Valley City Don Weber plays his guitar as he sings his song about the flood, “Sheyenne 4-'09” (Jean Schlegel/VCTR) 

By Jean Schlegel
Valley City Times-Record

Local musician Don Weber is living through the 2009 flood, along with many other local residents. One difference is he took the time to put his thoughts on paper.
He wrote a song called, "Sheyenne 4-09." Weber says he has already secured a copyright on his latest song at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
He says he got his musical debut when he was just 5 years old. He played his harmonica over radio station, WDAY, in Fargo.
"My brother, Rhiny, and another school kid, also played on the radio," he recalls. Many local residents probably know his brother, Rhiny Weber, who is one of the Barnes County commissioners. He also served as Barnes County sheriff for more than 20 years. As a prisoner of war (POW), Rhiny Weber's name surfaces quite often as he's active in many veterans' organizations.
The Webers grew up on a cattle and wheat farm and attended all 12 grades at Noltimier School. There were six boys in the family.
Don Weber says after finishing school, he went into military service with the U.S. Army.  After his discharge from World War II, he went farming for a while on shares.
He fondly remembers his boxing days. "I had been boxing for seven years when I was offered a professional boxing contract. My dad talked me out of that, though," he says.
To this day, he realizes his dad made a wise decision on that call. He says he probably would be "punch drunk" today. This means he probably would have had severe brain injury from being punched in the head so many times.
"I've done bull and bareback riding, and I'll ride out the Sheyenne," Weber told reporters recently. He appeared on KVLY’s  10 p.m. newscast on April 15 with his guitar and song, noting that 'no' he wasn't going to evacuate.
"I live by the east bridge, and it flooded pretty good down in my basement." For the first time since he's lived there, he had to buy a sump pump to get rid of the Sheyenne River waters. It really came gushing in on that Friday, April 17, when the Valley City sanitary sewer system failed.
Weber has led an interesting life and continues to keep himself busy with his musical interests.
Thinking back on his life, he says he also worked as an extra railroad agent for the Milwaukee railway in Montana. He made his home in Montana for many years where he was in U.S. federal law enforcement for 27 years, along with being a deputy sheriff, stationed in Montana. He also volunteered as a federal firefighter there.
But writing and playing his country western songs has always been his main, and sometimes, paying hobby.
"I've been in almost all the western states, the Midwest, and some eastern states, including Nashville, Tenn.," he says. He's appeared in two Grand 'Ole Oprys in Nashville. He also won a trip to Nashville, where he won a guitar/song contest in Branson, Mo.
Weber has been on stage and performed with several famous country western singers from Nashville. He says over the past 20 years he's participated in numerous national cowboy poetry and song shows. These aren't competition contests, he says. Those participating just get together and do what they do best: participate and have fun in country western poetry and song at these events. He's gone from the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City to Gene Autry's Museum in Los Angeles with the Western Music Association. "There are too many to mention," he says.
Weber says he thinks up his own tunes in poetry style, which only takes him a little while. But, putting it to music is quite a bit harder, he says. "You don't want to copy someone else's music." He's has secured a copyright for 18 of his songs  That's one of the first thing he does, is send it into Washington, D.C., to the Library of Congress. He says it cost the same, whether you send in one song or many more.
Lately, Weber has been entertaining locally. Dutton's Ice Cream Parlour on Central Avenue North invites local talent (singers and spoken word performers) to share their poetry and songs. Anyone who wishes to just go and listen is welcome. Open Mic Night is held every Thursday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the ice cream parlour.
Owners of Dutton's, George and Bonnie, are happy to provide this fun night, and glad to see Weber come there with his guitar, they said.
If you want to hear Weber sing his song, just show up at the ice cream parlour on Thursday night.