The Royce Files

I spent a considerable amount of time at the Minnesota State Fair in my formative years. I even lived and worked at the Fair a few years 1990s. I am not sure when I first attended the fair but it must have been the early 1980s, well after this promotional program was broadcast on WCCO TV.  One of my earliest memories at the fair was getting lost. I still cannot believe my parents found me- but I ended up turning myself in to the fair lost and found in the evening.  It is rare these days if a station spends this much time on a local event. A whole half hour was dedicated to showing the highlights of the Fair during the Bicentennial in 1976. But WCCO was known for local content during this time period. The venerable Dave Moore had a hand in a lot of it.  On this program another noted WCCO anchor and also a Minnesota native, Bill Carlson, takes the helm as he wanders through the fair and experience the sights and sounds.   Not much has changed. The bones are intact...

I went to a Twins game back in early June. First one I ever attended at Target Field and first one in probably 20 years. The game was scheduled to be a Royce Lewis shirt give away. The problem was Lewis was sent down to AAA a few weeks before after having a rather lackluster spring. The day before the game, Lewis was still on the St. Paul roster. He actually had been playing fairly well at the cross town minor league affiliate, St. Paul Saints. Eventually, the June 6th game turned into a Byron Buxton shirt give away. However, that also became a problem since Buxton landed on the injury list. Lewis was recalled that day while the Saints were going ahead with a Royce Lewis shirt promotion.   So I go the game and get a Buxton shirt, not see Buxton play- Kreidler took his spot in center and Royce Lewis played 2nd and 1st. I saw Joe Ryan have an average outing, Bobby Witt Jr break some record, and West Fargo native Matt Strahm give up a homer to the now DFA'd Orlando Arcia. I expec...

My Alma Mater, Park HS of Cottage Grove, recently put on the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat  which I also did at Park and it made me think- is there a record of Park musicals since the move from the old building in St. Paul Park to one on 80th St in Cottage Grove in 1965?  I tried in 2007 to create such a list. It is actually somewhere on this blog. Whew, almost 20 years ago! Now I could dig through a bunch of yearbooks or South Washington County Bulletins that I have no easy access since I am out of the region now. So for now I will rely on my memory and what I can piece together on the net. Accessing memory..... Park High School originally occupied a building in St. Paul Park. By the 1960s the school outgrew the space so a new campus was built over in the neighboring city of Cottage Grove. The old campus ended up getting used as junior high for a time but then became apartments and community space. The new campus included a music 'complex' across the ...