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 "Keep a Song in Your Heart" My "quick drive" through Aberdeen took more than four hours, so I figured I was right on schedule, and by 2 p.m. I was back on Highway 12 heading west. A few hours later, I crossed into North Dakota and just north of the town of Strasburg, I saw signs for the Lawrence Welk birthplace. Now, I'm not a big fan of Lawrence Welk but for reasons I don't need to go into here, I happen to know all of the words to the closing song of the Lawrence Welk Show: "Good night, sleep tight and pleasant dreams to you..."
For the dozen or so Americans who've never heard of Lawrence Welk, he was a bandleader who was born on the prairies of North Dakota, apparently with an accordion in his hand (it was a Caesarian section). Seriously though, when Lawrence was a teenager, his father agreed to buy him a $400 accordion and, in return, Lawrence agreed to work on the family farm until he turned 21. On his 21st birthday, Lawrence was history – and made history.
Since it's hard to wave a baton while playing an accordion, Lawrence soon hired an accordionist named Myron Floren (from Roslyn) and got his own television show, which has been airing every Saturday night since the Pleistocene. Lawrence passed away in 1992 but reruns of his show still run every Saturday night. At least, they do in Portland.
Although I'm not a big fan of his music, I've always admired the guy because he was ever cheerful, always had a smile and loved music. Not surprisingly, his motto was "Keep a song in your heart." In a humorous nod to his famous accent, Lawrence even had a customized license plate that said "A1ANA2." That's my kind of guy!
Although I didn't know much about Lawrence Welk, I do like Americana, so I stopped at his family's farm near Strasburg to check it out. The farm sits alone, two miles off the highway and down a dusty, dirt road. As I bounced down the road, I was hoping that there would be lots of tourists there, paying tribute to this bandleader who brightened up the lives of so many people, but when I arrived, sadly enough, the parking lot was empty. As I walked towards the main building, I heard lively polka music playing from a boombox somewhere across the farm and, as I walked into a small, white building, I was greeted by a smiling older woman with gray hair who looked oddly familiar. She spoke with a thick accent and said that her name was Evelyn, then she asked if I'd like to see the house.
As Evelyn took me around the house, I tried to identify her accent, which I've heard only one other person speak with, and that was Lawrence himself. A few minutes later two women tourists walked in and the three of us, with Evelyn as our guide, got a wonderful tour of the house that Lawrence grew up in. As I learned, Lawrence's parents were German-Russian and homesteaded here in the 1890s. That was about the same time that my great-great-grandparents, the Svangs, had homesteaded near Webster, South Dakota, a few hours east of here, as I described in my previous update.
As Evelyn answered one of my questions, she happened to mention that she was Lawrence's niece. That's when it hit me – she had the same smile and the same accent. If you could imagine a female version of Lawrence Welk, Evelyn would be her. She then mentioned some of her childhood memories of her Uncle Lawrence and, standing there in the Welk living room, I found this all quite charming.
By restoring the farmhouse and opening it to tours, she was doing her part to preserve a small slice of Americana and keep alive the memory of her dear Uncle Lawrence. And for that I admired her.
Above left: The Welk homestead, restored in 1991 by Lawrence's niece Evelyn and others. Above right: Lawrence's niece Evelyn (left) showing us the Welk kitchen.
Above left: Lawrence Welk, one of America's most famous bandleaders Above right: This is the dining room, with a cutout of Lawrence standing next to his first accordion.
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