"fiddling" Ole Hanson. Austin, MN

"Fiddling" Ole started off learning the Norwegian tunes of his father and grandfather.  When he wasn't working at the Hormel plant, he was traveling with an orchestra, playing tunes at a contest or repairing old fiddles.  He won the senior division of the MN State Fiddle Association contest.  After he died, his family recorded an album with some of his influences on it.  The article below was originally posted in the Rochester Post-Bulletin.

Gynther Flattum. Lanesboro, MN.

Gynther lived from 1907-2003.   in 1995 the Winona paper reported that he came in second at a Mankato fiddle fest.  They also reported in 1968 he played Decorah's Nordic fest, stating that he represented SE Minnesota and NE Iowa's traditional nordic fiddling.

Bob Bovee told me that he was a nice man and a frequent visitor at the fiddling bee that Bob and Gail used to run in Lanesboro for 20 years.  The article below has great tales of Gynther playing his father's fiddle when his father wasn't looking. Article originally in the Rochester Post-Bulletin: