Summer is officially here, a time for ballgames, picnics and to dig into Neighbors' mailbag for feedback to stories from last fall and winter.
The story: A Moorhead woman who has had a pen pal in France for 54 years.
Feedback: Christine (Larson) Stenerson of Moorhead says she's been a pen pal of a woman named June for 68 years.
Christine was in sixth grade in Fergus Falls, Minn., when she and June, who lived in England, began writing.
When June married, she and her husband, a railroad employee, moved to Scotland, and Christine and her husband have visited them there.
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"So, 68 years later, we are still exchanging letters and gifts," Christine says.
Icelandic names
The story: It concerned Vilhjalmur Steffensen, the son of Icelandic parents who grew up in Mountain, N.D., attended the University of North Dakota, from which he was expelled, but went on to fame as an Arctic explorer.
Feedback: Edward Gudmundson of Moorhead writes that he grew up in the Icelandic town of Mountain, and he's heard "several stories (unconfirmed) about Steffensen being expelled from the university, most of which related to his being absent from classes much too often."
Edward also says his name seems more like a Swedish version than Icelandic. "In Iceland," Edward writes, "it would have been 'Vilhjalmur Stefannson,' indicating he was the son of Stefan. This was the name used on several of the books he wrote."
Gudmundson also notes his own original Icelandic name was Arinbjorn Gudmundsson.
Welk's arranger
The story It was of Fargo musician Frank Scott, who became Lawrence Welk's music arranger.
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Feedback: Thanks to papers on file with the Institute for Regional Studies at North Dakota State University, here's more information about Frank:
He was born in 1921, graduated from Fargo Central High School in 1939, studied engineering at NDSU but gave it up for music, his first love; he'd been composing and directing a band when he was 12.
Frank was the pianist and music director for WDAY Radio from 1944 to 1956, when he moved to California to join Welk.
He came back to Fargo in 1969, taught an arranging course at NDSU, organized a big band and was a real estate agent.
He and his wife, Jeanette, returned to California in the late 1970s. Jeanette died in 1979.
He married Audrey Roseland in 1993; she'd worked for him at WDAY and was the vocalist for an orchestra he'd formed in California.
Frank died in 1995, Audrey in 2008.
There, in brief, is the story of the Fargo boy who wound up working with such stars as Debbie Reynolds, Pat Boone and Glen Campbell.
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Not too bad a resume.
If you have an item of interest for this column, mail it to Neighbors, The Forum, Box 2020, Fargo, ND 58107; fax it to 241-5487; or e-mail blind@forumcomm.com
