e! s i r p re

LUNCHEON THIS MONTH:

April 20, 2009 (Luncheons every third Monday)

News & photos for WDAY Retirees, Alumni and Friends ~ Issue #7

Village Inn, 940 Holiday Drive, Moorhead Ordering from menu starts at 11:30 A.M.

Input & feedback to: The Editor: Larry Gauper 701-237-5079 or email: [email protected]

Bill’s office

Verna says “Hi!”

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njoyed a good visit with former longtime Party Line hostess, Verna Newell (Mrs. Bill Erwin) on Friday, April 3, 2009. Verna is a patient at Manor Care on South University Drive in Fargo (across the street from Olivet Lutheran Church). Her husband, Bill, was there too (personable as ever) and I brought along the six issues of Mike Notes Reprise produced so far. I’ll include Verna on our regular mailing list for future hard copies of this newsletter. Despite some medical challenges, Verna looks good and she recalled a number of anecdotes and memories from her days on Party Line, working as cohost with Bill Weaver and, later, with Boyd Christenson. I remember Mrs. Foss, owner of the Virginia Flora Corset Shop, always requested that Verna read the radio commercial I wrote for her ladies’ lingerie store, which sponsored the 7:55 A. M. weather several times a week on WDAY Radio. All-in-all, Verna is in great spirits and the congenial personality that endeared her to thousands of Party Line viewers is still very much in evidence. Verna enjoys visitors. If you stop by, just ask to be directed to Verna Erwin’s room. Some of the younger people at the front desk don’t seem to remember one of daytime TV’s greatest and longestrunning local shows.

Be it ever so humble, Sports Director Bill Weaver worked from a temporary office in the basement, next to or in the maintenance department. This photo was taken either shortly after WDAY moved into the American Life Building in 1956, or later during the early 1960s. Rodney “I Get No Respect” Dangerfield would have felt right at home here. Thanks to Isabelle Weaver for contributing this photo and several others you’ll see in this and future issues of this newsletter.

IN THIS 4-PAGE ISSUE: • Special eulogy by Don Ford in honor of Jack Lester page 4 • Photo gallery of luncheon attendees - page 3 • The “Party Line Girls” group photo, page 2 • “Who’s this?” answer, page 2 • Plus a lot more!

1932

“A bigger year yet! WDAY constructs new transmitter building at West Fargo, installs new 1,000 watt transmitter. That same year, studios moved into the newlycompleted Black Building on the 8th Floor. The WDAY News Department organized in this year.”– from Mike Notes, Open House Edition, January, 1956

Next month’s luncheon Monday, May 18, 2009

Party Line hostesses with their co-host, Bill Weaver: (L-R) Lois Leppart, Vicki Selberg, Bev Agnew, and Verna Newell (Photo courtesy Isabelle Weaver; date unknown, my guess is early 1960s)

We hear from the Hetlands!

Remember last month’s issue when I asked you to guess “Who’s this?” No doubt many of you knew right away: Isabelle Weaver. From left to right: Tess Berquist (Dewey’s spouse), Isabelle, and Imogene Johnson. This trio sang on WDAY Radio in the late 1940s. Photo courtesy of Isabelle, taken circa 1947.

TV art by Norm Selberg

It was good to hear recently from Jim and Marilyn Hetland, both WDAY alumni. Jim, as most of you know, is the son of WDAY Technical Director, Julius Hetland, and I worked with Marilyn in radio sales. She handled the log and traffic and was clearly focused on making sure I got my copy into her “books” for the announcers – or I dang well better have a “cart number” for her. Otherwise, she would “tag it” and then Joe Gallagher, Norm Fisher, or myself would have to scramble to fill those tagged spots. If we didn’t, our coat hangers weren’t swingin’ at 5:00, when the rest of the office staff was leaving. Jim tells us he started at WDAY back in 1955, filling in for Juline Savold, radio engineer, when Juline took his summer vacation. Jim adds: “After that I went to work for Dale Anderson and together we built and finished all of the cabinetry work for the newsroom, film and photo departments, and in other areas in the new digs at American Life. Both of us then went into TV and I always considered Dale one of my best friends. He taught me a lot. Marilyn and I got together with he and Marge for dinner down here in Naples at one of our favorite restaurants, St. George & the Dragon.” Sounds expensive; who got the check? Thanks for the update, Jim, keep in touch! 2

Gallery of Luncheon Attendees As of March 16, 2009 luncheon. While we heartily welcome photos of and from readers, in order to be included this “extra-exclusive” gallery of attendees, Mikes Notes Reprise policy is that you must attend, in-person, one of the luncheons. If you’ve been attending and I haven’t snapped your picture yet, please let me know at the next luncheon and I’d be glad to capture you! I know I’m missing at least one regular attendee, there may be more. - The Editor

Jack Sand

Don Dresser

Eldora Dresser

Earl Williams

Marv Bossart

Claudia Danovic

Howard Campbell

Jerry Connelly

Jim Shaw

Lance Lee

Liz Nelson

Bill Nelson

Genelle Cook

Lynette Cook

Dale Anderson

Marge Anderson

Dorothy Frandrich

Dan Fandrich

Conrad Rose

Dorothy Rose

Austen Schauer

Shirley Manning

Cole Carley

Phyllis Hoffsommer

Don Geiken

Roger Morbacher

Betty Frisch

Clyde VanCleve

Attend a luncheon and your photo goes here! Larry Gauper

Isabelle Weaver

Kevin Weaver

Welcome to these two new March, 2009, attendees! BUDDY NULPH at work in the Film Dept. (Photo courtesy Steve Tschida)

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Dresser rie Car lson and the FFords ords in Arizona Dresserss visit Mor Morrie Carlson

Morrie Carlson, our favorite Swedish “pronouncer” himself, looking alive and well in Arizona. (Above photos courtesy Don Dresser)

Don and June Ford (Firnhaber) – Eldora and Don Dresser, March, 2009

Jack Lester 1922 – 2009

An Aronson Anecdote Bob Aronson, pictured above from a 1973 edition of Mike Notes, recalls one of the funniest stories to come out of Viewpoint and it was a live-on-the-air experience: “There used to be a caller by the name of Mike (female) Stanton. Mike was a conservative Republican who disagreed with almost everything I said and she was a regular caller. Despite our differences we got along well, Mike had a marvelous sense of humor. Well, one day I said something (can’t remember what) but she called in with a longwinded argument about why I was wrong. I listened patiently to her tirade and, when she was done, I said, “My response to you is the same response General Anthony McAuliffe gave the Germans when he was asked to surrender during the Battle of the Bulge: the general said, ‘nuts’ and that’s my response to you, NUTS! Mike knew she had to disagree with me and there was a long pause before she said, ‘Yeah...but I like the general’s nuts better than yours.’ We both got hysterical, as did several other callers. It’s one of the few times I saw Juline Savold (long-time radio engineer) really laugh.” Thanks, Bob, for contributing another bit of hilarious history from your archive of great memories. Keep ‘em coming!

A well-known and respected colleague of many WDAY’ers, Jack Lester, passed away on March 24, 2009, in Naples, Florida. Jack was local TV sales manager back in the 1950s and 60s and, later, was General Manager of WDAY-TV and for other company-owned TV stations. Life-long personal and professional pal, Don Ford, shares some thoughts about our departed friend in a very special message to Mike Notes Reprise readers: “Jack Lester and I have been close friends, ever since I started at WDAY in 1958. Our lake cottages on Cotton Lake were only four cottages apart; we rode the Alaskan Highway on dirt bikes; we competed in sailboat races on Cotton Lake every weekend for many years. I even bet him that he couldn’t drink a martini through his nose, and he tried it!! Jack and Grace retired to Bonita Springs, Florida, and my wife and I retired (in 1991) to Mesa, Arizona––during that time Jack and I visited via phone at least twice a month. We both lost our ass financially when we rented the Fargo Auditorium and brought in Count Basie. No one showed up! We always tried to get the Indy 500 [telecast] into the Auditorium in May,

and never broke even. We spent many summers together living the lake lifestyle on Cotton Lake, and our kids grew up together out there. We were fierce competitors in the writing and sales departments of WDAY, and when he’d call me into his office,and say ‘shut the door!’...sparks would fly, but we’d forget it and stayed friends all the while. In 1994 I received a list of names entitled “WDAY departed list” with an added note that read, ‘let’s not get on this list.’ When Grace called on March 27 to inform me of Jack’s passing, I added ‘No. 93: Jack Lester.’ (This is a very interesting list, if you’d care to share it with our alumni). Editors note: I told Don we’d love to share it and he’s already sent it for publication in next month’s MIKE NOTES REPRISE. I had an opportunity to visit, via phone, with Jack and many occasions in the weeks before he finally died. He was having some severe heart problems, and the last weeks of his life he was lovingly attended to by Hospice, in his own home. Many times he would tell me, ‘hell, I’m ‘gonna die or they wouldn’t send Hospice over here but, you know, I’m in my own home, I want for nothing, I’ve had everything I’ve ever wanted all my life, and it’s about over.” I’ll miss his many phone calls very much, but have over 50 years of exciting memories about Jack. He would have been 87 years old in April, but he didn’t quite make it.” –Don Ford, Phoenix (East Valley), AZ

(Photo from January, 1956 Mike Notes)

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