Judicial Center

October 1, 2009

The large building to the left is the new $15 million Judicial Center, across 5th Street from the Ogle County Courthouse built in 1891.[Not able as yet to post the photo -- aerial view of Judicial Center and old Courthouse] The new building was dedicated and opened for business in August of 2005 and is expected to take care of court business in this county for at least 100 more years. Bill Fearer III told me it was considered state of the art in the State of Illinois. The 1891 Courthouse took care of business for 114 years and will continue to house several county offices.

When I first started to practice law here in 1983, the Courthouse was being renovated and we had court in the old Nash School a block away. I didn’t go inside the new Judicial Center, because when it’s over it’s over. Being away 13 years means it’s over. The fat lady has already sung her last note.

There are now four judges on the bench in this new center -- Steve Pemberton, Mike Mallon, Bob Hanson and Kathleen Kaufman. We knew Steve Pemberton when he was at Fearer & Nye. Mike Mallon was in Rochelle with Jack Roe, now retired, and Jack’s son, Ben, is now State’s Attorney. Bob Hansen and I used to play raquetball every week during the 15 years I practiced law here and Bob also was an assistant public defender. Kathleen Kaufman was an Assistant State’s Attorney and we worked many cases together. Both Bob and Kathleen were a pleasure to work with.

I went over to the Ogle County Newspapers on 4th Street to see if they had an old copy of the Judicial Center dedication and they were so nice. They remembered me and copied old articles, including the special supplement that was prepared back then. I was happy to see Vinde Wells and Earline Hinton and it was fun to visit with them both. They both sought statements back then when I was representing this or that client. Thank God they didn’t ask for an interview now as the answer would have been a polite NO THANKS.

Oregon Update

September 29, 2009

Lois and I drove around Oregon IL today and learned a bunch of things. We saw Pinehill where we lived for 14 years and the house on 4th St. where we lived for eight years. We walked through Conover Square -- the old piano factory turned into a community shopping mall. The old court house is being worked on, but the new court facility across 5th St. is amazing.

Lois had a quick visit with Maureen Keuthe, her high school best friend along with Lea Bartow. That’s Maureen and Lois pictured above. George stopped in to see Ed and Lil McCanse at their home and also had a quick visit with Lori Peters who was mowing he front lawn. Lori and Tom Peters were our neighbors across the street from our 4th St. house in Oregon. A long and friendly phone call with Bill Fearer III was very rewarding.

So here’s what we learned today from all these people:

· My old friend in the law, Doug Floski, who was once my assistant public defender and later State’s Attorney, ran for circuit judge against Mike Mallon and lost. He is now practising law with Rick Hahn and Dave Smith.
· My former law rival and former State’s Attorney, Dennis Schumacher, is about to become a former attorney because he will probably lose his license to practice law. The allegations at trial were Dennis hit upon women clients he was representing in divorce cases; about six of them came forward to testify against him.
· My old friend and former judge, Alan Cargerman, went back on the bench in Kane County about five years ago. He was the best judge I ever appeared before in Ogle County.
· Georgia Svoboda, our neighbor across the street from Pinehill, passed away about two years ago. She and her husband, Frank, were two of the nicest people we ever met.
· Tom Peters is president of the school board and has two years to go. Tom and Lori’s children are attending Princeton and Dartmouth. Tom and Lori are looking forward to retiring up to Minoqua WI.
· Bill Fearer II, my old friend and contemporary, passed away a year ago and his house is up for sale as his widow, Terry, moved to Arizona.
· Bill Fearer III has children attending SMU and Baylor; he and Mary Ann hope to get a place in the Dallas area where they can spend their winters and still live in Oregon. Bill still likes to bike, play tennis and golf.
· Ed and Lillian McCanse spend their time at home, sold their motor home and do not drive. They have in-home care as they both are suffering from alzheimer’s dementia. They did not recognize me at first, but after a while they became much more cogent.
· Maureen Keuthe has skin cancer on her scalp (the spreading type) and will need surgery soon. She was a wonderful athlete and spent years in the sun. Remember, the sun is not your friend. In the photo above she is the picture of health and is always smiling. Maureen’s husband, Homer (92) hasn’t been out of the house in two years but passes his annual physical exam with flying colors. That’s what we hope to do -- pass everything with flying colors.
· Chris E. Martin, former Ogle County Treasurer with whom I worked on a case years ago, now has an office for Byron Bank on the corner of 4th and Washington, next door to where my law office used to be.

Family Fest

September 27, 2009

Today was “family fest” day at Scott’s house on Songbird Lane, which Jordan refers to as “Insane Lane.” It all came together very well. Lois and her two sons, Brad Cain[48] on the left and Scott Cain[58] on the right, were having a great time. The party started about one P.M. and lasted until about five. The food array included pork tenderloin, a fresh vegetable salad from Brad’s and Scott’s garden, Lois’ three-bean hot dish, and lois’ famous goulash.

Scott called at mid-morning from 90 miles away. He went to Charleston IL to watch EIU play UW-Milwaukee -- the first encounter for both teams. Co-Captain Chase Cain played the whole game with a broken right hand. She intended to come back with her Dad, but she had practice and homework which prevented her from doing so. Her cast goes from the mid-forearm down to her knuckles. She has a thumb and two fingers free. In spite of all that she made 12 tackles in the game. EIU won the game 28 - 27, by making a three-point field goal at the end of the game. UW dominated, but EIU took it away in the final seconds of the game. Scott described it as “an ugly win. but the 18th consecutive win for EIU.”

Brad brought a bunch of tomatoes, brussel sprouts, green peppers, squash and onions from his garden.They really looked good. Bradley, his son, decided not to come and we don’t blame him because we have seen him maybe four times in the last 13 years.

Jordon and Trey showed up and we had a nice visit. Jordon works for a group of doctors at Rockford Clinic, She is particularly well suited to deal with patients on the phone and recently she was named “employee of the month” at Rockford Clinic.

Laura and Steve called while the family fest was going on. We passed the phone around and they got to talk to everyone. This has been the best family get together in years, Lois concluded. Whatever issues people have were left at home and that made everything that much more pleasant.

Lo 'n Pat

September 25, 2009

We spent most of the day with Pat Scadden at her home, for lunch and for dinner. Lois and Pat go back 60 years. Lois was 20 when she met Pat at Cable Printing Co. in Mt. Morris and Pat was then 18. Over the years these two have spent a lot of time together. Lois’ family used to spend the holidays together with Pat and Bill Scadden, who passed away over four years ago.

It was fun to get together again. The two ladies seem to have picked up where they left off. Pat lives in the same beautiful house which they built 23 years ago. She showed us the two beautiful bathrooms she just had remodelled. HDTV is Pat’s favorite TV channel and house redecorating is her favorite hobby. She told us of the plans she has to redo the floors in the main part of the house and to replace the furniture which she now has.

Another important part of Pat’s life is Swedish American Hospital. She just completed working there most of the summer. She retired from there after more than 30 years of service. She gets called back to fill in for vacations or to fill a vacancy while a new hire is being interviewed. Pat told us how much she enjoys working there.

We went to lunch at Garrett’s on Bell School Road, which is part of the Golf Shack. The food is excellent there and we all had something different. For dinner we went to a fish dinner at the Hoffman House, a place we have not visited in years. We had enough left over for fish sandwiches so we asked for a take-out box.

Three Generations

September 26, 2009

Lois has two Bradleys. The one on the right is her son, Brad, age 48. The one on the left is her grandson, Bradley, age 15, and a Jr. Tackle member of the Oregon Hawks. The Oregon Hawks played the Morrison Colts at Morrison IL this morning and got blown away 26 - 8. Bradley and his friend thought the refs did a bad job but we could plainly see the Morrison team was much bigger than the Oregon boys who played well.

Thanks to Scott’s generosity, we used his car to drive the 82 miles to Morrison. We left at eight A.M. and got there by 9:30 A.M. The game started at ten. Jr. Tackle has nine-minute quarters and uses the two-point conversion, because the kickers haven’t had the experience to be accurate about the point after between the goal posts. Brad explained the game to us as we watched. This was the first time in 40 years that Lois observed a school game since Scott played at Rock Valley College. [Brad was a fine baseball player, but never played school football.]

Morrison got four touchdowns (24) one two-point conversion. The first two touchdowns were in the early minutes of the first quarter. They came into this game at 4 - 2 for the season and now are 5 - 2. Oregon answered in the second quarter with a touchdown and a two-point conversion. They came into the game at 5 - 1 and now are also 5 - 2.

Bradley’s name was mentioned several times during the game for making tackles. He was also on the receiving end of kickoffs for the first time this season. He played on the line for both offense and defense and, except for a minute or two, played the whole game.

It was good to visit with these two Bradleys -- a father-son team who live together in Pop and Gram’s old house. For the last year or so these two have worked out a good routine in their daily living which allows them both to spend lots of time together.

Locals dominate on rugby field

Chase Cain (Dean's List) and Grandma Lois; this photo did not appear in the newspaper.

September 23, 2009

Jay Taft of the Rockford Register Star covers college sports for the newspaper and today he wrote this following item in his daily column:

Led by Chase Cain (Jefferson), the Eastern Illinois women’s rugby team extended its winning streak to 19 games by opening 3 - 0 with a trio of blowout victories.

Cain leads the team with 37 tackles and she set a school record with five steals (similar to a fumble recovery) during the team’s 61 - 5 win over Iowa State on Saturday. EIU has also knocked off Ball State 90 - 0 and Grand Valley State 35 - 0 this season.

Emily Harrison (Jefferson), with an assist, four tackles and a steal on the year, also has an important role on the team as the starting lock.

Top Cat Chase Cain, senior rugby player

September 23, 2009

The photo of Lois’ granddaughter, Chase Cain, was taken from the Eastern Illinois University student newspaper, September 10th edition. The following article by Neil Schneider, staff reporter is quoted verbatim as follows:

The Eastern rugby team defeated Ball State 90 - 0 on Sept. 5.

The score indicated the Eastern offense was putting up strong numbers, but it was also an impressive day for senior Chase Cain and the rest of the team’s defense.

Cain finished the game against Ball State with a career-high 19 solo tackles, which ranks her third on the all-time Eastern single-game tackling mark for rugby.

Cain also ranks second, behind teammate Stephanie Militello, for all-time tackling leader for the program.

Head coach Frank Graziano believes Cain’s fitness is a strong reason why she is able to tackle so effectively.

Half of the battle of being a good tackler is the ability to get around the field and get to the ball as soon as possible,” Graziano said. “There are prbably girls on the team that have a better technique of tackling than Chase, but they do not have the fitness or the desire to tackle as she does. Half of (Cain’s) tackling is having the desire to go in and make the tackle.”

Cain’s teammate, junior flanker Tiffany Kennedy, said Cain’s endurance and knowledge of the game helped her develop into a strong contributor for the team.

“Her defense is probably untouchable when it comes to this team,” Kennedy said. “Her tackling and experience of defending certain situations has really helped her develop her game.”

Despite the high praise by teammates and coaches alike, Cain actually didn’t come to Eastern to play rugby. She came to swim. It wasn’t until she realized she could do both at the same time that she finallhy took up an interest in rugby.

“It wasn’t until I spoke with (senior center) Ashley Jenkins that I realized that I could play both sports.” Cain said.
“Since rugby is more of a team sport, I kind of decided to pursue it further as opposed to going forward with swimming.”

Cain, a flanker, credited the Eastern coaching staff for her quick introduction and development in the game of rugby.

“(Graziano) really knows the game of rugby and that has allowed the team to advance and develop much quicker,” Cain said. “Coach teaches methods that aren’t used by many other teams, which puts us ahead of a lot of other teams. Most teams don’t even know, or have ever seen, the passing techniques that we have developed and applied to our game.”

Even though the rugby team opened the season with a win, Cain said she would like to see the momentum continue. The rugby team currently has a winning streak of 17 games.

“We want to go undefeated again and we want to continue with our streak of consecutive wins,” Cain said. “We would also like to put up as many shut outs as possible this season.”

Chase Cain BIO: From Cherry Valley, High School: Rockford Jefferson Major: Psychology and Family Consumer Services 2008: Co-Captain, Co-Outstanding Defense Award, Then-career best 15 tackles vs. Kansas, Three double-digit tackle games.

Jean 'n Rich

(Right) Lucas Simons, younger son of Steve & Carrie (pictured with Lucas) is a sophomore at UW Seattle; he towers over his mom quite a bit.


Jean & Rich Simons

September 20, 2009

In the morning we drove from West Salem WI to Fond du Lac WI to meet with Jean and Rich Simons. We got off I-94 at Mauston and took a state highway (#23) east to Fond du Lac to meet at a sports bar, called The Back Door. There we had lunch together while the Green Bay Packers tried to win over the Cincinnati Bengals, to no avail.

In a week, Jean will have hip surgery at Sheboygan Memorial Hospital. She was walking with a cane and it was obvious that she was in pain. She is ready for this, but a little anxious because this is the first surgery she has had since a tonselectomy as a child. Jean said that her doctor told her he doesn’t see how she can walk at all on that hip joint.

We had a good visit at the restaurant, catching up on family news. It has been three years since we last visited. The plan was to go to the cottage on Lake Winnebago where Steve and Carrie of Maple Valley WA were vacationing with their sons -- Wes and Lucas, a sophomore at UW in Seattle. Steve has been at Boeing for 25 years. Carrie still works as a nurse in a Seattle-area hospital. Also visiting later was Amy and BJ from West Bend WI and their two sons -- Zack(age 14) and Josh(age 11). Zack is now taller than his mom, Amy. Amy, a math teacher, is looking real good; she runs four miles a day.

Steve and Carrie and their sons were at a family party in Hartford WI for the afternoon. One of Carrie’s brothers and his wife had adopted two Ethiopian boys (ages 3 & 5) and the party was to welcome them into the family. To mark the occasion, Ethiopian food was prepared and served with a flat bread. Ethiopeans use no utensils and mop up the various sauces and meat dishes with the bread. Steve described the meal very well and we could therefore enjoy it vicariously.

There was room to park the RV at the lake property so everything was very convenient. It rained all night, bringing down the acorns and hickory nuts with the rain drops. That made things interesting at times during the night.

Visiting Jerry Schmidt

September 15 - 18, 2009

We arrived at the farm near St. Peter MN about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday and got right into the visiting for a few hours. Jerry was ready for us because, for the next three out of four days we played bridge for hours on end. The fourth in this endeavor was Ann Rohlfing, who is Kathleen Schmidt’s mom. Both Jerry and Ann play bridge often so we had a wonderful time at cards.

On Tuesday afternoon we played 72 hands of bridge. Lois had the most points but the point spread was very close. Here is the tally: Lois 4,110, George 4090, Jerry 4070 and Ann 3,150.

On Wednesday afternoon we played another 72 hands of bridge and the men took over: George 6,330, Jerry 5,470, Ann 4,860 and Lois 2,700.

On Friday, the ladies took over: Ann 7,390, Lois 5,680, Jerry 5,030 and George 1,910. Ann had a spectacular afternoon of cards. For the three days Ann totalled 15,400, Jerry 14,570, Lois 12,490 and George 12,330.

Each of these bridge parties was followed up with cocktails and dinner. Greg and Kathy came out Tuesday and Friday night and had dinner with us. They were loads of fun. Paul and Kim came to visit and we enjoyed that a lot.

The Penning’s were out Thursday evening for dinner. Daughter Amanda and Hayden (age 6) and Marina (age 4) added a lot of excitement to the evening. We had a special treat on Friday when Adam Schmidt and his girlfriend, Amy, came to visit and learn a little about bridge. Since Adam is Ann’s grandson, it was all a big, happy family.

Lo 'n Lee

September 22, 2009

Lois and Lee Bartow have been best friends since first grade in Oregon IL 74 years ago. Then, Lois’ name was Wissing and Lee’s family name was Peterman. Lee’s dad was an attorney in Oregon and her apartment in Mukwanago WI proudly displayed her dad’s law office shingle -- Law Office of Martin Peterman.

Lois and Lee are the same age, except Lee is older by ten days. It has been nine years since we last saw Lee and her husband, John, in Mukwanago where they had built a beautiful retirement home. Suddenly, in the year 2000, after our visit with a game of golf, John passed away from a heart attack and we cut short our RV trip to return to Mukwanago to be with the family. It is unbelievable that this took place nine years ago.

Lee is now living in assisted living facility a few minutes away from her daughter and son-in-law, Jan and Donald Bernhagen. We visited with Lee for about three hours this afternoon in her apartment which is beautifully furnished. Sitting there listening to these two ladies visit was very special. It was like they picked up where they had left off the last time they had visited. Friendships that last this long are very special.

Road Wetter

September 12 - 13, 2009

This was my job for two days -- making sure the road dust during Sodbuster Days at Fort Ransom State Park is kept to a minimum. Approximately a mile of road in the park, leading to the Sunne Farm where Sodbuster Days are held, is gravel and hundreds of vehicles, large and small, can create a lot of dust.

This gravity-feed system consists of a 1,000 gallon water tank -- weighing four tons when filled with water -- a flat-bed trailer, an on-off valve, and a “T” of PVC pipe with holes drilled across the bottom. This was the brainstorm of Terry Anderson, head of maintenance for the park. The slower I drove, the wetter the roadway became. For all the passes I made, it took a tank full to go up to the Sunne Farm and back.

After each trip, my job was to refill the tank with water from the Sheyenne River. The location for this was behind the Visitor’s Center where the maintenance staff set up a hose in the river and connected it to a Honda engine driving a water pump. From the pump approximately 30 feet of collapsible hose was attached to a gizmo which was inserted into the tank during filling. This worked great as it only took about 15 minutes to refill the tank.

For the two days I had this assignment, I must have made a dozen trips with this rig. It was a fun job.

Wheelwright Demonstration

September 12, 2009

One of the most interesting demonstrations of the day was put on by experienced wheelwrights who placed a steel “tire” on a wooden wagon wheel with a radius of about three feet. The “tire” was heated by the fire in the foreground to about 2,000° Farenheit. The temp is not critical, so the tire is tapped until the resonance goes out of it. Two men picked the steel out of the fire, with long-handled tools, then placed it on the ground, then three men picked it up with tongs and placed it on the wheel. The tolerance was one-fourth of an inch and the “tire” went on the wheel very smoothly. With a few taps the “tire” was in place.

Now the wheelwrights had to work fast. The wooden part of the wheel started to smoke and burn. The three mean each took a can of water and doused the wheel around the edge. Then, just as quickly, they picked up the wheel and rotated it in a water trough. It sounded like a sizzling steak. Job well done.

A few technical details were offered during the demo: Order your spokes from the Amish in Hartford PA. Be sure to send them a sample because there are many configurations of the mortise-and-tenon joint for spokes. Don’t let the wheel ride on the tenon end of the spokes as that will cause the wheel to fail; the weight-bearing should go to the shoulder of the tenons which connect to wooden rim, called the felloe.

Mel Rusvold announced the demo. He has lived his whole life here in the valley and was the head of maintenance for the park before Terry Anderson. Mel Forsberg was his assistant. The men told me they only do this for Sodbuster Days and they have declined offers to demo this old art at other events around North Dakota. It’s just kind of a hobby which they enjoy doing.

Noreen said, "I think Mel Rusvold was born 100 years too late."

Preston Church

September 11, 2009

For devout Lutheran settlers of the late 1880’s, cultivating spiritual life through church communities was a priority almost as important as building their own homes and farms. Even before church buildings were constructed, congregations were organized and services were held in homes and schoolhouses, even outside in summer. Instrumental in establishing these churches were Lutheran missionaries, many of whom were recent Norwegian immigrants themselves, looking for a congregation to serve.

The Preston Church (1898) was built in downtown Preston N.D. one of over 1,000 ghost towns in the state. Today this church is the only building left of the town, which is about five miles north of Ft. Ransom. It is important to remember that five miles was about the limit of travel in those days of horse and wagon and towns were located about five to 15 miles distance from each other. Today there is no need for that many towns. Just think, for people from Preston to go to church in Ft. Ransom, it would have taken all day with two and a half hours of travel by horse and wagon each way.

On Christmas Day in 1881, Rev. Johannes D. Bothne, a young missionary, met with a group of local residents in a small log cabin about two miles south of here. Rev. Bothne preached a service followed by an invitation to form a congregation. The locals accepted even though they had been together for 17 years without a minister. They continued to meet in homes and schoolhouses for another 17 years until a church was built in 1898.

The original church was much larger with a tall steeple. It burned to the ground in 1953. The church pictured here was completed in 1956 and continues to be active after 110 years.

Vintner's Cellar

September 9, 2009

We were in Fargo today for an enjoyable lunch and some shopping. Someone told us to look for a place called “Vintner’s” on Broadway and we found it, just a few blocks south of where we had lunch before at “Toscano’s” -- also on Broadway. Here they make and sell over 40 kinds of wine.

In the entrance way, there was this photo of Broadway 70 years ago (top photo) before our nation was involved in WWII. Vintner’s is the establishment which is the fourth from the left. The RR gates then belonged to the Northern Pacific. Today we had to wait for a BNSF freight train to pass at this same intersection, carrying building products from the West.

For lunch we chose an excellent basil tomato soup with a half sandwich. For a beverage we chose their Winter Spice, which is Vintner’s equivalent of a Pinot Grigio, one of Lois’ favorites. It was a delicious lunch.

Of the over 40 types of wine, Vintner’s offers 13 fruit wines. We are not big on fruit wines. There are five North Dakota wines -- Chokecherry, Foch, St. Croix, Rhubarb and Strawberry Rhubarb. We were looking for a “Juneberry” but maybe that’s something they could work on. Three of these are also fruit wines. There are six whites, imitating the usual flavors. The reds are the biggest group with 15 different types.

Lunch continues to be our favorite way of going out for a meal. We can take our time and not worry about work schedules.

Theodore Slattum's Place

September 9, 2009

This log cabin, located a half mile north of the park entrfance on the Valley Road, was built in 1879 by Theodore Slattum, a Norwegian immigrant who became one of the most prosperous pioneers in Ransom County, eventually owning and farming 1,000 acres mortgage free.

Slattum was born in Christiana, Norway, in 1836 -- oldest son of five children. He learned the art of making barrel staves as a teenager, then spent 11 years in the Norwegian army. He immigrated to America, settling first in Fillmore County, Minnesota. Then he moved to the Sheyenne River Valley, to this spot, traveling by ox wagon with $40 to his name.

In 1945 this Slattum cabin was moved to Ft. Ransom but was moved back to this original spot. Theodore Slattum and his wife raised nine children in this cabin. The Slattum family was known for their musical talent and son Hans led the Preston brass band.

We stopped and examined this property on our way back from Fargo today. One thing we can say about it is: This is a quiet and beautiful place with the river in the background.

Bench Braces

September 7, 2009

We suggested a park improvement to Director John and he responded within a few days. We noticed that all the benches in the park were sloping toward the front as a result of a failure in the cantilever joints. John went to Lisbon on Saturday and bought all of the materials. By Monday the project was completed. The following is my report to John by e-mail which included both photos:

The eight hiker benches throughout Ft. Ransom State Park have been reinforced and made rigid with the installation of two 4”x4” braces attached to each bench. The above photo shows two green braces. Two torque-head fasteners were put into the upright member at the bottom of the brace and two longer fasteners were placed into the old wood at the top of the brace. Treated lumber was used, but the cut ends were soaked in treating material before installation. The braces were approximately 20” in length and the bottom cut was made at the site to match the angle of the old uprights, as shown in the larger photo above.

However, some benches were so close to the ground that a shorter version of the brace was fashioned to the bench, as shown in the top photo above. This bench is located in the playground area immediately north of the visitor’s center.

Both versions should last a long time. Every bench in the park was rickity, in that the seat sloped down and to the front when attempting to sit on the bench. This can give an unsettling and unsafe feeling to the park user. Now the benches are rigid and do not give way to the weight of someone sitting on them.

The repair of the benches took approximately ten hours, including the time to travel to each bench via the Toro Workman.

Georgia Visits

September 3 - 6, 2009

Georgia and her friend, Larry Gruber (no relation to Franz Gruber as we talked about that), arrived Thursday evening about 4:30 p.m. They had arrived in Fargo late morning, rented a car and made a few sales calls at North Dakota State University at Fargo and Valley City State at Valley City. Georgia was a bit up tight because some important university customers were putting last-minute holiday weekend pressure on her. Within 24 hours, however, that was all worked out and Georgia could get on with the business of enjoying her weekend.

Larry, almost 40 years of age, was on his first camping trip. He brought along his sleeping bag that he had as a cub scout about 30 years earlier. Georgia was about to coach Larry that camping was really fun. At first I didn’t understand how that could be possible, but subsequent events throughout the weekend proved me wrong. Larry said he had a wonderful time and that he would like to go camping again.

“My expectations about North Dakota (which weren’t much) were totally blown away,” Larry said.

After visiting downtown Fargo, including the prairie art museum, and seeing the scenery of the Sheyenne River Valley, Larry owned up to what the area has to offer. He is from Cleveland and now lives in a Chicago high rise. He slept all three nights in Georgia Kelty tent without complaint.

Georgia and Larry had to go back to Fargo e ton Friday to meet with the Athletic Director of NDSU. While there, they went shopping at a local grocery -- Sunmart -- and brought back enough food for a super feast. Friday evening we had tacos and taco salad, followed by a movie, and Saturday we had spinach salad, chicken kabobs and corn on the cob, followed by a camp fire. We managed to get in a lot of visiting as well. The weather was fabulous.

On Saturday, Georgia and Larry rented a double-seater kayak to enjoy the Sheyenne River. The park staff gave them transport to a launching place upstream and they paddled three and a half hours back to the visitor center. In the afternoon they hiked some of the 16 miles of trails which have been been built in the park.

In order to be on time for the plane out of Fargo, Georgia and Larry left the park about 10:30 a.m. Lois went to work earlier and I got busy on the bench project after they left. We all had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the visiting and conversations all weekend long. Thanks for coming out to visit us, you guys.

9.7.09 George and Lois,

I can't thank you enough for being such a gracious host/hostess during my weekend in Ft. Ransom. Camping was such a fun adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering North Dakota! To think that I can now build a campfire -- wow!!

Have a safe and pleasant journey back to Florida. Thanks again, Larry

Standing Rock Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church

The death of Marie Slattum in 1881 pointed up a real need in the newly formed community of Ft. Ransom[pop. 105]. There was no Church, no minister, no cemetery. The ceremony for Marie was held in the Slattum home and she was buried in the yard at the family home. The mourners decided it was time to build a church.

They built this only church in Ft. Ransom and built everything inside with volunteer labor. The church grew so much that by 1908 they added more room. The photo here shows what the church looks like today.

The original altar with a backdrop done by a local artist (circa 1980) is still there. The backdrop depicts Christ with an angel. The stained-glass windows were installed during the 1908 expansion of the church. The organ, purchased from a Boston organ builder, was installed in 1910.

Seattle Steve

August 26 - Sep 1, 2009

We met Steve at Hector International in Fargo when he got off the plane at 5:15 p.m. Steve had flown from Seattle to Portland to Chicago to Fargo and it took him most of the day. We made a group decision and headed back to Ft. Ransom State Park which is a distance of about 80 miles.

Lois and I had already had a full day in Fargo -- a first time for both of us. We drove around a bit and saw some interesting sites. For example, we went by the campus of Minnesota State University at Moorhead (MN) which in 1928 was the Minnesota State Teachers College at Moorhead. That’s where Grandma Dorothy got her two-year teaching certificate. She taught school for two years and married George Fischer in June of 1930. I had never seen this place before and it was good to make that connection.

The highlight of the day was lunch at Toscano’s on Broadway. We both had the same thing -- a spinach salad and a walleye filet with lots of vegetables in a wine sauce. This was the first time we dined in style since the Red Lobster in Bismark several weeks ago. It was delightful.

We shopped for groceries at SunMart in West Fargo. SunMart and Hornbacher’s are the two regional chains here that seem to be the leaders in supermarkets.

Steve’s visit was most pleasant and was marked by a lot of visiting and reminiscing about the old days as well as a hike a day. Steve walked every hiking path in Ft. Ransom State Park while he was here. There was a trail-building crew from Bismark finishing up an 8-mile path and Steve hiked that one also. The paths are wide and cut into the hills by machine. In the winter they will be for cross-country skiing and snowmobiles. I worry about the same path being used by people on foot and those on mechanized equipment -- a recipe for disaster. Hopefully the park management will figure that one out and set policy accordingly.

We had a cocktail hour every day and the dinner plans seemed to please everyone. Before bed, we usually watched English comedy, “Keeping Up Appearances,” or a movie -- “Analyze This” and “Analyze That”, a Robert DeNiro-Billy Crystal spoof on New York crime families. They were all hilarious.

The week went by very quickly. We enjoyed every minute. It was a wonderful time and we are very happy Steve took the time to come and visit.

“That really was a good visit,” Steve wrote by e-mail. “It's great to see you both doing so well and enjoying yourselves.”

“Thanks for everything you did to make the trip work out so well, Steve continued. “Have a safe trip back and keep in touch.”

The Sunne Farm

August 23, 2009

I’m sitting in the dining room of a farm house that was built in 1899 -- 110 years ago. This house was completely rehabed about ten years ago after the State Park Department acquired the farm from the owner, a successor owner after the Sunne family sold the place.

The project included raising this house off it’s foundations, removing the old foundation, putting in a new modern basement, resetting the house on the new foundation, and tearing out the inside wall coverings, installing new insulation and wiring and refinishing the walls and floors.

This dining room is very nice. It is about 8’ x 12’ in size and the walls are covered with beaded boards laid horizontally. The ceiling is also covered with beaded boards. The floor is a bare toung-and-groove fir flooring with a polyurethane finish. The trim on the doors and windows is much like the original.

The entire floor consists of this dining room, a parlor, a master bedroom and a kitchen. All are finished the same way except that the floows are done in a maple toungue-and-groove flooring. There are three small bedrooms upstairs which have no closets, but there is ample room to place clothes hanging poles or clothes hooks in the little niche areas.

What is a mystery to us is how ten children slept in three small bedrooms. We have talked about it and tried to puzzle it out, but there are no answers.

We are here because we do our laundry in the basement where there is a modern washer and dryer -- something else the Sunne family never had here. This farm is a joint project of the State Park and The Sodbuster Association who work together to put on “Sodbuster Days” twice a year to demostrate how horses and oxen were used to power farm machinery way back then. More about that will be detailed in another posting.

This house has a real charm. It was the place where Andrew and Johanna Sunne raised their ten children after coming to America from Norway in 1884 and 1885. Andrew came over in 1884 to prepare for his family and Johanna followed with two children in 1885. To get his family here, Andrew borrowed $54.50 from his friend, John Brink, and that purchased steeerage from Oslo, Norway, to Lisbon ND -- 17 miles away, which was a very long day’s trip in those days by horse and wagon. Today that trip would easily cost $3,000 for a woman with two children.

They lived in a log cabin on the farm for the first 14 years until they could afford to build a house. The children kept arriving until there were eight children in the family by 1899. They moved into this house just before Christmas, 1899, and what a wonderful holiday that must have been. Two more children - Alfred and Emma - were born into this house after the family moved in.

The ten Sunne children, three sons and eight daughters, from the oldest to the youngest, were as follows:
1. Ole Sunne, born 1881 in Norway and married in 1916 in North Dakota.
2. Borghild Sunne, born in 1882 in Norway.
3. Anna Sunne, born November 17, 1886, at the Sunne log cabin (Anna #1 was born in 1883 and died June 17, 1885)
4. Jenny Sunne, born October 27, 1888, at the Sunne log cabin.
5. Mary Sunne, born April 16, 1890, at the Sunne log cabin.
6. Louise Sunne, born January 15, 1892 and died a week later, January 22, 1892
7. Carl Sunne, born May 26, 1893, at the Sunne log cabin.
8. Alma Sunne, born September 29, 1895, at the Sunne log cabin.
9. Helen Sunne, born July 22, 1897, last child born in the log cabin, later married a Libak and moved to Chicago.
10. Alfred Sunne, born January 23, 1900, in the house shown in the photo.
11. Emma Sunne, born _____________________

The Sunne family farmed a total of 909 acres in the Sheyenne River valley (owned and rented acreage) and Andrew experimented with various hybrids of wheat. For 15 years he tried to grow peaches in North Dakota, and finally gave that up. Andrew was also a poet. He was born in Norway in 1858 and died at this farm here on October 22, 1912, at 54 years of age. His wife, Johanna, followed him on June 17, 1921, at 62 years of age.

Fort Ransom State Park

August 19, 2009

Fort Ransom State Park is nestled in the Sheyenne River Valley and is a beautiful place -- away from the traffic patterns of North Dakota, especially I-29 and I-94. The park has almost 800 acres and consists of two farms which were deeded to the state and some other valley land. The Sheyenne River runs alongside or through the park. Also North Dakota’s first nationally designated scenic drive -- The Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway -- goes right by the park.

The photo shows the Visitor Center, known as the Bjone House, built by Nels Olson in 1879 and inhabited by the Bjone Family until 1976. It was also the site of the first Lutheran services (1882) in the area before the Standing Rock Norwegian Evangelical[Lutheran] Church got built.

The second farm was first homesteaded by Andrew Sunne in 1884 and this is the location of the park’s biggest event -- Sodbuster Days -- celebrated in second weekend of July and the weekend after Labor Day in September. This event draws thousands of visitors who want to see how farming was done with horse-drawn equipment. Both houses have rooms of very interesting historical exhibits.

We met with park director John Kwapinski today who has been here almost from the beginning. We are looking forward to working with him. He’ll give us specific duties in a few days. In the meantime, he encouraged us to continue getting acquainted with the area.

The park offers many opportunities for hiking. It also offers canoeing and kayaking on the Sheyenne, where park rangers, for a modest fee, transport upstream by road to various points, depending on how much time one wishes to spend on the water. Then, at the visitor center, your vehicle is waiting as you pull out at a well-built dock.

Village of Fort Ransom

August 19, 2009

The Village of Fort Ransom was established in 1878 with the opening of J.D. Curries’ General Store. Today it’s population is 106 and, at its peak, the population could have been 200 in the 1920’s when business was good.

We think Fort Ransom is a delightful town - very quaint and friendly. The first night here we went into the convenience store for a bag of ice and ended up visiting with the owners, Dave and Linda, for an hour. Last night, we attended “Buck Night” at the bar; all beer and hamburgers are $1 and people pack the place all evening. People say hi even if they do not know you. We had a good time.

The Village of Fort Ransom never had a railroad to help it grow -- no grain elevator either. It did have a bank some years ago. The only gas station is the convenience store with a single pump outside. It is amazing that the village survived at all. It should have been on the list of 1,000 North Dakota ghost towns.

But the Norwegians saved the day. They settled in here like a bunch of bees on a flower blossom. The terrain is hilly in the Sheyenne River valley. There is even a ski lift just outside of town. It must be like Norway.

In the photo above, what you see is pretty much what there is of the village. The building on the right has wifi -- a restaurant called the Roadhouse. The building on the left is the town’s only pub and it also has wifi. Not shown is the convenience store, owned by Dave and Tine who will visit and talk while they sell you something. It’s all very friendly, so what more do you need?

Geology of Ft. Ransom

August 20, 2009

Ft. Ransom and the surrounding area is a huge glacial meltwater trench as the photo above shows. About 25,000 years ago, this part of North Dakota was covered by the vast Wisconsin Glacier which included almost all of Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin as well as eastern North Dakota. According to Elwyn B. Robinson, in History of North Dakota, the retreating glacier left sand dunes in Ransom County as well as cutting trenches or valleys to enable the water to run off.

The Sheyenne River valley was one of those trenches and continues to flow to the south east in this region. After it reaches Lisbon ND, the river turns to the east and then to the northeast where it runs into the Red River of the North near Fargo.

The Sheyenne River drained water from the glacial Lake Souris in Central North Dakota and carried it to the glacial Lake Agassiz which was located a short distance east of here. At that time the water filled the valley, shown above, covering a mile wide and over 300 feet deep. The valley you see in the photo is all Ft. Ransom State Park.

Other evidence of glacial activity in the area is the array of large rocks and boulders when are stewn all over the landscape.

The Writing Rock

August 18, 2009

Across from Fort Ransom in North Dakota, there is this informative interpretative plaque that tells of a big rock which rests over the ridge in the distance. It has script-like markings on it and it is called “The Writing Rock” -- the subject of much speculation and debate.

Geologists believe that water has etched the stone or that receding glaciers ground striations into the rock many centuries ago. Others are convinced that the markings are the work of prehistoric people who lived here between 5,000 and 9,000 years ago. With imaginative interpretation they see animals and other figures in the rock. These marks have never been deciphered.

Native American legends tell about this rock also in imaginative ways:

“Late at night, a water spirit would emerge from the Sheyenne River and write messages on the rock for the Dakota Tribes. If a girl caught a glimpse of the spirit she would have many admirers from the most desireable men of the tribe. If it were a man, he would become and expert hunter and warrior or leader.

The next night, spirits sould erase the old message and write a new one. After white settlers arrived, the spirits did not return.”

Fort Ransom

August 18, 2009

The dry moat, depressions in the ground and flag pole in the middle of a small field is all that is left of Fort Ransom. Ransom was a Union Officer in the Civil War who had no connection to North Dakota. The site was selected because it had good water and the hills nearby offered observation opportunities for miles around. The only advantage of having a fort on this frontier was its deterrent effect. Many times, if the Native Americans were intent on malfeasance, the U. S. Army could observe movements, but never get to the place to do anything about it.

That’s North Dakota. One can see for miles out here, but it takes a long time to get to what you were just looking at, even with modern transportation.

The fort was built at a place called Grizzly Bear Hill, a site chosen by Brigadier General Alfred H. Terry. It was named in honor of Major General Thomas E.G. Ransom of the U.S. Volunteers. Ransom distinguished himself during the Civil War.

On June 17, 1867, a battalion of the 10th U.S. Infantry, commanded by Brevet Major George H. Crosman, arrived from Fort Wadsworth. Soldiers began work on enclosing a breastwork and completed it by August. Oak logs Fort Ransom from the nearby Sheyenne River Valley were used to construct the post. The buildings were arranged within the earthen breastworks in a square, measuring 350 by 400 feet.

Survival and everyday life at this military post, like any frontier settlement, was a constant struggle. Captain Crosman wrote about his experiences at Fort Ransom in a letter written on October 9, 1895.

"We lost no officers or men by Indians. The Indian troubles were then on the Missouri and west of it. No officers died or were killed while I was at Fort Ransom. "During the five years 1867-1872, there were five deaths from natural causes at the fort and the two Indian mail carriers who froze to death on the trail.

Captain Crosman continued: "The character of the weather was, I presume, about as it is now. During the summr the weather was not unpleasantly hot, but the mosquitoes were something terrific. In all my experience in Texas, Louisiana and other places, I never saw anything to compare to the mosquitoes in Dakota; they actually made life a burden. The winters were very severe, the thermometers froze every year. After the snow fell at Fort Ransom, we were actually shut in from the world entirely; our own communication with the outside world was made by Indians in government employ, on snowshoes who carried our mail to and from Abercrombie… ...

“In the fall of 1867 while the command was still in camp, we had a very serious prairie fire. It came from the west and traveled with the speed and noise of several railroad trains. Subsequently I took occasion of visiting Indian chiefs to inquire about the fire. I was told they had no knowledge or tradition of such a terrible fire. Of course I had the whole garrison turned out with their blankets to fight the fire, but that would have been of no avail, if the wind, fortu- nately, had not veered around a little just before the fire approached the camp, and saved us." The fire destroyed their hay and wood supply for the winter.

As a result a small town of 100 two miles north took the name Fort Ransom. A state park one mile further north also took the name. And the county called itself Ransom. It’s a beautiful place.

Meriwether Lewis' Wonder Dog

August 15, 2009

Chip Cartwright has prepared a program based on his research into the Lewis & Clark Corps of discovery from 1804 to 1806. For some unknown reason, Lewis had purchased a Newfoundland puppy for $20 (Newfies would cost over $1,000 today) and decided to bring the dog along on this 2.5 year expedition.

The photo shows a larger-than-life sculpture of the dog which is located at Ft. Mandan, near Washburn ND. Newfoundland dogs are large enough, up to 29 inches high and 150 lbs. in weight. They have been described as the “most majestic of the canine varieties.”

The name of Lewis’ dog has long been a source of confusion. The journals of the Lewis & Clark party are filled with misspellings and poor pensmanship. For over 180 years the dog’s name was thought to be “Scannon.” Finally, in 1987, the dog’s name was proven to be “Seaman.” One thing that has been known for a long time was the fact that Seaman was born in 1802 which means he was two years old when he started out with Lewis & Clark.

Seaman was more than a pet; he proved to be a good hunter on the expedition. Chip took us through a number of journal references which described what Seaman had hunted for the party. On different occasions, he caught squirrel, deer, antelope, beaver and geese, which the men enjoyed for dinner. Incredible as that sounds, it was the method Seaman used that seemed to be effective.

Seaman caught his prey in the Missouri River. In those days the game was sighted swimming in the Missouri River, even squirrels which we do not think of as amphibious types. Seaman was encouraged to jump into the water after the sighted prey. He would drown the game and bring it back to the boat, where the men fished it out of the water.

There was some danger involved. One time a beaver bit Seaman and punctured an artery, causing severe bleeding. There was great concern over Seaman’s ability to pull through. The journals recount other occasions when Seaman encountered a grizzly bear, but he never did more than bark a lot. There was one time that Seaman took off and stayed overnight. Another time Seaman was stolen or lured away with food by Native Americans. Lewis sent a party out to get the dog back.

The last journal of July 15, 1806, stated, “Nobody knows what happened to the dog.”

However, it is an accepted historical fact that Seaman finished the trip, but what finally happened to Seaman is not so clear. In 1814 a dog collar identifying the wearer as Lewis’ dog was found in a museum in Alexandria VA. Another curious fact is that large dog bones were found on top of Meriwether Lewis’ grave where he was buried on the Natchez Trace south of Nashville TN in 1809. It is believed that Seaman was with his master when he died and that Seaman also died of grief on top of his master’s grave.

Marvelous Medora

August 16, 2009

No trip to North Dakota would be complete without a stop at Medora, off I-94 on the western boundary of the state. Lois and I spent a long weekend there in 2006 so we decided to forego another visit there. The photo shows one of the chefs preparing their famous steak fondu on a pitchfork [pitch forks have three tynes and manure forks have five FYI.] We did enjoy that and the Medora show afer dinner.

The town of Medora was founded in April 1883 by a 24-year-old French nobleman, the Marquis de Mores. He named the town for his bride, the former Medora von Hoffman, daughter of a wealthy New York City banker.

The valley of the Little Missouri had been the scene of varied activity long before the arrival of the Marquis. Native Americans had hunted the area for many generations, an example later followed by early white explorers and frontiersmen. General Alfred Sully fought the Sioux in 1864 a few miles south of the present site of Medora, in what became known as "The Battle of the Badlands." Lieutenant-Colonel George Custer passed through in 1876 on his fatal march west to the Little Bighorn.

The Marquis de Mores had financial backing from his father-in-law and he founded the town of Medora east of the river, building a meat packing plant, a hotel, stores, and a large home (Chateau de Mores) overlooking his new town. This house is open for tours. Despite the vision and energy of the Marquis, all of his various enterprises ended in financial failure by the fall of 1886. With their son and daughter, the Marquis and Marquise returned to France, where another son was to be born. The Marquis continued his visionary and adventurous lifestyle around the world until he was killed by native tribesmen on the Sahara Desert in Africa in June 1896. His widow, Medora, never remarried, and died in France in 1921.

Another colorful individual drawn to this area was a young New York politician named Theodore Roosevelt. He first arrived to hunt buffalo in September 1883, immediately fell in love with the land, and invested in cattle raising. He would eventually own two large ranches - the Maltese Cross, about seven miles south of Medora, and the Elkhorn, about 35 miles north of town. In 1901 Roosevelt, at age 42, became the youngest president in U.S. history, serving until 1909. He called his years in the badlands "the romance of my life," and often credited his Dakota experiences with enabling him to become president.

Other notable individuals have also called Medora their home. The three Eaton brothers began entertaining eastern visitors at their Custer Trail Ranch about five miles south of Medora in 1883, and the first "dude ranch" in the United States was soon in full operation. Tom Mix, who became a great western movie star, married Miss Olive Stokes in Medora on January 10, 1909. James W. Foley, Jr., whose father was caretaker of the Chateau de Mores for many years, grew to manhood and taught school at Medora. It was here that he began writing poetry that would make him a nationally acclaimed literary figure and North Dakota's Poet Laureate. By the time of his death in 1939, Jim Foley had published more than a dozen volumes of poetry.

There is lots to see and do in Medora and we nearly did it all. The Medora Musical and Pitchfork Fondue are at the top of the list. Then there is the Theodore Roosevelt Natioal Park, The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame [we spent three hours looking things over here], Chateau de Mores, the Harold Schafer Heritage Center and the Roughrider Hotel.

A Man Called York

August 14, 2009

Story teller Chip Cartwright presented an historical portrayal of the slave who accompanied Lewis & Clark on the Corps of Discovery 1803 - 1806. He was William Clark’s slave and he was called York. On the photo that is Chip in front of a keelboat replica of the Lewis & Clark expedition. He is holding a 1779 .50 caliber flintlock rifle.

York was born on the Clark Plantation in Caroline County, Virginia, in 1770. William Clark was already four years old. The custom in those days was all kids played together, at least until they were 12 years old. Then they found out what the real score was. In 1780, when York was 12 years old, he found out he was to be the personal servant of his former buddy, William Clark, now 16 years of age. He would wake Master Clark up in the morning, make sure he had the right clothes for the day, serve him breakfast and attend to his needs throughout the day. In addition, his job was to protect his master.

Chip explained there were four classes of slaves -- 1) Body servant, 2) House servant, 3) Field hand and 4) Hired out. This last group was for less-than-able-bodied slaves or those who had developed an attitude. The master would hire them out for a year and get paid in advance and that way the master would get some return on this investment, regardless of the results.

So York’s first assignment as a slave was the best available. He got to wear the best clothes, eat the best food, live in the best surroundings and be around cultured and educated people from whom he would learn a great deal, even though he could not read or write. It was illegal to instruct slaves in those skills.

In 1803, when Meriwether Lewis asked William Clark to co-command the Corps of Discovery, York was 25 years old -- over 6’ -4” in height, 220 lbs with a muscular build. York was not given a choice to go or not to go on the expedition. Clark said York would accompany him, even though York was already married. Lewis & Clark had over 100 men from which to choose, with some of the criteria being healthy, able-bodied, special skills and unmarried, in case the group did not make it back. York had frontier skills and was married, but that made little difference in Clark’s decision.

York, along with Sakakawea, was especially helpful in getting the expedition past anxious bands of Native Americans. His blackness made him a curiosity and the Native Americans called him “the black white man.” They followed him around, touched him and tried to rub the blackness from his skin. He took on all comers in the sport of wrestling and won. Indians considered York “big medicine.”

York was the first African American to travel to the Pacific. He was also the first to vote in a democratic decision to locate the second winter quarters at Ft. Clatsop in Oregon -- over 100 years before the right to vote was given to African Americans.
When the expedition returned to St. Louis on September 23, 1806, all members of the party were rewarded with money and land -- except York and Sakakawea. York went back to being William Clark’s manservant, despite repeated requests for a grant of freedom. It took several years to get his grant of freedom, but those years were difficult. Clark’s boyhood companion had become sullen and uncooperative and, for that, Clark punished York with lashes and hired him out at times. York’s wife had been sold and moved to Natchez with his children. Clark refused to do anything to reunite York with his wife and children.

The York story has two endings. One is that, when York was granted his freedom in 1816, he bought a wagon and draft horses provided by Clark to go into the drayage business, which failed in a few years because of York’s lack of basic education. He asked William Clark to take him back and Clark refused. He died of cholera in Tennessee in 1832 and was buried in an unmarked grave by the side of the road.

The other ending is provided the journals of mountain man Zenas Leonard who tells of an old black man who was a Crow Chief leading his young Crow warriors up a hill in battle to kill 69 Blackfeet. This Crow Chief was very happy with his life, having enjoyed the adulation and following of younger generations who learned from him. This story is part of the verbal history of the Crow nation. Zenas Leonard never asked the name of that black man, the great Crow Chief. Was it York? Maybe it was.

York’s story stands for freedom -- that which our armed forces fight for and protect even today. President William Clinton recognized this when he posthumusly granted York his reward as Sargeant in the U.S. Army. Others have also recognized York’s passion for freedom with a large statue in downtown Louisville KY and another in Kansas City MO. His loyalty and desire for freedom has not gone unnoticed.

Thanks for this wonderful story, Chip.

Fort Abraham Lincoln Infantry Post

August 5, 2009

The infantry post, shown here, is ona high ridge and predates the cavalry post established in the valley below. The infantry post, cavalry post and On-the-Slant Village are all part of the Abraham Lincoln State Park. The following is the official description given on the plaque at the top of the hill:

“This United States military post was established as Fort McKeen, June 14, 1872, by companies ‘B’ and ‘C’ of the 6th Infantry under the command of Lt. Col. Daniel Huston, Jr. It was named in commemoration of Col. H. Boyd McKeen of the 81st Pennsylvania Volunteers, who lost his life in the Battle of Cold Harbor during the Civil War. The name of this post was changed to Fort Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1872. With the establishment of the cavalry post the next year in the flat below, the name Fort Abraham Lincoln designated both garrisons. The primary purpose of these posts was to protect the surveyors and construction parties of the Northern Pacific Railway.

“Indian raids at or near this site were quite common during 1872 and 1873. On a number of occasions small detachments of troops from the post were attacked by Indians lying in ambush along the trail a short distance from the fort. Favorite spots for these ambuscades were the brushy ravines immediately to the north of the blockhouses. In several instances the Indians forced the soldiers to return to the blockhouses where additional help was summoned to drive the Indians away. When the Fort Lincoln troops were away in the Indian Campaign of 1876, the Indians attacked this site on several occasions.

“During the most active years of Fort Abraham Lincoln, infantry troops were staioned at this site while the cavalry troops were stationed at the cavalry post below. In the latter years of Fort Lincoln, the Government dismantled the buildings on this site and moved the lumber to the cavalry post. After this time, the troops were stationed at the cavalry post only. The present blockhouses were rebuilt in 1935 on the original sites.”

Awesome Arachnid

August 3, 2009

Lois stopped in the clinic today to get some more doxycycline for me because the redness has not gone away after a week of treatment. My pet parasite must have really liked me.

It seems I picked up a few new friends that day when Lyle and I went juneberry picking. At one point, I saw a photo possibility and got down on the ground to shoot it. That was a mistake. I wasn’t thinking. North Dakota has ticks, lots of them waiting in the prairie grass.

Lois looked me over and we found two or three. I thought that was the end of it.
Then, about ten days ago, I started itching and burning above the pecs on my left side. There was a very red and swollen area about four inches in diameter. I didn’t know what it was and asked Lois about it.

“I don’t know what it is, but you’re going to the doctor asap,” Lois said.

“It’s a tick,” the nurse said.

“Are you sure,” I said.

“No doubt about it,” she said. “I am going to give you a shot in the butt and ten days of doxycycline to clear this up; it’s what we do for lyme disease.”

Tick is the common name for the small arachnids. They are external parasites that live on the blood of mammals, birds and sometimes amphibians. They are also carriers of disease -- Lyme disease, Q fever, tularemia, babsiosis, ehrlichiosis, even meningoencephalitis.

Young ticks have six legs, and mature ticks have eight legs, as in the photo above. They vary in size and appearance depending on the species.

Ticks are found in tall grass and shrubs where they will wait to attach to a host. Physical contact is the only way they do it. They do not skip, jump or fly. Sometimes they will drop on some unsuspecting host from above.

How they attach is rather interesting. They insert their cutting mandibles(chelicerea) and feeding tube(hypostome) into the skin. The feeding tube is covered with barbs that serve as an anchor. Then they do what they know best.

Source for this technical stuff: Wikipedia

Chip Cartwright

Our immediate supervisor at Cross Ranch is Chip Cartwright, age 61, who is a seasonal employee of North Dakota Parks with five years of service. For two years before that, he was a guide at Ft. Mandan along the Missouri River. He also is a 30-year retiree of the U.S. Forest Service where he held a number of interesting positions. In his fifth wheel, Chip has been spending summer months in North Dakota and wintering on South Padre Island TX.

A graduate of Virginia Tech in Forestry & Wildlife Management, Chip partially paid his way through college by singing. Today the urge to perform is still alive and Chip has developed three historic characters as a reenactor which he performs at weekend events around North Dakota. He belongs to various organizations here who entertain and educate people on what North Dakota used to be like.

One character is “Troy,” the slave whom William Clark brought along as part of the Corps of Discovery. Native Americans were fascinated by Troy because they had never seen a person with such dark skin. Troy was also over six feet in height with an impressive muscular build. Returning from war skirmishes, the Mandans, for example, used to smear their skin, as well as their horses, with the black ashes from a fire pit as a sign of victory. The darker the better. Troy’s blackness was regarded as powerful medicine.

Another character is “Cookie,” an African-American cowboy who became a chuck-wagon cook in his older years. The third character is a Buffalo Soldier of whom there were many in the late 19th century during the Indian campaigns. For research on each of these characters, Chip has spent hours at the North Dakota Historical Society going over old books and other documents.

“One of the astonishing things I discovered,” Chip said, “is the first recorded death in North Dakota was that of a person of African-American descent.”

In college, Chip was an Air ROTC officer, just like I was. But, unlike me, he served his military obligation as an officer in the USAF. I chose to be army strong as a grunt.

We both have have an interest in history, particularly Civil War history, and from time to time spent enjoyable time discussing a battle here or a general there. The Civil War can be touchy territory, like politics and religion, but our talks have been totally objective and devoid of disagreement. Chip is very knowledgeable on a wide variety of topics.

Chip was married for 22 years and is a devoted father of a boy and a girl. His son, Michael, age 28, is a music graduate from USC and plays music gigs around Los Angeles. Son’s dream is to go 100% professional. His daughter, Shannon, is married, has two children and lives with her husband and family in Ft. Riley KA.

To say Lois and I got along well with Chip would be a huge understatement. We believe we have found a new friend and we hope to see much more of him and to enjoy his company long after we have departed from Cross Ranch State Park.

Sanger -- One of a Thousand

August 7, 2009

North Dakota has about a thousand ghost towns -- the result of a hit-and-miss expansion and settlement of the state from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was a book published in 1988, “No Place,” by Douglas A. Wick who listed these towns, giving a one-paragraph history of each one. Sanger is one of them.

What is left of the Town of Sanger is two miles south of the Cross Ranch State Park entrance. It is possible to see four or five homes nestled in the thickets and trees. The “County House” (pictured above) is the most prominent from the road and is possibly the first frame building ever constructed in Oliver County. It was used as a land office, poor house, temporary housing for weary travelers and a variety of other uses.

CRSP Interpreter Laura Kohn has researched Sanger extensively to learn that this town existed for approximately 80 years from 1879, the year of its establishment by George Sanger, to 1964, the year the Sanger Post Office was closed and moved to Hensler. Sanger was never a “boom town.” The largest recorded population of Sanger was 100 in 1920, and it is fair to conclude that the Sanger population built up to that number for the first 40 years and decreased from 1920 on.

How North Dakota towns got their names often derived from the postal address. George Sanger applied for and got a postal permit, made himself postmaster, and set up the post office in a room of his house. Mail was always directed through a post office, so letters going to Sanger made it a natural for Sanger to become the name of the town. George Sanger’s compensation for being a postmaster was $400 per year, plus he got a town named after him.

Why Sanger was an ideal site for a town was 1) a natural landing spot on the Missouri River, 2) lots of cottonwood trees were available for fueling steamboats and 3) a grain elevator was built to assist farmers in getting their grain to markets downstream. Later, when the railroad came through, Sanger’s grain elevator and trees made it a good stopping off point for refueling steam locomotives with water from the Missouri River and the local cottonwood groves.

At its peak, Sanger was the county seat of Oliver County (1888 - 1902 and had a school (1914), a hotel, community hall and newspaper, “The Sanger Advance,” The Farmer’s Excange Bank, opera house (1917), a ferry and shoe store (1920), Sanger Mercantile Company (1923), Sanger Radio Club (1923), a car dealership (1928), a second periodical, “The Weekly Reminder” (1930), even a baseball team, “The Sanger Larks” (1940’s).

Beyond that, the Town of Sanger never really thrived as various economic recessions and The Great Depression of the 1930’s negatively impacted the area’s development. Whenever crop prices fell, the farmers in this area were not able to pay their crop loans, leaving the bank holding a lot of paper. Were it not for a group of Sanger citizens, the bank would have gone bust in 1924. Eventually the bank failed during The Great Depression.

Laura Kohn’s program with slides and old-time exhibits is called “From Boom to Bust: Sanger.” Plans are to present the program again on September 5th during the Labor Day weekend , inviting the local community out to participate in this interesting bit of history. Free interpretive programs like this are given at Cross Ranch State Park every Friday and Saturday evening with fresh popcorn for all.

Power Plant Plentitude

August 9, 2009

This area of North Dakota has lots of power plants, some of which are along the Missouri River, but many of which, like this one pictured above called “Antelope Valley,” are located out on the prairies where there is a vein of anthracite coal nearby. Anthracite here is found near the surface so that underground mines are not necessary. The top soil is cleared away and the coal is scooped up by a huge drag line which is like a crane five stories high and hundreds of feet long.

The other photo shows me standing by Lyle’s truck which is dwarfed by an old “drag line bucket” which has a capacity to scoop up several hundred yards of coal at one time. Lyle says that when an anthracite vein is exhausted, the power company is required to reclaim the prairie and put everything back just the way it was before mining was started.

North Dakota exports a lot of energy which is created here. Minnesota Power has purchased coal-fired power plants in North Dakota and leased wind farms in order to comply with the new energy laws, according to Lyle, who was a steelworker on some of the plants in this area.

Don Syverson, a retired plant manager who works here at Cross Ranch, says there are presently seven or eight power plants in the immediate area covering three counties.

Liz 'n Lyle

August 7 - 10, 2009

We picked up our motor home in Bismarck on August 5th and our friends, Liz and Lyle, planned a weekend of camping at Cross Ranch SP to visit with us and pick up their fifth wheel RV, which they so kindly lent us to use while ours was being repaired. We are so grateful to Liz and Lyle because, without their help, our summer could have been ruined.

In the photos above, Lyle prepared a smoked brat cookout, much like the kind he used to do at Veteran’s Park in Eveleth MN. Liz and Lois are in the other photo busy with conversation.

We met Liz and Lyle at Cross Ranch when they arrived Friday evening. We went through all the workings of their RV which worked very well. Lois had prepared supper which we enjoyed in our RV. We had a campfire everynight, as Lyle brought plenty of wood.
Saturday morning, Liz went for a walk and I gave Lyle a complete tour of the park, which took a couple of hours.
We had lots of time to visit. For Sunday Lyle had a special trip planned over to Hazen and Buelah ND.

Mandan On-the-Slant Village

August 5, 2009

This is the site where the Mandans lived for over 300 years from 1575 to 1781 and it is believed that over 70 lodges once occupied this site along the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark’s expedition visited this village in 1804 and is mentioned in their journals. Today we saw only six lodges which had been rebuilt by the CCC in the 1930’s.

The interpretive guides here are Native American. Dianne, our interpreter, was very articulate and very knowledgeable about the Mandan life style, although I suspected she was not Mandan, but Sioux. Nevertheless, Dianne was very sharp and informative.

The Mandans were not nomads, but agricultural. They lived in these huge lodges, owned and managed by women. They hunted buffalo, but that only took place once a year. Blood lines were tracked according to the mothers, not the fathers. In this matriarchal society, there was no divorce; men were simply turned out of the lodge if the lady of the house was no longer pleased with him.

The stationery life of the Mandans decimated their numbers when the traders and settlers came along with their European diseases, like smallpox. Nomadic people, like the Sioux, were not as affected. It is believed by some historians that the Mandans were intentionally infected with smallpox in order to get rid of them, making way for the white man.

Ft Abraham Lincoln State Park

August 5, 2009

Today we took Hwy 1806 from Cross Ranch all the way along the Missouri River to Mandan and then continued seven miles south to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park which is also situated on the Missouri River. This is the place from which General George Armstrong Custer led his cavalry of almost 300 men to engage Native Americans in battle at the Little Big Horn in Montana. It took him 45 days to get to his last stand in July of 1876.

The house in the above photo is an exact replica of General Custer’s house which faced the parade field. He lived here for only three years with his wife from 1873 until 1876. He was assigned here in order to protect the Northern Pacific Railway as it was biulding more track west of Bismark.

The Sergeant in the other photo is our interpreter who entertained us during the tour of the Custer home. The piano behind him is a Steinway, built in New York City and shipped via rail to Bismarck. One upstairs room in the house was used as an officers’ club where cavalry officers could play billiards or cards, “properly dressed in uniform, of course.”

We saw cavalry barracks and stables and visited the visitor center which had a variety of historical books for sale. We enjoyed some gourmet coffee with raspberry scones.

Our interpreter was a crusty military character and he stayed in character all the way through. He refused to recognize any question which was post-1873. I forgot and asked a question about Little Big Horn and he said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you are talking about.”