People sometimes wonder what on earth we find to do to keep busy in our small towns. We keep very busy, as the readers of our 'Blog know. There is a small town near us that is very unique that we would like to share with our faithful readers:
Ely, Minnesota, is about 40 miles from where we all live. It is the "gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW)," and the home of the International Wolf Center and the Dorothy Molter Museum (the famous Root Beer Lady). U.S. Highway 169 goes right through Ely and ends about 10 miles north--the end of the road! The WT's have spent time geocaching in the area, Emily and her husband have a home there, and we all love to attend concerts, eat out and enjoy the annual Blueberry Festival in late July.
One of the most fun things about Ely is the radio station--WELY, "End of the Road Radio." Most of us are lucky enough to be able to pick up the station on our radios (94.5 on our FM dials), especially on Saturday mornings when we listen to five big hours of polkas, waltzes, and requests and dedications. Polka Pal Don keeps us entertained for the full five hours. He mostly plays ethnic (eastern European) polkas, but this past Saturday he played two interesting polkas--"Don't Get Your Shorts in a Bunch" as well as "Grab Your Balls We're Going Bowling." People from all over the country call in or email their requests and many dedicate songs to couples who are celebrating anniversaries or to the memory of those who are no longer with us or to folks who are celebrating birthdays. All in all, it is an enjoyable morning for many listeners. Some who are new to this area cannot understand our fascination and love of this kind of music.
The station reminds us of the radio station in the old television program, "Northern Exposure." There is Trader Craig who is on every weekday morning at 9:00. It is WELY's own mini-version of eBay for those without computers. One can find many things of interest to buy or sell. Birding with Bill is on at 7:00 p.m. on Sundays (unless there is a Minnesota Twins game!).
Another unique part of the station is the Emergency and Personal Messages program. It is broadcast at noon and at 5:00 p.m. It serves the purpose of getting messages to folks who live or are camping in remote areas without the benefit of cell 'phone towers. The messages are often short, informing parents that the kids have arrived home safely or that they are going to be late or that Aunt Sally has picked enough blueberries to make a pie! There might be birthday and anniversary wishes also.
Charles Kuralt did a piece on Ely once for CBS and ended up vacationing there for many years afterwards. In fact, he even owned WELY at one time. They still run some ads/promos that he did. In one of them, he says, "You never know what you're going to hear next. In fact, we don't even know what we're going to say next!"
The station is now owned by the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and there are many Native American programs on throughout the week and some very interesting music.
We invite you to click on the link for "End of the Road Radio" on the right. You can listen to streaming audio on your computers. Tune in on Saturday mornings to listen to Polka Pal Don and think about the WT's that might be listening. As Polka Pal Don says, "It's a time to let your hair down--that is, if you have any hair to let down!" Perhaps you might end up 'phoning in a request for a song . . .
