Dennis Riggs Interview

Interview with Dennis Riggs & Kathy Riggs

April 1, 2023

Memorial Stadium

Champaign, IL 

Interviewers: Frank Cabrera and Anthony Raffone

Frank Cabrera= FC

Anthony Raffone= AR

Dennis Riggs= DR

Kathy Riggs= KR

FC: My Name is Frank!

DR: Hi Frank! Dennis! 

AR: My name is Anthony

AR: Unintelligible, Oh Okay Yeah, Oh my God. 

KR: I am just here for moral support.

FC: I love that. You guys can follow me, right this way. These two seats right over here are for you guys.

DR: these two seats, alright. 

FC: So, I’m going to have my beautiful mic person right here, this is Erica.

DR: Hi Erika, Dennis 

FC: And this is Kathy

DR: And this is Kathy! 

KR: I am here for moral support, and he is going to do all the talking. 

DR: Focus on him right now, and this Anthony.

AR: Hi i’m anthony

DR: Hi anthony, how are you?

AR: Good. How are you?

DR: If i was doing better there would be two of me,

FCC: I am just going ot have you guys fill these forms out real quick.

DR: Disclaimers. Anything you say can and might be held against you *48 seconds* 

DR= That's a great way to have that multi-generational Once he had new ideas. When I started farming I linked up with Frito-Lay,

have an elevator there in southern Champaign County, Water break We linked up and fetal a bill to 5 million bushel grain elevator in southern Champaign County. And I raised white corn and yellow corn for Frito Lay, I was one of about 350 farmers. And because we grew a

number one corn, cleaned, no cracks and broken very, we had to make sure that it met all their specification and also all the baseline proteins and all that kind of stuff. We're paying a premium for that. So that helped me sustain the farm in my generation. Also, I was glad to whatever I told people about the that. Do you like Frito-Lay corn chips? People say: Oh yeah, it was great. I said, well, I'm one of the 350 farmers that grow that for Frito-Lay on it on the east side of the Mississippi. So the next time you have a bag of Fritos, corn chips, lay out 349 chips, and the three different one came from my farm. Well, of course we all know that's not exactly the way it works, but it gets a visual across.And then they understand that that food in that Frito-Lay corn bag came from my farm.

 

FC= And what do you have to say have to say to those, consumers right now, like what would you say to them? Are you, are you proud of yourself? Like, like What are your feelings right now? Because at the time it was a chance, it was like a withdrawal. trying to get to that or do you feel like you've worked like so hard to keep that going? Like for contexts in Illinois at the time of

the Farm Aid concert, it was one of the most populated cities, will populated States, with Centennial Farms, right? Yours is one of that percentage that is still going because even today, right now, like Illinois is still one of the counties with the most centennial farms and that is a proud history and I'm super grateful for you to be here.

 

DR= Which county or just the State? 

FC= In the state

AR= The most Centennial farms out of any state in the country.

 

DR= Fantastic. I Thank you for that because back when I worked at Farm Bureau, one of the programs that I got going was I heard about that centennial farm idea. I said that's fabulous. And I organized that year through the County Farm Bureau that I would get as many of those go on

as we want so soon, the County Farm Bureau and our publication and the radio programs and just in our notices to members, we surfaced, oh gosh, I can't remember. Maybe 1 farms that were Centennial farms in Champaign County, but people didn't know they could do something with that. So I led that charge. Here's the paperwork, here's what you'd have to do. Here's what you got to meet with your lawyer or your land land agent or whoever, and at the county fair than that summer we had we presented

 

FC= To who? 

DR= to all those centennial farms. 

FC= Oh, wow

 

DR= Yeah. We presented they got their sign there, big metal side. They got their certificate and that theirs is an official centennial farm.

 

FC= Wow

DR= That's one reason for us. There are so many, especially right here, Champaign County is we at the County Farm Bureau took that program over and made it work.

 

AR= Quick question. So your relationship with Farm Aid is like very personal. Do you believe like other people that you've talked to about Farm Aid that had like similar roles to you, also had a personal relationship with farms and like growing up on the farm or was it like do you feel like you've only had that really liked that you've talked to other people involved in Farm Aid.

 

DR= Let's go from the top down.

AR= Ok 

DR=  Here in this no, we were already in the assembly hall. Probably about two weeks before the concert.

 

FC= In  what budding?

 

DR= The assembly hall or down

 

AR= The State Farm Center

 

DR= The State Farm Center across the way over there. Um, Willie really wanted to have a news conference. So I said, great, let's do it. So they let about 25, 30 of us in that had been kind of active in what was going on. And there was Willie Nelson, John Cougar Mellencamp, and Neil Young all up front. And Willie says, Well, glad you're all here. We're going to pull off this concert and it's going to be a lot of fun. Now what should we do with the money? So we had quite a discussion about different things that could be done. I provided some input I wanted. I said, let's get a program going where consumers can see that this food was grown on the farm in Illinois or Champaign County. Let them know where their food is coming from because that's the whole big thing. People go to the grocery store and these artichokes come from Argentina, or did they come from Champaign County? So we talked about that. So early on Willie Nelson wanted

to do the right thing. And I salute him for that.

FC= And the right thing was doing what? 

 

DR= Trying to recognize farmers. Let the non farmers know where their food was coming from, and I supported that 1% that was one of my main reasons to be involved with the thing. Neil Young was not on board with that. I would say, he was just about making music and he was not really glad to be there. I'm sorry, Neil, if you're listening to this, I can tell he just really didn't care.

FC= How did that impact your decisions going on from that?

DR= That I wanted to work with Willie and he was the main guy. I mean, it was his idea, you know, the story about him and Governor Thompson playing golf somewhere and they were talking over, Hey, what can we do? And Willie said I have this concert and Governor Thompson said have it in Champaign. They got this big old stadium down there. It was just such a systemic idea that started on the golf course between those two guys.  And Willie was the main thrust behind that. So I can tell that for early on.

 

FC= That's amazing. Thanks so much for that. And if you don't mind, can we continue with

that conversation? Like, what was your next steps after that? Like, what was the decision with going on with the money? Were you there for that? Are you able to push opinion continuing afterwards? Can you tell us right now?

 

DR= No, Willie had a tight-knit group that actually control the money part of it. You know, I I I was in the public relations Side, in the information side. I was trying to make sure the Nashville network and plenty of background shots of tractors and farmers and cows anc all that kind of thing. So we wanted to make it so the concert was fun to watch. Kathy was at home watching and she got to see it.

 

FC= Ok, I love that. I love that.

 

DR= We want to make sure it was entertaining for her to watch it and because they would cut away, they'd change sets and there was some downtime. So I set up interviews with farmers and people all around that they could then run during those dead times in the music profile.

 

FC= Can you name any of them?

 

DR= That's been a long time.

 

FC= It's been a long

time 

AR= Forty years I would understand 

FC= Any name is appreciated. Kathy, remember anyone any recognizable name?

 

KR= No You can’t get our age to remember.

 

FC= That’s a testament to memory and a testament to how special this does moment was for you guys. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

DR= Yes it was. 

FC= how do you feel about that going onwards, to know like being able to tell your story so many years after that, and especially from viewers at home, do you feel that you got to experience it as like

KR= Oh I thought it was great. It was informational

FC= For those at home they don’t understand what we're doing right now. Kathy has been an

amazing supporter Kathy, do you feel can you tell us about how you were there, how you fell, and years, any dimes like anything at all?

 

KR= No

FC= That's okay.

 

DR= She doesn’t like to put it out there much. We created so many memories from Kathy's that she's keeping to herself right now to this morning, I was working on a house and with my cousin, who's 82 years old.

 

FC= Where

DR= Down broadlands, broadbands Rodney Moore and I have been good friends forever. And I'm buying this house and he's got the shop and I've got the house and we're getting everything's mixed up So anyway, so I said, he says, What are you doing today? I'm pulling up the Memorial

stadium and there's going to be this history thing about Farm Aid. I said Randy, were you at Farm Aid concert? Heck, yeah, I was. Absolutely. That was a party. We had a great time and he deemed off the Wilson…Wilson girls and Marty Wilson and somebody else. See just today? I can't remember what he said. But he said we had a good time where he says we're right down there on the stadium floor. And he says, You know, we said we had a good time. He says, I really don't know how I got home. He doesn't know Rodney, but that was alright. But, you know, there's very few people in the 640,000 acres of Champaign County around here that doesn't have a Farm Aid story. Where were they at? What was that day was so long ago. But you mentioned Farm Aid. Where were you? Oh, I was blah blah blah. Why was that? They'll tell you because

they remember where they are at that day when that concert happened. So was it successful? I'm tickled to death. Maybe everything didn't come out exactly the way. I only knew. I think

there's only like two or three farmers here in Champaign County. They got any money for farming. Steve Block was one of them down by down south of Sydney. Steve has now passed

has passed on. Steve Block and he got funds and I don't know.  I heard there was two more Up North, but that's all I know,

 

FC= Up North in Champaign?

DR= Rantoul or Paxton up in that area as well. So I think a lot of the funds went farther out 

FC= Okay. 

DR= Well, Champaign County is blessed. We are wonderful agricultural county. We have the world's best soil, we have the world's best climate, we have the world's best markets, and we always had a great, It was hard to fail farming in Champaign County unless you made some mistakes. and all make mistakes. That's not the problem. One of the things is Farm Bureau

always trying to do is help out with financing, accounting, marketing, all of those things that farmers struggle with to try to keep as many guys or guys and gals and families on the

land as possible. And, and this guy Steve, Steve's farm was sold. It it no longer exists.

 

FC= With that being said, how do you feel? What are your goals? Every experience I view like encountered at this point in time, do you feel that you made it on a different experience for everyone? Do you feel complete, but not also like anything that you would change as well in the

whole entire experience,

 

DR= I did the best I could.

FC= And that's all we can ask for, right.

 

DR= At that point in time. Yeah. The fact that Kathy saw, the fact that Rodney saw it, the fact that so many people know where they're at in Farm Aid and saw that however many hours of

broadcasting that we did. And then I had a big part in establishing what all the bands and stuff. I had nothing to do with that. That was all the music production people. There are sure a lot of fried chicken. I can remember that Tyson Foods big oh my gosh, There was Tyson Foods tents out here. And everybody had a good time. A great story I got to tell you. Is that over here where we are in the stadium 77 Club. There's these windows up above the seats out over there, and I don't know if this was the press box back then or if it's at a different level but they had those windows. The cool thing had happened was back then, there was all the news media people, radio People, TV people, all up and down there covering the program. And I was up here.

 

FC= Can you name any of the news?

 

DR= KMOX, St. Louis, NPR, National public radio was here.

 

FC= Okay

DR= Anybody who wanted to get press credentials to go to the concert, there was a whole bunch of them.

 

FC= Okay. 

DR= But here's the cool story. So they had their microphones out that those windows and just hanging outside to get the crowd noise and direct those noise from the bands. The Beach Boys got on the stage up there. And I don't know, you're gonna ask me what song it was and I can't remember, but they were into their set and they are doing this one song. Good Vibrations. I always thought it was good. They had everybody singing Good Vibrations. I'll probably is what

it was. And they had the whole crowd, you'll do in this back-and-forth. This stadium started rockin. Those microphones that were hanging out through those windows, started going back-and-forth in the windows. And we're all going, is this place gonna crash? Are we safe up here? I don't know. But that, that will never leave my memory.

 

FC= So as we can, I can give you some context for the 77 club, this is actually a whole, entire different compartment. So we're actually in section D. There's before you guys know some of the alphabet ABC. And so there's actually three different compartments. Here. We have the seats, we have a whole entire lobby like the vendors go all the way up to, I think A now. And so it's entirely different, complex from the press. And so how does it feel being here? Like all that time

from here, like now, like do you feel like if you could be here right here

right now, like, where would you choose, you know? Do you know the stadium here?

 

DR= Not that well, some of the lower places I do. When I walked into this place, I looked out those windows. I said, I'm back at Farm Aid. 

FC= Wow. 

DR= That was the view I had.

AR= Do you believe that this was one of your biggest professional, like I don’t want to say accomplishments but like stuff that you did in your career, do you believe this is like one of the biggest things that you were a part of at the farm bureau? 

DR= It is probably the biggest thing and the most fun thing that I did. And I did a lot of big things. I do a lot of fun things. But this one, you know it is insurmountable, the number of people

that we touched. It’s insurmountable, the stories that we got to cross. I would've never had that opportunity without Farm Aid

 

AR= it was just as bigger than life.

 

DR= Oh, yeah. Yeah. I got to talk to Willie for a little bit. He's a good guy, a little different, but I think in his heart, he was doing the right thing and he thought he was doing the right thing. It did show me that there are other people that didn't care that it was Farm Aid. They just wanted to make money. They get their name out there. There were bands that just wanted to get their music played. That type of thing. Kenny Rogers, I met Kenny Rogers and super nice guy. He wanted to know what I was up to and how I was helping out, you know, I think I'm writing

down there and one of the Tyson fried chicken tents down, they're actually getting some food. Carly Simon, I believe it was Carly Simon. I met down on the infield before the concert and talked to her a little bit. She was wanting to know what was what was my job. And I told her about farming here and doing those types of things. So I've got to meet her. Then. You're like I said at the press conference to be able to the news media because they're all after the, after the formal news conference part. They were just talking to everybody.Everybody started getting his story. So it was great. Los Angeles Times, the St. Louis, What’s the newspaper down there?

 

DR: Uh, you know, the St. Louis, uh, what's the newspaper down there? St. Louis Post Dispatch. Okay. That maybe rings a bell that I was That sounds good. Yeah. But, uh, it was, yeah, it was big. Thank you for that question.

AR: Yeah of course.

FC: Thanks so much for everything's, yeah, like anything else that you'd like to say? Anyone that inspires you to keep going?

AR: Any stories that you like that we haven't asked you that you would want to share or,

DR: I did the swinging microphone story. That was important.

AR: Yeah, that's a

cool story.

FC: So as we look at the pictures on the big screen in the 77 Club, um, it was, it was a really big event. And like you said, it happened in less than what, five months? Four months?

DR: Oh, it was maybe less than that. Yeah. I think I only knew about it for about two months.

AR: Mm-hmm.

FC: And like, so like, what is, is if you could change anything in the farm mid concert, what would you.

KR: I would've been there in person. [00:01:00]

DR: Girl.

FC: Thanks. You Kathy, Kathy

DR: Girl. Alright. That's good. Yes.

FC: Okay.

DR: I, for the spontaneity and for, uh, the way it turned out and for the publicity that we got, um, I think it went great.

AR: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

DR: I really do. I mean, you could always come up with little things here and there, but I don't know what it would be.

AR: The weather.

DR: Yeah. Yeah. It would've been nice not to do it in a rainstorm. That's true. Yeah. Um, no, it was, and, and we had the right people. I mean, after the press box with me, uh, I was friends with the director of Agriculture, Larry Wes. Uh, of Illinois. Okay. And, uh, he, he spent him and his press secretary and I spent a lot of time looking out that window, uh, looking at what was going on and, you know, how are we doing things right and what, what should we do? Who should we talk to? What stories have you heard? And, uh, you know, it, it just seemed to click.

FC: Yeah. Okay. Every single was que just like

DR: mm-hmm.

FC: Can't they be a part of everything?

DR: Well, everybody was trying to do a good job.

FC: Yeah.

DR: You know, and, and it was so new that there was no baseline to say, well, this is the job.

You've gotta get better than that, or worse than that, or whatever. Uh, this was brand new. So we were making history, uh, with everything we did from the, from the food to the press conferences, to the interviews, to the music.

FC: That's incredible. Awesome. Yeah.

AR: Wow. Anything else? I.

FC: Yeah, so I think in the last like moment of recording, like, do you wanna give thanks to anybody?

Like anyone that you think like Lak, you gonna be here today? Or maybe something sweet to Kathy, be one of those amazing people out there watching the concert.

DR: I'm glad Kathy got to see it from her television set. If I could have swung it, I could have had her in here, but, uh, she was busy. No, the, the, the farm bureaus, the, uh, Champaign County Farm Bureau, the Elway Farm Bureau, great grassroots farming operations, uh, farming organizations, and, uh, they gave me full reign.

Okay. Uh, the Elway Farm Bureau in Bloomington had had. Background video had background audio. Um, they, they had all kinds of resources that then we shared with the Nashville Network. And those guys were down here just, and of course when it happened, they were here the whole time.

FC: Mm-hmm.

DR: And, uh, they were supporting me all the way.

And that's why we received from the Public Relations Society of America, uh, at their annual meeting, we, we, we received the Silver Anvil Award, which means nothing to any farmer in the world, but, uh, to us in public relations, it was like, you know, it's like an Emmy.

FC: Yes.

DR: Uh, and I brought the trophy in today, it's sitting over there.

AR: That's awesome.

FC: You're, wow. Incredible. That's incredible. Thanks so much for that. I appreciate that.

Um,

DR: thank you for your interest in this. I'm, I'm, I'm anxious. I'm, I'm, I'm curious to see, you know, did you want to be there? Were, were you born then?

FC: So I actually was not born then. 2001.

KR: I know,

FC: but I am grateful to be part of the experience.

And so our part of this, you know, like just us as like, like I said before, like this, we are not the first class to do this. We will not be the last. And, um, and I think it's like what the. It's the hun-Centennial or like 50th anniversary. Um, there's actually gonna be a section at Spurlock 40th. 40th.

AR: Two years.

Thank you. We start two years, so we have an exhibit coming in Spurlock where we document with like your stories. Mm-hmm. The performers. So we are having that set up after, like today and our class. So we can't wait to do that.

DR: Oh, fantastic. I'd like more about that.

FC: I want to ask you before we, like prior to this recording, like is there anything you would like to see?

That would make you just feel like without this segment you do, do not know far me. Anything at all comes to mind. Like, let's envision in two years, Kathy, you as well, like you being a spectator, not knowing anything, like besides person record like singing and you like listening without knowing anything, what would you like to see there?

What is something that is like, if you don't see them there, then it's not farm made, you know, like,

DR: I saw the picture of Willie up on stage.

FC: Mm-hmm .

DR: And, you know, I, I got to hear him live of course. And that's phenomenal. You know, that that guy who's still around today as a matter of fact and performing that, uh, he was such a big part of that.

AR: Mm-hmm.

DR: Uh, so anything about Willie and the performance, and he did a great job on stage of saying why we were doing it rather than just getting up there and playing a set like a lot of the other bands did.

FC: Yeah.

DR: Uh, Willie got up there and, and actually talked about it for a. And, uh, bless his heart. That's why we did it.

FC: Yeah. Thanks so much job. And one quick fact, one last fact. I'm just gonna keep it going into, I'm gonna drain everything out of you. How would you feel about

KR: You can't

DR: standby.

Shut that off. I'm sorry. I should go there.

Yeah. Yeah.

FC: So thanks so much. Um, yeah. So actually we're actually have four people waiting, so we're gonna Okay.

Thank you so much for everything. Okay. Um, and yeah,

DR: so didn't wanna talk your ear off, but

AR: No, you, this was awesome. We appreci-

DR: Very good.

AR: Then we just need you to fill out this. Oh yeah. And we should be good.