July 2nd, 2009 by admin
Good afternoon from Collegeville,
On July 6th 1974, Garrison Keillor presented the very first radio broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion from the Janet Wallace Auditorium at Macalester College in Saint Paul. Tickets were priced at $1 for adults and 50 cents for children. 12 folks showed up and the total gate came to $8. The crew and the musicians out numbered the audience in the hall. 35 years later, the national audience for APHC is over 4 million.
The inspiration for APHC came to Garrison in March of 1974. He had spent a week in Nashville doing a story on the Grand Ole Opry for The New Yorker magazine. Garrison came back to MPR and pitched the idea of a radio show to Bill Kling, founder of MPR, and in Garrison words “he took it hook, line and sinker – no committee meetings, no exchange of memos, no long discussions, just a plain yes”
This Saturday, in honor of our Independence Day Celebration, Garrison is bringing the show to Avon, Minnesota. Admission is free, thanks in part to a select group of local sponsors. Bursch Travel – American Express, St. Johns Abbey, College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, Gold’n Plump Poultry, Albany Chrysler and Mosquito Yard Guard. Be sure to thank these folks and Garrison for making this free event possible The whole town of Avon is getting ready to entertain you starting at noon. The show is a regular live national broadcast with special guests, The Lake Wobegon Brass Band, The St. John’s Boys Choir, Andra Suchy and many surprise guests. Enjoy the show. The entertainment starts early and the show goes on the air at 5 PM. I hope to see you there.
“We’re just a traveling biscuit band. For Powdermilks we’ll proudly rise and take a stand. Biscuit tunes are what we play. Won’t you try a box today?” Garrison Keillor
June 26th, 2009 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
It has been a very warm week, but it is great for the squash. The weeds are getting thick also, so I must get out the tiller this weekend.
The fishing trip was wonderful with a little bit of drama. I caught a 23 inch walleye, but the trophy went to my brother Geoff with an assist to Brother Bill for a 25 inch walleye. Geoff was answering a “call from nature” and his fishing pole was in the rod holder, so Bill reeled the fish in. Both names will be on the trophy. We learned the hard way how to measure a walleye when the National Park Ranger pulled up beside our boat. We all had the proper licenses, life preservers and safety equipment. When he asked if we had any fish in the live box, we proudly announced that we did have one that was 16 and 15/16 long. He took the fish into his boat and announced that it was 17 ½. It turns out that you have to squeeze the tail fins together. He went ahead and wrote up a ticket for $125. So, my 22 ½ inch fish must have been 23 inches long.
The show this week is live from Tanglewood, The Koussivetsky Music Shed in Lenox, MA. Special guests include bluegrass banjo player and comedian Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers, up-and-coming radio actor Martin Sheen and the legendary Stuart “If it’s Got Strings He Can Play It.” Duncan.
The next Saturday, July 4th, the show will be a live performance from Avon, Minnesota, just five miles from Collegeville. It will be a free show at The Lake Wobegon Park which is on The Lake Wobegon Bike Trail. I do have a couple of sponsorship opportunities that include reserved seating and signage at the show. Call me if you are interested.
“Language ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers” George Orwell
June 12th, 2009 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
The rain came last weekend and now the sun is out and it is warming up. June is a wonderful month to be living in Central Minnesota. I hope that you can get out and enjoy the weekend.
The annual trip to Woody’s Fairly Reliable Resort on Rainy Lake is next week. Sometime in the nineties, my youngest brother Craig was invited by his father-in-law, Jim, to go along on a fly-in fishing trip to Trout Lake in Canada. Over time, my other brothers, who were into fishing, were invited to go along. In 2003 brother Bill offered to pay the way for my son Erik, so I decided to go fishing too. I have never been much of a fisherman, but I always enjoyed fishing with Erik. I am the oldest of five Osberg brothers and it was a wonderful bonding time. The next year we went to brother Brian’s cabin instead. Erik was working as a weekend sportscaster on Channel 10/13 in Duluth and he did a story on fishing with Woody for his TV show. He suggested that we try Woody’s instead of the fly-in in 2005. We had a great time and the greatest part is that Woody has a wonderful pub filled with memorabilia of his hockey days. In 2018 Craig’s son Grayson will be able to come along and in 2021 my grandson William Harley Osberg will join the gang. Brother Bill will have to clean up his act a little bit with a 12 year old boy in the group. Check it out at www.fairlyreliable.com It is worth the drive just to meet Woody.
The show this week is a broadcast of a live show that happens tonight at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Special guests include the Australian alt-country duo Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson, Chicago harmonica legend Howard Levy, acclaimed opera soprano Angela Brown and former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. Enjoy the show.
There will be no note next Friday since I will be in our boat on Rainy Lake.
“Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile I caught hell for”. Earl Warren, 14th Chief Justice
June 5th, 2009 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
Tomorrow is the 65th anniversary of D Day. If you have seen the movie “Saving Private Ryan”, you have some idea of how bad it was. It is hard to imagine that anyone who lived through that experience would ever be the same. The many years of living with those memories are hard to imagine. I don’t know anyone that was there, but if you do, please thank them for me.
Saturday is also the 20th anniversary of the day that my son packed all of his worldly goods into his rust free 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and headed back to Minnesota from Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1988 I had taken a position as General Manager of an office furniture dealership in Charlotte and it turned out to be a not so fun experience for my family. Erik had worked many late evenings with an office cleaning service to save the $1,000 needed to purchase the Olds. School was out at 2:30 in the afternoon and he headed north at 5 PM. The battery was weak so I told him to not shut the engine off if he expected to start it up soon after the stop.
Early the next morning he ran over a dead deer and when he was pulling the carcass out from under the car he heard a knock in the engine. He limped into the Big Foot Gas Station in Shelbyville, Indiana and called me at 6 AM. He ended up finding a backyard mechanic who changed the timing gear for $400. It was the one and only time I have had to use Western Union to wire money. The mechanic fed him supper and allowed him to sleep on the couch. If I remember correctly he went fishing with the mechanics son. They fed him breakfast the next morning and sent him on his way. Quite the experience.
The show this week is live from The Greek Theater in LA. Special guests include Sheryl Crow, k.d Lang and Martin Sheen. The Royal Academy of Radio Actors along with singer Heather Masse will work with Garrison to entertain us. Enjoy the show.
“Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in private.” Allen Ginsberg
June 5th, 2009 by admin
Good afternoon from Collegeville,
This is going out early due to a planned power outage scheduled for tomorrow. There are three major construction projects going on at Collegeville this summer, so this may happen again.
It is a perfect day out there today. Sunny and 70. It is only three weeks until we go to Woody’s Fairly Reliable Resort on Rainy Lake in search of the walleye. I hope that we have a couple of days like this one.
I did manage to get the squash and the cucumbers planted on Memorial Day, but the school greenhouse was not open so I have yet to get the tomato plants in the ground. My five year old granddaughter, Christen Irene, helped me to “push the seeds into the dirt one inch deep” and cover and pat down. I hope that I can keep her interested in gardening. It always makes it easier if you have a helper, no matter what age they are.
My grandson William Harley was baptized last Sunday in Stewartville. It was scheduled for the 8 o’clock service, so we stayed in a Holiday Inn on the south side of Rochester on Saturday night. The laughing woman in the outdoor bar finally gave up the ghost at 2 AM, so we did get some sleep. I now have to expand on “not next to an elevator and not next to an ice machine” to include the “outdoor bar”. It is not easy.
The show this week is a live broadcast from the Fox Theater in Saint Louis. Special guests include living bluegrass legend and member of The Grand Ole Opry, Del McCoury and his sons Ronnie and Rob McCoury. Jazz singer Jearlyn Steele will join the regular cast of characters. Enjoy the show.
“Think all you speak, but speak not all you think. Thoughts are your own; your words are no more.” Patrick Delany
May 22nd, 2009 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
Monday we will celebrate Memorial Day. This holiday commemorates the men and women who have died in military service to their country. The first “Decoration Day” was celebrated in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston, West Virginia. The official birthplace of Decoration Day is Waterloo, New York where they honored those who had died in the Civil War on May 5, 1866. The alternative name of “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but did not become common until after WW II. (source: Wikipedia”)
When I was a youngun in Upsala, we always had a Memorial Day service at the school and a parade down Main Street. Sometime after I left town in 1961, the practice died out. Then in the eighties, Lorna Koehn, a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, brought back the Memorial Day celebration in Upsala. I can still picture her marching in front of a group of children holding bunches of lilacs. The Lions Club added the offering of a picnic at City Park where they serve hamburgers and pie with ice cream. The children still wait in eager anticipation for the chance to collect the spent brass shells after the 21 gun salute. They make good whistles. I hope to see you there.
Be sure to take the time to honor those in your life who have passed on. If you happen to meet a service member, simply say “Thank you for serving”. They deserve our respect no matter what your position is on war.
The show this week is a live performance from the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia. Special guests include Robin & Linda Williams, Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele and Will Farley, the National Champion of the 2009 Poetry Out Loud project. Enjoy the show on Saturday from 5 PM to 7 PM on both the classical and the news networks. The show will be rebroadcast on Sunday at 11 AM.
“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” Bertrand Russell.
May 15th, 2009 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
It is a beautiful, but cool morning in Central Minnesota. There were frost warnings for parts of Minnesota. We were a little worried about the tulips. I have been gardening for some while now. Barby’s townhouse in Monticello did not come with garden plots, so last year I dug out a 3 ft x 3 ft spot next to the AC compressor and transplanted a Peony from Upsala. Even though I dug out a lot of the rough soil and dumped in potting soil, the plant died… No amount of Miracle Grow could save it. Last fall I planted 15 tulips bulbs and I was careful to follow the directions so as to not plant them upside down. My cousin Dave gave me a bale of straw to cover them with and this spring we waited and waited. I was about to dig them up when Barby came home from school with the advise of a landscape teacher to give them more time. First year tulips take a little while to get going. They are a beautiful color pink and the frost did not come. Life is good.
The show this week is a rebroadcast of a couple of shows from springtime past: one from Hot Springs, Arkansas and the other from Columbus, Georgia. Guests include the first couple of old time music, Norman and Nancy Blake, singing “Hawaiian Mother of Mine”, Robin and Linda Williams and Jearlyn Steele. Plus, guitarist Jake Fussell and country swingers, BR-549. Enjoy the show.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The timid presume it is lack of fear that allows the brave to act when the timid do not. But to take action when one is not afraid is easy; to refrain when afraid is also easy. To take action regardless of fear is brave.”
Ambrose Redmoon
May 8th, 2009 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
I finally got the Yukon Gold potatoes in the ground last weekend. I purchased the seed potatoes from Wood’s Farmer Seed and Nursery. They are the best in the area. Irene Lund operated there for many years, but she sold it to Tom Wood, a faithful employee. I have not had any potato bugs for the last five years. I do use Miracle Grow, but nothing else. There are few foods as wonderful as a baked potato dug from your own garden. The rest of the planting can wait until Memorial weekend.
Barby’s daughter Becca gave birth to Abigail Lynn on Wednesday. She weighted 7 lbs 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. Barby has six grandchildren and I have five. We are truly blessed. Tired, but blessed.
Next Friday and Saturday there is an unusual sale at P&C’s Attic in Saint Francis located on Highway 238 between Albany and Upsala. A bag sale. Paul and Ceil Gerads ran an antique store in the old Ostendorf Grocery Store. The sale starts on Friday at 8 AM sharp. Only $5 per bag from 8 AM until 10 AM and only $1 per bag after that and all day Saturday. Some items will be priced separately. Check it out. May 15 & 16.
The show this week is a live broadcast from the Durham Performing Arts Center, in Durham, North Carolina. Special guests include Robin & Linda Williams and Their Fine Group, roots duo Polecat Creek plus the old-time string band, Big Medicine. Enjoy the show.
“Arrange whatever pieces come your way.” Virginia Woolf
May 1st, 2009 by admin
Good morning from Collegeville,
What a great day to be alive! I won one of the door prizes this morning at Chamber Connection. There were about 130 folks at ING Direct Café, so the odds were tough.
I have few regrets in life, but I regret that I never met Barby’s Uncle Bobby. He was an English Bachelor Rancher, not a Norwegian Bachelor Farmer, but he was a very unique fellow. He always said that if he ever found a woman like his sister Bea, (Barby’s mother) he would marry her. He never did. He sold the ranch in the late sixties and moved to town. He took up horse racing. One of the news clippings at the funeral showed Uncle Bobby with a foal whose lineage was from Secretariat and Bold Ruler. I don’t know a lot about horse racing, but even I recognize those names. Uncle Bobby was like a grandfather to the kids who lived next door to him in Highmore and many of them spoke at his “Life Celebration” at the funeral home. We did bring back a picture of him in the winners circle with a horse named Bee Well. Great stuff.
We had no time for listening to audio books. Going back to Barby’s hometown provided a lot of memories which let to a lot of stories. Life is short, get on with your bucket list. Visiting a long lost relative might be a good thing to put on your list. If you would like a pdf of a Bucket List document, let me know. I will send one to you.
The show this week is live from the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee with special guests, the bad birds of Bluegrass, The Sam Bush Band and chart topping country singer-songwriter Brad Paisley. Andra Suchy and The Royal Academy of Radio Actors will fill out the bill.
Thank you very much to Fred Bursch, of Bursch Travel for renewing his online sponsorship of Radio Heartland. Add some Bose speakers to your computer and crank it up. www.radioheartland.org
“Greatness is a two-faced coin – and its reverse is humility. “ Marguerite Steen
April 23rd, 2009 by admin
Good afternoon from Collegeville,
This is going out early because Barby and I are driving to Highmore, South Dakota in the morning. Her Uncle Bobby died this week. Uncle Bobby was a bachelor farmer, but not a Norwegian bachelor farmer. He retired from farming early so that he could spend more time racing horses. He and Barby’s mother were brother and sister. It is a long drive and not on the freeway system. In fact we will not ever be on the freeway system. Nothing to do but check out an audio book at the library. I have never owned a library card, but it is never too late. There was no library in Upsala when I was growing up and so I never got the habit. Members of The Black Knight Car Club would not have been allowed in a library even if there had been one. There is a library in Upsala now and it is quite busy.
The show this week is live from The Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut. Special guests include another hero of mine, Arlo Guthrie and the Lost World Tour and the Burns Sisters, along with Lara Herscovitch and the Royal Academy of Radio Actors. If we miss it in Highmore, we can pick it up online from the archive tab next week.
“Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.” Tryon Edwards
Additional PS. Stop in and see Jan at The Wild Bird Center on Division Street in Waite Park. She is going to sponsor Morning Edition on KNSR 88.9 in Central Minnesota. Thank you Jan.
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