Peggy Lee at the Powers Hotel

My mother (Laura Esther Kjar - married name after 1944: Feldman) was a roommate with Peggy Lee at the Powers Hotel in 1937. As she wrote in her self-published book about her family (Thus They Lived - The Kjars):

"After Labor Day [1937] I obtained a waitress job at the Powers Hotel in Fargo. Wages were $7.00 a week and board. I shared a room with two other waitresses, one of them was Peggy Lee, who got her start at the Powers. The job was great, but depression put an end to it. The Powers brothers terminated most of us. That is, they allowed us to work one meal for our food, but couldn't pay wages. The men who had families still drew wages."

In the spring of 1938, she moved to Chicago, and that was her last contact with Peggy until around 1970, when she sent her a letter. Peggy wrote back, fondly remembering her time at the hotel.

Bill Feldman

On behalf of all fans of Peggy Lee here, thank you for sharing your mother’s interesting recollections with us. What a treat -- to count with a mom who put her life’s memories into writing, for posterity.

My mother, Marium Luckason, who grew up in Hawley, played piano for Peggy Lee at the Powers Hotel Coffee Shop, where she was also a waitress.

Great to hear about your mom’s gig at the Powers. Thanks!