One hallmark of PBS Fort Wayne’s history has been the creation of a television archive of local history and culture with the documentaries we’ve produced through the years.
To celebrate this body of work, we're airing a new series — REWIND — weekly on Thursdays at 9:00pm on 39.1. Each Thursday evening, plus an encore airing most Sunday evenings at 7:00pm (schedules may change during pledge periods or holidays), just before MASTERPIECE, you’ll be able to enjoy one of PBS Fort Wayne’s past documentaries, from our most recent to some not seen on our air for years.
Alongside recent favorites such as Truck Town, a History of International Harvester in Fort Wayne, Electric Legacy: The Story of General Electric in Fort Wayne, The Forgotten and A Home For The Arts, you’ll be able to watch documentaries such as E.L Cord: His Transportation Empire, Fort Wayne Firsts, Komet Tales, Ann Colone Remembers, WOWO Legends, Memorial City: The Lindenwood Chronicles and many more.
We hope you’ll enjoy this weekly look back at the history and the people that have made our area such a special place. Check out our broadcast schedule below, or look through our on-line schedule at pbsfortwayne.org/schedule or consult the times and dates that will be listed in the monthly Primetime program listings to see which documentaries will be featured each week.
Thurs. Oct. 30 at 9:00pm
Electric Legacy takes you on a journey through 140 years of Fort Wayne history and beyond. It connects you to people, places, and events in local and American history, and the impact all of these factors have had - and continue to have on the economy and culture of northeast Indiana.
Sun. Nov. 2 at 7:00pm
Fort Wayne has been the home of some memorable characters throughout its long and varied history: War heroes, rogues, captains of industry, pioneers, pundits, not to mention the average, everyday citizens who built this area from swamp and woods to the vital region it is today. For generations, there has been one place where soldiers could be with farmers, the rich with the poor, and the famous and infamous with the nearly anonymous — everyone equal, without regard to class, wealth, family history or education: Lindenwood Cemetery.
Thurs. Nov. 6 at 7:00pm/Sun. Nov. 9 at 9:00pm
Enjoy this look at the history and players of the legendary Fort Wayne Komets hockey team. Featuring personal interviews, archival footage, photos and more of classic teams from the beginning of the franchise to the late 1990s, you'll get to learn how this club captured the hearts of its hometown in the early days and grew into one of the most successful franchises in American sports history.
Thurs. NOV. 13 at 9:00pm
Join WOWO greats Bob Sievers, Bob Chase, Don Chevillet, Chris Roberts and Ron Gregory as they talk about their experiences on the air during the golden age of one of the midwest’s premier radio stations. You’ll hear about wacky promotional stunts, remotes and events and gain insights to one of America’s pioneering stations - by the men who helped write its history.
Sun. NOV. 16 at 7PM
The heritage of Fort Wayne has an undeniable Teutonic flavor, thanks to the generations of Germans and German-Americans who settled here and have left their stamp on Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana. This presentation tells the story of their pioneering contributions to the Fort Wayne area, as well as the long-lasting cultural, political and economic impact they have made. More than a short course in local history, this documentary brings to life the reasons why the rest of America knows Fort Wayne as a “Most German Town.”
Sun. NOV. 23 at 7:00pm
In this documentary, you’ll learn the history behind some of America’s greatest achievements in engineering, technology and manufacturing — achievements that were thought of, created, designed and made real by thousands people right in Fort Wayne.
Thurs. Nov. 27 at 9:00PM (Sat. NOV 29 at 1:00pm on 39.4)
The legendary DJs of WOWO return in this sequel to the original documentary about of one of America's legendary radio stations. Listen to stories of the WOWO Air Aces, Jane Weston, The Little Red Barn, Hoosier Hop, Penny Pitch and much more.
Now Streaming With Passport
This documentary offers viewers a glimpse inside the orthopaedics industry, where strides have not just been made in medicine and technology, but in using those innovations to bring hope and a better quality of life to patients around the world. This continuum of care, encompassing innovative minds, medical expertise and engineering intellect, makes up the medical phenomenon of modern orthopaedics.
Now Streaming With Passport
Fort Wayne Memories: The 60s looks back at this decade of change as seen by the people who lived through it. Through extensive interviews with Fort Wayne area residents, old news footage, photographs and home movies, you’ll be able to revisit this significant time in Fort Wayne and American history, marked by new attitudes, technological advances and cultural change.
Now Streaming with Passport
Being a natural crossroads, The Fort Wayne area offers many homes with history to those who take the time to seek them out. That’s what this documentary is all about. This production takes viewers on a tour some of this area’s most fascinating residences, and shares the stories of those who helped make them historic.
Now Streaming with Passport
This documentary shares memories of what it was like to grow up, live in and work in and around Fort Wayne during the 1950s. This show offers you a look at what Fort Wayne’s citizens did during the time of Ike, Elvis, duck-and-cover-drills, poodle skirts and sock hops and the rapid growth of a new medium for communication — television.
Now Streaming with Passport
This documentary features on-camera interviews from the architects, craftsmen and historians involved in the remarkable preservation project that is the Bass Mansion. History comes alive with archival photos from the University of Saint Francis and hear stories from faculty and alumni who share their experiences with the Bass Mansion, and why its important to preserve the history of this historic structure.
Now Streaming with Passport
Listen and learn what Fort Wayne, Indiana was like in the 1940s. Using archival film, photographs and interviews from local residents, this documentary takes you back and gives a local perspective to one of the most pivotal times in history.
Now Streaming with passport
Learn about E.L. Cord, the namesake of a legendary line of American autos, a visionary whose reach extended past the throes of the Great Depression to quietly create a transportation empire that revolutionized the way America moves — one that echoes to this day. Narrated by the late broadcast legend Chris Schenkel.
Now Streaming
Take a look back at Fort Wayne’s arts scene from the perspective of 1994 during this documentary special. It provides a historical and nostalgic context to how Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana has become a hub for the arts, artists and patrons of the arts alike.
Now Streaming with Passport
In this all-new documentary, we turn the camera on ourselves. During this presentation, you’ll be able to go back with PBS Fort Wayne to our beginning using archival images and footage combined with interviews of past and present staff. This special will give you an insider’s perspective on our history and what our mission of service to our community is all about.
Our REWIND Documentary Series is sponsored in part by:
