Pavek Museum of Broadcasting

For the former Museum of Broadcasting in New York City, see The Paley Center for Media.

The Pavek Museum of Broadcasting is a museum in St. Louis Park, Minnesota (just west of Minneapolis) which has one of the world's most significant collections of vintage radio and television equipment. It originated in the collection of Joe Pavek, who began squirreling away unique radios while he was an instructor at Dunwoody Institute in 1946. Students of the day were given old radios to disassemble in order to learn their trade, and Pavek was concerned about what might be destroyed in the process.

History

Pavek's collection expanded through the 1970s, when he decided to start looking for someone to take over for him. However, he had trouble finding someone who would take the job and was about to sell off the collection at auction in 1984 when Earl Bakken stepped in. Bakken, the founder of Medtronic and the inventor of the first wearable pacemaker, had also spent many years fixing old radios and TVs, and shared Pavek's passion for vintage hardware. The two joined Paul Hedberg of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association in creating a non-profit organization that would be the new museum's parent. The Pavek Museum finally opened on October 29, 1988, a day that was honored with a proclamation by Governor Rudy Perpich as "Joe Pavek Day."

Joe Pavek died a year later in 1989, and Bakken stepped in to lead the organization. In 1990, the collection was greatly expanded with the addition of the collection of John T. "Jack" Mullin, an Army Signal Corps veteran of World War II who had brought some AEG Magnetophon tape recorders back to the United States from Germany. Mullin used them to record Bing Crosby's radio programs, the first use of magnetic tape in American broadcasting. Over the years, he acquired other recording devices and eventually amassed a world-renowned collection.

The museum has offered several educational courses since its founding, both for children and adults.

Hall of Fame inductees

Since 2001, the museum has been honoring legendary area broadcasters by inducting them into the Museum of Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

2001

Roger Awsumb Frank P. Befera Larry Bentson Carl "Cully" Bloomquist George Blum Charlie Boone George Brooks Jerry Dahlberg Mark Durenberger Roger Erickson Glenn Flint G. David Gentling Ned Goodwin Allen Gray Halsey Hall Earl Henton Jack Horner Stanley E. Hubbard Stanley S. Hubbard

Rod Hurd Milford C. Jensen Bud Kraehling Joyce Lamont Alver G. Leighton Don Linder Harry Linder Willard Linder Stuart Lindman Jack Lynch Don Olson and Sylvia Olson-Christensen Charles B. Persons June Persons Paul Ramseyer Odin S. Ramsland Robert B. Ridder Bob Ryan Henry "Hank" Sampson Donald E. Swartz

2002

Cedric Adams Kenn Barry Sherm Booen Steve Cannon Clellan Card Ray Christensen Don Dresser Roy Finden Harley Flathers John Gallos Paul Hedberg

Bill Ingram Marc Kalman Cliff Mitchell Dave Moore David Stone Albert Tedesco Victor Tedesco Nicholas Tedesco Jimmy Valentine Francis Van Konynenburg

2003

Marcia Fluer Robert Fransen Larry Haeg, Sr. Sid Hartman "Slim Jim" Iverson Leigh Kamman Rodger Kent Vogel Lew Latto Daryl Laub

Randy Merriman Jerry Miller Skip Nelson Jim Rohn Bart Setchell Al Shaver Gregg P. Skall Rod Trongard

2004

Doris Aufderheide Helen and Richard Brown Herb Carneal Mary Davies Bill Kling

John MacDougall Jack Moore Howard Viken Dale Weber

2006

Johnny Canton Ed & Carol De La Hunt Ralph Dolan Dan Donovan

Andy Hilger Jerry & Pat Papenfuss Jim Ramsburg Don Stolz

References

• Audio Society of Minnesota
• Pavek Museum of Broadcasting
• Retro Thing
• St. Louis Park Historical Society
• Radio World Newspaper
• FedSpending

External links

• Pavek Museum of Broadcasting