Serve as master of ceremonies at Bob Hope’s stand-up comedy show in Lacey? Check. Duck for cover during the big Nisqually earthquake then swiftly go back on the air to announce news bulletins, while hoping your radio station does not collapse into Puget Sound? Done. Keep an eye open for ghosts in a downtown Olympia historical building? Got it. Interview numerous officials, dignitaries and local residents for more than 50 years? Roger that. Then take six years to write a book about your experiences, using the diary you have maintained since you were a teenager? Bingo.
Well-known Olympia radio personality and community fixture Dick Pust writes about those memories and more in his new book, “AM 1240 – Life at a Small Town Radio Station.” “The book was fun to write,” Pust says. “I know of no other book like it. It is designed to show the importance of small-town radio.” He says the book discusses local radio history from his perspective. “It is what KGY meant to the people of Olympia, through my eyes,” he explains. “It’s about people who were from the community.”
The KGY radio station was founded in 1922. Pust began his radio broadcast career at KGY-AM 1240 in 1959 when the station was in downtown Olympia’s Rockway-Leland Building. In 1960, KGY relocated to an iconic structure on the Budd Inlet waterfront. KGY-AM 1240 was later sold but KGY-FM 95.3 remains at the waterfront location.
Pust was at KGY for more than 50 years. He is now with KXXO-FM 96.1, a station also located in the Rockway-Leland Building. Some people think that building is haunted, as he tells in his chapter, “Ghosts of the Rockway-Leland Building.” The book’s cover depicts an old photo of the building, with the two additions of Pust’s yellow 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible parked in front and long-time KGY owner and friend Barbara Olsen Kerry peeking out of an upstairs window. Another chapter, “Twilight Zone,” describes what some might call paranormal activities that he experienced at KGY shortly after Kerry died in 2006. His book is dedicated to Kerry.
Pust’s book references 600 people, plus it contains extensive photos of persons he interviewed, local events he covered and local sites. The book memorializes notable KGY history and many events unforgettable to Pust. Events include occasions where he emceed Olympia’s Capital Lakefair activities and local cooking shows. “I never enjoyed a job so much,” Pust says of his long broadcast career. “I enjoyed getting up and going to work. I would get up at 2:30 in the morning, six days a week.”
Movie and TV star Bob Hope’s stand-up comedy show in 1974 at the Saint Martin’s College (now Saint Martin’s University) Marcus Pavilion was one of those noteworthy occasions he emceed. “More than 5,000 people were jampacked in there,” he says. “And it was a stormy night, so we had wait about 10 minutes for the show to start.”
Some recollections in the book are not as pleasant as the comedy show. Pust was on the air when the February 28, 2001 6.8 magnitude Nisqually earthquake hit, striking from a fault under the Nisqually Delta outside of Lacey. He writes about that epic quake in the “Unexpected Disasters” chapter. “I thought we were going down,” he says of the KGY’s largely wooden building, which stands on pilings over the water. “I thought this was it.” But the building remained upright, the generator kicked on, and after only a slight pause he and the KGY staff were back on the air. Getting news out quickly was critical during that event as people were dealing with the significant damage and safety concerns in the Olympia area. “Local radio is so important,” he says.
Pust researched a lot of information while writing. “I saved every picture and newspaper clipping that had to do with KGY for years,” he says. “I had boxes and boxes. It took me six years to untangle it all and spin a story. I hope my book reads like a novel. Is it history? Or is it a memoir? I think it’s a combination of both. The people are real. There are no made-up names. And I did my best not to embarrass anyone.”
Pust also consulted his small black diary, which he started writing when he was 19 years old. He says he has never missed a day’s entry, so the diary was a good resource in helping him accurately recollect events.
Gorham Printing in Centralia is publishing the book. Persons interested in ordering a copy or wanting more information may contact Pust at am1240book@comcast.net. The current hard cover book is a $75 limited edition for pre-publication sales, estimated to be available around the end of June 2021. Pust hopes to publish a soft cover edition in the future.
