The Happy Station is een van de meest legendarische shows op de korte golf van Radio Nederland Wereldomroep; het programma werd vanaf  1928 gepresenteerd door Edward Startz. Hij deed dat 43 jaar. Daarna namen Tom Meijer, Pete Myers en Jonathan Groubert het presenteerstokje over. In 1995 kwam er bij de Wereldomroep een eind aan The Happy Station.

Keith Perron, een radiomaker in Canada, brengt vanaf 11 maart een nieuwe versie van The Happy Station; hij kreeg  van Radio Nederland Wereldomroep toestemming om de naam te gebruiken. De nieuwe formule wordt voorlopig uitgezonden via Radio Miami International op 9955 kHz. Het is de bedoeling van Keith Perron ook in Europa ruimte op de kortegolf te huren.

The Happy Station Show Returns

After an almost 15 year absence on the shortwave dial The Happy Station Show
returns this March.
What is Happy Station? The Happy Station is one the longest running shows ever
on shortwave. In March of 1927 when Philips Radio started broadcasts over station
PCJJ as a way to reach the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). Sometime in 1928 a very
young Edward Startz created the Happy Station, he changed PCJJ to PCJ, which he
said stood for Peace, Cheer & Joy. The show continued until the start of war. During
WW2 the only shortwave done by the Dutch was via the BBC in London
broadcasting back to Holland with Radio Orange.
After the war around 1946 the Dutch Government founded Radio Nederland
Wereldomroep and Edward Startz returned to microphone as presenter of The
Happy Station Show. Edward remained with the show for 43 years, way past the
legal age to retire in the Netherlands.
In January 1970 Tom Meijer who was working for the Dutch section of Radio
Nederland took over as host. This was a major transition. With Tom the show took
on a new life and energy. The Tom Meijer era was one of fun, with Tom making you
feel that the Sunday broadcasts were bringing all the listeners together for a family
gathering. It truly was your Sunday family show of smiles across the miles.
Tom Meijer stayed with Happy Station for 21 years until he retired. After he left the
show it was first taken over by long time Radio Netherlands announcer/producer
Pete Myers and then by Jonathan Groubert. The Happy Station Show was canceled in
1995.
Why return Happy Station? The Happy Station had and still has a very loyal
audience and now the time is right to return with the same message of Peace, Cheer
& Joy and Smiles Across The Miles that Edward and Tom brought listeners every
week.
What is different? One of the major changes with the Happy Station today is it
won’t be a Radio Netherlands production. Instead it will be independently produced
and distributed. Radio Netherlands has given permission for the new producer and
presenter to use the name Happy Station, as long as it’s made clear there is no
affiliation with Radio Netherlands.
The new Happy Station host will be Keith Perron a Canadian broadcaster who has
been based in Asia for almost 10 years. He has worked as an announcer/producer
with CKUT Montreal, Radio Canada International, and Radio Havana Cuba, CHMB
Vancouver, China Radio International and has freelanced for Monitor Radio, CBC
Radio and others over the last 17 years.
The new Happy Station Show won’t be produced in Holland, but will be based in
Taipei, Taiwan and will be distributed using many different channels and all aspects
of technology, new and old to bring the show to the audience. The first will be
shortwave on the frequency of 9955khz via WRMI (Radio Miami International) for
listeners in North and South America. After the shows first transmission on
shortwave, it will be uploaded as a podcast so fans of the show not in the target
region will be able to tune in. A plan is in place to bring it on shortwave to other
regions of the world; this will be announced at a later date. A facebook page has also
been set up where listeners can send in pictures and recorded messages, which will
be used on the show.
With the revival of The Happy Station Show there will also be a Happy Station
youtube channel, where listeners will be able to upload videos from where ever they
are in the world. The new host of the show will also present videos and a behind the
scenes look at the new show and it’s new surrounding.
For listeners who remember the Spanish version of the show La Estación de la
Alegría, Keith will at a later date present both editions. At the beginning the show
will be bi‐weekly, when the Spanish edition comes at a later date, it will rotate with
the English Happy Station.
For those who fondly remember Tom Meijer you will also have a chance to hear him
again in guest spots as well as some of the songs he recorded at Radio Netherlands
over the years. The first edition will be a tribute to Tom and the original Happy
Station with contributions from listeners from around the world and some very
famous voices from the shortwave dial.


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