成人X站

It鈥檚 been a little more than three years since at the age of 91.

If you鈥檙e of a certain age and grew up around here, you know that Everett-born Boreson was the self-proclaimed 鈥淜ing of Scandinavian Humor.鈥� He had a kids鈥� show on KING TV for 18 years, with a human co-star (his friend Doug Setterberg) and a somnolent Basset hound named Nomo.

He put out a slew of Scandinavian-themed comedy records, including the 1970 classic, 鈥淵ust Go Nuts at Christmas.鈥� And he performed live with his accordion thousands of times all over the Northwest from the 1940s to the 2010s, appearing at everything from birthday parties to conventions to lodge meetings.

And if all that weren鈥檛 enough, 鈥淜ing Stan鈥� appeared on both the and Prairie Home Companion. That鈥檚 not a claim that too many people can make; in fact, Stan may be the only one.

Though he鈥檚 been gone for three years, the big news this week is that Stan Boreson鈥檚 accordion has come home.

After a nearly thousand-mile journey from Southern California, a truck delivered the accordion a few days ago to the archive facility that , the Museum of History & Industry, maintains in the Georgetown neighborhood. With the blessing of MOHAI curator Kristin Halunen, 成人X站 Radio invited local musician, theatre guy 鈥� and accordion player, of course 鈥� Rob Witmer to come to the archives and make sure the priceless artifact had arrived in one piece.

With Witmer watching, Halunen carefully sliced open the tape sealing the cardboard shipping container, and then opened the leaves of the box. She pulled away the bubble wrap, revealing a black leatherette case that looked as if it were roughly large enough to hold a snow tire.

Witmer helped Halunen lift the case from the box and the two placed it gently on the table in the center of the curatorial offices at the MOHAI facility. Witmer undid the two latches and opened the hinged lid of the velvet-lined case. The accordion wasn鈥檛 yet visible; it was still covered by velvet dustcover. Tucked into the case was one of Boreson鈥檚 Christmas CDs, plus a hat and a bright orange wig.

As Rob Witmer pulled back the velvet dustcover, the accordion was finally revealed.

鈥淭hese accordions are top-of-the-line,鈥� Witmer said, clearly admiring the vintage instrument from the point of view of a seasoned musician. 鈥� are made right here in Seattle, [by] third-generation accordion makers. I play a Petosa as well.鈥�

鈥淭his is really exciting,鈥� Witmer continued, as he closely inspected the keys, buttons and knobs that seem to cover every available surface. 鈥淎nd these accordions, they hold up. They’re made to last generations,鈥� he said.

Though it still lay in its case, Witmer鈥檚 visual inspection made it clear that the accordion had arrived from the Golden State intact.

But what, exactly, was a Northwest icon鈥檚 musical instrument doing so far from home?

鈥淲e brought it down to California [after he passed away] because I just couldn’t part with it yet,鈥� said Stan鈥檚 daughter Ann Boreson last week, from her home in Manhattan Beach. 鈥淚t was one of the things that I know was the closest thing to my dad.鈥�

鈥淎nd so I just wanted to hold onto it for a minute,鈥� Ann Boreson said.

That 鈥渕inute鈥� ended up stretching into a few years.

鈥淭hen I started to think about it, and I thought with the salt air down here . . . I don’t want anything to happen to it,鈥� Boreson said. 鈥淚 also thought, to be honest, it was kind of selfish of me, because it should be enjoyed by people that enjoyed him. So then I thought there was only one place that it should go.鈥�

And that one place was MOHAI, which has collected materials related to Stan Boreson 鈥� and other local performers including 成人X站 TV鈥檚 J.P. Patches聽 and 聽 鈥� for decades. MOHAI also hosted each December, from 2000 to 2004, the which always featured Stan Boreson performing holiday parody songs on his Petosa accordion. The lakeside museum also hosted a 聽 for Boreson on March 5, 2017.

Back at the MOHAI archives, Witmer prepared to get a closer look at the prized accordion. As he readied it for a 鈥渢est drive,鈥� Witmer, who鈥檚 worked in musical education for kids, launched into a tutorial.

鈥淚鈥檓 gonna take it out of the case,鈥� Witmer said. 鈥淚t looks like it鈥檚 in pretty good shape.鈥�

At that instant, the accordion made a short but clearly audible squeak.

鈥淥ops, made a little sound there,鈥� Witmer said with a chuckle, as Halunen and a few other MOHAI employees now gathered in the room looked on. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we want to hear.鈥�

Witmer undid a snap, and pulled on one side of the accordion to expand the bellows, or the part of the instrument that creates the air pressure which, in conjunction with the reeds and valves, is responsible for the distinctive accordion sound.

鈥淲hen I explain the accordion to kids, I always tell them to first listen very carefully and you鈥檒l hear this sound,鈥� Witmer said. 鈥淎ccordions breathe just like we do.鈥�

Sure enough, as Witmer manipulated the bellows, the accordion sounded like it was respirating.

鈥淕otta take a big breath,鈥� Witmer said, expanding the bellows again and starting to sound like either a gymnastics coach or a chatty auto mechanic. 鈥淸And then] let it out. Sounds good . . . bellows are nice and tight . . . take a little bit of resistance there . . . and then let鈥檚 get a sound going over here,鈥� he said, pressing on the piano-like keys and turning the bellows鈥� breath into a reedy-sounding note.

To many of those people of a certain age who remember him, Stan Boreson is more than just a guy who played the accordion on TV. He鈥檚 one of those iconic figures that you just can鈥檛 imagine not being a part of your childhood 鈥� or, in many cases, your adult years, too 鈥� around Puget Sound.

Ann Boreson says her dad is symbolic of what this region means, at its most elemental level, to so many people.

鈥淭he legacy is that there’s a core value that all those guys鈥� 鈥� like Stan Boreson and J.P. Patches 鈥� 鈥渂rought to the Northwest,鈥� Ann Boreson said. 鈥淎nd you don’t want [people] to forget that core value of who we are, and that the state of Washington was just such a cool place to grow up.鈥�

Witmer was now putting the thick leather straps of the accordion over his shoulder. By now, Ann Boreson had joined the party to listen in from California and was on the speaker phone.

鈥淎s you remember there was a theme song, right?鈥� Witmer said to Ann Boreson as Kristin Halunen and the other MOHAI staff looked on. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to look at the lyrics. Did he write those?鈥�

鈥淚 think so,鈥� Ann Boreson said.

With that, Witmer launched into the 鈥淜ING鈥檚 Klubhouse鈥� theme song:

Zero dacus, mucho cracus, hallaballu-za bub
That’s the secret password that we use down at the klub
Zero-dacus, mucho-cracus, hallaballu-za fan
Means now you are a member of KING’s TV Klub with Stan!

Once the applause and cheering died down, Witmer pronounced Stan Boreson鈥檚 accordion fit as a fiddle. He also showed MOHAI鈥檚 Kristin Halunen how to occasionally 鈥渆xercise鈥� the bellows to keep them in good shape.

鈥淭his is an air button here where my thumb is,鈥� Witmer said. 鈥淭hat allows you to move the bellows without playing a note, right? So you could just put your thumb there and just kind of move this back and forth . . . get some air in there [and] exercises those a little bit.鈥�

MOHAI has not set a specific date, but does plan to display the instrument at the museum at Lake Union Park. Stan Boreson鈥檚 accordion will likely appear in MOHAI鈥檚 permanent Seattle history exhibit, within the section devoted to local children鈥檚 TV show hosts.

Ann Boreson picked the right place to ship that box from California. Her father, Stan Boreson may be gone, but his spirit and his music 鈥� and now, his accordion 鈥� will live on.

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