The prize was $147. All you had to do to win it was call the radio station and correctly answer a question.
This was big money back in the 1940s when KGDE, Fergus Falls, Minn., carried its "Telequiz" program each morning.
Lance Johnson, Dilworth, was growing up in Fergus Falls then, and he well remembers "Telequiz."
"It was an extremely popular locally grown quiz show," he writes.
"For each incorrect answer to the question, one dollar was added to the pot," he says.
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When the prize reached $147, "everyone was listening," Lance says.
Unfortunately, Lance's family didn't call in; someone else got the money.
So young Lance, not having a chance to share a huge prize, had to look into other ways to make a living, such as running a pipe organ company.
That's what he's doing today: heading the Johnson Organ Co., Moorhead.
'Breakfast Club' march
Speaking of old radio shows (which Neighbors' readers often do), one that was popular years ago was "Don McNeill's Breakfast Club," which originated in Chicago.
The Rev. Dean Bell, 65, says he has listened to some excerpts from the program on YouTube, but he wishes he could remember hearing it when he was young.
Dean lives on a farm near Ada, Minn., where he was raised. "Some people just don't get too far in life," he says.
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Anyhow, he says the "Breakfast Club" ran from 1933 until 1968, making it the longest-running program on either radio or television, other than syndicated program reruns.
Part of the "Breakfast Club" routine was McNeill inviting listeners to "march around the breakfast table" while the studio band played a rousing march. The program also had a moment of silent prayer.
Dean wonders which area stations carried that program. If you know, write to Neighbors at the address at the bottom of this column.
If you have an item of interest for this column, mail it to Neighbors, The Forum, Box 2020, Fargo, ND 58107; fax it to (701)241-5487; or email blind@forumcomm.com .
