I, Oscar Palm, took over the home place and farm in 1941 in Plumer Township. I cared for my parents from that time until their passing. Mother (Sigred) died in 1941 and father (August), in 1971, at the age of 97.

I continued farming until the fall of 1972, and then rented out to Orville Overland and son, Mark, of Troy Township. We moved to Ambrose in 1968, having bought the late Omer Stenson residence. We really enjoy our new location and its conveniences.

We had my elderly father and my wife's father, Clarence Alcock, with us until their passing.

We have one son, Gene, who, with his wife, Kathy and their three children, Cedric, 4 ½, Jason, 3 ½, and Sonya, 2, reside at Seattle, Wash. Gene works in lithography and printing.

I have two sisters and one brother living: Edith Palm Rasmusson at Kalispell, Mont.; Alice Soieseth of Williston; and Swen Palm, who resides at the Good Samaritan Center in Crosby. My brother Henning passed Away in 1940, and Axel in 1966.

There have been some rough years, also good ones, plus a lot of hard work, but it has its good points so you’re able to endure. Both my wife and I have been blessed with pretty good health these past years.

One memorable occasion in my life was last August 1972 when friends and neighbors selected a day and it "Oscar Palm Day" to show their appreciation for the past 50 years of my entertaining them with music on my trusty accordion. (In fact, I am on my fourth accordion). It was so gratifying to see the huge turnout of young and old for the evening in spite of a very rainy and muddy night. My efforts on rough roads, bad weather and many miles, plus lack of sleep, made it all worthwhile. Of all the congratulatory messages, there was one outstanding from Lawrence Welk, another fellow-accordionist. Mr. Welk is six months older than I. The difference in us is that he went out to entertain the country and I stayed home to entertain the county. The main thing is that we achieved what we loved most: to see people dancing and happy. The Good Lord willing, we hope to be around a few more years.

Family history taken from page 208 of the
Divide County History 1974, Crosby, North Dakota
(Edited for content)

Saturday Was a Big Day in Ambrose for Oscar Palm
Story and photos from the Divide Journal - August 1972

AN ACCORDION CAKE - Oscar and Dorothy Palm display the cake shaped like an accordion which was baked for Saturday's celebration by Ella Myer.

It was a golden anniversary unlike any other. It was held in an old garage building in Ambrose, instead of a church . . . the music came from accordions and guitars. And they danced far into the night.

And the 50 year love affair was a triangular one... the love of a man for his accordion... the love of an audience for his music… and the love and respect shared by this man and his people. This was Oscar Palm's night… and Dorothy Palm's, too! It was a night to celebrate 50 years of making music and entertaining at dances.

Some of the players were performers in the old "Galloping Swedes", one of the first dance bands in which Oscar played half a century ago… and some of the dancers were people who danced to his music fifty years ago.

Mrs. Janice Tangedal and a group of neighbors organized the affair. Louise Ellingson Aalund presided over the guest book, and there was coffee and anniversary cake for the people as they arrived. The centerpiece was a cake baked by Ella Myers, shaped and decorated like an accordion.

Mrs. Orville Knutson and Mrs. Vince Cowley poured coffee, and Mrs. Orville Overland and Mrs. Arvin Lunde cut and served the cake.

THE GALLOPING SWEDES - Kenneth Hellen, Ralph Wirtz, and Oscar Palm were back on stage for the program presented in honor of Oscar at Ambrose Saturday night.

The program was brief, presided over by Ralph Wirtz, a director with the Galloping Swedes, who stood on a chair and rapped his baton for attention. There was some brief speech making, including comments by Mrs. Jake Stenson, Oscar's first school teacher; Irene Helgeson, a former member of Oscar's Galloping Swede's, who came all the way from Browning, Montana, just for this affair; and comments by other musicians-Gordon Semingson, Julia Severson, Ole Nygaard, and Nels Sandberg.

Dorothy and Oscar both responded, and Ralph Wirtz concluded things saying, “As far as I'm concerned he's tops, and anybody who doesn't agree, I want to see them outside right after the program”. They threw flax on the floor while they tuned up the instruments, and suddenly the air was filled with the familiar strains of "I Like Mountain Music". The floor was filled with dancers, while those who couldn't find partners tapped their toes on the sidelines. That's the way it went until nearly 3 a.m., as the band played on. And although the occasion was different, it was still the same, just like it's been at hundreds, probably thousands of dances every year for the past fifty years.

Oscar was 12 years old when he emigrated from Sweden in 1915 with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. August Palm, to the farm where Oscar and his wife still live. His father was a musician, and brother. Swen, who now lives at the Good Samaritan Center, played the banjo. But the training was self-learned.

He played his first dance near Ambrose in 1922 with his uncle, Nels Sandberg. And in 1923 he and a group of others formed the "Galloping Swedes", one of the most famous dance orchestras of the depression years.

The Galloping Swedes survived for fifteen years, but Oscar was the only player in the band from start to finish. The original foursome included Julius Reese and the late Slim Skar on the violin and Irene Madison Helgeson at the piano. Later Ralph Wirtz joined them as director.

Others who played in the orchestra at one time or another were Willard Walistead and Reuben Hultgren on the drums, Gordon Helgeson and Garth Scallon on the clarinet, brother Swen on the banjo, and Clarence Mayer on the sax. "But there were many more who have slipped my mind right now", Oscar says.

The Galloping Swedes built quite a reputation in their day. Among the memories are a barnstorming tour into Montana, after the crop failure of 1935, that took them all the way to Kalispell and spanned a six weeks period. They didn't get rich, but they did put bread on the table. They lived in Mandan during their last two years, where they performed on a radio program every day during 1937 and 1938. The band quit, so Oscar teamed with the late Bill Mitchell, a guitarist, to form a unit that survived for another 15 years, beginning in 1939. Vincent Cowley filled in at the piano, and later Mrs. Clifford Jorgens did the job.

Oscar entertained pretty much by himself after Mitchell's death, until he teamed with saxophonist, Andy Kostek, and guitarist, Ken Hellen, to form the Tune Twisters. Later Bob Enerson replaced Hellen. After maintaining bachelorhood for 35 years Dorothy Alcock stopped his music in 1938, long enough to get married. And the marriage has produced a son named Gene, and three grandchildren.

Oscar took over his father's farm in 1940, and continues to operate the modest 320 acre operation.

 Oscar has worn out four accordions in a half century of entertaining. His present instrument is an electrified model which is five years old, and cost about $1,600.

On September 18 he will celebrate his 69th birthday. How long will he keep playing? "That's anybody's guess", Oscar smiles…. "I don't plan to quit as long as I'm in good health". Based on the size of the crowd that turned out Saturday, it looks like his following isn't getting any smaller.