Floren performed as part of the Otter Tail Power Company 75th anniversary

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

In 1984 Otter Tail Power Company celebrated its 75th anniversary by distributing free concert tickets for customers in Otter Tail County to attend accordionist Myron Floren performances. Floren was widely known for his three decades with the acclaimed Lawrence Welk TV show.

Two of those performances took place in Fergus Falls and more were held in 13 other communities throughout the company’s service area in Minnesota and the two Dakotas. 

The late Al Seltz, Otter Tail’s assistant public relations director, arranged for the Floren performances. In 1984 the company looked back on 75 years of service, starting with electric generation for the first time, in 1909, at the Dayton Hollow power station south of Fergus Falls.

“We wanted to do something special for our customers,” said retiree John MacFarlane who, 40 years ago, had assumed the presidency of Otter Tail Power Company after the retirement of Bob Bigwood. “Myron received rave reviews for his accordion playing all across our service area.”

Seltz drove Floren around in his Plymouth minivan for his Otter Tail Power concerts in the company’s three-state service area. The accordionist played concerts in two locations a week for two months, with one week off because of a prior commitment. Seltz and Floren became close friends and exchanged Christmas cards for many years.

Floren, while on the Otter Tail Power concert circuit, also performed at area nursing homes, bringing joy to residents who had seen him perform on TV as part of the Lawrence Welk show.

He was raised on a farm near Roslyn in northeastern South Dakota, east of Aberdeen. Floren took up playing the accordion at the age of six when his father bought him a $10 mail-order squeezebox.

In 1950 Floren performed with a music group known as “The Buckeye Four” in St. Louis, Missouri, when the Lawrence Welk Orchestra was also playing. Welk hired Floren to be a permanent member of his band, and he performed with Welk until 1980.

“Lady of Spain” became Floren’s trademark song and he played it countless times on the Welk show.

Floren and his wife, Berdyne, were married in 1945 and had five daughters. One of his daughters married Bobby Burgess, a dancer on the Welk show. Earlier, Burgess was one of the original TV Mouseketeers along with Annette Funicello and other members of the 1950s Mickey Mouse Club.

The accordionist later formed an orchestra of his own while still employed by the Welk organization. Floren performed during the Welk show off-season and during holiday breaks. For many years he performed at the annual Norsk Hostfest in Minot, North Dakota.