Peter Andreos traveled from sunny Greece to snowy Minneapolis and opened the Pure Food Café in Minneapolis with his new bride, a Norwegian Lutheran named Olga Sollie. To fit in with these northern Europeans, Peter changed his surname to the more anglo Andrews. They had three harmonious daughters—Maxene, Patty and LaVerne—whom their mother taught to carry a tune, even though their father sometimes scowled at the idea that these sing-alongs would take them far from home.
The family lived in Mound on the western banks of Lake Minnetonka from 1920 to 1924 where the mother’s brothers lived as well and ran a grocery store. For some spare cash to go roller skating, the sisters would set pins at the bowling alley in Mound. LaVerne also played piano accompaniment to earn the sisters fancy dancing lessons at the Clausen School of Dance downtown.
In 1931, Larry Rich and his big band traveled through town with RKO Radio Pictures in search of the next big talent from the heartland, so the sisters signed up to sing “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” The judges unanimously awarded them first prize (above the competition of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, father of Candice Bergen). They soon sang on WCCO regularly and performed at the Orpheum Theatre, and even performed with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Rich asked the sisters to accompany him on tour, but they earned a measly dollar a day split three ways. Still, performing in front of huge audiences honed their talents and expanded their fan base. The girls’ singing kept the family afloat during the bust times of the Depression as their now-convinced father drove them from town to town, venue to venue.
The Andrews Sisters became the voice of America during World War II and sang their upbeat tunes to sometimes dispirited GIs on numerous USO tours. Often playing four to five shows a day, the prolific Andrews Sisters climbed the charts with more top 10 hits than Elvis or the Beatles, and acted in more than 15 films. Even though they’d hit the big time, the trio would often venture back to the shores of Lake Minnetonka in their fancy cars for a brief summer vacation with their uncles.
Today, the town of Mound has designated a special Andrews Sisters Trail to commemorate the local girls who made good. Now at 93, Patty Andrews is the last surviving sister and lives in sunny California.
