Elmo was born on August 27, 1924, in Sunburg, Minnesota, the son of Andrew and Esther (Erickson) Wick. He grew up in Sunburg where he attended school. He was united in marriage to Melba Gunderson September 12, 1945, in Sunburg. The couple moved to Willmar in 1947, where Elmo worked for the Kandiyohi County Highway Department as a heavy equipment operator for 37 years. He retired in 1983 and moved to Brooten, Minnesota, in 1985. Melba died on December 5, 2002. Elmo was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith and was a member of Vinje Lutheran Church in Willmar and Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooten. Elmo loved music and played the violin his whole life. He stared playing with Morris Chargo at KWLM Radio on a weekly show. He later played with Harry Forsman Band and the Norskies Band. He also taught violin and played in fiddlers contests throughout the state. He belonged to the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America and the Minnesota State Fiddlers Association. Elmo's vast collection of transcriptions are now being reproduced by the MSFA. - Walter Sigtermans (MSFA)
Note that "Little Red Barn" was popularized due to a recording by John Baltzell (of Ohio), "Old Red Barn Medley Quadrille," on Edison (1923).
ReplyDelete"Buckwheat Batter" was recorded by Tom Owens' Trio on Silvertone in 1925 and was thereafter published in certain places, so his version probably goes back to one of them, not Messer. "Whalen's Breakdown" is a Messer tune, but there are lots of versions of this that aren't.
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