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The Dirt
Driftless Community Radio Newsletter - Spring 2014
WDRT Celebrates Pearl
Swiggum’s 100th!
By Margot Hipwell
On March 24th, WDRT celebrated Pearl Swiggum's
100th birthday. For 46 years, Pearl wrote 'Stump
Ridge', a weekly column for Crawford County’s
Kickapoo Independent newspaper. Over the years it
gained popularity and was syndicated in many local
papers, including the Vernon County Broadcaster,
the Boscobel Dial, and the Wisconsin State Journal.
Pearl was born in Towerville, WI and stayed in the
area to farm and raise a family. Her column primarily
turned to farm life stories, with cats, dogs, squirrels
and cows taking spotlight much of the time. She
often reminisced about how life was during one room
schoolhouse times. And she loved to ponder on the
more than just radio... supporting community, local economy, revolution in media
Continued on Page 2
Pearl Swiggum with WDRT’s Margot Hipwell, the voice of ‘Stump Ridge.’
Couleecap & WDRT Partner for Spring Drive
WDRT will be partnering with Couleecap, Inc. during their
upcoming ‘Growing Community’ Spring Pledge Drive, April
21st-27th. 5% of the proceeds from the Pledge Drive will be
given to Couleecap to support their work to fight poverty
and promote self-sufficiency, economic development and
social justice.
WDRT partnered with the Vernon County Humane Society
last summer and had excellent results. This year, an email
ballot was sent to WDRT members to pick the Spring Pledge
Partner, and Couleecap received the most votes.
Grace Jones, Executive Director of Couleecap remarked,
“As a member of WDRT myself, it was a pleasant surprise to
hear that WDRT wanted to donate part of its fundraising to
Couleecap. It’s a natural fit because both organizations
have a local focus and a community-based orientation.
This collaborative approach toward fundraising represents
a creative shift away from competition over limited
resources, and toward cooperation and mutual-aid among
community-based organizations.
Both Couleecap and WDRT will be promoting the event,
which will provide the opportunity for cross-pollination
among their respective membership bases. For WDRT this
will result in exposing a new audience to community radio,
getting more people involved at the station, and expanding
their donor base to support operating costs.
The Spring Pledge Drive will also be supported by a number
of local businesses offering their financial support via
Challenge Grants. Westby Co-op Creamery will be starting
off the week with a $1000 Challenge Grant on Monday.
Continued on Page 3
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Pearl, cont.
schoolhouse times, and she loved to ponder on the weather
and gardening, always with a good dose of wit.
Stump Ridge became a weekly morning segment on
WDRT almost immediately after the official launch of the
station. Jim Hallberg had the initial concept, and he wanted
someone to read the column and asked me to have the
honor.
Pearl's family had kept copies of the Kickapoo Independent
for many years and generously offered them to WDRT for
our use on the air. Without this resource, the task of
producing the show would have been daunting!
Rusty James produces the show along with me. He makes
sure we get the columns read and recorded on time every
month. With two columns on-air every week, we have
recorded and aired nearly 300 Stump Ridge Farm columns!
The Eddy family stopping by WDRT to sign Pearl’s birthday card
Pearl’s columns are timeless because she writes with
humor about life in the country that we all share. She was
born into a world so different from what we have now, and
shared her view from the past, while keeping a keen outlook
on the present. Also, I think her openness about life made
everyone feel like she was a friend.
WDRT celebrates Pearl Swiggum’s 100th with a cake and good wishes.
NEW ON WDRT
Ghostlight Radio - Mondays at 9PM
Stay up and bask in the warmth with Shawn Neary. Slowcore,
Minimal & Contemporary Classical.
Driftless Honky Tonk - Thursdays at 1PM
Sit back and have a few with Outlaw cousins Sandler and Jamie
Waggoner, as they bring you several rounds of solid tunes.
Hwy 131 Revisited & Twisted Jams - Thursdays at 9PM
Rotating slot. Deep exploration of Rock with Dane Thompson.
Jim Schaffer & John Schunk bring you Jam Bands with a twist.
Fortnight - Every other Saturday at 6PM
Hannah & Emily Sedgewick go beyond the Top 40, with a mix of
indie, electronic and the occasional familiar sound.
The Bargain Store - Sundays at 2PM
Pete Hodapp returns to the airwaves, delving into the strange
world of forgotten and underground sounds.
Soul Stories - Every Fifth Sunday at 7PM
Marianne Feiber, Pita Daniels & Neil Knutson present a tapestry
of tales for your heart and mind.
2 The Dirt - Spring 2014
I hope that when people listen to Stump Ridge they enjoy a
small little respite in their day to hear a story that connects
them to this beautiful Driftless area we call home. Pearl
writes with such love about the land, the animals, getting
her hands dirty in the garden or drying flowers, that you
have to smile to feel her joy of living. And that can be
infectious. Her column can make you think, laugh and cry.
Happy Birthday Pearl, and thank you for all the stories!
Hear Margot Hipwell read Pearl’s column on ‘Stump Ridge’,
which airs at 8:00AM on Mondays & Wednesdays.
New DJ Shawn Neary prepping for ‘Ghostlight Radio’
Pledge Partner, cont.
On Thursday, Southwest Sanitation will offer up a $2,000
challenge grant. Both organizations are excited to support
WDRT and Couleecap.
Pete Kondrup, General Manager of Westby Co-op said,
“Westby Cooperative Creamery cares about news, events and
issues that impact our local community. We are proud to
support WDRT with a challenge grant. The additional bonus of
supporting Couleecap is just icing on the cake.”
Couleecap is making the most of the partnership, and for every
dollar donated from WDRT, they will be able to match it with
$4.00 in Federal Housing & Urban Development (HUD) funds.
This means $1 gets them $5!
WDRT is 100% community-funded with half of it’s operating
budget coming from listener contributions. Support community
radio in the Driftless during the Spring Pledge Drive by
renewing your membership or making an additional gift.
Growing Community: YIHS students volunteering during
their service week.
Pledges can be made by calling 608-638-9378, by going online
to wdrt.org and clicking ‘donate’, and by mail or by stopping in at
311 S. Main Street in Viroqua.
Music Library
Project Underway
In the age of mp3's and ipod's, community radio stations are
becoming a sanctuary for unwanted physical music media,
such as records and CD's. These items are not only a great
source for music, they also possess intangible cultural
value, connecting us to a previous place in time and space.
There's also the artwork and liner notes, which only add to
the experience of searching for the perfect album to play.
Plus, everybody knows vinyl just sound better.
Driftless Doom’s Nick Hotchkiss sorting through WDRT’s growing vinyl
collection.
Since opening it's doors in 2010, WDRT has taken in
approximately 13,500 donated records and CD's. A handful
of WDRT volunteers began working on organizing these
materials late last year. Ed Holahan, Nick Hotchkiss, Mike
Koppa and Paul Wintin have all made significant progress in
sorting WDRT's records, and Bruce Bland, Paul Fairchild
and Dave Wennlund have built shelving using largely
donated and recycled materials.
Larry Madeo is working on developing a search-able
database for the collection, and Ray Kolenko has created a
system for selling materials online.
Continued on Page 6
Mark King donating his CD collection to WDRT.
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3
Mr.
Koppa S
Neighborhood
An Interview with Mike Koppa
Once called WDRT’s very own ‘Garrison Warhol’ by a listener,
Mike Koppa is simultaneously all-american and avant-garde.
His weekly show, ‘Mr. Koppa’s Neighborhood’ takes listeners
on an uplifting Easy Listening sound cruise.
Q
The show name obviously plays off our
old friend, Mister Rogers. I was first
addressed as Mister Koppa when I had a
short teaching gig, and I guess I kind of
liked it. The kids told me I looked like
Mister Rogers, and it was always a source
of amusement.
Later I adopted the Mister Koppa
pseudonym for myself as a collage artist.
It’s one of those things that makes some
people smile, so I figure I might as well
ride it out.
As for the real Mister Rogers…I’ll be
honest…when I was a kid, he was the
dork who came on after Sesame Street. I watched him
anyways for whatever reason…probably secretly a little
fascinated and maybe a little comforted. Maybe just
What’s your background, how’d you get to the
Driftless?
I grew up in Milwaukee, the son of a Polish grocer
and a former nurse turned full-time homemaker,
working on Milwaukee’s East Side in our little
grocery store. I managed it through the 90's, and left to
explore other opportunities in 2001. My wife and I had
enough pocket change saved up in the jar to put some
money down on 4 acres near Liberty, and we dreamed of
retiring to the Viroqua area. One day she said she might
apply for a job at Organic Valley. Then I said, “Maybe I
should try to get a job at Organic Valley.” As it turned out,
they were looking to hire a Graphics Assistant.
A
Nowadays I own a lettering business that revolves primarily
around adding the death dates to the grave markers in all the
cemeteries around the Driftless Region. I'm also a practicing
collage artist and I like to work with the book form as a
means of creative expression. But those things come
behind my family, which is my amazingly tolerant wife, Vic,
and our two daughters.
Q
A
What are the origins of Mr. Koppa’s
Neighborhood?
I can’t remember exactly how it was initiated, but I
ran into Jim Hallberg at the Food Co-op, and he
said there were a few holes in the program
schedule. Something came over me and I blurted out “You
could give one to me,” and he raised his eyebrows and said
something like “Really?” and “You can try it.” I knew I
enjoyed listening to music off old records of my own, and
figured one easy way to explore whatever else was on all the
old records in the world would be to sit down and listen to
them for two hours every week.
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The Dirt - Spring 2014
Tea and records on-hand. Just another lovely Thursday morning in
Mr. Koppa’s Neighborhood. .
Tea and records on hand. Just another lovely day in Mr. Koppa’s
Neighborhood.
digesting my lunch. I now recognize how influential Fred
Rogers was in such a wonderful way, and he’s gone now,
but I don’t want people to forget about him.
Q
A
Your show blends easy listening, children’s
music, collage, spoken word and humor, among
other things. What inspires you?
I think the inspiration for the show is very similar to
the inspiration behind my artwork, which is sort of
like depression turned upside down. There’s a
lot of darkness in my heart when I look around and see all
the stuff we have created, and I get kind of bummed out
when I think about wastefulness and entropy and trash
heaps and plastic gyres in the ocean.
So…there’s all these records, and by themselves they’re
sort of just another thing destined for the garbage, and they
might as well be in the garbage if no one is going to listen to
them. My thought is pretty simple…instead of throwing
them in the garbage, we could actually listen to them, and
see what we find.
The blend is also related to the collage art I make…life is full
of so many good things and you can get stuck going down
one path with a sort of tunnel vision approach to living, but
like using peripheral vision, you can also have a few folders
open on the desktop of your mind and enjoy a lot of things at
once instead of just focusing on one thing.
It’s kind of like how my mom used to stir her food together on
her supper plate. Well, actually, no…it’s not like that. It’s
more like eating a little bit of each thing and doing a little fork
dance around the plate.
Q
Who do you think listens to Mr. Koppa's
Neighborhood, and what do you hope they
get out of it?
I don’t think anybody listens to Mister Koppa’s
Neighborhood. At least that’s kind of how I
approach each show. But, actually, I know a few of
the construction crews around here enjoy it, and I know
A
A one-man vinyl revolution right on Main Street in Studio A.
benefit from the diversity and familiarity with a wider range
of inputs, whether it’s music or talk show topics.
Listening to a station like WDRT really is healthier for a
person’s mind and spirit than pumping the same
commercial and ratings-driven programming into your mind
all the time. Where commercial radio can be comforting
“background noise,” like a sedative, community radio is
there to make your mind work, like a stimulant.
Get stimulated with two hours of Easy Listening every
Thursday at 10AM on ‘Mr. Koppa’s Neighborhood’. Unable
to tune-in live? No problem, go to the new wdrt.org Music
Archive and stream shows up to one week after they air!
Mr. Koppa’s collage work, now on display at The Ark
there are a couple elders who enjoy it, and I’ve even had a
few kids tell me they like it, so I think it appeals to a lot of
different people.
Loafer’s Glory
The Hobo Jungle of the Mind
Songs and Stories
of Labor, Love,
Resistance & Freedom
What do I hope they get out of it? I don’t know…I hope they
get a smile or two, just like I do. I mean…sometimes the
music just sounds so great, and to me it’s just always really
funny to hear Foghorn Leghorn’s voice.
Q
You’ve been involved at WDRT pretty much
from the beginning. What’s so special about
this station?
Community radio, especially a station like WDRT,
is great because of the authenticity of the radio
hosts. People on the air are sharing music or
information they really enjoy, often with a very solid depth of
knowledge about whatever they are playing. I feel we all
A
with
A
Utah Phillips
Sundays 12pm
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- Spring 2014 5
Music Library, cont.
The library will be a resource for volunteer DJ’s to access excellent
music to share with listeners, helping take the pressure off of them
to purchase new music. It will also provide supplementary income
to the station through the sale of duplicate albums. Next steps in the
project include labeling music, inputting items into the database,
developing a music listening area and expanding solicitation of new
materials to record labels.
Could these shelves one day house the world’s best
music collection? That’s up to you.
You can help with this ongoing project by donating your music or by
volunteering to help with the library. Sharing is caring, and by
pooling our resources collectively, we can help build a longstanding community resource. Email [email protected] for info.
Audio Archive
Now Available
A much anticipated feature to the new wdrt.org is the Audio
Archive, which enables listeners to stream music shows up
to one week after they’ve aired. All of WDRT’s Public Affairs
programs are also available for stream or download.
A user-friendly audio archive has been in high-demand by
listeners, as it lets people hear their favorite shows if they’ve
missed them or want a second listen. It also opens up the
opportunity to explore shows that they might not normally be
able to hear due to time conflicts.
The archive opens up the vast array of WDRT programming
to listeners, irrespective of geography or schedule. This
Missed the last episode of Bread & Butta? Catch it on the archives.
Vinyl Highlight
Bill Cosby
Talks to Kids about Drugs
helps WDRT fulfill it’s mission to inform, educate and
entertain. Using the archive is simple: go online to wdrt.org,
click on the ‘Archive’ button, choose which show you want to
hear, and listen away!
A recent addition to the WDRT Library is Bill Cosby’s album, ‘Bill Cosby Talks to
Kids about Drugs’, released in 1971 by MCA’s Uni Records. This album won a
Grammy for the Best Children’s Album, and was also recommended for the
classroom by the National Coordinating Council on Drug Education.
This album is a mix of song and spoken word, all staged in the form of a
conversation about drugs between Mr. Cosby and a group of children (The
Jimmy Joyce Children’s Choir). Music on the album is uncredited, but features
great moments of experimental-leaning jazz. Notable tracks include ‘Captain
Junkie’ and ‘Downers & Uppers’.
Bill’s trademark ‘by your own bootstraps’ life philosophy comes through loud
and clear throughout the album, and while the information and some of the
drugs discussed (quaaludes) may no longer be relevant, those who have fond
memories of Fat Albert or ‘Pudding Pops’ will surely get a few laughs from
listening.
6 The Dirt - Spring 2014
LOVE WDRT?
Become a Sustaining Member
This is hands-down the best way to support WDRT. Give
any amount you like, and it will be automatically deducted
from your bank account or credit/debit card on a monthly
basis. Your membership will automatically renew, year after
year.
Benefits to you:
It’s convenient
No more renewal letters
Shorter on-air drives
Annual thank-you gift at Pledge Level
Benefits to WDRT:
Lowers operating costs
Provides reliable income for station
More time for content, less on fundraising
Show your love and become a Sustaining Member today.
Your commitment to support WDRT will help keep
community radio in the Driftless for years to come.
Alternative
Radio
"...a ray of light in the media darkness featuring
voices and proposals to strengthen our
democracy." – Ralph Nader
Mondays at 6PM
Thank You
to our
Spring Pledge Drive
Business Partners!
Westby Co-op Creamery, Southwest Sanitation,
Driftless Café & The Calliope Center
Information at wdrt.org, by calling 638-9378 or stopping in
at 311 S. Main Street in Viroqua.
Thank You!
WDRT Events Calendar
A few things to keep your eyes out for...
April 19th
Kickapoo Earth Day - Outreach Table
April 19th
WDRT Dance Party - Rooted Spoon, Viroqua
Contact Us!
April 21st
Growing Community Spring Pledge Drive
Development Coordinator
Toril Fisher - [email protected]
July 19th
Driftless Music Festival - Outreach & Burritos
Programming Coordinator
James Hallberg - [email protected]
September 11th
Vernon County Fair - Demo Derby
Community Coordinator
Terry O’Connor - [email protected]
Questions, Comments, Concerns?
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7
91.9fm
Driftless Community Radio
311 South Main Street
Viroqua, WI 54665
wdrt
David Rhodes’
DR IF T L ES S
on
PageTurner Radio
beginning April 21st
Mondays & Wednesdays at 8:20AM
The
Nearly Noon News
Local/State/National/Planetary
Weekdays at 11:55AM
Support Community Radio - Donate your Car
GROWING
COMMUNITY
SPRING PLEDGE DRIVE
April 21-27
608 638 9378
To Donate
311 S. Main St. Viroqua
Wdrt.org
877-411-DONATE
5%% of proceeds go to couleecap, inc.