Oral history interview with Peter A. Schreier

Author / Creator

Schreier, Peter A

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Summary

Pete Schreier (b.1950) grew up in rural Norwalk, WI on a small farm, the youngest of 9 siblings. His parents were both of German Roman Catholic background and had farming backgrounds. His father Pe...

Pete Schreier (b.1950) grew up in rural Norwalk, WI on a small farm, the youngest of 9 siblings. His parents were both of German Roman Catholic background and had farming backgrounds. His father Peter M Schreier (1900-1959) farmed and also worked as an implement salesman for a John Deere dealership in the area. His mother Hilda Heileman Schreier (1903-1991) was a homemaker and helped run a tavern/resaurant owned by the family in Norwalk. Pete was the "caboose" in the family, born when his mother was 47 years old and almost 10 years after his next oldest sibling. His father died when Pete was 9 years old and his mother then moved to a house in the village of Norwalk. He spent the rest of his years sharing the home with only his mother because his siblings had all left home and gotten married or found work elsewhere. None of his siblings attended collge; Pete was the first in his family to go to college. Pete has recollections of growing up on the farm and a small town in the 1950s and early 1960s. He participated in sports in high school but was not very academically motivated. During his senior year in high school he got a part-time job as a radio announcer at WCOW radio in Sparta. He found out that he could attend La Crosse State University with the help of grants and he decided to enroll in college in the fall after graduating from Brookwood High School (Norwalk/Wilton) in 1968. Because of his interest in radio, Pete decided to major in Speech/Theater with a minor in Broadcasting. Pete was very involved in the theater department for all four years and has recollections of many of his theater roles and individuals in the theater department. Pete has many recollections of the campus in the late 60s especially the anti-war and counter culture activities. During his college years Pete continued to work at WCOW part-time on weekends and when WLSU began broadcasting in 1971 (?) he was quite involved with the campus station. Pete got a job with WLCX radio in La Crosse in the summer of 1972 and has worked in radio ever since. He claims to have worked for every radio station in La Crosse and currently is Progarm Director at WLFM radio in La Crosse. He spent short stints working in Lansing, Michigan, Racine, WI, and Georgia.

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