Two KOVC interviews of interest to 61'ers

Steve Urness, host of the KOVC's Voice of the Valley program, recently interviewed Wes Anderson, curator of the Barnes County Historical Society Museum, about the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic (H1N1) and how it affected Valley City and North Dakota. Commonly referred to as the "Spanish flu," this disease spread worldwide in the years 1918-1919. Although COVID-19 is affecting all of us in one way or another, history reports that the H1N1 pandemic was more severe and widespread. To hear the interview with Wes, click here.

Wes Anderson 
(Barnes County Museum photo)

Thanks to Steve for permission to post his interview and appreciation goes out to Wes and his volunteers at the museum for all the work they do. Individual memberships are available for $20 a year and it's well worth supporting this excellent preservation of our home town history. Wes maintains an always up-to-date Facebook site. If you haven't already, be sure to check it out and stop by regularly.  

Myron Sommerfeld
 (Sommerfeld orchestra publicity photo)

Another interview Steve did on a recent Voice of the Valley program was with someone who's a friend of many of us in our Hiliners61 group, Myron Sommerfeld. As a bandleader and music legend in the Valley City area and throughout the Upper Midwest, Myron is very familiar with the amazing career of North Dakota's Norma Delores Egstrom, who became known nationally and internationally as Peggy Lee.  The Peggy Lee Museum is located in the old railroad depot in Wimbledon, N. Dak., where "Norma" grew up and the museum is currently commemorating Peggy Lee's 100th birthday (2020). Her first professional singing job was on KOVC Radio in 1936 when hired by station founder and owner Bob Ingstad, Sr. To listen to Steve's interview with Myron, click here.  Thanks to Steve for also supplying us with this interview and giving us permission to post it here.

By the way, Myron's brother, Harley Sommerfeld, who is also a friend to many of us in the Hiliners61 group, is still doing an outstanding job of playing the clarinet. Over the past several years, JoAnne and I have enjoyed Harley's performances at Jasper's Theater, just north of Park Rapids, Minn. LG 6-13-2020

Harley Sommerfeld
(LG photo, taken at Jasper's)