Valley City ND – June 14th, is Peggy Lee Day in Valley City, North Dakota! Valley City is the scenic town where a 16-year-old Norma Egstrom got herself a gig hosting her own radio show. It would be another year (and another radio station) before she would make her debut as Peggy Lee, but until then she had the support of a local restaurant that paid her $5 plus all she could eat for the 15-minute spot.

“Off I went, hitchhiking to Valley City to sing with Doc Haines, which led to a sponsored radio program on [KOVC – 1490 AM & 96.3 FM – The Voice of the Valley] Radio Station Valley City. How did I get so lucky? My sponsor was a restaurant, a college hangout, and they paid me five dollars, plus all I could eat. But I was so self-conscious – I remember trying to eat a butterscotch ice cream sundae and act really sophisticated.”