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End Of Posting

2008-12-13T13:50:00.000-06:00

No more posts will be counted after this one.

Tom

Roger Maris Museum

2008-12-13T13:05:00.002-06:00

I went to view the Roger Maris Museum in the mall on Thursday, December 11. The small museum is a collection devoted to a baseball player who was raised in North Dakota. This museum has a timeline of his life and all of his achievements. The exhibit also contains jerseys from three of the baseball teams he played for (Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics, and the Yankees) along with awards and trophies he earned. Maris broke and set several home run records. He was most famous when he played for the Yankees who were arguably the most talented team at the time. One of his greatest achievements was winning the American League's Most Valuable Player. The museum also has a small room where they play a video on the life of Roger Maris. Maris was still successful in life after he retired from baseball as he went on to own a Budweiser distributorship in Florida. In 1983, Maris was diagnosed with lymphoma. This sparked the development of his foundations raising money for cancer research. The museum in West Acres is a dedication to a man, and a way of saying "thank you" to Roger Maris for his generosity in giving back to his community.

So how does this tie in with history and the plains? We had a lecture that was focused on community involvement on the plains. Roger Maris is a positive role model that adds to the identity of the city of Fargo. He never forgot his roots and eventually gave back to his community, and I would guess the majority of people from Fargo know who he was. I think his personality is a reflection of the warm-hearted people found on the plains. It is usually a big deal when small towns in North Dakota have athletes that go professional. Examples of this are found with Travis Hafner (Jamestown, ND) and Jimmy Kleinsasser (Carrington, ND). A huge billboard was put up on I-94 honoring Hafner. In Carrington, old Kleinsasser jerseys are hanging in the high school. I think this plays into a community placing itself on the map through its children who have become famous.~Chris Schmaltz

Book Review

2008-12-13T00:59:00.000-06:00

I recently read "Solomon D. Butcher, Photographing the American Dream." Solomon D. Butcher was born on January 24, 1856 in Burton, Virginia. He first moved out west with his family in March 1880. Butcher experienced numerous hardships and moved back and forth from places in the East to Nebraska. He finally settled in Nebraska with his wife Lillie in October 1882. Butcher attempted many different business ventures, all of which proved unsuccessful. His love was always photography but there wasn't always a demand for photographers on the Plains. Amidst many get rich quick schemes, Butcher had a dream of photographing and compiling a history of Custer County and some surrounding counties in Nebraska. He began traveling around to different homesteads and photographing them and writing down the family's stories. As usual with Butcher, money soon ran out and he thought the project was a failure. It is only because of a gift from E.S. Finch, a wealthy cattle rancher, that the project became a reality. The book sold over 1,000 copies.

Butcher's collection of photographs is extremely valuable to anyone interested in early life on the Plains. Most of the photos in the book have people outside their homes. Some include additional buildings and livestock. One of my favorite photos in the book is of Lookout Point in Cherry County, Nebraska. Butcher took the photo because there was a strange grove of trees there. It stood out because trees were rare in the area. Strangely enough, by the time the photo was taken, all the trees had been cut down. Butcher took the photo anyway and did some old-fashioned photo-shopping and drew trees in. He actually did "editing" on a number of different photos sometimes to cover up flaws in the actual photo. It makes the photos very interesting because his edits don't look real at all. I enjoyed looking through the photographs and seeing the different homes, buildings, and people. Butcher did Great Plains history a great favor in preserving images of early settlement on the Plains of Nebraska.

Heritage Event- The Dickens Fest in Garrison, ND

2008-12-12T17:49:00.001-06:00

This year I attended the Charles Dickens Fest in Garrison North Dakota on Saturday November 29th. At the Dickens Fest, all of the vendors dress in clothing from the period of Charles Dickens and plenty of entertainment is in store for everybody. Some of the entertainment available is, wagon rides, a light parade, a craft show, street vendors and the play, “God Bless Everyone.” The street vendors and the craft show are my favorite part of the festival. One of the vendors sells Turkey legs every year and they are really good. Also the craft show has lots of interesting things for sale such as homemade fudge, crochet angel decorations, and many others. I personally know the ladies that sell the crochet angels, and it’s interesting to see how much work goes into crocheting the angels and then starching them so they are stiff enough to stand up. The horse drawn wagon is also fun, especially at dark, because you are able to see the lights that decorate the homes of Garrison.
The Dickens Fest is a way for the tiny town of Garrison, North Dakota to draw tourists and make some money for their town. Garrison even calls itself the Christmas Capitol of North Dakota. Every year about 1,500 people come to the Festival every year. I think it’s neat to see all of those people in old fashioned clothing; it transports you back to that time period in its own way.

Film Review: Men with Brooms movie review

2008-12-12T16:59:00.002-06:00

"Men with Brooms" is about a curling team, brought back together after ten years apart when their curling coach dies. In the coach's will he tells the team that he wants them to start the old curling team up again. Throughout the movie there are conflicts between the two daughters of the deceased coach due to their interest in a member of the curling team. This movie is centered in Canada, where curling seems to be a pretty important sport. The entire movie is about resolving old feuds and sticking to family in hard times. I thought this movie was fairly good, but I don't personally find curling to be a very thrilling sport. They try to make curling more dramatic by using slow motion and the right music, but unless you are really interested in curling, it's hard to truly be impressed with this movie. My favorite part of the movie is when the ashes of their deceased curling coach are put in a curling rock. In the coach's will he makes this odd request, but throughout the movie you get the impression that the spirit of the coach is supposed to be there with them. The team talks to the rock and brings it with them, especially when they are going through a hard time. Parts of the film are kind of goofy, but overall I think it's a good movie.

Oral History My Grandpa Ernie Hart

2008-12-12T16:16:00.001-06:00

I Interviewed Grandpa Ernie Hart on Sunday December 7th. The reason why I interviewed my grandpa is because when I was growing up he always told me and my cousin stories about when he was a young boy and about his dad. My Grandpa is one hundred percent German. But my Grandpa comes from a special kind of Germans his relatives came from the German-Russians across the Volga River.
My Grandpa always likes telling stories about where he came from and how they came to live where they live now. When I talked to my Grandpa he told me about how my Great-Grandfather had to escape from Russia by swimming across the river. My Grandpa wasn’t sure exactly which river that he had to swim across but he knows his dad had to sneak out in the dead of night and swim across the river to freedom. His dad and mom came to where they live now out in the country east of Parkers Prairie by a little town called Rose City. My Grandpa was born in 1938 and as he was growing up till he went to school all they spoke was German in the family and then him and his brother Dale went to school which was 2 miles from there house. They had to walk it everyday they went to school. I know for a fact they had to walk up hill both ways because I have ridden horse that way many times. When my Grandpa went to school he went home and taught his mom and dad English because they didn’t know how to speak a lot of English. My Grandpa also talked about his dog snippy that his parents had given him. He told me stories of how snippy would follow him around and pull his little wagon around with him in it. That story made me laugh a lot. My grandpa also told me stories about how he and his dad worked on their family farm growing crops and raising animals. Grandpa’s favorite animal to work with was the horses but nothing has changed from that he still to this day loves working with his horses. My Grandpas passion has always been working on the family farm ever since he was little. For a while he worked at the local granary but he always came home to the farm. Even my dad and his brothers and sisters worked on the farm.
Today the family farm is still in the family our family the Hart’s but as my Grandpa was telling me our last name wasn’t always spelled Hart it was spelled Hardt which is High German which meant a bank or slope with trees, it is not found in German language today. I thought it was really interesting how my relatives came all this way not knowing how to speak English and made a life and turned it into a family farm. I would have really liked to meet my Great-Grandparents just to hear of there adventures from Russia to the United States to what is home now. My close family all live within a 10 mile radius of where my Grandpa and Grandpa live which I love because we are so closely tied. Even though when my Grandpa was a little boy and he spoke mostly all German till now where he recognizes words but can’t speak it fluently anymore he still has the memories of it. My Grandpa only told me some stories but I know he has a lot more and I hope that some day soon that I can record all of his stories and the stories of my ancestors.

Reference:

http://www.reference.com/search?q=Hardt – Reference on the word Hardt.

http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/articles/magazines/articles/mcintosh.html -Germans from Russia Heritage.

http://www.rollintl.com/roll/grsettle.htm - Settlement map of German Russians.

Film Review: Picnic

2008-12-12T15:22:00.002-06:00

When "Picnic" was first played in 1955, it was one of the "sultriest, sexiest" movies at that time. Now days it’s not nearly as "sexy" as many of the movies we have today. The movie is about a drifter (William Holden) who makes his way to a small Kansas town by way of freight train. William"s character is looking for his successful buddy from college, who offers William a job at the grain elevator he owns. William's character ruins his job opportunity by chasing after his college friend’s girlfriend (Kim Novak). The day after Williams character’s arrival, there is an annual picnic. This is where things start to go wrong. William’s character starts hitting on his friend’s girlfriend (Kim Novak) and they start talking about running away together. Of course in the end that is exactly what happens. The drifter catches another train because he needs to desperately get out of town and his friend's girlfriend follows him on the next train headed in his direction.
I thought this movie was somewhat corny. In 1955 I’m sure it was probably considered "sexy and sultry" but for a movie today it's nowhere near "sexy and sultry." The movie starts out with William Holden taking off his shirt, which in 1955 is probably a big deal. Also the mother of Kim Novak's character keeps saying how she should marry the rich boyfriend she already has. Her mother makes it seem like marrying into money is better than marrying for love. I’m sure that her mother is just concerned about her daughter's well being, but money isn't everything.

Film Review- Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story

2008-12-12T14:40:00.001-06:00

"Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story," is a biography of the father of Canadian Medicare, Tommy Douglas. Tommy Douglas started out as a pastor with a concern for the people of Canada. When Tommy decided to run for a position in the Canadian government, he quit his job as a pastor and began spreading the views of the socialist Canadian Commonwealth Federation to anybody willing to listen. Several comments were made that Tommy and the CCF (Canadian Commonwealth Federation) were communists, but Tommy finally won over the people of Saskatchewan and served as Premier for many years. Tommy started to push for government paid medical care when he how his sick father was not able to afford much needed medical attention. When watching this movie, Tommy Douglas seemed to be very passionate about his goals and never really gave up. There was even one part in the movie when his staff goes to his wife because they are worried Tommy is working himself to hard.
I thought this movie was interesting because I didn’t really know much about Canadian Medicare before watching this movie. It was also interesting to see the differences between the Canadian and American governments carry out business. This is a good movie for anybody interested in politics, history, or biographies. The movie is very historical, but is also entertaining.

Further Dakota Circle discussion

2008-12-12T14:09:00.003-06:00

In response to what Amanda was saying I think you kind of missed what I was trying to say or possibly I just did not word it right. I was not trying to say the book was boring because I did find much of the book interesting especially with regards to the big things however the point that I was trying to get across is that the book is a good reflection of the style of writing in the region and it fits in well with our culture here. But I think you do have to admit that the chapter about prairie grass did not exactly leave one on the edge of their seat with excitement.

Discussion Dakota Circle

2008-12-12T12:53:00.002-06:00

Dakota Circle is an awesome book and the class discussion was interesting. Everyone seemed to view the book the same way in that: it was a narrative, it was written towards adults but in easy conversational language, and it was written on secondhand accounts of stories. It seems like Mr. Isern hears a lot of stories and has to investigate. This I'm glad for because it made me more curious and I see others are now too. We all agreed on that Mr.Isern spends a lot on gas, and he is a conversationalist. Meaning the whole book felt like we were back in class and he was just talking to us which was comfortable. We also came to the conclusion that the stories discover the identity of the plains. They show how the people are and where they are coming from. Also that the book is entertaining. Most of the stories were funny and gave a reason for people reading the book a reason to laugh. I can tell the whole class enjoyed the book as much as I did. I'm sure we all will miss the class dearly.

Response to Tom Kramer's Dakota Circle Discussion

2008-12-12T12:32:00.001-06:00

I agree with Tom that the book is written in a story telling style; however, in my opinion there is more point to the book than Tom believes there is. If you look at the book overall, it does not only tell stories about various people across the plains, it also establishes the values, interests and characteristics of culture on the North American Plains. The story telling style of the book makes the book relatable to people that live on the Plains, especially in North Dakota. There are not many books that I have read that are mainly about North Dakota, so I like that this book tells the story of North Dakota for once. I think that Southern states, such as Texas have had more than their share of books establishing an identity and the sense of pride in those particular states. I'm glad that there is finally an interesting book that makes North Dakota look more like a place of rich culture and prosperous people instead of a state full of hicks that don’t know anything. Tom mentions that the book is slow and boring at times, but I disagree with him here also. To me one of the most important things that make this book interesting is that most of the places mentioned in the book are places I have heard of, been to, seen, or driven by at some point in my life. Finally hearing why certain "big things" came about or hearing the story of other historical events in North Dakota makes this book most enjoyable to me.

Film Review: Friday Night Lights

2008-12-12T12:29:00.002-06:00

This is possibly one of my favorite movies. I'm a big sports fan and I have played them all my life so I can relate. The movie is about the real life Permian Panthers. A championship team with dirty secrets. It's set in the small town of Odessa, TX. The movie starts in the beginning of training for the football team. You watch them being pushed around by coaches and parents. Anything but perfection is unacceptable. The boys go through their season loosing star running back Booby Miles to a knee injury twice throughout the movie. The boys are constantly in a struggle at home with decisions that had to be made. Just to see the pressure these boys are under it shows how the whole town shuts down on football game day. Either they are at the hometown stadium or traveling with the boys. It's almost worse than professional football. The kids and still in high school and have more responsibility than anyone. They lose a couple games putting disappointment and shame on all the boys. The coach is under just as much pressure to win as the boys and starts to understand the calamity of everything. He is hard on the boys but understands what they are going through.They get into the state tournament by chance and lose the state championship game. It crushes everyone but in the long run i think it made everyone stronger. The boys then move on and it shows what happened after that game. Some stayed in town and others left to go to college. By far the best movie, I own it and watch it all the time. This does happen all over the place not just Texas and in more sports than just football. I was one of those kids that had to be perfect or i paid for it from my coaches and my parents until I was pushed so hard to the point of a body breakdown. I can barely squat now without it being hard to get up, my shoulder is constantly out of place and pretty much every joint has arthritis. I'm only 19 yrs old and I have more problems that my +70 yr old Grandfather. This is actually a pretty terrible thing what people put their kids throught for sports.

Oral History Report: Interview of Ken Votava

2008-12-12T12:04:00.003-06:00

On Sunday December 7th, I interviewed my dad Ken Votava. I asked him what he thought would be the best story about him growing up on the plains, and he said that he could just give me an outline of him growing up and going from thinking that people in his generation wanted to stay and continue small family farms, but watching as big farms just got bigger and bigger while small farms were left in the dust.

Ken Votava was born on December 20, 1957. He is the second child in a family of 5 kids, and he is the only boy. Their farm was located near Veseleyville, North Dakota, which is in Walsh County. Veseleyville is a very small town, with a few larger towns near it like Grafton and Park River. He lived in Veseleyville until he went to NDSU for agricultural education from 1976 to 1980. He then moved to Finley, North Dakota and has lived in the area and taught agricultural education and various other classes ever since.

My dad told me a little bit about growing up on their small farm. He said that when he was in high school his mom worked for minimum wage at the Grafton bakery, but she changed jobs and started working at the Grafton State school when he left for college. It was good for their family because she actually got some benefits with her job now. His Dad worked part time for a bigger potato farm. He drove tractor during the spring and fall and worked in the potato warehouse driving bobcat during the winter. My dad said that at any one time their family had somewhere between six and 14 dairy cows, and he milked them every day at 6:00am and 6:00pm from the 6th to 10th grade of high school. At that point in time they shifted to beef cows, and he said that it was a welcome change from having to milk the dairy cattle twice a day. They also had pigs and chicken and other poultry. I remember visiting my grandparent's farm when they still lived there, and the chicken houses are still standing.

After I learned a little more about him growing up and hearing what his parents did, I asked him to elaborate more about watching small farms disappear as larger farms grew even bigger. He said that between the 1970s and '80s farms were growing and interest rates were high, so small farmers and their sons could not increase the size of their farms at all. They could not make enough money to pay the high interest payments, let alone the principal payment. They did not want to leverage the family farm and lose it if payments couldn't be made. At the same time, big farms got bigger because they could farm more with the big four wheel drive tractors that they could afford. He said he has watched the trend of farms getting fewer and larger from back home between Park River and Grafton, to Steele County in Finley, and he said the trend is not slowing down at all. A small farm to day is 3 sections, nearly 200 acres, and yet supplemental income is still sought after. Across the road, a large farm can be up to anywhere between 30 to 50 quarter sections, which is nearly 8000 acres. Although he said that these changes and trends toward huge farms has put many family farms out of business, he did point out that there are a few reasons why it is happening. He says that labor saving technology and lower profit margins were the two main causes that he has seen. Labor saving technology was of course the constant improvement and enlargement of tractors and other farm machinery. They went from having a John Deere Model 70 to a Model 620 to a 4020, which is just the two wheel drive model tractors. Then the really big stuff was built. He told me a little bit about Steiger four wheel drive tractors, and how they got started in the Red River Valley. Huge tractors like this that could cover so much ground gave large farmers who could afford them an undeniable advantage. They could buy more land and still get it farmed with just a few people, while small farmers were stuck with their smaller tractors taking just as long on a fraction of the land. It was and is usually just a matter of time until small farms get bought out or work for a large farmer. Lower profit margins meant more acres, more hogs, and more beef to make enough profit off of a farm to pay annual living expenses. If small farms survived, someone had to work off of the farm for supplemental income. That's why his mom worked at the bakery and then the Grafton State School, and his dad worked part time for a bigger potato farm. They needed all of that extra money to just keep going what they had. By the 1990s, big brand grocery stores came in and small farmers that raised hogs and poultry could not compete with the low prices offered by these huge stores. It was cheaper to buy pork or poultry from these stores than to raise it yourself. My dad said that this was the end of raising produce on small farms as a way to add some profit.

I thought it was interesting when my dad brought up the quote "You can take the boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy." He said that these "boys" are now on hobby farms, like the one that we live on. He said, "I buy small garden tractors and mow cemeteries pretending to be a farmer. I watch the planting and harvest every day as I drive bus. I get anxious for the farmers when it is time to plant, when the crops need a rain, and when the harvest is ready. The farm is still in my heart." Even after more than 20 years after growing up on his farm, he still tries to do as much as he can to remember and relive it, and I know many other people who are the same way. It is sad that most of the small farmers are getting bought out by large farms, but there wasn't really any way around it, and all of these sons of small farmers have found other things like teaching agricultural education or becoming agronomists or working in anything relating to agriculture. I really enjoyed this interview because it reminded me of some of things we have talked about in class, and my dad had many of the same ideas.

Bibliography
Steele County Press
Steiger Tractor Company 4wd Tractor Heritage http://www.bigtractorpower.com/steiger4wdtractorhistory.htm
Veseleyville, ND http://www.roadsidethoughts.com/nd/veseleyville-census.htm

Discussion Dakota Circle

2008-12-12T12:03:00.004-06:00

After class Thursday I was thinking about the way the book was written as far as the type of voice it was in and why it was like that. As I was reading the book I often felt like I was reading the Clifford news where Ethel went over to Alice's for coffee and cookies and they discussed the new stop sign in town, the closing of the bar, who came to visit, etc. After further thinking I have come to the opinion that they way the book was written is a representation of the writing of the region, its story telling, discussions, gossip, etc. And like small town newspapers it reads a little slow and can be boring its because there really is not a lot going on here besides stories and the like and that is why I think it does not only reflect our culture and history but our style of writing as well.

Film Review: In Cold Blood

2008-12-12T12:02:00.002-06:00

I don't like things that are old, old books, old movies etc. So in turn I did not like this movie but it was all I could find at the video store that people would watch with me. I'm not going to lie, I didn't pick up on much of the movie. It's set in 1959 in the middle of November in Holcomb, KS. Basically these two men (Perry Smith and Dick Hickok) plot to break into this rich farmers (the Cutler's) house but when the find out there is no money there they murder the family so no one finds out it was them. OK so let me back up a second. Perry is a bit of a nut. He wants to become a country singer and finding a barried treasure. The two men aren't very smart, but two dumb minds can equal one messed up plan. Dick finds out from a prison friend that there is this farmer that has $10,000 stored in a safe at his house, sounds like treasure to me. They devise the plan and say they weren't going to leave any witnesses, that's premeditated. When they get there Dick has second thoughts, he says that they still have time to get out of this before it's too late. Then all of a sudden it's the next morning and a friend comes over to get them to go to church, finds them murdered and the investigation starts. The killers go to Mexico and decide to return to the States. The police know who they are and find them in Las Vegas and bring them back to Kansas. Then they talk about the murders and what happened the night they killed the Cutler family. The movie is based on Truman Capote's novel on the real life murder. I didn't like the movie and I tuned in and out through the whole thing. I'm sure many people see it as a classic but cop chases and murders aren't my favorite.

The Lance and The Shield, Book Review

2008-12-12T12:00:00.002-06:00

"I have killed, robbed, and injured too many white men to believe in a good peace. They are medicine, and I would eventually die a lingering death. I had rather die on the field of battle."(Utley, 1993) I read the book, "The Lance and The Shield" it was written by Robert Utley and won the Spur Award for Best Western Nonfiction Historical Book of 1993 when it was released. This book is an informational biography on the life of Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull was a Sioux chief born in 1837. He was the principal chief of the Dakota Sioux, who were driven from their reservation in the Black Hills by miners in 1876, and took up arms against the whites and friendly Indians, refusing to be transported to the Indian Territory. In June 1876 Sitting Bull and his men defeated and massacred Gen. George A. Custer's advance party at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Soon after the victory at the Battle of Little Big Horn Sitting Bull and his people were pursued northward by General Terry and his army. The Chief decided that it was too dangerous for his people in the United States so he and his people decided to escape into British Territory. Sitting Bull and his people remained there until 1880 were the U.S pardoned him. The only reason he accepted the pardon is because his people were all starving. In July and August 1888, in a conference at Standing Rock, North Dakota Sitting Bull influenced his tribe to refuse to relinquish Indian lands. Sitting Bull once told Government officials, "I will remain what I am until I die, a hunter, and when there are no buffalo or other game I will send my children to hunt and live on prairie mice, for where an Indian is shut up in one place his body becomes weak". (Utley, 1993) He died in 1890 when followers tried to rescue him from the reservation police who were out of control. Sitting Bull was a great leader and wise Indian Chief. He seemed to have it all figured out back when nobody knew what to do. Although the U.S. did not like him because of his stubbornness he still remains a great chapter in American History.

Heritage Site Visit - Hjemkomst Center

2008-12-12T11:59:00.000-06:00

I have visited the Heritage Hjemkomst center numerous times before. While I appreciated the beautiful Viking ship, I never really took the time to consider what an important part of history it is. I thought it was really interesting that the ship had actually sailed all the way to Norway. Roger Asp, the creator of the ship, had dreamed of one day sailing his ship to Norway. As I was thinking about why a man would want to sail a little wooden boat across the ocean I remembered how important people’s cultural heritage is to them. He was going back to his home roots. He was successful enough in America, he could finally return to where he came from. I know my Grandparents always talk about wanting to see the homeland. I know that even if it is the last they do before they die, they still want to make it back. Prove that they were a success and to justify leaving in the first place. Unfortunately, Roger died before completing his journey. Luckily his family continued his journey and were able to sail his ship to Norway. It is now on display and is really something to see. While I have no Norwegian in me, I appreciate the history behind their culture in our community and on the Great Plains.

BR: Riding Buffaloes and Broncos

2008-12-12T11:52:00.000-06:00

Riding Buffaloes and Broncos written by Allison Mellis is an interesting book about Indian rodeos on the plains. When Indians were forced to live on reservations they were expected farm the land; however, the Indians would much rather ranch and do their work from the back of a horse. Horses have always been important to Indian tribes across the plains and rodeos were a way for them to race their horses and compare each other's skills. The U.S. government didn't like the fact that Indians were gathering at these rodeos and even tried to cut down on them. These rodeos and fairs acted as not only a place to compete but a place to catch up with friends and to socialize. Even though the Indians became U.S. citizens due to the Citizenship Act of 1924, they did not completely blend into U.S. culture. Instead the tribes, "remained culturally as nations within a nation." The Indians used their experience with horses to stay connected to tribal culture. Crow tribes even integrated women into their fairs and rodeos. There were beauty contest parades in which Crow Indian women would wear traditional clothing and ride horses in a procession. In the 1930's the Crow Indians organized princess pageants to maintain their Indian identity as well as attract tourists.
The purpose of Riding Buffaloes and Broncos is to explain how Indians managed to maintain their identity as Indians of the plains even though there were desperate efforts made by the U.S. government to make the Indians blend into accepted U.S. culture. This book is also an attempt to glorify and establish a sense of pride for the Indians of the plains. I loved looking at the pictures that were strewn here and there throughout the book. I especially thought it interesting that the Indians actually rode Buffalo in their rodeos. I think that this book fulfills its purpose and is also full of interesting historical stories about the plains Indians.

Heritage Site Visit - Bonanzaville

2008-12-12T11:48:00.000-06:00

This September I visited Bonanzaville with my Grandparents, my mom, and my boyfriend. My Grandparents were visiting from Montana and were curious to see the frontier village. It was a very nice day when we went, however, we couldn’t bring our dog in. We were also disappointed with how much it cost to get in…a little ridiculous. We wouldn’t have gone, but they had planned on going while they were here. I had previously been there a number of times before. We always took school trips out there as well as for my other history classes. Each time I go though, they always have altered a display so there is something interesting to look at. I really like the sod houses. I always think that our heating bill would be a lot lower if we had 3 foot walls. I also enjoy the little houses/cabins made out of wood. You can see all the cracks between the boards as well as the very small stature of the house. It looks like little people live there. I also like the store that they have with all the old time things in it. For many Plains people the store was a place of socialization, sustenance, and civilization. They could get items that they themselves could not produce as well as see things from out East. The store was a central part of a town as well as the surrounding communities. I also like the train they have on display. The train was the first sign of civilization that trekked across the Plains. It provided many of the essential items needed to build frontier towns. I really enjoy Bonanzaville. The last time I was there it had an extensive display of Native Americans and their ways of life on the Plains. After learning about non-native American history on the Plains as well as Native American history I feel I have a better understanding of the true meaning of Plains people. I would recommend that anyone that has a slight interest in history visit this fantastic town.

FR Friday Night Lights

2008-12-12T11:42:00.003-06:00

Friday Night Lights with Billy Bob Thornton and Tim McGraw is the story of the Permian Panthers, a small town Texas football team, and their memorable season. The movie however is not only about the game of football itself but how the community gets into the game as well. The movie shows what it was like to be the coach of the team with regards to dealing with parents and boosters and also depicts members of the communities feelings about the team all the way down to the parent who played for the team and now has a kid on the team overall showing how serious people took the sport. In the end the team does not win the championship which is not usually typical of sports movies but follows up with that they won the following year. In the context of class I found this movie relating to lecture 12 with regards to the coming together of the rural and town cultures. When towns were bigger rural people tended to belong to church organizations and townspeople had their own social institutions. This movie represents how when towns began to shrink people began to shift from separate organizations to everyone getting behind their schools and support school teams because that was all that was left. It also shows how important school sports have become to small communities and how seriously people take them to the point that whole communities shut down for games. Football in Texas and the level of seriousness is easily comparable to class B basketball here in ND. Although football is very important in Texas I feel that the Class B here is much bigger because when the state tourney rolls around it seems like every small town in the state shuts down whether a town is in it or not. From personal experience in high school I remember every year whether our team was in the state tourney or not our school would be shut down during that time and they would call it our spring break because the school knew that so many kids and parents would be going to the tourney.

Heritage Site Visit - Roger Maris Museum

2008-12-12T11:27:00.001-06:00

On Friday, December 5^th I visited the Roger Maris Museum at the West Acres Mall. I also visited his grave site in North Fargo. I routinely walk by the museum on my way to the pet shop in the mall but I had never taken the time to really look at the items on display. I know Roger Maris is a big part of Fargo, I remember the golf tournament that takes place every year for cancer research in his name. The museum has all sorts of Roger Maris memorabilia. There are bats, balls, jerseys, pictures, even a statue. There is also a replica of the monument at Yankee stadium. They also have a little room that you can watch a video in that details Maris’s fight to hit that 61^st homerun. I watched the video and looked at the items on display. I remembered a lot of things I had heard about Roger Maris and what a great person he was and how when his record was broken many people were upset. Especially over the steroid drama. Roger Maris exemplifies a Great Plains person. He was generous, humble, and proud of his roots. His legacy continues to live on through his cancer foundation as well as his unbreakable human spirit. How refreshing it was to have a nice chunk of history right in our backyard. At his graveyard, I was surprised by the size of the monument on his grave. It was well taken care of and I’m sure in warmer weather it would be a really nice location. Roger Maris is a huge part of the history of Fargo and he will continue to be for the rest of my time.

BR The Grapes of Wrath

2008-12-12T11:20:00.002-06:00

John Steinbeck is an amazing author. He wrote Mice and Men, one of my favorites so I thought I would try another of his books. The book was pretty good. It was pretty slow for a while but then picks up a bit. It starts with the main character Tom Joad getting released from prison and going back home to his family farm in Oklahoma. This is the very start of the dust bowl and after meeting up with Jim Casy, a former preacher, they head to the farm and find that no one is there. They proceed to Tom's uncle's farm and finds his family packing up to head to California to find jobs and ease the suffering from the depression. They heard there were numerous jobs picking fruit. The road to California is shaky and depressing. First the Grandpa dies, he didn't want to go away from the farm in the first place. They describe Highway 66 as being laden with broken down vehicles and the occasional possessions that have fallen from a vehicle of were abandoned. The end up picking up a couple, Ivy and Sairy Wilson, who had a broken down vehicle. Sairy dies shortly after as they get closer to the California boarder. They start finding out that the jobs promised are gone due to the fact that too many people fled to Cali. The family begins staying in the roadside camps that are full of violence. People are starving and going some what insane, but who wouldn't. The desperation is evident in the text. They are starving themselves and in need of jobs. At one of the "Hoovervilles" Tom gets in an argument with a police officer and ends up knocking him out. This has to be one of my favorite parts because the cop was just being mean and trying to shut down the makeshift town for these poor people who had no where else to go. It was a funny incident of "sticking it to the man." Here is where the family starts to fall apart. Noah and Connie run away, Connie leaving his pregnant wife behind. All seems lost and there isn't much hope. So they keep moving and developing the name "Okies," I didn't get this much, but I think it's because of where they come from. They eventually find a government run camp that isn't so violent. The Joads catch wind that the police are going to stage a riot so they can shut down the camp, but the men organize so it won't be easy for the police. Then the most action happens dun dun dun... Jim runs into Tom while (Jim) organizing the immigrant workers to strike against the farmers. Little do they know the police are trying to hunt down Jim and kill him, when they do Tom is there and watches them kill Jim. Tom then shoots one of the officers. They then go to a cotton farm to hide and his younger sister lets it slip to a friend that her brother killed 2 people and is with the family. His mom then sends him away. Now at the end of the Dust bowl the rain comes back and floods the land. Connie's wife Rose has a stillborn baby, and while trying to find shelter they come across a staving man and his son. They give the son all the food they can. Here is the gross part, I about puked when this happened but I guess they had to do it. Rose starts breast feeding the man in order to give him food because he is too weak. Overall I wouldn't recommend the book, it wasn't that good, but it puts a different view to the Dust Bowl. The author was writing the book to explain what the people were going through so that more people knew how hard it was. John took a sorrow to the poor people trying to make it through one of the worst natural disasters.

Responding to Dakota Circle Lecture

2008-12-12T11:15:00.002-06:00

During class we set out to find out what the theme, purpose and method were behind Dr. Isern's book Dakota Circle. The class split into groups and began brainstorming. My group was responsible for figuring out the method of the book. We thought that the main method of the book was driven by Dr. Isern's interests and random curiosity. This turned out to be pretty close to what he described it as. Professor Isern described it as "Roadkill Method", this means that everything he encounters along the road while working could possibly end up in the book. I thought that was interesting and made sense. The other two groups had the purpose and I felt that this was interesting also. The purpose was described as a collection of stories, all that are easy to follow and understand. The book is directed towards people that live in the Dakota's.(Audience) The class had a lot of good discussion and it ended with a great story told by one of our peers Amanda Gassman. The story was about her family heritage in Minot ND. This lecture helped me bring closure to the book. I really enjoyed this book and have already borrowed it to my parents because they wanted to read it.

Heritage Hjemkomst

2008-12-12T11:06:00.002-06:00

I went to the Hjemkomst Interactive center this morning, and the big things that sticks out is the vikings ship. The lady there, I forget her name, played a video for me, and I told her that I was from NDSU and doing this for a history class, ans she mentioned their has been a few other kids that have been here for the same goals. Any ways the vikings ship dream was started Roger Asp in 1971, when he decided he wanted to sail to Norway from Hawley,MN. Six years later he sailed his ship on the lake superior, but he died in December of that year. In 1982, Roger's family, sailed the ship 6100 miles from Duluth,Mn to Bergen, Norway. It took the crew 72 days to sail those 6100 miles. After watching the video, It seems to me Roger had a lot of times on his hands and he wanted to spend the rest of his life in Norway. I would think this would be a dangerous trip crossing the Atlantic in a wooden sail boat. I was thinking this trip was going to make him happy, and maybe this was a way he wanted to go, I mean that it wouldn't have bothered him if he was lost on his voyage, it's just a thought. Any ways didn't have much time to see the rest of the museum since I was on a strict time budget, I just wanted to see the viking ship. It was very interesting, since I am part Norwegion, I would recommend people to go and see the ship and it's vast beauty. I will be going back there to visit the rest of the museum and look at the other sites.

BR - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

2008-12-12T10:56:00.001-06:00

I read the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. This book went chapter by chapter discussing tribe after tribe of Native Americans on the plains. It outlines the relations of tribes to the U.S. Federal government during the years 1860-1890. They begin with talking about the Navajos, Apaches, and the other tribes of the American Southwest who were displaced as California and the surrounding states were settled. This book chronicles the changing and sometimes conflicting attitudes both of American authorities and Indian Chiefs. Specifically mentioned are Geronimo, Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse and their different attempts to save their peoples, either by peace, war, or retreat. The last part of the book focuses more on the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes. These were some of the last to be moved onto reservations, under perhaps the most violent circumstances. It comes to a head at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the deaths of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse as well as the senseless slaughter of Sioux prisoners at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. This is generally considered the end of the Indian wars. This book was very historically informing and at certain points seemed a little long winded and detailed to process properly. I did enjoy learning more historical facts about the Indian wars. It was really sad the things that were done to the Native Americans. We stripped them of their land, their way of life, and their right to freedom. This book really gets the hopelessness of the situation out there. Anyone that is studying the Plains should read this book. We need to know both the good and bad history of our country. I was surprised by some of the details included in the book. I think with more details, especially key details, people are more inclined to personalize the history they are reading as well as internalize it more. The bigger effect history has on us now, the more control we have of our future.