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About The Artist In Progress; latest update: Sep 13, 2023 Children/grandchildren/great grandchildren of the Saddle Pals are working up a musical program based on the written notes for the KSUM radio program held every Saturday morning from 11-11:30. They also recorded short programs to be broadcast during “chore time” on the radio station. They had a contract with SuperSweet Feeds to provide musical programs at that company’s meetings. They also played at coop meetings, county fairs and festivals and traveled in parades. They provided music between the Western movies at the Grande Theatre in Fairmont. They had an agent that recorded them on tape, then took the tapes around for distribution, but I don’t know what happened to those tapes, and the agent never paid them for the tapes.
Anna Poppe Kittleson, their mother, came from a musical family. She and her brothers formed the Poppe Orchestra, she played organ and piano. Norman said she was always singing, sad or happy, busy or idle, she was singing. The family had a battery powered radio early on, that they charged up so they could listen to programs from as far away as Mexico. Ted got his first guitar when he was 17, and Norman had the “squeeze box” when he was 14 (see photo). Their older brother, Enoch, got the “Kittleson Brothers” their first music job playing for a local town festival. They didn’t get paid in money, but they got “exposure.” The 1949 photo shows them playing at the Hard Time café. Sometimes their wives (Opal/Ted and Pennie/Norman) sang as part of their programs. About 1951, Truman and Millie joined the group, along with a talented young man, Kenny Meyer, who had been staying with the Kittleson families while he worked on their farms. By late 1952, Caspar “Cap” Kurseth (on steel guitar) and Roy Healey (fiddle/guitar) of Fairmont had joined the group, and Saddle Pals had their own radio program on KSUM, Fairmont.
 
With the advent of rock-n-roll and the fading popularity of country and western music, the demand for their programs dwindled. Then, Cap died of a heart attack, and the group disbanded. Ken Meyer had left in the mid 1950’s for military service. In late 1952, Ted’s son Bobby, age 3 1/2 years, began singing with the group. He was a very popular addition to the group. He stood on a chair to reach the big boom microphone in Studio A. He dropped out when his voice began to change, but later formed the BeeKays (see note below). In late 1953, the group traveled to Nashville, but discovered their Minnesota music union cards were no good in Tennessee. They had to keep their instruments locked in the trunks of their cars to keep them from being confiscated. They attended the Opry and met the “stars.” In 2021, the family met to celebrate Norman’s 98th birthday. Ted had turned 101 the week before. They wore their fringed Saddle Pals shirts and sang the old songs. The lady in the photo with Norman and Ted is Cap’s granddaughter Helen, and she’s wearing his shirt. Ted was singing and playing guitar and yodeling right up to the day he died at age 101 years, 7 months. Ted’s 8 children formed a country music family group, the BeeKays in 1968. They provide music for wedding dances, fairs, festivals, etc. They recorded an album in 1981. Some members dropped out, but the next generation stepped in, so the group is still active. The Schmidt Family, formed in 1977, includes myself, children, and grandchildren. We provided music for nursing homes and festivals for over 30 years. Now, there’s the Basel Quartet, Roberta Schmidt Basel’s children who sing acapella 4 part harmony (started when they were 6, 7, 9, 11). If you want photos of these groups, I can send them. Group Members
Credits & Sources
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