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William Laurence Bergsma was born on April 1st, 1921, to parents Helen and William Joseph Bergsma in Oakland, CA. His mother was an aspiring operatic coloratura, who frequently sang concerts in the Bay Area. Very little is known about his father, who disappeared from their lives when his son was 6 years old.. The breakup of the marriage plunged the family into poverty. Young Bill remembered walking through the city streets with his mother as she tried to sell encyclopedias to keep his small frame alive. She later married George Bennett, a silver polish manufacturer, and this provided financial security. Bennett wanted to raise young William to take over the silver polishing business, but Helen demurred, already feeling certain that her son was destined for a life in music. William Bergsma studied viola and violin, playing in the school orchestra, and studied composition with the conductor. He accompanied his mother at the piano when she sang concerts and learned the song literature this way. In 7th grade home room, Bergsma met the love of his life, schoolmate Nancy Nickerson (affectionately known as NIckie.) She used to sit next to him on the piano bench while he composed. (Many years later, a student remarked that she was the music between the notes Bergsma wrote.) This is the first piece of his that was published: The Paul Bunyan Suite. He wrote it when he was 16 and it was first performed when he was 17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99hyiyGVTE4&list=RD99hyiyGVTE4&start_radio=1