The early years…

"Who am I?" you ask? Well, I was born a poor unfortunate white child at Mercy Hospital in the town of Valley City, North Dakota [LINK] in the Eastern part of the state[MAP]. I was the youngest of three kids, (Ken, Marilyn and Me) [PIC] and the first one born in a real hospital, not at home! My brother Ken was 8 years ahead of me and my sister Marilyn 4 years. We lived in Litchville [LINK] about 19 miles from Valley City. We lived in town but my relatives farmed in the area. I got introduced to farm life without having to live on the farm or do the chores! It was all church and play. Dad was involved in a gospel quartet which practiced at our house. My room was above the living room and was heated via an opening in the ceiling which allowed me to listen to them practice! Mom played piano and I learned to sing at home and in church at an early age. Live was simple; we had outdoor plumbing and hauled drinking water from the Hanson's about a block away. I remember taking the big trip to Valley City with my cousins to sell their eggs and pick up supplies. In Valley City we could look at the stores and even go to the train station and see a real "African American" when the Northern Pacific came through. I remember the War blackouts, rationing, the War ending and the first grade.
At the start of my 2^nd grade we moved to Edgeley, about 40 miles South of Jamestown.[MAP] In Edgley we had a house [PIC] with running water and indoor plumbing. Life was good! I only spent a few years there but I was active playing baseball, taking piano lessons (ugh!) and joined the 3^rd grade Tonette [LINK] band!

Dad [PIC] ran the local grain elevator and in the summer of '49 got a new job in Dickinson [LINK] about 60 miles from the Montana border in Western North Dakota. [PIC] It was here I grew up attending Central High, playing sports and almost discovering girls. Dickinson had a bit of everything; An airport, a radio station, [LINK] grain elevators, a pool hall, two movie theaters, a swimming pool, a semi-pro baseball team, a golf course, a Parks and Rec' department, a skating rink, and two livestock barns!

In the summer after my 5th year of grade school, my mother Alice (Van Bruggen) [LINK] passed away. I was old enough to handle it I guess; It just seemed like something that was part of life. My big sister Marilyn helped life go on. My grade school years are not clear. Mostly we rode bikes and played baseball all summer and played basketball in the winter. We set up a mini baseball diamond in the Guloien's back yard where I spent time playing with Dave Guloien and our friends.

During two summers I hopped on the Northern Pacific and went off to spend time with my brother Ken in Chicago. He was going to dental school and living on Addison Street as a caretaker for a church; His wife Diana was the secretary. The church had a basketball gym, a softball team and clergy passes to all Cubs games! Life was cool! I got a job making deliveries by bike for a local deli and was introduced to Maxwell Street [LINK], subways and elevated trains, and life in the big city. Little did I know I'd be back in a few years to go to Northwestern in Evanston.

I hung out a lot with my neighbors Weldon Christenson and Lionel Opgrande and later with Bill Lemke [LINK] who I met through Church. His mother Nora sang in the church choir as my Dad and I did. Nora and Lionel's mother Ester acted as real moms to me as I grew up. My dad had remarried and my step mother and I never really connected. I was always over at the Opgrande's and later at Lemke's place. I played Junior Legion baseball in the summers. We traveled at high speed by car to and from our games. Weldon was on the team and we hung out a lot during that time.

Our basketball, football and track teams were the talk of the town thanks to Coach Paul Roach [LINK] who got the most out of what he had to work with. Lemke and I became good friends and ended up entertaining ourselves where ever we went! I got to travel extensively playing four sports. In track and basketball seasons, Lemke and I roomed together on the road and worked up vocals to sing were ever we got a chance. The "first five" our basketball team, Bill Lemke (14), Darryl Boom (10), Ray Burwick (12), Weldon Christenson,and Russ Beyers (13), now live in Oregon and Washington. See THEN [PIC]and 44 years LATER! [PIC]
Thanks to Lemke we get together semi-annually for a golf tournament, The Dakota Classic!

While in Dickinson I started to be interested in music listening to country radio on KDIX [LINK] and singing in a gospel quartet at church. My dad Thomas, may he rest in peace [LINK], was in a gospel quartet for many years and through him I got interested in groups like the Stamps Quartet and the Blackwood Brothers. Little did I know that singing gospel tenor would lead to an appreciation for bluegrass and later allow me to easily join my first bluegrass band, The Town and Country Boys. [PIC].

Dad [PIC] wanted to "farm me out" to one of his farmer customers in the summer just like my brother had done before. Rather than that, my baseball coach got me a job busing tables and cleaning up at Don's Cafe. Don and Opal Larsen were great to work for. I ended up working for them through my senior year as well, mopping up at night after they closed. I remember coming back from road trips and going to the Cafe to mop up! I'd turn on the juke box, make myself a chocolate shake, and do my thing! Don was good man. He was easy to talk to and generous with his time. He ended up loaning me $75 to help me on my way to my first job.I don't know the details of his later death, but he was a good man who helped me when I needed help. Thanks Don!

It was while working at Don's Cafe and The West Plains Motel that I learned how to drive! I used Don's '36 Chevey to pick up the mail. I never seemed to go in a straight line though. Usually I ended up going past the swimming pool going to and from downtown! Life was good! I was on a good basketball team, getting good grades and planning to go to an engineering school somewhere in North or South Dakota..

Things took a sharp turn for me my senior year. We were on the road playing basketball in Valley City when Coach Roach called me aside after the game to tell me my Dad [PIC] had died earlier that evening. I was numb and remember driving all night to Dickinson with my stepbrother Bud Carlson. My brother Ken, out of Northwestern and in the Army, came home for the funeral. At some point we talked about my future. He encouraged me to apply to his alma mater and helped me file for financial aid. I was fortunate; I had good grades and ended up getting a "full ride" to Northwestern. Coach Roach got me a summer job on a surveying crew in Minot, ND. I played softball for Peter Kiewit Sons' [LINK] and worked on one of their surveying crews at the new Minot Air Force Base .  After school I packed a suitcase, hopped a bus, checked into the Minot "Y" and started my job before entering engineering school at Northwestern.

Boola Boola!

Life at  Northwestern was an eye opener! As I got off the "El" and walked towards campus carring my suitcase, I was surprised that no one stopped and offered me a ride!  I was probably the only one on campus wearing Levis.  My roommate, Jon Britton, was also from Dickinson.  He had decided to attend NU and they put us together, probably as an experiment in social engineering!  We had a great time studying hard and playing vicious ping pong games in the dorm. We studied our butts off and attended every class soaking in the great education offered to us.  Only later after I discovered bluegrass and had to take lame courses did I ever sleep in or opt to miss a class or two!

Jon had joined Theta Chi and had a "board job" at the Gamma Phi Sorority house. I ended up joining the same fraternity and started my career as a "hasher" at Gamma Phi. It was a great job!  I started with pots and pans before working up to a waiter and eventually became the head waiter.  I had the job as a freshman and held it for 5 years of undergrad and 2 years of grad school. I got to meet and interact with over a 1000 Gamma Phis during this period.  This was an education in itself!  They were a great bunch of gals and fun to be around.

The folk boom was just ramping up in the early 60's.  My freshman dorm advisor had a fine baritone uke that I got in a trade for my Eico FM tuner kit.  NU's engineering school offered a co-op program and after two years of schooling I headed off to Fort Worth to work on the B-58 at General Dynamics for every other quarter until I graduated.  Texas was alive with good country music and bluegrass.  I got the bug and ended up getting a Vega Folk Wonder Five banjo.  A machinist at work helped me build a set of Scruggs tuners and I was off and running.  (Click HERE for a photo of the tuners in action...) Pete Seeger, Bob Gibson, Flatt & Scruggs, Eric Darling, and the Knoblick Upper Ten Thousand all came through NU.  Back in Texas I was jamming with several good banjo players from Dallas and Fort Worth and listening to the Stanley Brothers, Reno and Smiley and many Starday artists on the radio.

Back at NU, I started a group named "The New Brushwood Singers"…not the old but the new!  We thought we were pretty good, but I recently dug up a recording that suggests otherwise.  In any event, I had fun with the music at the expense of my GPA!  My roommate Don Mertz from Edina, MN picked up a fantastic Beacon Silver Bell 5 string that is one of the best banjos I have heard.  He and I spend many hours trying to play like Earl, not knowing just how great he was.  In the winter I could tune in Flatt and Scruggs at 6:00 AM live from WSM in Nashville!  They were hot! I finally got to meet the band in '62 at the Rockford County Fair in Rockford Illinois. They were a great band and real down to earth musicians.

On The Loose!

A summer job before starting grad school, got me out to Santa Monica, CA.  I was working at Douglas Aircraft and checking out McCabes, the Ash Grove and local festivals.  I decided to return there after grad school and ended up working at McDonnell Douglas in Huntington Beach. The music scene was intense.  The Dillards were in full swing.  Ian and Sylvia were at the Golden Bear. The Kentucky Colonels were on the Andy Griffith Show and Cal's Coral helping Cal Worthington sell cars! The Stanley brothers and Flatt & Scruggs were at the Ash grove.

I started playing with Pete Prossen, Gerry  Teauge (Taco),  Dave Cooke, Ross and Ginny Landry, Jim House, and others. Pete was, and still is, quite an interesting person. 

But, my career had other plans for me!  I ended up moving to Sacramento to test fire Saturn IV-B rockets for Douglas.  I bought a new D-18 there for $180 and had John Lunberg in Berkely shave the struts which turned it into a killer guitar!  Sacramento was fun.  Three of us rented a house in Fair Oaks.  We worked long hours, but we played music, rode cycles, went skiing and visited our friends in LA.  I was into the guitar and banjo and performed for the Douglas Management club a few times and jammed with my roommate and locals.

After a few years, I ran into a Gamma Phi from NU whos husband had a semiconductor startup in the Bay Area.  I ended up moving to Woodside, CA and worked for Advalloy and later Ampex in Redwood City.  I eventually transferred to Culver City with Ampex and got involved in the LA bluegrass scene in the late 60's.

While in the Bay Area I went down to LA for the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest and ran into a 16 or 17 year old banjo player named Pat Cloud. I remember singing tenor on some Stanley Brothers tunes with Bob Warford and Pat.  Several years later I would end up in Pat's band, The Town and Country Boys!

This is a work in progress…  I've only been a few months. I'll be adding details as I think of them or find pictures to post.  

To Do :  History of Bands, unusual gigs, Tales from the Banjo Cafe, festivals, musicians, instruments, etc.

Here are some links to explore before I get to talk about them.  A5      D45     Weiser    Bob Givens   Tut  F5 Journal