Today I was searching in NewspaperArchive.com for any “hits” on Huskonen. I found plenty of them starting in about 1995. I was trying to go back to earlier times, specifically to see if I could find any newspaper articles about my father Walfrid H. Huskonen.
What I did find though was an interesting “hit” in a 2004 edition of the Ashtabula Star Beacon. It detailed how Walfrid Huskonen won a Superior Rating for his performance in a solo competition on clarinet representing Andover High School. The event was held at Warren Howland High School. The article further identified his instructor as being Urho Seppelin.
How could this be reported in an edition of the newspaper dated Sunday, May 9, 2004? Walfrid Einar Huskonen is my younger brother but he graduated from high school many decades ago.
Silly me! I took a closer look at the top of the page with this report and found the subhead “50 Years Ago …” The newspaper was presenting a collection of news items from 1954. Now it all made sense.
My brother obviously was better at performing with the clarinet than I was because I never even considered entering a solo competition. I must admit that I was unaware that he was so accomplished. Let me point out that I was away at college at the time of his achievement.
One other interesting fact was the identity of Walfrid’s band leader: Urho Seppelin. He was a distant cousin, a fact that I only learned in recent years while researching an uncle by marriage, Waino Seppelin. I do remember that Urho did play the clarinet very well indeed.
I’ll close by wishing my brother belated congratulations!
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