Public Radio Colleagues,
Last Friday evening, I was seated among 18,000 fans of A Prairie Home Companion at the Hollywood Bowl, watching and listening to the most remarkable radio host I will ever know. As the familiar liturgy of the show progressed, I tried to imagine the first Saturday broadcast of APHC in 1974. How could it be that was 42 years ago? Sitting under a California night sky, I thought about the countless millions of people across the country and around the world whose only personal experience with Minnesota has been their weekly virtual visit to Lake Wobegon. And as I’ve done many times over the years, I marveled again at the genius and unlimited imagination of the man who created that special place and who has so artfully drawn us into the everyday lives of the colorful and beloved characters in that small town. The duets and the wonderful music caused me to remember gifted band members back to 1982 when I first heard the show, and then I thought about all the amazing musicians who’ve shared the stage with Garrison. Absolutely awesome.
In the early 1980’s, Debbie and I were living in a mobile home in a small stand of pine trees near a creek about eight miles west of Bemidji, MN. We were young, married college kids, and on Saturday nights we would turn off all the lights, tune our stereo to the Minnesota Public Radio station, lie down on our living room floor and, for two hours, we would listen to A Prairie Home Companion. There was nothing else like it (and there still isn’t). We loved the music and jokes and sponsors and dramas and sound effects and the stories. Debbie and I grew up in a small Minnesota town much like Lake Wobegon, and on Saturday nights we turned to Garrison and he would tell us what was going on in our own “little town that time forgot”.
Garrison and those who have worked with him over these 42 years deserve far more kudos and congratulations than they will ever receive. I want to say Thank You. These are just two simple words, but I can think of none better to express our most sincere and abiding gratitude.
On behalf of our Board of Trustees, staff and volunteers, and all the listeners and fans of APHC—Thank You.
Thank You, Garrison, for bringing so much joy to so many people in so many ways for so many years. Thank you for sharing some of the best of Minnesota with the world. Thank you for matchless contributions to radio, and to public radio. Thank you for all you’ve invested in the growth, vitality and public service of Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media. Thank you for nourishing our spirits.
Thank You, APHC cast and crew. You are the talented, versatile, resourceful, self-sacrificing, creative and tireless hands, feet and heartbeat of APHC. You’ve moved the show across the country and around the world, made the show happen every week, and you’ve done myriad, necessary and surprising things to ensure success, often without notice or credit. Thank you.
Thank You, public radio stations. You’ve believed in and invested in and promoted and broadcast A Prairie Home Companion for as long as it has been available, you’ve been the local catalyst for a loyal community of your listeners and members who love the program, you’ve built stations and translators and dubbed tapes and swept snow out of satellite dishes to deliver this iconic public radio program to the nation. Thank you.
Thank You to PRI for being our distribution partner during an important time of growth for APHC and, finally, Thank You to everyone at APM for supporting APHC and its local stations and its audiences for all these years.
Garrison and the APHC team are now preparing to host more than 1,200 fans on a two-week cruise to Alaska in August, then hurry home for a special Minnesota Show on Labor Day Weekend at the State Fair Grandstand, all the while looking forward to October when we begin the next chapter of APHC with Chris Thile. During this busy summer month of July, I urge you to pause and join me in expressing your thanks to Garrison and to all our APHC colleagues.
#ThanksGK
Twitter: @prairie_home
FB: @PrairieHomeCompanion
Jon McTaggart
President & CEO
American Public Media
Minnesota Public Radio