By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

The Lawrence Welk Show debuted nationally on ABC-TV 70 years ago, on July 2, 1955. Welk, a native of Strasburg, North Dakota, southeast of Bismarck, offered champagne music, bubble machines, dance routines and toe-tapping polkas. 

One of his outstanding performers was South Dakota native and accordionist Myron Floren. Star singers included the Lennon Sisters and outstanding dancers were Bobby and Cissy.

Welk was the sixth of eight children born to German-Russian immigrants. He spoke German, attended school near Strasburg and helped his father on the farm.

The young Welk dabbled with an accordion that was cheap and unreliable. Eventually he made a deal with his father: If his dad would purchase for him a state-of-the-art $400 accordion, Lawrence would stay and help on the farm until his 21st birthday.

“That deal, and that accordion, changed everything,” said Fargo Forum staff writer Tracy Briggs. “After fulfilling his promise to his father, Welk left Strasberg and worked at area dances and radio gigs.”

Welk formed a band and moved to California. “ABC-TV saw the potential and took the Welk show nationwide in 1955, making it a Saturday night staple,” Briggs wrote.

ABC featured Welk and his band until 1971. But Welk didn’t call it quits. He took the show into syndication through multiple media outlets. That same year reruns started weekly on public television.

“The Lawrence Welk Show is still one of the most well-liked nostalgia programs,” says John Harris, president and CEO of Prairie Public Television.

Briggs says longtime Welk fans continue to appreciate the graceful melodies, elegant costumes and wholesome dancing.

“We grew up watching Lawrence Welk,” said John Runningen, a 1971 Fergus Falls High School grad, now retired and living in Atlanta Georgia. Doug Safar, a retiree living near Vergas, loved Welk’s accent, with one word sounding like “wunnerful.”

“Making people across generations smile for 70 years is a pretty ‘wunnerful’ legacy to have,” adds Briggs.