North Dakota
All sports are a bridge to the past … in more ways than one
Is being fixated on sports, and/or the past, a bad thing?
NOPE.
Over the last month or so, that’s become apparent because y’all are dancing down memory lane via the “Yesteryear” pieces The Dickinson Press is submitting and that circumstance was as predictable as sunrise. Midwestern people like you who grew up here, live here, work here, raise children here, and thrive here move the planet, and it’s not a surprise that you glommed onto the subject-matter.
And it got-me-to-thinkin’ …
Via limited research, it was obvious football has changed over the years in rural North Dakota (and, it’s my intention to “Yesteryear” basketball, baseball, hockey, softball, DSU or whichever) and — while looking back over the website that has become instrumental to the piece’s success — a funny circumstance popped-up: Like New England’s football team from last week, there are those which no-longer exist. Now, they had a sense of pride and history, written down by us on the staff, and the names of those teams (somewhat-long-forgotten), are AWESOME.
Seriously, it pushed the rusted-wheels in motion to find the coolest one. While chatting with Mr. Rod Kleinjan of KDIX in the BAC pressbox during the Killdeer/Trinity game the other-day, he recalled them all, and regaled us whippersnappers with even more history. Stuff like that is enthralling, and it was a joyful trip that otherwise would be lost-to-human-memory.
Honestly: Best lightning delay, ever.
That-all-said, do you remember the Ashley Aces or the Sawyer Flashes? Perhaps you played for the Sheldon Shadows or the Rogers North Central Corvairs or you earned a letterman jacket from the Petersburg Dakota Prairie Knights, the Buxton Central Valley Valiants or the McClusky Dragons? Whether you signed yearbooks for your classmates with the Carson Chieftains or the Garrison Troopers is fine, and the Fargo Oak Grove Lutheran Grovers still miss you.
Seriously, what a buncha cool names … but I digress …
I’m not gonna tell you the website I use for this little excursion until the end of football season, but it’s fantastic. It unfolds things that are recognizable to old-timers and provides food-for-thought for an abundance of opportunities. As another sentiment, my gratitude goes out to the Dickinson Public Library for helping me wend my way through microfiche, which was initially confusing until they provided their guidance in this effort. I know the Dewey Decimal System, but management of tape-rolls from the 1960s ain’t my forte.
So, back to these unbelievably awesome nicknames/mascots of North Dakota football … it has long been a curiosity of mine how-many “Lions” live in Detroit and how few “Jaguars” live in Jax, but with names like the Steelers and Packers (both-of-which were based on working-people in those communities) it’s obvious why they have so much fan support. That said, I have met a “Giant” or two from New York and Florida still has real Panthers, so mascot-naming is not all for naught.
My contrary version of this story is that I have animus towards Utah for keeping the name “Jazz,” because Utah seems like perhaps the-most-un-jazzy place in the world, and the New Orleans team is now called the Pelicans (which is a great bird, but a terrible mascot) and I resent the Lakers’ maintaining the moniker because I know from-where they came. Los Angeles has no water (much-less, lakes) but Minneapolis does. I attribute the decision to laziness and alliteration, nothing-more-nothing-less.
Just to tick off a few-more-boxes’-worth of fabulous former ND mascots, I would be remiss to leave out the Kulm Gophers, Hope Hustlers, Hebron Brickmakers or Powers Lake Ranchers, and while Minnewaukan had their own “Midgets” (once-upon-a-time), I prefer ours. And, all-joking-aside, can we bring back the Rattlers, Glen Ullin? “Rattlers” might be my favorite mascot name, EVER.
I’ve read that “too-much attention” is paid to sports in America, and my simple retort is that sports might be the only thing holding the whole country together at this point. They provide a connection between the past and the present that neither politics, nor entertainment, nor music, nor residence could ever bridge. And, the people who dispense silliness like that probably never felt the symbiosis between themselves and teammates, combined with the fans in the stands supporting them … nor fed off that undeniable energy.
As a point of reality: Athletics are probably the last/best hope for this country.
You ever seen a person wearing the jersey of your favorite team in a city 2,500 miles away from where you stood? What happens?
Friendliness, and — most-likely — a conversation, quick hello or a thumbs-up happen. Pretty-much all the time. I’ve seen it, done it and bathed in that cohesion.
The names of these teams are gone, but anybody who played for the Cooperstown Lynx, Edgeley Rangers, Willow City Red Wings, Bowbells Eskimos, or Starkweather Stormkings would sever the index finger off their dominant-hand and relearn to write all-over again to relive those days. The efforts, hard-work and individual moments helped provide a foundation that built whatever futures that followed.
It’s a shame those days are gone, but the memories live on, forever. And it all can come full-circle … just ask the Belfield Bantams and South Heart Eagles.
Gaylon is a sportswriter who originally is from Jensen Beach, Fla. and his column appears weekly. He can be reached at
gparker@thedickinsonpress.com
and/or 701-456-1213.
Gaylon is a sportswriter from Jensen Beach, Fla., but has lived all over the world. Growing up with an athletic background gave him a love of sports that led to a journalism career in such places as Enid, Okla., Alamogordo, N.M., Pascagoula, Miss. and Viera, Fla. since 1998. His main passion is small-town community sports, particularly baseball and soccer.
FARGO — Drivers can expect to see a slight uptick in gas prices as a result of the Iran conflict.
As of Monday, March 2, the average for North Dakota is $2.65 a gallon. While that is a $0.13 increase from a month ago, it is significantly lower than prices a year ago.
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GRAND FORKS – The Study ND, formerly Humanities North Dakota, has received $15,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts for a statewide theater and humanities initiative in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
This commemorative investment is meant to bring historical events and figures – such as the framers of the U.S. Constitution – to life through virtual and live performances that celebrate the nation’s history.
The grant, along with funding from private sources, has made it possible for The Study ND to host “America 250” activities after the organization sustained a considerable cut in funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities last year, according to Brenna Gerhardt, The Study ND executive director.
“We absorbed a 50% budget cut, resulting in a loss of $467,645 in funding,” Gerhardt said. “As a result, we had to significantly scale back our American 250 initiatives focused on American history and civics education.”
Funds received from the National Endowment for the Arts will be used to present public readings, theatrical portrayals and guided discussions to encourage audience members to reflect on the nation’s founding in 1776 and on its democratic ideals, while engaging in contemporary conversations about civic life.
All of the programming in the series organized by The Study ND, titled “American Heroes,” will be livestreamed statewide.
In the grant application submitted to the National Endowment for the Arts, “we framed the project around a simple idea: democracy requires more than information, it requires citizens who can think historically, listen well, and argue in good faith,” Gerhardt said.
“This series uses living history performances to bring consequential figures into the room, then turns the room into a civic space through moderated dialogue and related public events. We define ‘heroism’ as civic courage under pressure, the willingness to contend with hard truths, and the capacity to enlarge a community’s moral imagination,” she said.
“The project does not ask audiences to agree on a single interpretation of a figure. It invites them to grapple with complexity together, and to connect the past to the responsibilities of the present.”
When Gerhardt and her colleagues received the application for grant proposals from the National Endowment for the Arts, “we were already planning a line-up of America 250 events and it fit perfectly with what we were already planning, so then we just wrote the grant,” she said.
Private funds, including matching funds from the Bismarck-based Tom and Frances Leach Foundation, have also been provided for this project.
Details about all the events will probably be posted on the website
www.TheStudyND.org
in March, Gerhardt said.
The America 250 events, which are planned to take place at Bismarck State College, are 5-6 p.m. July 8, “Reading of the Declaration of Independence, with John Adams,” and 6-7:30 p.m. July 9, “Alexander Hamilton Speaks,” both performed by William Chrystal.
The Living History programs are planned for 7-8:15 p.m. Sept. 17, “Thomas Paine,” performed by Doug Mishler, and Oct. 6, 7-8:15 p.m, “Frederick Douglass,” performed by Nathan Richardson. Both will be moderated by Susan Frontczak.
The performers Chrystal and Richardson live in Virginia, Frontczak in Colorado,and Mishler in Nevada.
Another program, “Hemingway and Gellhorn,” is set for Sept. 16-18 at Bismarck State College, Gerhardt said. “It is part of our broader Chautauqua/living history programming connected to America 250 … (and) will feature performances and discussion centered on Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, using their lives and writing as a way to explore major questions about American identity, war reporting, public memory, and the stories we tell about freedom, conflict and responsibility.
“What I am excited about with this event is that it gives us a way to approach America 250 beyond founding-era material. In other words, it helps us show the American story is not just about 1776, but also about the generations that followed and how Americans wrestled with democracy, power, truth and moral courage.”
This program “expands the initiative beyond commemoration into reflection, dialogue and interpretation, which is where the humanities are especially valuable,” she said. “It helps us reach audiences who may be drawn in through literature, journalism and performance, not only traditional history events.”
The Hemingway and Gellhorn program fits in with America 250 in that “it broadens the frame and adds depth to the larger effort.”
Gerhardt is hoping that these activities will give participants “a better understanding of all the debates and issues going on when our country was founded, and how those debates are continuing today,” she said, “and just to be more thoughtful and informed citizens.”
College students and members of the general public will also be invited to participate in a workshop aimed at teaching participants how to build a living history performance from primary sources and historical research.
Last year, The Study ND lost a substantial amount of funding – nearly $468,000, about half of its annual budget – from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its fiscal 2025 year.
The loss of that much funding was discouraging, Gerhardt said. “Very much so, because we had a lot of activities planned for America 250 and we had to cancel a lot of them, or – like in this case – seek other funding, which we were lucky to get.”
The Study ND currently has four full-time employees, she said. “We eliminated a part-time marketing position after the cuts.”
A nonprofit organization, The Study ND provides civics, arts and cultural education programming. The organization’s programs – which include online classes, book talks, lectures and more – reached about 24,000 people in 2024, Gerhardt told the North Dakota Monitor in April 2025.
During the summer, the organization hosts a civics education program for high school and middle school social studies teachers, she said.
On this day in 1943, two North Dakota army officers, Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz and First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson, were killed in separate medium bomber training crashes in Florida and Georgia.
Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:
Army Plane Crashes Kill Two N. D. Men
Two North Dakota officers in the army air forces were killed Sunday in bomber crashes during training flights, Associated Press dispatches revealed Monday.
Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz of Harvey (Wells county) was killed with 10 others from the Avon Park, Fla., army bomber base when two medium bombers collided during a routine formation flight. Both planes crashed and there were no survivors.
First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson of Warwick (Benson county) was one of six killed when a medium bomber from MacDill field, Tampa, Fla., crashed near Savannah, Ga. Lieutenant Anderson was co-pilot of the plane.
None of the other victims of either accident was from the Dakotas or Minnesota.
Lieutenant Kuntz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Kuntz of Harvey, was graduated from the army air force navigation school at Hondo, Texas, as a second lieutenant last October, and received his wings as a navigator.
Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.
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