Leon Rivera, age 8

Since it’s nearing Presidents Day, we’re going to talk about North Dakota’s favorite president: Theodore Roosevelt. (Or TR for short!) Old TR originally moved to North Dakota to escape the grief of his wife and mother dying on the same day–sad topic, so we won’t talk too much about that.

Then, he got two ranches in the badlands area (before it was named a national park of course). At first, he was called “Four Eyes” by the cowboys, because of his glasses. But he wasn’t afraid to punch a cowboy, fire a dishonest ranch hand, or capture bandits–yes, that life was pretty exciting! He said, “I have always said I would not have been president if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.”

He has a lot of memorials in the Dakotas because of all he did there–the people loved him, and he loved the Dakotas. You can visit these memorials while you’re stationed here in Minot! One memorial is in Keystone, South Dakota. Closer by, Minot has Roosevelt Park and the statue of Theodore Roosevelt. And next door is the Roosevelt Park Zoo!

There’s a painting of him in the Capitol building in Bismarck, with a plaque about his life. My family saw bison tracks while we were going through Theodore Roosevelt National Park, where he once owned the two ranches. I really think more people should go see Theodore Roosevelt National Park, because it will be a great experience for them to see the badlands and feel what it was like during his life.

I also saw Mount Rushmore later with my grandparents–it was HUGE! Theodore Roosevelt was carved on Mount Rushmore along with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. (There was this little rock with a hole in it, that when you looked up through the crack, you could see President Washington’s nose–it was really funny!) While you’re here in North Dakota, go around, take a look at these memorials, and have fun!