Feder: Orion Samuelson to retire after 60 years at WGN Radio - Daily Herald All rights reserved. Happy Birthday to radio legend Orion Samuelson | WGN-TV Max Armstrong (born June 13, 1953, Owensville, Indiana) is an American agriculture broadcaster from Chicago, Illinois. It makes sense, he says. He was born on March 31, 1934 in . Simple country hospitality has always gone a long way, Max says. Orion is one of agricultures few celebrities, known to millions by his first name only, like Cher. I saw agriculture through the eyes of my TV cameraman and I had the opportunity to shake hands with people like Fidel Castro and Mikhail Gorbachev, Samuelson said. After a few years, audiences finally began to wane, and the program ceased live performances after 1957. . Madonna. CHICAGO (December 17, 2020) - WGN Radio announced that reporter Steve Alexander will assume responsibilities from agribusiness broadcaster Orion Samuelson beginning in January. Orion Samuelson - Biography During his over 60 years as a farm broadcaster, Samuelson interviewed nine presidents and traveled to 44 countries. CHICAGO Becoming a successful broadcaster requires the ability to be a good listener. They dont want you to retire. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue recently honored Samuelson with a proclamation heralding the broadcaster's long career in ag journalism. He drove home every weekend to be a polka music disc jockey. "I dont know how many broadcasters have been around for 60 or more years, so I dont know if its that much of a milestone.". His early work was based in Wisconsin and he was working in Green Bay when his big break came and he headed south to Chicago in 1960 to work at WGN Radio where he served as head agriculture broadcaster, presenting16 agricultural reports daily. I think Ive made some progress and then Ill get a call or letter from a listener who wants to know how to tell if a watermelon is ripe just by looking at it, he said. On New Year's Day 2017, Orion will be alongside the Rose Parade route to co-host with Pam Minick RFD-TV's live coverage of the parade on January 1. Samuelson: Well, Ive been pleased obviously, but by the same token, Ive been stunned. Max Armstrong (born June 13, 1953, Owensville, Indiana) is an American agriculture broadcaster from Chicago, Illinois. After high school, Orion headed to the University of Wisconsin on a scholarship, determined to learn how to be a radio announcer. Orion Samuelson (/rin/ OR-ee-n; born March 31, 1934) is a retired American broadcaster, known for his agriculture broadcasts and his ability to explain agribusiness and food production in an understandable way. Celebrating 60 Years of Orion SamuelsonAudio|Video|PhotosEmail|Voicemail|Scholarship. Sirott: I imagine you still milking cows while youre in broadcasting. Orions first marriage ended in divorce, and his second wife died of Lou Gehrigs disease. He has two children. This page was last edited on 20 November 2022, at 09:03. Orion at approximately age 7.Orion at approximately age 14.Orion's high school graduation photo.Orion in the mid-1960s.Sixty years ago.Orion in the mid-1970s.Orion SamuelsonOrion in his office.Orion Samuelson with the chair given to him by the FFA.Orion on the front page.Orion Samuelson at the podium after receiving the Order of Lincoln Medallion on May 5, 2001.Orion at Samuelsen worked in the Detroit sports-media landscape since 1994, at a variety of radio stations, but most notable WDFN 1130The Fan and WXYT 97.1 The Ticket. Orion Samuelson(/rin/OR-ee-n; born March 31, 1934) is a retired American broadcaster, known for his agriculture broadcasts and his ability to explain agribusinessand food production in an understandable way. Samuelsen died Saturday night at the age of 48, surroundedby McDonald and their three children. All rights reserved. He was a good guy and a good listener.[3]. In addition, Samuelson hosts a three-minute daily "National Farm Report", and a weekly commentary, "Samuelson Sez"; both are syndicated to various stations across the country through Tribune Broadcasting's Tribune Radio Network. Orion Samuelson Day is March 31st - LinkedIn There were host farms in northern Illinois that opened on Sundays for consumers to visit, Armstrong said. Everyone loved him the engineers and everyone behind the scenes, he describes. Richard Samuelson Obituary (1927 - 2021) - Moline, IA - The Rock Island Gloria took the sensible route, thinking it too taxing to campaign following a recent throat surgery. You can find a comprehensive archive of his material here. WGN Radio personality Bob Sirott sat down with Samuelson for a trip down memory lane. Later, Orion would earn an honorary doctor of letters from the U of I. It took me about two weeks to decide to accept the WGN job and it scares me to think it took that long to join a station like WGN, said Samuelson, who retired from WGN on Dec. 31. It turns out he had a flesh-eating bacteria working on his throat. Orion Samuelson - Wikipedia The new routes will shave off 40,000 miles and 6,000 minutes of travel time annually, according to the FAA. Samuelson received a custom-engraved Norwegian horse plaque to commemorate the occasion from presidents of the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, the Wisconsin Soybean Association, the Wisconsin Agri-Services Association and the Wisconsin Pork Association. "The Big O," as he's known around the station, will continue to deliver five or six daily business reports for WGN until he hangs up the mic and rides off into the sunset with his wife Gloria. Samuelson was inducted into the Wisconsin 4-H Hall of Fame in 2017. Samuelsen also made regular appearances on Fox 2 and wrote periodically for the Detroit Free Press. Her guest asked her, if she didn't read them, how did she know how left-wing they were? From 1975 to 2005, Samuelson also was the host of U.S. Farm Report, a weekly television news magazine dedicated to agriculture. The rest of the tape follows Orion Samuelson (who created and hosted U.S. Farm Report for WGN Radio AM-720), at the 1991 Farm Progress Show in Dalton City, IL. [14], In 2014 the CME Group and the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Foundation announced the inaugural recipient of the Orion Samuelson Scholarship ($5,000) for a senior at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His early work was based in Wisconsin, at WKLJ in Sparta, WHBY in Appleton, and WBAY-TV/AM in Green Bay. canceling National Barn Dance outright. I walked into the studio and I thought, Im working with some big names at a big radio station veterans and theyre going to ignore me! But they did just the opposite, he says, laughing. Luckily, a copycat recipe is easy enough to copy. And Im looking at that building, this monument that the man built for his wife. Samuelson hosted a similar show, This Week in Agribusiness, along with his longtime collaborator Max Armstrong, until his retirement, and continues to make occasional commentaries on that show with Armstrong as host. From meeting with government officials and dignitaries around the world to serving as a mentor to young men and women preparing for careers in agriculture. They had a lot of misconceptions about the role food producers play in our economy and our society, Samuelson said. You cant respond to someone until you listen to them, and you cant ask the right questions until you learn where theyre coming from. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue recently honored Samuelson with a proclamation heralding the broadcaster's long career in ag journalism. Join bestselling author Brad Montague in a Flip Live Event that inspires learners worldwide to embrace their creativity. Shes a beautiful lady and a beautiful partner, he says. At age 26, Samuelson got the call to join 50,000-watt powerhouse WGN, where he began as farm director on September 26, 1960. And trust. "I couldn't believe it was happening," he says today. Norma Orion Samuelsons decades of agriculture reporting has helped farmers understand the latest Washington policies and he has also helped all audiences appreciate the importance of agriculture to our communities and to the economy.. Holly Spangler has covered Illinois agriculture for more than two decades, bringing meaningful production agriculture experience to the magazines coverage. It feels like a fairy tale! Thats a lesson we should all learn, he adds quietly. It would also be the last first day Orion Samuelson would ever have. Bush, who invited me to join him at the White House studio for the interview.. He spoke with the president of the United States just as easily as he spoke with a Chinese farmer in a rice paddy or with the kid whod just won champion steer at the state fair. He traveled with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Prime Minister of India to see the Taj Mahal. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Samuelson: The biggest change, besides technology, it would be the fact that agriculture is international because when I started in the business, South America, Brazil, wasnt even in the soybean situation. So I should recover very quickly.. That was the latest tribute to Samuelsen, whose death made news outlets across the country, and drew sympathies from many dignitaries in the sports community, including all four Detroit major sports teams. 2023 www.detroitnews.com. Orion was bridging the gap between the farm and the city before anyone else in the country thought about it., The first time I heard Max do the Farm Bureau reports, I said to my producer that if we ever need to get an associate at WGN farm department, Im going to call him, Samuelson recalled. CHICAGO (September 24, 2020) - WGN Radio announced that legendary agribusiness broadcaster Orion Samuelson will retire on December 31, shortly after celebrating his 60th anniversary with the station. The engineers, stage hands and people on the air liked Orion, so it was much easier for me being the kid coming on board to slide right in because I was welcomed just by working with Orion.. Thank you. He listened to the veterans around him, picking out the good things they did that people liked. announced his diagnosis and that he'd been battling the disease for 19 months, Wojo:Jamie Samuelsen brought out all the goodness, in radio and in life, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Having trouble filling a prescription? Samuelson began his broadcasting career in Wisconsin and will officially sign off from his job at WGN radio in Chicago. In addition to hosting his signature farm reports on radio and TV, and anchoring "The Noon Show" from 1960 to 2003, Samuelson emceed "The National Barn Dance" and read the first bulletin on the air of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. In addition to working with farmers and ranchers, Orion Samuelson has also been involved with activities outside of the agricultural industry, including emceeing at the Tournament of Roses Parade with co-host Pam Minick. Sirott: Well, Orion congratulations. [The 90's raw: Orion Samuelson] - Media Burn Archive Sirott: Anyone living in the Midwest over the past six decades knows that great, big, booming voice of yours. Robert Feder, a lifelong Chicagoan, covered the media beat in his hometown from 1980 until his retirement in 2022. The Wisconsin farm boy got a lot of surprises in Chicago, including flattened tires for parking in the wrong spot and a missed market report or two, thanks to slow elevators in the Tribune Tower. Like the farmers hes served all these years, Orion celebrated that last first day on the job long ago. He was born on March 31, 1934 in . Well known ag broadcaster Orion Samuelson will retire this month after 60 years in the field. The second is a parody of the poem " A Visit from Saint Nicholas ." Around the same time, the vocational-agriculture teacher from school showed up on the Samuelsons doorstep, offering to bring Orions schoolwork out a couple of times a week and help him stay on pace with classmates. Not even Earl Butz had this kind of name recognition. Orion Samuelson is a 89 years old American broadcaster from . If you eat, youre involved in agriculture is the line hes used thousands of times at such events. From hosting the WGN Radio Barn Dance to breaking the news to Chicagoans of the JFK assassination. Orion Samuelson was just 27 years old when he made his way up North Michigan Avenue, striding toward the Tribune Tower. Manage Settings In 2011, Holly was one of 10 recipients worldwide to receive the IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Ag Journalism award. He was cut from the same cloth as Paul Harvey. Ive gone to 44 countries to cover the agricultural story.I was in Cuba and I shook hands with Fidel Castro, who had a tough handshake, and I thought, if were going to wait for him to go away, were going to wait a long time. Later, Orion would earn an honorary doctor of letters from the U of I. All rights reserved. [5], In 2001, Armstrong was named Farm Broadcaster of the Year by the NAFB. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. The voice of farm radio | Business | lacrossetribune.com Samuelson: Well, because we were able to talk more than planting corn or soybeans. WGN Radio personality Bob Sirott sat down with Samuelson for a trip down memory lane. And then Id drive 17 miles to the radio station, Id get home in time to help milk cows at night. That was the ticket. I didnt know what cattle dairy and beef were.. As a kid, Orion served as "that voice on the radio" that I became .