Jesse Slusser was a pioneering Denver broadcast engineer and the first employee of KOA. His career at the station stretched across the formative decades of commercial broadcasting, from KOA‘s beginnings in the 1920s through its development into one of the region’s most important radio facilities.
KOA
Slusser joined KOA at the beginning of the station’s history and became its chief engineer. Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado records him as KOA‘s first employee and notes that he retired in 1960 after 36 years as chief engineer.
His tenure encompassed enormous changes in radio technology, including the development of high-power AM broadcasting, network radio, increasingly sophisticated studio and transmitter systems, and KOA‘s growth into a major Denver broadcasting institution.
Retirement and legacy
Slusser retired from KOA in 1960 after 36 years. His unusually long engineering tenure makes him one of the foundational technical figures in Colorado broadcasting and provides a direct human link between KOA‘s earliest years and the modern postwar era.
Sources
- Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado, Denver Radio history — identifies Slusser as KOA‘s first employee and records his 1960 retirement after 36 years as chief engineer.
Stations They Worked At
FROM THE TIMELINE
Career Moments
1960: Jesse Slusser retires from KOA-AM
1960 — Slusser retired from KOA-AM in 1960 after 36 years.
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