Any money he made elsewhere during that time, doing farmwork or performing, would go to his family.

Welk decided on a career in music and persuaded his father to buy a mail-orderaccordion for $400 (equivalent to $4,725 in 2015) He promised his father that he would work on the farm until he was 21, in repayment for the accordion. Growing up speaking German and English, Welk left school during fourth grade to work full-time on the family farm. They spent the cold North Dakota winter of their first year inside an upturned wagon covered in sod. The family lived on a homestead, which is now a tourist attraction. (Welk's mother and Schweitzer's paternal grandmother were siblings.) Welk's grandparents, Moritz and Magdalena Welk, emigrated in 1808 from Alsace-Lorraine to Ukraine. He was sixth of the eight children of Ludwig and Christiana (Schwahn) Welk, ethnic Germans who emigrated to America in 1892 fromOdessa, Russian Empire (now Ukraine). Lawrence Welk was a first cousin, once removed, of former Montana governor Brian Schweitzer. Welk was born in the German-speaking community of Strasburg, North Dakota. Shirley Welk, Donna Welk, Lawrence 'Larry' Welk, Jr. His style came to be known to his large number of radio, television, and live-performance fans (and critics) as 'champagne music'. Lawrence Welk (Ma– May 17, 1992) was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1951 to 1982.

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