“I have always said I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.” Theodore Roosevelt

I have been “pondering” on this column for quite some time. What’s pondering? In my case it is thinking about something, but not quite concluding, so the thought goes to my back burner. I haven’t forgot about the thought, I just wasn’t 100% sure of what I hoped to accomplish.

To be honest, I still am not 100% sure of what I hope to accomplish with this article, but humor me and read on. I don’t have a statement quite as strong as my hero, Teddy Roosevelt, because he became President and of course I am just a journalist that works for a weekly paper in North Dakota. Nevertheless, I often tell folks that being born and raised in North Dakota definitely defined me. Let’s start with being raised in the small, rural community of Maddock.

First, my Dad was big on community support. As a family we often heard about supporting local merchants. “If you want to spend your money in Devils Lake (a larger town about 40 miles away), then call the Devils Lake Fire Department when your house is burning. Maybe a bit extreme, but it painted a pretty good picture for us.
Next, I think about jumping on my bike and riding (or in winter walking) to anywhere I wanted to go in town. As kids we never had watches, but at 12 Noon, 6 PM and 10 PM a siren would sound that sent us home for lunch in the summer, home for supper at 6 PM and any kid under 16 had to be home by 10 PM. I think the city called it a curfew…my Mom was not a happy person if I was not in the yard, and in the house within 5 minutes of the siren sounding at 10 PM.

And finally, from the time we were about 12 years old, our parents would look for some meaningful form of work for us. It could be mowing lawns, delivering papers, working for a farmer or a combination of small jobs that you would do for the neighbors. One summer I painted a neighbor’s fence. My painting skills were not near that of a professional of course, but the neighbor was patient and eventually I finished and re-finished that job. How proud I was to get $10.00 for my labor.

But growing up in a small town was not necessarily the only factor that defined me. Long before I ever heard the words “North Dakota Nice” I knew that there was a laid back, give people the benefit of the doubt and help a neighbor when they need it attitude in North Dakota. This attitude was better defined in rural North Dakota where farming families would, without hesitation, lend a neighbor a helping hand. I can remember that I worked for a farmer driving grain truck. In the middle of the afternoon one day my boss told me to take the truck and help out the neighbor for the afternoon. We had 2 trucks, and the neighbor’s only truck had broken down. The weather was about to change and the neighbor needed help with harvest. Needless to say, lesson well learned.
If you’ve stayed with me this long, thank you; and for those of you who are not from North Dakota and may be stationed at Minot Air Force Base, I hope that like Teddy Roosevelt when you leave North Dakota on your next PCS you speak positively about your time here. I hope that you carry the definition of North Dakota Nice with you wherever you go. And when you talk about the weather you might have a couple of approaches; a smile because you survived double digit below zero wind chill, and an attitude that the cold weather of North Dakota is outweighed by the warm greetings that strangers receive when they move here.

So, my statement would probably be; “I have always said I hope that I made a positive difference to the folks I met who spent time in the great state of North Dakota.”

Today’s Chuckle
A successful marriage is based on the ability to pretend you don’t know what your spouse is thinking.