No matter what Brookings Radio host, Grant Peterson says, I do not put myself in the category of “legend” in the broadcasting business..but I know and worked with a few people who are and on Friday we got a chance to sit together in the sunshine sharing stories, laughter and all the Nick’s hamburgers we wanted.
Grant, who has been in broadcasting since at least 1959, now hosts his own talk show on Brookings Radio called the Great Afternoon Smorgasbord. He’s been after Dave Dedrick, Steve Hemmingsen and me to come on the program and just visit about our years at KELOLAND TV.
From l to r, Me, Grant Peterson, Steve Hemmingsen, Dave DedrickSo, for two hours, without commercial interruption (how do you pay the bills?) that’s just what we did.
I can’t speak for the listeners but we had a ball!
I got a chance to recite the familiar open to the Captain 11 show from memory.(One man in each century etc.)
The Captain himself played the “wave one hand..wave both hands..both hands and one foot..now both feet” and freezeburg game with the folks that had gathered in the little park on Brookings’ Main Street and they joyfully played along like they did as kids on his TV show.
It’s been ten years since the Captain signed off for the last time but no one has forgotten him.
Steve has always had a steel-trap memory and he used it freely to tell embarrassing but funny stories about both Dave and I and our years working together.
I was telling Grant about how Bert Getz was a hero of mine on KBRK radio.
Bert retired quite a while ago and I was stunned when Grant said, “I believe that’s Bert standing right over there.” Sure enough there he was wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat riding a restored vintage Schwin bicycle.
Bert came over and joined us at the microphone for a chat and he is as witty and wonderful as ever.
Even Lavonne Fuller who worked 25 years at KBRK both on and off the air..stopped by.
Grant claims the program was recorded and that he’d be sending us a CD of it which I hope we can share with you on our KELOLAND website.
Oh, even though they were free, we only had two Nick’s hamburgers apiece.
They’re still great, of course, but we were too busy yakking to eat which is unusual because as you can see by the picture, we all do more eating than yakking these days.