Ruth and John Lund are dyed-in-the-wool folk music lovers. They’re also tireless community builders. For decades, they’ve volunteered in the folk music community of Calgary and area, earning a national Order of Folk Award along the way.
At CKUA we know them as devoted supporters and Leadership Donors.
Their story with us began before they ever tuned in.
In the mid-1980s, they met host Andy Donnelly at the Calgary Folk Fest. The Lunds were staying at a hotel rather than traveling from home to fest. Donnelly was staying at the same hotel.
“That was the original connection,” John says. “We just got on… sharing memories, talking, commuting to the festival.”
They soon began listening to Donnelly’s show, The Celtic Hour. Soon after, they met him again at the Canmore Folk Festival, where he introduced them to Tom Coxworth, host of Folk Routes.
Soon they were listening regularly, especially John. They began donating in the 90s and in 2017, became Leadership Donors and started sponsoring hours of programming.
For John, CKUA is about more than music.
“It’s special, developing a relationship with the hosts, as people, over time,” he says. “To sit down and have a laugh, to have a chat.”
He’s swapped stories about early ’70s reggae with Leo Cripps and talked with Kate Stevens about the songs she’s writing.
“It is the individuals, the real-life people, that makes listening to CKUA so much more entertaining,” he says. “It’s not just a voice coming across a radio, it’s more than that.”
It’s become a special part of life, he says.
“You can go to Cornerstone Music Café and Lisa walks in or Leo walks in. And they greet you by name. It’s family. It sounds hackneyed, I admit. But it’s true.”
Their induction into the Canadian Order of Folk caught them off guard. They were the inaugural inductees, alongside the same Tom Coxworth they met in Canmore. The award will be given in April.
“To be in the same induction group as Tom Coxworth is quite the privilege,” John says. “You just do things because they’re important to you. You don’t really think about it being important to anyone else.”
Are they still volunteering these days? “Until we die,” Ruth says cheerfully.
Both grew up in England in classical music households. Ruth remembers Liverpool school buses divided between Beatles and Stones fans. “I had to beg to find out what this music was,” she says. “It blew my mind.” She chose the Beatles, mostly because she liked George Harrison.
When Ruth arrived in Canada, friends took her to a folk club within a week. “That was it. I felt like I’d come home.”
Part of what they love about CKUA is the eclectic variety of music they hear.
“I think CKUA is one of the very few places where it has that wide range of music,” John says. “To go from the classics… to rock and thrash metal and then go back to Baroque music, is really quite refreshing.”
When CKUA went off the air in 1997, for John, the loss was immediate. “I realized what a huge gap its absence made,” he says. “I don’t ever want to see that gap again.”
“CKUA definitely enriches our life. All the time.”
We consider the Lunds the heroes of this story. They help CKUA keep the music playing. If you’re inspired by their generosity, join the crew! Make your donation today. Our Spring Fundraiser is on now, from April 17 to 26!
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