Wayback With The Journal: The Day Paul Kildal Talked To The Nation About Trucking & Piano Playing

National Public Radio 

Interviews Paul Kildal 

On "Town Of The Week"... 

Paul Kildal at Glennallen School during a time when there were annual spring talent shows. (Photos, Copper River Country Journal archives) 

... NPR Is Surprised To Find Paul Is Both A Trucker & A Viennese-Trained Pianist 

Wayback With The Journal

April, 1994 

GLENNALLEN-A Glennallen resident, Paul Kildal, was interviewed recently by Michael Feldman, the host of a public radio talk show. Feldman is aided by his sidekick, John Packard. The show is known as “Whady’no”: (i.e. "What Do You Know"). Glennallen was picked at random, and Paul Kildal's name was also randomly chosen. Paul's neighbor, Shirley Hannah, got the original telephone call from the Wisconsin Saturday morning talk show, but she thought it was a prank. The interview was heard nationwide. Here is a transcript, complete with misconceptions about the Copper River region, and background noise.

Paul Kildal at the Talent Show 

Michael Feldman: "Each week at this time, we honor a town, village or burg somewhere across the greater U.S. That's right - it's time again for town of the week!"

John Packard: "Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, summits, and the shimmering colors of the Aurora Borealis, today's southeast Alaska town is only about 50 years old. It was built in the 1940's, when the Alaska Highway was constructed as part of our preparations for World War II. Located about 50 miles north of Valdez, and 130 miles northeast of Anchorage, in the midst of the Copper River Basin, which is about the size of the state of Ohio - is Glennallen, Alaska! This hub town of 600 is named for two army generals, and is a very small collection of houses and businesses. Glennallen serves as a regional center for the 3,000 residents of the Basin, 20% of whom are Athabascan Native American Indians - called the 'Ahtna', or people of the Copper River. That population is spread out along the roads in single houses and small Native villages. There's no local  government of any kind here, just state and federal government - represented by various agencies, which along with tourism, provide the biggest factor in Glennallen's economy. The tourists come to Copper River Country to visit the biggest National Park in the United States - Wrangell-St. Elias. It's the town of the week - Glennallen, Alaska! (Applause & cheers, piano music, fog horns).

Feldman: "So is this where Susan Butcher's from? Glennallen? She's mentioned here in their newsletter...the Copper River Country Journal, which is a kind of a newspaper they put out there. So maybe she's from around there. Anyhow, we are calling right now, to Glennallen, Alaska, to find out from a person who lives there what it's like living in Glennallen. We have someone on the line now - Paul Kildal, with us on the line. From Glennallen. Hi, Paul." 

Paul Kildal: "Hi, how are you..."

Feldman: "Did we get you at a good time?..."

Kildal: "Well, I just got out of bed."

Feldman: "Oh you did. We woke you. Were you up late last

night?"

Kildal: "No. I don't know what time it is there, but it's just

about 9 o'clock here."

Feldman: "Oh, okay. So it's still early. I'm glad we finally got

you up, because you would probably have slept in. All day." Kildal: "Yeah. What a surprise."

Feldman: "What line of work are you in, Paul?" 

Kildal: "I drive a tanker truck here. I've doing that for 20 years...for Chevron, U.S.A., in Glennallen. And I teach piano in the evenings."

Feldman: "You do? Why, you're a Renaissance Man." 

Kildal: "Yeah. I guess."

Feldman: "You don't meet many tanker guys who play piano."

Kildal: "Yeah. That's true."

Feldman: ("Although John plays piano like he's driving a tanker. I'll say that. (Piano music). No. I kid him. But I mean it.")

Packard: ("We love you, sir.")

Feldman: "What sort of piano do you teach, Paul?"

Kildal: "Classical..."

Feldman: "Did you go to school for that, yourself?" 

Kildal: "Yes, I did. I went over to the University of Vienna, where I studied out there - for a couple of years."

Feldman: "Which university?"

Kildal: "University of Vienna. Austria."

Feldman: "In Vienna? Austria? Now how does a guy who studies classical piano in Vienna, Austria, find himself 20 years later, let's say, driving tanker - in Glennallen, Alaska?" 

Kildal: "That's what everybody asks me, all the time. Well, I don't know how to explain that to you - other than I had a 6th grade teacher, who always read us books about the Far North, and here's where I ended up, and that's the way you make a living around here. You surely don't make it by teaching piano."

Feldman: "So. Is it the love of Alaska that brought you there, and keeps you there?"

Kildal: "Yes. It's beautiful up here. You know. Open, free. I heard a little bit about your taxes. We don't have any taxes here yet, as such, except federal taxes."

Feldman: "Yeah. In fact, they pay you, don't they? To live in Alaska?.. You get a check every year. That's pretty cool."

Kildal: "Yeah. We get one once a year." (Laughs) 

Feldman: "And, do you every think, Boy, if I would've just stayed in Vienna, that I could have my own orchestra now."

Kildal: "Well, if I could have made a living there, that's where I would be. It's a beautiful city. I love it there."

Feldman: "On the other hand, you could be driving tanker in Vienna."

Kildal: "Yeah, right." (laughs)

Feldman: "Well, we're just about out of time, I'm sorry to say. Tell us just a little bit about what you like about Glennallen - and what recommends it."

Kildal: "First of all, I like the people around here. It's a very close-knit community. It's a big family. And of course, the fishing here is just outstanding. And it's just a super recreational area. And very quiet out here. I guess that's why I like it."

Feldman: ".. wish we had more time to talk, I really do. We have something for you."

Packard: "Paul, we're going to send you an assortment of mustards...and the Wisconsin almanac... Whady no is produced by Wisconsin Public Radio..."