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KAREN BARTA: Good morning. I'm Karen Barta with news from Minnesota Public Radio. Wind gusts of over 40 miles an hour sent wind chills tumbling to 60 below zero in some parts of Southern Minnesota today. In Western Minnesota, visibility was near zero from the Red River valley to Morris and Wilmer.

Northeastern and North Central Minnesota were under a winter storm warning after a new batch of snow moved into the state. I'll have the complete forecast in just a moment. Today's wintry weather has prompted officials to close state offices until noon throughout most of Minnesota. The exception is the Twin Cities area.

A House Committee today considers a bill that aims to ensure all Minnesotans have access to the internet. Representative Steve Kelly's bill would levy a tax on telephone, cable, and internet services in order to build a high speed data infrastructure around the state. Mike O'Connor heads Go-Fast Net, a company that sells digital internet access called ISDN. O'Connor says Kelly's bill would mean equity for small towns and rural areas.

MIKE O'CONNOR: It's important that we make sure that we don't exclude people just because of geography.

KAREN BARTA: Critics say government involvement in building the information highway could lead to censorship on information on the internet. The Minnesota Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments today in a case involving tobacco companies. The companies are trying to throw out a lawsuit by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance company, which is trying to recover insurance costs caused by tobacco use.

The state forecast includes a blizzard warning through mid-morning for West, South, Central and Southeast Minnesota, a winter storm warning for the Northeast, and a winter weather advisory for the rest of the state, including the Twin Cities. In Duluth, blowing snow and two below. In the Twin Cities it's sunny. The wind chill is minus 37. And it's 6 below zero. That's news from Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Karen Barta.

KAREN-LOUISE BOOTHE: It is six minutes past 10:00 o'clock. And this is Mid-morning on Minnesota Public Radio. Karen-Louise Boothe sitting in for the vacationing Paula Schroeder.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Radio personality Roger Erickson has been cracking jokes, reading commercials, and announcing school closings for over 30 years on WCCO. Roger will probably never retire from radio. But the end of January marks his cutting back on some of his hours. Today on our Voices of Minnesota interview, we hear an extended conversation with Roger Erickson. Nearly every Monday at this time, we bring you a conversation with a Minnesota resident who has an interesting life story.

WCCO Radio is an institution. People wanting farm markets, weather, and some laughs have made it the most popular commercial radio station in our region. Minnesota native Roger Erickson, a farm boy from the Winthrop area in Southern Minnesota, is one of the station's best known personalities. Erickson has done early morning radio nearly his entire career at WCCO. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Potter dropped by Roger's office in Minneapolis recently. And they started their conversation with Erickson explaining when he gets to work.

ROGER ERICKSON: When I'm on at 5:00, I get up at 2:30. So I can get here at 4:00. But that's also to do with just kind of being more with it. I've found that I just-- for years when I was playing music, then it didn't-- it wasn't so bad. I'd come down and get up at 4:00 o'clock and rush down here at the last minute, put on a long record as I start out.

Hi, Roger Erickson here. It's five after 5:00. The temperature is 4 below, going up to 10 above, today. We'll have more on the weather. Right now, Louis Armstrong. And during Louis Armstrong-- Let's see now, where am I? What's going on? Let's see. What do I need to do? Some weather, some-- but now, since we are talk, you have to be with it at all times. So getting up a couple of hours before I go on the air is important to wake up.

BOB POTTER: And now here it is almost lunchtime or dinnertime for some folks. And you're still going strong. But are you getting worn out?

ROGER ERICKSON: I like that you call this dinnerette. That's the way it is for us on the farm. Dinner is at noon. My dad had dinner at noon. Evening was supper. What was the question again? [LAUGHS]

BOB POTTER: Are you getting a little worn out by this time of the day?

ROGER ERICKSON: Oh, yes. This is my start in the fall down time. No, I kind of keep going all morning after I get off the air, working on the next day, looking through the news, see if there's anything you can do, a line or some kind of thing off of it. And I just keep going, and going, until about 1:00 or 2:00. And then I start to fade. But yeah, I keep going most of the day. If I stop, if I stop and have lunch or something, then I'm usually shot for the day.

BOB POTTER: Do you nap in the afternoons, then?

ROGER ERICKSON: No, I have trouble with that. Jergen Nash, who was on the mornings before I was, he could do that. In fact, Jergen had a schedule. He was on at 5:00 in the morning. And then he had a show at 9:30 at night, which was very popular. It was called Jergen Nash Presents. He did a variety of music, was a really great, well-produced show, with folk music, some music from various countries, some classical, semi-classical, very well produced.

But then he'd go home and go to bed. And he'd be up again at 3:30 or something in the morning. So he could go home. And he would actually sleep for a couple of hours. If I do that, I don't get to sleep until midnight, again. So I end up with not much sleep. So I've had just kind of stay awake.

BOB POTTER: Yeah. Well, you mentioned growing up on a farm. Where was that farm?

ROGER ERICKSON: Farm is in Winthrop, Minnesota, which is out near New Ulm in the Southwestern Minnesota, out there in the prairie.

BOB POTTER: And you actually were a farm kid, not a town kid.

ROGER ERICKSON: Oh, no, I was a farm kid. We were the ones who went to town with overalls with patches. But some of the town kids, especially the banker's kids and the doctor's kids, they had new overalls. So you could always tell the farmers. I always had, you know, sometimes a little embarrassing, especially as you got to be, you know, a teenager like 12 and 13 in that age bracket, where you're worried about-- I wouldn't even-- I wouldn't even say I had to get home and do chores.

Now, you probably have heard the term chores. That was milking the cows, feeding the pigs, all that sort of thing. And of course, everybody in the farm had to help. It was a family unit. And I would say I had to go home to work. [LAUGHS] You just didn't do chores.

Now, my dad once in a while growing up, we had peas and corns that we raised for the Green Giant Company. Now, when they would take the peas in, it would be vines and all. The vines and the pods would go into silage in a big pile by the Canning factory. And we would get a section of that pile.

So dad would come in. It would be winter with snow. He'd hitch up horses, because he maintained some horses, even though he also had a tractor or two. But he'd bring in the horses with the sleigh, load up that silage. Now, pea silage has a very strong odor. The cows love it. But until you get used to it, it's pretty powerful. So he'd time it so he'd go get the pea silage, and then go pick me up at school.

Now in the winter time, that pea silage is not, you know, it had been fermenting, and doing all that stuff. And there was steam coming out of it. You see dad come with the steam. And he hollered, Rog. And of course, I would be at that age where, oh, this is really embarrassing. I have to climb-- I have to go. First of all, be with your dad is bad enough. But then to get on this pea silage that smelled, you know--

BOB POTTER: Drawn by horses--

ROGER ERICKSON: Drawn by horses.

[LAUGHTER]

And then it wasn't too long before I realized, hey, you know, that was really great.

BOB POTTER: What were you like in school? Were you active in all kinds of things? Were you the person the teacher always called on to read to the class, and that sort of stuff?

ROGER ERICKSON: I was the person-- I was the clown. Yeah, I guess I can't-- when I was a-- when I was a kid, my mother had always told me about that. They would come to pick us up at school. We didn't have school buses then. And so they'd pick us up, unless in the summertime. We were a couple of miles from town. And we could walk or ride the bike.

And if it was raining, I would be the guy in the puddle, stomping, shirttail out, splashing in the puddle. You know, from the start, I was the guy that-- I was the guy, in fourth grade, who tried to put a crayon in every opening in my body, out of each nostril, out of the mouth, out of the ears. And that's when I'm sitting at my desk. And Ms. Nelson, the teacher, I'll never forget, she came over and said, class, why is it Rog Erickson has to be so smart-alecky? And she call my folks.

But the interesting thing was, is they were very understanding about that, and especially mom. Mom kind of enjoyed it. She wanted me to be, kind of, a clown. She wanted me to be in theater and all these different things, which I eventually did. She liked it. And I thought that was always kind of interesting for a farm family in a pretty conservative area that they would be that way.

Dad, also, they were very understanding. We were six kids. One died, we're five. But we did things around the farm that, I don't know, I think about. How would dad allow that? We had grease gun fights, for example. You'd have the grease gun, you know, for the tractor and the machinery, and with the handle.

And we found that if we bump, hit it hard, the grease would squirt 20, 30 feet fwip. [LAUGHS] And we'd have grease gun fights. And there were grease spots all around the barn or the machine shed. And then eventually with dust, naturally, they gathered dust. And it was a mess, you know. But he allowed it. And I think how great, you know. It was just growing up in just that wonderful atmosphere.

BOB POTTER: Allows you a lot of creativity and freedom.

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, it really does. Now, I don't know if that had anything to do with why I did what I did. I'm sure it had something to do with it, because I was never afraid to do anything a little different, I guess.

KAREN-LOUISE BOOTHE: It is 16 minutes now past 10:00 o'clock. Today's programming is made possible in part by the advocates of Minnesota Public Radio. Contributors include 3M, maker of Scotchgard brand protectors, and the Honeywell Foundation providing the benefits of control worldwide.

This hour, Roger Erickson of WCCO is talking with Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Potter. This is Voices of Minnesota, heard every Monday at this time as part of Mid-morning. Roger Erickson isn't leaving radio. But he's cutting back on his hours as of the end of this month. We thought it would be a great opportunity to hear from one of the region's best known and most popular radio personalities. Let's return to the conversation.

BOB POTTER: Then you went to the University of Minnesota, is that right?

ROGER ERICKSON: Yes, went to-- I went to the U. And I thought I might be a teacher. I was very interested in theater, did the high school plays, and all that sort of thing. And I thought, well, I'll be an English teacher with a speech minor or whatever, and, and teach acting and some English. And then I went to a couple of education classes. And I realized that wasn't me. [LAUGHS] I could never do this.

So then I switched. And I talked with my parents. Now, understand, we didn't have a lot of money. You know, we just-- there just wasn't an awful lot of money on the farm in those days. And so I was kind of working my way through. So I really could do primarily what I wanted, although I got some help from them. But they went along with anything. You just go ahead and try whatever you want. So I decided, well, I'm going to go into theater. And if that doesn't work, I'm going to also major in radio speech then, which eventually became radio and television speech.

And when I left the university, I realized that theater sounded a little difficult. So I'm from the University of Minnesota, went out before I did, and did well in theater, and in the movies of Peter Graves, his brother Jim Arness, many others. And I was thinking, I'd like to try it. But maybe I didn't have enough confidence in myself, for one thing. But also, I needed the money. I needed work right now. I couldn't go out there and starve, let alone find a way to get out there without hitchhiking. So I got a job at the radio station in Stillwater. I left the U on Thursday and started there on Monday.

BOB POTTER: And what year was that, Roger?

ROGER ERICKSON: 19-- [MUMBLES]

[LAUGHTER]

BOB POTTER: Yeah, right.

ROGER ERICKSON: 1951.

BOB POTTER: '51? OK. Well, how did you wind up then at CCO?

ROGER ERICKSON: I was at-- I was at Stillwater from '51 to '59, except for a couple of years in service. And I just always auditioned here at CCO Radio. It's the one thing I really wanted to do. And they would always say, well, keep working at it. Keep going out there in the sticks, and get that experience. And you know, I mean, you got some possibilities.

But I thought to myself, you know, why don't they just tell me that I'm not good enough? I could handle that. And I'll find a job maybe in, you know-- maybe I can go one step up, maybe someplace. I don't know. But if they just tell me, well, no, no, it's just, you know, could work some time.

And then I wondered-- I heard about-- as a matter of fact, I was program director out in Stillwater for a while. And I know what program directors do. When all of a sudden, the announcer leaves, you don't go back and listen to all those tapes. Takes too much time. Is anybody available? Anybody knew a radio announcer within 20 miles who needs a job right now? So I figured they really never even listened to my tapes or anything. So then I got a job at television as Bozo, the Clown.

BOB POTTER: Tell me about that.

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, I heard about that they were going to have the auditions for Bozo the Clown. The original Bozo the Clown, Larry Harmon, who is still around, and will be here for the aquatennial, because he's involved with the Target Stores. And he created the character, Bozo the Clown, made records early in his career, and then eventually made films, cartoons of Bozo the Clown, which he syndicated to stations.

And with the syndication, the station was also to have their own local Bozo the Clown, which would be the same makeup, same voice as much as possible and be live around these cartoons to do the commercials and whatever shtick there you wanted to do, if you wanted to have an audience or whatever. But you had the-- so they were auditioning. They had bought the films, the cartoons. They were really very good cartoons and adventures with Bozo, you know. And I say I just got to try for this.

Now, I'm trying to think to myself, where can I get some advantage? I think I can be the clown. I'm not afraid to do that. And I can be as silly as I want. But I've got to get that voice down. And that'll maybe get them.

So I took his records. And I went up North for a week, a cabin on a lake. Took the recorder with me, listened to the records, tape-recorded his voice. Then I'd rest. And then I'd go out and sit by the lake, come back and do it some more for a week. By the time that week was over, I'd listened to his. I'd listened to mine. I couldn't tell the difference. So I went in. And with all the confidence in the world, I was sure I had it. And I did. I surprised even myself. But it shows work pays off sometimes.

BOB POTTER: Can you do the Bozo the Clown character now?

ROGER ERICKSON: [CLOWN VOICE] Well, Yes. Yeah I'm Bozo the Clown.

BOB POTTER: Yeah, that's it. So you did that on TV for a while. And then how did you migrate over to radio?

ROGER ERICKSON: Then I figured that was kind of a backdoor way of getting to radio. Maybe they would remember me when I got there. And then I had to find something more to do, because just Bozo the Clown didn't pay much, wasn't really a living wage. And I did some other things on television. I did a thing called Junior Auction and Junior Bowling as myself.

And then there was an opening on the weekends here. And they said, who's that guy over there that-- and I came over here. And I said, remember me? Oh my gosh, the guy who's been auditioning here for years. And so I started working weekends in late '59. And then eventually Charlie and I got together with our Boone and Erickson show in the afternoon in the '61. Same time, I started In The Morning with Maynard Speece in '61.

BOB POTTER: Let's go back just a moment. Why did you have this compelling desire to work in radio when at that time television was clearly the dominant medium?

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, you know, I really wanted to try television. That's right. It really was. And everybody thought they're going to put radio in the closet. And as a matter of fact, many radio stations ended up that way, because they combined the radio and television operations in the same building. And that is exactly what happened. The glamorous television had 7/8 of the building. And that little studio over there was radio. And they didn't care about it. They figured it's going to die.

But WCCO Radio was different. They kept their separations-- they kept their operations separate. And it really made a difference. When others' radio stations were just using the sound off the television news, we had our own sound, because it's different in radio.

But I still wanted to try television. And I realized, as I did-- my very first commercial on Channel 4 was on a sports show in the afternoon talking about University of Minnesota football and was Raleigh Johnson. I don't know if anybody is old enough to remember all this. But Raleigh Johnson was doing-- and he had Sid Hartman as a special guest on there. Here was this young guy, Sid. And I read him in the paper. And I was nervous being on the show, because that was a big show. This was before pro teams were here. And this was it, you know.

They'd talk about the University football game the day before. And I was to do a live Delco battery. Ah, and so live. And I-- you remember the Delco dry-charged battery? You had to add the water to show that it was dry charge. That was really a big deal back then. So you had to turn the battery just right so they could see that it was dry in there. Then you had to turn it, set it down, and then squeeze the water in to show how it's done, all the time doing the commercial.

And I thought, this is ridiculous. You got to hold this a certain way. You got to be all these different things. You know, I would rather just talk about this. Look at here. We got the dry charge battery. Isn't this great compared to what you have to-- all you have to do is fill it, you know. And I memorize it. And I, you know-- no, no, you got-- then you got to stand a certain place. You can't move-- you know, radio is more fun.

I found out with some of those commercials and other things that it's good. But also, you could-- even then, you could get a hint of what is going to be-- what was going to be happening to the television, that it was going to-- because I did Bozo for five, six years. And then I did another show after that, because the makeup was beginning to bother my face. I was breaking out. And I had this rubber nose. And I get pimples on my nose.

So they had me do a show as myself called Roger. And I do-- put on different hats and do different accents, and all that kind of thing, which was OK. But it wasn't a Bozo show. But I realized that television was changing, that we had a show on the afternoon called-- it was a variety show with Arlie--

BOB POTTER: Arlie Haberle.

ROGER ERICKSON: Arlie Haberle.

BOB POTTER: "Around the Town."

ROGER ERICKSON: "Around the Town with Arlie. And that was going off. And that it was going to the kid's shows. The complaints were starting to come in. Even Congress was getting involved in kid's shows. And they saying that the kids characters shouldn't do the commercials, because they're too effective. We ask the kids to go out and buy those Hostess Twinkies. They go out there with mama, goes, [CLOWN VOICE] mommy, buy me the hostess Twinkies. Bozo said it was good. And they-- oh, quiet.

But anyway, I realized then that the kids shows eventually went off and became-- you could kind of just see also it's going to-- television, it's going to be primarily news. And I didn't want that. I love being involved in news-maker interviews. That's fun. But I don't want to be a newsman that has to be, you know, absolutely fair and no softball questions. [DEEP VOICE] They got to be hard. And they got to be in-depth.

I like to play around. You play around with these guests, you know, no matter who they are, whether it's Walter Mondale, or the president or what, have some fun. Who says we all-- [DEEP VOICE] well, Hillary, tell me about this scandal. You know, it's-- we like to have fun. And if we can get some other questions in there with that, oftentimes we do get questions because we are what we are. But anyway, that's what I wanted to be. Then I realized it could only happen in radio.

KAREN-LOUISE BOOTHE: WCCO Radio personality Roger Erickson, a farm boy from the Winthrop area, talking with Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Potter. This is our Voices of Minnesota interview heard every Monday as part of Mid-morning. Programming on Minnesota Public Radio is supported in part by the community Partners Fund. Contributors include the Valspar Corporation, paint and related coatings since 1806, Bemis Company Foundation, manufacturer of flexible packaging products, and Housemaster of America, home inspection professionals since 1984.

We're going to take a break for the news and a bit of weather with Karen Barta. Then in the next half hour, we will hear more stories about Roger Erickson's days in radio at WCCO, AM radio. Karen Barta, hello. I understand that there's been a plane crash in Tennessee.

KAREN BARTA: That's right, Karen. An airplane has crashed into a residential area near Nashville, Tennessee's International Airport. No further information is available at this time. There is no comment yet from Dr. Jack Kevorkian on a body found in his van today. Authorities say the woman's body was found early today outside the medical examiner's office in Oakland County, Michigan. Kevorkian's lawyers plan a news conference later today.

President Clinton is announcing a new initiative today aimed at curbing teenage pregnancies. The White House hopes the campaign will cut teen pregnancies by one-third over the next 10 years. A proposal to let voters recall elected officials is up for consideration in a Senate committee today. The Senate Rules and Administration Committee is considering the matter this morning.

The National Park Service is seeking public input on how best to manage Isle Royale National Park, located off the North shore of Lake Superior. Public Information Officer Terry Lindsay says some people would like to restrict the use of motorboats in adjoining Lake Superior waters.

TERRY LINDSAY: Some of the things that people have talked about or visitors have expressed, and maybe some boaters are concerned about, is putting some zones where motorboating is either allowed a speed zone or that motorboats would not go into because of wildlife, or because it's close to the wilderness boundary.

KAREN BARTA: Other issues likely to be addressed include preserving cultural landmarks and protection of wildlife. The state forecast includes a winter weather advisory for all of Minnesota this afternoon. Windy and cold statewide Northwest winds causing blowing and drifting snow and windchills from 40 to 65 below zero. Highs from the teens below in the Northwest, to the single digits below in the East.

And for the Twin Cities, windy with blowing and drifting snow, a high in the single digits above zero. Around the region in Rochester, blowing snow and 9 below, blowing snow in Duluth and two below zero. And in the Twin Cities, it's sunny. The wind chill is minus 37, and it's 6 below. Karen, that's a news update from Minnesota Public Radio.

KAREN-LOUISE BOOTHE: All right. Thank you for that. Today's programming is sponsored in part by Bad News Becky, Johnny Touchdown, the Dianimal, and Jasmine the Wonder Dog. Happy birthday, dad.

OK. Good morning. This is Karen-Louise Boothe. I'm in today for Paula Schroeder. And this is Mid-morning. WCCO Radio personality Roger Erickson is getting ready to wind down from his early morning hours after more than 30 years of sunrise radio. Today on our Voices of Minnesota interview, we're listening to Roger in conversation with Bob Potter about Erickson's days in radio. Let's return to the conversation.

BOB POTTER: Must have been some great characters here at CCO in those early days, Clellan Card and Bob DeHaven. And who are some of the others?

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, yeah. I mean, there was a lot of talent here. Cedric Adams, of course, some may remember. Cedric was a columnist with the Minneapolis Star, big columnist. I guess his readership was as big as anybody could ever hope for. And then here on the station, it was monstrous.

We used to see graphs. He had a 12:30 news and a 10:00 o'clock news at night. He also had some shows early in the morning when I first came. But you'd look at the graph from the ratings book at 12:30-- [HIGH-PITCHED ZIP] And then when old Ma Perkins came on after him-- [LOW-PITCHED ZIP] his radio dramas were, kind of, starting to go down. And he was a monster.

Bob DeHaven, Bob DeHaven had a show at night called "Friendly Fred," sponsored by Grainbelt Brewery. It was a classic. At 10:30 right after the news, the music show. And he had shows in the morning. He had shows with Joyce Lamont. It was Dayton's musical chimes, First Banknotes, 7:30 to 8:30. And Howard Viken, of course, was a monster.

BOB POTTER: And Howard was here before you.

ROGER ERICKSON: Yes, he was. Howard came in 1952.

BOB POTTER: Oh, yeah. OK.

ROGER ERICKSON: Howard really was something, because he was ahead of his time. Well, Cedric Adams and Bob DeHaven were ahead of their time, too. But most of the shows on radio, when I first came here, they were starting to change, were actually scripted. And they had-- there was one more, one more show with a band in the afternoon with Randy Merriman, 3:00 to 5:00 with-- Charlie Boone finally took over that show when the band went. But they would be scripted.

There would be something-- hey, that was a great, great song. Where's that from? The band? I'd holler, oh, that's from-- not Sound of Music band. But that was from pajama game there, Bob. Oh, really? Well, I haven't been in my pajamas since this morning, you know. And it was all scripted, you know. So Viken started doing a radio show in the afternoon where he's just himself, and he's ad libbing. And then in the morning, they put him on in the morning. And he just created a sensation with the show from 8:00 to 10:00.

BOB POTTER: Yeah. Well, of course, you and Charlie Boone were a sensation, became one, still are. Probably will be for a long time there.

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, I hope so. I don't know if we're so sensational anymore. Yeah, I like to think we are, not sensational. But it's really fun doing the show on Saturday, again, with Charlie. I must admit that really is a lot of fun. We had-- the one thing about Saturday, when Charlie and I went to the mornings, there's so many things happening. We have so many things to get in. There's news, and there's weather, and there's traffic. And then there's sports. And then there's this-- a little, very little time to develop anything. Everything has to be short and snappy and to the point, which is great. I love doing that too.

But we had, when we did the afternoon show, time to develop shows, write dramas, run for 10, 15 minutes. It was great. And now we're able to do some of that in the morning. We can experiment, we have time. And it's a different-- there's a different listenership in the morning on Saturday.

During the week, you've got to think of the shower's going, and the kids crying and hollering, and they're getting them ready for school, and razors going and everything. They can't concentrate too long. Nobody wants to be preached at. Nobody wants to be taught anything. They, want the news. They want the weather. They want the sports. And they want the time, and a little humor. But, you know, you don't like develop anything too much. Saturday morning, people are more laid back generally. And you can talk to them a little more.

BOB POTTER: Tell me about some of the characters you created. There was Athelstan Milkhouse of Universities Hamlet--

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, you do remember.

BOB POTTER: Well, yeah.

ROGER ERICKSON: See, there was a Athel-- there was Athelstan Millhouse at the University who was, what was he? Was he--

BOB POTTER: Well, he was a Dean of some sort.

ROGER ERICKSON: He was a Dean of something, the Institute of Technology or--

BOB POTTER: Might have been.

ROGER ERICKSON: --something like that. So I had Applestan-- Applestan Milkhouse. [CLOWN VOICE] und he was-- he was the professor that sounded like this. Und he would have all kinds. [LAUGHS] We had August.

BOB POTTER: Oh yes.

ROGER ERICKSON: [CLOWN VOICE] Yeah, August that he was the janitor here. And he'd pop in. And he had the little philosophy for everybody. We had the d-Con rat, of course. I had a commercial for d-Con which got rid of rats. And I just-- that commercial bothered me so much, because-- [DEEP VOICE] use d-Con, and your rats will die. They'll disappear, you know. Every morning hearing about something dying. So funny.

I started doing this d-Con rat. [CLOWN VOICE] Like, you know that-- doesn't that sound a bit cruel? I mean, you know, we're really nice. I mean, we're furry. So he started getting all the good side of the rats and what they do, you know. [CLOWN VOICE] We provide food for cats and, you know, like. So he'd always give equal time for the rats. And it became so big that the d-Con company gave me an award for it. [LAUGHS] They sold more d-con with this negative advertising. Well, it was fun.

BOB POTTER: Oh gosh. Did you write all that stuff or just make it up as you went along?

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, yeah. You-- kind of, not word for word. But you do know what the gag might be, not always. Sometimes, something comes to you on the spur of the moment. But yeah, you do need to have-- I do, not everybody. I'm not smart enough to work entirely off the top of my head. So I do have stuff, kind of, laid out.

Sometime, when we do a bit that involves another person, and you want to develop, almost have to be scripted. Or you can get off the path in the development of the gag. So you, kind of, need to script it out. But as yourself, you know where you're going.

BOB POTTER: Of course, you've had, as you mentioned, even with d-Con, you've had tremendous success with sponsors. You and Charlie, I mean, my gosh, there isn't a thing that you guys couldn't sell that people would want to have. I mean, you guys could read a commercial for a cookie. And I would want that cockeyed cookie. I mean, I'm not kidding. How do you do that?

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, you know, that personalized commercial idea happened back in the '60s. Howard was the first, Howard Viken, first one to really do that, really personalize a commercial. And then they started selling us on those. Now, the difference in the personalized commercial is that we really have to really, kind of, be into it. You can't just sell anything, something you really don't believe or-- and the other idea is too, that you would become well-versed with the product by going to the factory, or meeting with the head person, or whatever, which gave it a little extra feel. And so that's how that all started. But yeah.

One of the first ones we actually had was for Plywood Minnesota with Rudy Boschwitz. And that started out as not a personalized-- the commercials read, Rudy Boschwitz says come to Plywood Minnesota and load up your load of plywood. We'll tie it to your car, if you want to. And we read that over and over. So I started doing the voice of Rudy Boschwitz. We had never met him yet. We said, so that's-- Rudy Boschwitz says, and then I would do a beautiful announcer voice. [DEEP VOICE] Come to Plywood Minnesota and load your plywood on top of your car. We'll tie it down.

Pretty soon, Charlie is starting an interview Rudy, you know. [DEEP VOICE] Well, Charlie, I started in this business many years ago because I believe plywood-- we do that-- we did that for some time. Rudy would call the salesperson. I love it. I love it. And the-- And then one time-- eventually, eventually, that's right. Eventually, they wanted to make it officially a personalized commercial. And the sales person said, we've got to get together, Rudy, and you. And Rudy says, I don't want to meet him. It'll ruin everything.

[LAUGHTER]

KAREN-LOUISE BOOTHE: WCCO Radio personality Roger Erickson talking with MPR's Bob Potter. This is our Voices of Minnesota interview, heard nearly every Monday as part of Mid-morning. I'm Karen-Louise Boothe. And I'm sitting in for the vacationing Paula Schroeder.

It is currently about 20 minutes before 11:00 o'clock, and 6 below here in the Twin Cities. Windy and bitterly cold, with blowing and drifting snow this afternoon. Decreasing clouds in the Central and Southern portions of the state. Tonight, decreasing winds early, but bitterly cold tonight with lows from 45 below in the North, to around 15 below in the Southeast, and still very cold tomorrow.

Coming up shortly on the Midday program in the first hour from 11:00 to 12:00, it will be the second installment of the Black Radio series. This one is about WDIA in Memphis, Tennessee, which made broadcast history in 1949 with all Black on-air announcers playing blues and R&B in the 1940s, and the 1950s. Very entertaining program. You'll want to stick around for that. Let's hear now the final section of Bob Potter's conversation with WCCO's Roger Erickson.

BOB POTTER: It gets to this business of the image that people have in their minds when they hear something on the radio, doesn't it?

ROGER ERICKSON: Yeah, that's right. That's right, yeah.

BOB POTTER: And you create that somehow for people every single day. And you have for years.

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, I don't know. I just have fun. I don't like to think that I'm doing anything special. It's just fun. And what a great way to make a living.

BOB POTTER: Have you ever had to advertise for a product you did not believe in?

ROGER ERICKSON: No. You know, sometimes we'll hit a live spot that is not personalized. And we'll read. And that's fine. That's my job. I might not believe in it as much as others. But, you know, every product has something. Someone will say, how can you advertise for that furniture store? I go to, you know, some high-end furniture store, not mentioning any names. And their quality is so great. I said, yeah.

But a couple starting out without much money, if they went to that store, they would buy one piece of furniture, and not have any other in the house. Where they can go to this other furniture store-- [AUDIO OUT]

BOB POTTER: Yeah. So here we are. We're talking about these, these people that can't afford to buy the expensive stuff. So they buy something else.

ROGER ERICKSON: Yeah. I don't judge the quality of the sponsor by how much you pay for it, what the quality is. It's who can buy what, and how does it-- how does it help them. I mean, selling a used car is as important to somebody as selling a newer car, because they can't afford that newer car. I've been through it. I know.

BOB POTTER: The broadcasting business, the radio business has changed dramatically in your tenure here. I mean, WCCO used to be locally owned. It used to be tied in with the newspaper, and all that stuff. And now it's owned by this big company out in New York. How has that changed things for you?

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, sure, it has changed. But that's changed in every business today, hasn't it? I mean, every business is like that. They're all going through all kinds of, you know-- not us necessarily, but there's downsizing. And there are mergers. It's merger mania, I think. And they all have to. We're just no different. And so you have to adapt. That's--

BOB POTTER: What kind of a change has that meant for you, if any?

ROGER ERICKSON: It really hasn't meant anything for me. I have been really lucky to have worked for a lot of great people who like what we do. And sure, they're program directors. And they're our managers. And they want certain things. And I can adapt. You have to do that.

BOB POTTER: What do you think about the trend-- it seems we don't have it here in the Twin Cities much yet. But there seems to be a growing trend around the country toward what you'd have to call just nasty radio, bad language on the air, foul jokes, dirty language, that sort of thing.

ROGER ERICKSON: Well, you know, I really don't know what to say on that. I can't do it. But at the same time, I can't say that I'm an angel either. [LAUGHS] Or when Maynard Speece was on, he was the-- I would sit there and be nervous. But I think there's a difference between really fun, zingy and mean, you know what I mean?

BOB POTTER: Yeah.

ROGER ERICKSON: If we do a joke about somebody, whether it's the legislature or something, we like to think that they could join in. You know, that was pretty clever. Instead of, why did they say that about me? I don't like put downs that are mean. I don't-- and I don't like to hurt families. I don't like, you know-- if I do, and I may have sometime in the past, because you're flying off the top of your head a lot. You know, sometimes things can happen. I really feel bad about that.

But no, I-- there is a-- even beyond the talk that is kind of raw, it's the meanness of some of the talk-back programs. I don't know. But, you know, this is our business. And radio is hot. Maybe that's the reason it's hot. I don't know. This one we talked before about, you know, they may have put radio back in the closet. And it's going to die, but it didn't die. Maybe this helped it live. I don't know.

BOB POTTER: Let's see. What else did I want to be sure to ask you about, Roger? Let me just check my-- Dan Olson gave me a list of things a mile long here. And we're almost done. Well, you know, one of the things-- we just got to talk a little bit about Maynard. You and Maynard on it-- early in the morning there back in the mid '60s, I definitely recall that-- gosh, what a character you guys were.

ROGER ERICKSON: '61 to '78 was great years. You know, I worked two hours in the morning with Maynard. And then I'd work with Charlie in the afternoon from 1:00 to 3:00. And both of them were just great. But I'd come down here in the morning with Maynard. And he was such a natural storyteller. He could take any kind of a joke. And he would put it in context of his hometown of Meadowlands.

And he's-- my uncle Edgar went to Duluth, checked into this hotel-- I was like, here it comes. [LAUGHS] And he went down to the bar. And he saw-- you know, he would always use some kind of setting like that. And then the jo-- and I would hear a joke the day before. I thought, oh, my gosh. He would then start out that same joke.

So Maynard, you can't tell that joke. We'll be right back, folks. Hit a commercial. During the commercial, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. Come back later, and he'd tell the joke. And he changed the ending. He somehow managed to sanitize it. But he'd scare me.

Another thing that Maynard would do is during a commercial, he would look at the clock. See, when the commercial started. He says, let me tell you what happened last night. So he goes-- he talks about something and a little joke here. Then he hears the-- then he gives the punchline just two seconds before the commercial is over. I got to come on and give the time and temperature. And I'm--

BOB POTTER: --breaking up.

ROGER ERICKSON: I'm doubled over. [LAUGHS] He was that kind of a guy.

BOB POTTER: Did you guys play tricks on each other, some?

ROGER ERICKSON: Oh, yeah. There was always a certain amount of that, yeah. The old thing about, you know, hotfoot Jergen Nash was the-- he was the prankster. Somebody would sit there. And he'd put the match down on the shoe and then light it with another match. Pretty soon your foot's burning.

[LAUGHTER]

I don't know. They shouldn't tell this one on public radio. But this really did happen. We had a commercial-- so you can cut this out.

[LAUGHTER]

BOB POTTER: Which guarantees it'll be in, of course.

ROGER ERICKSON: We had a commercial for-- let's see, what was it called? Alpine Krauter. God, how did that name come back to me. Alpen Krauter. But it was a laxative. It was a laxative. And we had to do them live. There were six spots a day. It was like a real big campaign to get it introduced. I think it was a test market here and everything. And they got on WCCO Radio all live.

Now, the deal back then is if you want it recorded, you have to pay extra. Otherwise, you get-- whoever the announcer is on duty at the time, you get him, period. That's it. You can't ask for a particular person, unless you pay for the recording. So if we got that spot during our stint, we had to read it.

But the problem was it kind of graphically described the whole process. You take Alpen Krauter. And pretty soon, you feel that warming in your stomach. And then you feel great again. And of course-- and they didn't want us to laugh because this was serious. And we'd all put our heads down. We're reading the commercial.

[LAUGHTER]

Maynard Speece got one of those. And he had his eyes covered. He was reading the commercial. And Jergen Nash came in and threw a roll of toilet paper.

[LAUGHTER]

And he was gone. He was gone. The sponsor canceled. Imagine a big campaign like that, six spots a day.

BOB POTTER: Oh, wow. Roger Erickson, WCCO, thanks a million.

ROGER ERICKSON: You bet. Thank you, Bob. Enjoy listening to you.

KAREN-LOUISE BOOTHE: WCCO Radio personality Roger Erickson talking with Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Potter. Roger Erickson is winding down his radio career after more than 30 years at WCCO. Our Voices of Minnesota interview series is produced by Dan Olson with assistance from intern, Marci Tveit.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

It's a great day to be listening to the radio. It's so cold outside, windy and bitterly cold with blowing and drifting snow this afternoon, decreasing clouds in the Central and the Southern parts of the state. Highs from 15 below in the Northwest to the single digits in the East. Tonight, decreasing winds, but bitterly cold. And tomorrow, still very cold. Right now in the Twin Cities, it's six below.

PERRY FINELLI: Black radio and Black music, on the next Midday, you'll hear the next installment of our series on the history of Black radio, which features the radio programs of the 1940s. You'll also hear the comments of legendary blues musician BB King. He was at the National Press Club talking about his life as the king of the blues. I'm Perry Finelli. Tune in for the latest world, national, and local news on Midday at 11:00 o'clock on the FM News Station, KNOW FM, 91.1 in the Twin Cities.

KAREN-LOUISE BOOTHE: Time now for the Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

GARRISON KEILLOR: And here is the Writer's Almanac for Monday. It's the 29th of January, 1996. The first librarian of Congress was appointed on this day in 1802. John James Beckley of Virginia was hired at $2 per day.

It's the birthday of John Callcott Horsley in London in 1817. An artist, a painter, a true Victorian, he was unable to bring himself to paint nude models. It just didn't seem right to him. As a result, he had a hard time painting the human figure in any realistic way. But he created the first Christmas card. 1843, he made a little picture of a family having a party. And underneath it said, a Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year to you. An addition of 1,000 cards went on sale in London, the first Christmas card.

It's the birthday of Anton Chekhov, born in the Ukraine in 1860, who wrote his great stories when he was young in his 20s and 30s, and at the end of his life, wrote his great plays all within about seven years, "The Seagull," "Uncle Vanya," "The Three Sisters" and "The Cherry Orchard," which he finished a year before he died of tuberculosis.

It's the birthday of WC Fields in Philadelphia in 1880 William Claude Dukenfield, who said, anyone who hates children and dogs can't be all bad. And it's the birthday of Oprah Winfrey. Born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, in 1954, grew up in Milwaukee, and in Nashville. Broke into television as a newswoman in Nashville. And went on to television in Baltimore, where they wanted to change her hairdo, and also wanted her to change her name to Cindy. She declined. Oprah Winfrey.

Here's a poem for today, an Irish ballad by an anonymous author, the Ballad of Brian O'lynn. "Brian O'lynn was a gentleman born. He lived at a time when no clothes were worn. As fashions were out, of course, Brian walked in. I'll soon head the fashion, says Brian O'lynn.

Brian O'lynn had no breeches to wear. He got an old sheepskin to make him a pair. With the fleshy side out and the woolly side in, they'll be pleasant and cool, says Brian O'lynn.

Brian O'lynn had no shirt to his back. He went to a neighbor's and borrowed a sack. Then he puckered the meal bag in under his chin. Sure, they'll take him for ruffles, says Brian O'lynn.

Brian O'lynn was hard up for a coat. So he borrowed the skin of a neighboring goat, with a horn sticking out from his oxters. And then sure, they'll take him for pistols, says Brian O'lynn.

Brian O'lynn had no brogues for his toes. He hopped in two crab shells to serve him for those. Then he split up two oysters that matched like a twin. Sure, they'll shine out like buckles, says Brian O'lynn.

Brian O'lynn had no watch to put on. So he scooped out a turnip to make him one. Then he placed a young cricket in under the skin. Sure, they'll think it is ticking, says Brian O'lynn.

Brian O'lynn went a-courting one night. He set both the mother and daughter to fight. To fight for his hand, they both stripped to the skin. Sure, I'll marry you both, says Brian O'lynn.

Brian O'lynn, his wife and wife's mother, they all lay down in the bed together. The sheets, they were old. And the blankets were thin. Lie close to the wall, says Brian O'lynn.

Brian O'lynn, his wife and wife's mother were all going home over the bridge together. The bridge, it broke down. And they all tumbled in. We'll go home by the water, says Brian O'lynn". The ballad of a man who made the best of what he had, Brian O'lynn. And that's the Writer's Almanac for Monday, January 29, made possible by Coles Magazines, publishers of aviation history and other magazines. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

KAREN-LOUISE BOOTHE: It is coming up on two minutes before 11:00 o'clock. Shortly is the Midday program. This just across the wire. A military plane crashed near Nashville today, apparently into a residential neighborhood, according to authorities. The FAA confirmed the crash. CNN is reporting the plane was an F-14 fighter jet that hit a number of homes, setting at least two of them on fire, and also killing the pilot.

We think that the pilot is dead at this point, says Lieutenant Wayne Rynearson of the Nashville Fire Department. He says he has not yet received any reports of people in the homes being injured as well. We'll have more on that throughout the day as details come in, I'm sure.

Coming up tomorrow on Mid-morning, we will be talking about issues pertaining to Native Americans in this state, and teen pregnancy, reaction to President Clinton's plan to reduce teen pregnancies. We will have a brief call-in on that subject tomorrow as well.

Also on Mid-morning tomorrow, a live phone interview with linguist Carlene Carter, who worked to publish the new Lonely Planet guidebooks USA phrasebook. Now, not only will travelers be able to rely on phrasebooks written for foreign languages, but they can refer to the guide to communicate effectively across the linguistic lexicon of the diverse United States. Be sure to tune in for that.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

ANDREI CODRESCU: I'm Andrei Codrescu. Join me, John Raby, and the Washington crew for the news and long looks into the human soul. It's All Things Considered every day at 3:00 on the FM News Station, KNOW FM 91.1.

KAREN-LOUISE BOOTHE: You're listening to Minnesota Public Radio. It is 6 below at the FM News Station, KNOW FM 91.1, Minneapolis, Saint Paul. Twin Cities weather, cold today. Currently, it's 6 below in the Twin Cities. It is 11:00.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

PERRY FINELLI: Good morning. This is Midday on the FM News Station. I'm Perry Finelli in for Gary Eichten. In the news, President Clinton is announcing a new initiative aimed at curbing teenage pregnancies. The campaign will be led by Dr. Henry Foster, the failed surgeon general nominee. DFL'ers are announcing proposals to change Minnesota's property tax and school finance systems. The state legislative auditor is releasing a report on the Department of Human Rights on Discrimination Complaints.

And the Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments today in a case involving tobacco companies. The companies are trying to throw out a lawsuit by Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which is trying to recover insurance costs caused by tobacco use. During the noon hour portion of the program, the second installment of the Black Radio series, this one is titled The Goodwill Station and focuses on a Memphis radio station best known for its service to African-Americans. We'll also hear from blues great BB King, who is one of WDIA's early announcers in a recent address at the National Press Club.