A farm broadcasting legend has passed away. WGN Radio in Chicago, his home for six decades, announced the news Monday of the passing of Orion Samuelson at age 91.

Orion is a name synonymous with WGN, having spent over 60 years with the station. His career spanned from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the COVID-19 pandemic and included interviewing seven Presidents and reporting from all 50 states and locations around the world including Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Scotland, England, Hungary, France, Denmark, India, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand, Peoples Republic of China, Brazil, the former USSR, Vietnam, Cuba and Indonesia.

Orion received numerous awards and honors throughout his career including: Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, the Lincoln Medal-the highest award bestowed by the state of Illinois, Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Illinois, American Farm Bureau Federation Distinguished Service Award, Heifer Project International “Man of the Year,” National 4-H Alumni Award, Honorary FFA American Farmer Degree, Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame, National 4-H Hall of Fame, NAFB Hall of Fame, inaugural class of the WGN Radio Walk of Fame, and the National Radio Hall of Fame. At the 1997 Illinois State Fair, Governor Jim Edgar changed the name of the Junior Livestock Building to the Orion Samuelson Junior Livestock Building as a tribute to Orion’s decades of service to the agricultural youth of Illinois.

Orion was also president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting in 1965 and was instrumental in starting the NAFB Foundation and serving as president for many years. One of the few interviews I can find that we did with Orion over the years was in 2010 at the NAFB annual meeting about the history of the Foundation.
2010 interview with Orion Samuelson

Rest in Peace, Orion. Say hi to Conrad and Ray and Evan and Derry and Herb and all the old guys for us.