Culture

​Fern Welk remembers childhood in North Dakota

April 18th, 2024

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

On March 11, 2024, we celebrated the 121st birthday of bandleader Lawrence Welk. He was born March 11, 1903 in a sod house near Strasburg, North Dakota, and died on May 17,1992. The Lawrence Welk Collection was donated to the North Dakota State University Archives in Fargo.

In May 1994, I interviewed Fern (Renner) Welk, wife of Lawrence Welk, during the grand opening of the Lawrence Welk Champagne Theater in Branson, Missouri. Included in this…

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Peltz, shawls and aprons: traditional dress of the Black Sea Germans

April 18th, 2024

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

Nancy Martin and Connie Ulasewicz co-authored the article, “Ach, Gott, yes, I wish I was back in Russia: Heimat in the Dress of North Dakota’s Black Sea Germans.” It was published in the Journal of the Costume Society of America, Volume 46, 2020. Martin did extensive German-Russian textile and clothing research at the McIntosh County Heritage Center in Ashley, North Dakota, the State Historical Society of North Dakota in Bismarck and…

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​The Allure of Asian and American Super Market

March 21st, 2024

By Annie Prafcke

annieprafcke@gmail.com

As an elementary school kid in the early 2000s, Kristy Tran didn’t start her day the way most kids do. Instead of rolling out of bed to go straight to school, Tran and her parents went grocery shopping.

Nearly every morning — or sometimes after school — the Tran family got in the car to drive to Asian and American Market. At the store, Tran’s dad waited in the driver's seat with a cigarette or a cup of coffee, while her mom made the grocery…

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North Dakotan begins new journey as family historian in Norway

March 21st, 2024

By Maddie Robinson

maddierobi.mr@gmail.com

Johan Stenslie has always been immersed in Norwegian culture. His mother, originally from Norway, and his father, from small-town North Dakota, met at Concordia College and were strong proponents of keeping their children connected with their Norwegian heritage.

Growing up, Stenslie was only allowed to read and speak Norwegian at home. He also kept a Norwegian journal, visited Norway every other summer and performed Norwegian folk dance with his…

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County museum receives help to digitally archive its collection

March 21st, 2024

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

When the McIntosh County Heritage Museum in Ashley, North Dakota was approached by their county auditor regarding the value of the museum’s collection for the sake of insurance, the museum couldn’t give them an answer.

“When I jumped on board with the McIntosh Historical Society, we found we had no records of what our inventory was,” said Randy Woehl, McIntosh County Heritage Museum vice president. “There was a record book at one time that…

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​Julius Herr: A life of learning

February 15th, 2024

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

Dwight Herr interviewed his father, Julius E. Herr of Wishek, North Dakota, in June 1979. Dwight provided a transcription and donated the “Life Story of Julius E. Herr” to the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection.

Julius Herr was born in Wishek on July 24, 1904. His parents were John and Christine Herr. Their ancestral village was Kassel, Glückstal District, South Russia.

Dwight Herr writes: “John Herr, dad’s father, was a…

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Christkindlein and Pelznickel: A GR Christmas

December 7th, 2023

By Michael M. Miller 

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

As the Holiday Season continues, I extend Yuletide Best Wishes and a special Fröhliche Weihnachten greeting to you and your family!

The December/January 1984-1985 issue of PRAIRIES Magazine published by the Ashley Tribune included this fascinating article authored by the editor, Warren Overlie, “A Russian Christmas: How was the grand holiday of Christmas…

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​Hydroponics Putting Down Its Roots in Moorhead

November 23rd, 2023

By John Showalter 

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

photo by Logan Macrae

Anyone who lives in the Fargo-Moorhead area knows that its yearly weather is a sequence of extremes. It feels like more often than not, springs and autumns are barely there while summers drag on with oppressive heat and stifling humidity and winters with bitter cold and copious amounts of snow. The ideal window for those with green thumbs to tend…

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Nina Farley Wishek, ‘A Story of McIntosh County’

July 25th, 2023

By Michael M. Miller 

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

One of the most important books published about the Germans from Russia in North Dakota is “Along the Trails of Yesterday: A Story of McIntosh County” by Nina Farley Wishek, published by the Ashley Tribune in 1941.

Nina Farley Wishek (1869-1957) arrived in 1887 with her family in McIntosh County, Dakota Territory, where her father filed a homestead. Nina became an educator, painter, historian, and poet. In 1889, with the establishment of…

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We’re Not Leaving. Despite Location Changes, FM Pride to Return.

July 16th, 2023

By Maddie Robinson 

maddierobi.mr@gmail.com

Fargo-Moorhead Pride, considered one of the biggest rural pride celebrations in the United States, is returning August 10-13 for a weekend of fun and festivities.

This year will be the 23rd official FM Pride celebration according to Chelsea Diederich, chair of the FM Pride Planning Committee. Similar to previous years, FM Pride 2023 is projected to draw thousands of people to its wide variety of…

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