Letter from Gundaris Pone To Beverly Anderson

Leon Deering is a person who drove Gundaris around the Wild Rose area to give concerts with good will offering for the violin performances.  Gundaris, his parents and two brothers came to Wild Rose in August of 1950. They were displaced persons from Latvia.  They went to Germany during WWII when the Russians invaded Latvia for the second time pushing out the Germans. The Russians were killing off all leaders in the county and doctors were int hat group. Dr Janis Pone had to go back to school to be able to practice in the US. Gundaris attended school for two years at what is now the UW of Stevens Point. He received his degrees inclued his PhD from University of Minnesota.  Gundaris was a concert violinist, a conductor and a composer. He won awards for his compositions including a first prize from the Kennedy Center performance. He taught at the State University of New York at New Paultz. He had an ensemble  called Pone Ensemble that continues even after his death.