The KSTP Barn Dance Show
By John L. Cole
Some of you are old enough to remember B.T. (before television) Time.
Those were the days when we waited every fall for the KSTP Sunset
Valley Barn Dance to come to town.
When it did for a one-night stand, it filled the high school
auditorium. It was great
fun.
When the curtain went up, the master of ceremonies, David Stone, would
come out. He is a man with
great knowledge of
cowboy and folk singers.
Prior to coming to KSTP, David was co-producer of the “Grand Old
Opry”. During the evening
he would introduce the
entertainers and keep the show moving along.
He also revived many old-time dances and is
credited for reintroducing the square dance that became popular
in the North West.
The Sunset Valley Barn Dance started on radio in 1940 where it could be
heard every Saturday night.
This program brought
to the Minnesota
radio audience real American folk
music. From the very
beginning, it was a tremendous success.
People from all walks of life made sure that every Saturday night
was left open for the program.
The show featured such well-know performers as Randy Merriman, Jimmy
Valentine, Chuck Mulkern (the Flash of Rice St.), Cactus Slim (the
Lonesome Serenador) and many others.
Real photo postcards of these people were sent out by the station on
request. They seem to turn
up in the strangest places.
Collecting them could be lots of fun.
I have no knowledge of how many there are but there could be
hundreds.
