On Air
Elmer Aho
Elmer Aho hosts American Country Gold
every Saturday from 7pm to Midnight
On-Air Legend
BIG Country Hotline: 225-1440
Email: elmer@wjpd.com
At 8PM he plays a four-song set of Western songs. It is Blue Grass music time at 9PM with five songs aired during the set. Blue Grass artists include Bill Monroe, The Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, and many others.
Telephone call for requests start about ten minutes before the show and continue until Midnight. He does ask his listeners to make no calls from 9PM to 10PM, so he can catch up on the previous requests. They usually keep ringing anyway.
One evening a month is called, “Elmer’s Pick” night, with no requests accepted. Elmer has listeners from nearly all parts of the Upper Peninsula and across Lake Superior in Canada.
After graduating from Trenary High School in Trenary, Michigan he worked for the Chevrolet Manufacturing Company in Flint, Michigan for two years. He then served two years in the U.S. Army including one year overseas. After his discharge from the Army, he returned to work for Chevrolet for several months.
After leaving Chevrolet, he married his wife Rita. He worked for the Chrysler Corporation and O.L. Anderson Company. They later returned to the Upper Peninsula where he worked for The Odgers Drilling Company. He later enrolled at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan.
Upon receiving his Bachelor’s Degree, his wife and family moved with him to Oconto, Wisconsin. He began teaching for the Oconto public schools, where he initiated the first art program for the Oconto School District. He also taught in the adult education program.
After teaching in Oconto for two and a half years, Elmer and his family moved to Gwinn, Michigan to teach in the Gwinn Area Public Schools. He also earned his Master’s Degree at Northern Michigan University.
After teaching for many years, he left the education field to pursue some of his other interests. Two years later he became a D.J. at WJPD, a local radio station in Marquette. He still hosts The American Country Gold Radio show there.
Elmer has been a songwriter for many years. He has made a number of trips to Nashville to pitch his songs. Several of his songs have been recorded in Nashville, he also recorded an album of his own songs titled, “The Gwinn Model Town Blues,” which included the title song and ten others.
Elmer and Rita live in Gwinn, Michigan. They have four children and seven grandchildren. He really enjoys spending time with them and watching them take part in sports and other school activities. Some of his other interests include drawing, painting, pottery, bronze sculpture, auto repair, and hunting and fishing.
