On and Off the Air With Juke

Holland, Michigan's 'Talk of the Town' radio show, completing 52 years in 2012, is a multiple award winner-and a big part of that attraction is its jovial host: Juke Van Oss, master of cordial replies to even the most fantastic questions. Can you find my brother who moved to Holland and lost touch with his family? Who's running for Senator in tomorrow's election? What do you do to get rid of skunks under your porch? Tune into 1450 AM any weekday morning---and ask Juke. Or ask his guests. Juke hosts legislators and other area experts on questions ranging from health care to veteran needs, fixing computers, energy conservation and other current local issues. As this memoir tells us, Juke's had an interesting life both before Talk of the Town and outside its radio hours. He was standing in his Army combat uniform on a hill in the midst of rice paddies in the Philippines when war against Japan ended. He watched Japan's General Yamashita come down out of those Luzon hills to formally surrender. He grew up in the West Holland area and served as the mayor of Saugatuck for three years. He remembers his great-grandfather and knows his great-grandson. He loved his family and loved his work. And he tells his own story with the knack learned on his radio show. Good stories, double-checked facts, and warm memories.