOUB for more than 40 years. He is a Bluegrass musician and fan. Hart is the leader of the Hart Brothers Bluegrass Band that has played regionally for more than three decades and has recorded six CDs. He is also a craftsperson of mandolin instruments.
“I will miss the people I’ve met while hosting on WOUB more than anything,” said Hart. “I’ve met a lot of people through the radio.”
However, that isn’t the only change WOUB weekend listeners will be experiencing in the coming months. Hornpipe and Fugue Hosts Deanna and Ivan Tribe will also be stepping down. Hornpipe and Fugue was created for WOUB by Ed McDonald when he was a student at Ohio University. Ivan was a frequent guest on his program. When Ed left, the Tribes were given the opportunity to continue the program which they began the first Sunday in January 1983. The couple will finish hosting the show this December.
“Like Pete, we’ve also been on the air at WOUB for about 40 years,” said Deanna. “A lot has happened over the years. The show originally was on from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., but in 1987, it was moved to Sunday from 5 to 6 p.m.”
On Hornpipe and Fugue, the Tribes, both Ohio University graduates, share country music history, the musicians and the music through thematic programs of traditional country, mainly from the 1920s – 1960s. Ivan is recognized nationally as a country music historian with six books, more than 125 articles in Bluegrass Unlimited, Goldenseal and other journals/magazines, as well as chapters in books to his credit. More recently, he has contributed more than 200 entries to an online country music encyclopedia, hillbilly-music.com. The Tribes also host D28 + 5 once a month. They say they are hanging up their microphone because they are “getting old.” But they will miss it.
“We will miss going to Athens every Sunday,” said Deanna, who lives in McArthur. “It will take a little bit of getting used to. We got a lot of responses from people who have called and written letters. I think we provided people with a little bit of company and a bit of music culture.”
Deanna and Ivan say once the show started streaming on WOUB.org, they were amazed by the interest outside of southeast Ohio.
“We know of people who listen in Japan,” said Deanna. “The program gets out a long way from Athens.”
Hart and the Tribes were inspired and encouraged to become hosts on WOUB FM by Marie Dickson, a volunteer herself who was the motivator behind having volunteer hosts on Sunday afternoon featuring Bluegrass music.
“Marie put together 13 segments of the early pioneers of Bluegrass called the Bluegrass Hornbook. I listened to it every Sunday, and that is what got me interested in hosting on the radio,” said Hart.
WOUB Director of Radio Rusty Smith is beginning the process of looking for new hosts for D28 + 5. Hornpipe and Fugue will likely be replaced with All Things Considered.
“We will miss Pete, Deanna and Ivan very much,” said Smith. “They brought the passion they have for regional and cultural music to the WOUB airwaves for decades, and we truly appreciate the work they have put into these programs.”
About D28 + 5
On Sunday afternoons from 1 to 5 p.m., a rotating group of staff and community volunteers present bluegrass on D28 + 5. The program’s name is a nod to the Martin D28 guitar paired with a 5-string banjo to form the foundation of bluegrass.