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Category Archives: Around Bismarck-Mandan
They missed a piece when they tore down Meriwether’s
As far as the plight of the Meriwether’s building goes, I can’t say I have any feelings one way or the other about it. The last restaurant I remember in the building was driven out of business by the closure of River Road when a section slid, and I can’t remember anything ever taking its place. The building is a pretty remote location for a business in all but the warmest few months, so I’m not sure it would have been a good candidate for business even if it had been restored.
I was on board one hundred percent when Phil and Mark were the super-duo on KFYR AM 550 radio and they set about preserving the Provident Life Weather Beacon. That’s a piece of history well known to thousands of people, one which many of us still consult when we want a snapshot of what the weather forecast holds in store. The old depot down by the river? I’m not sorry to say that I doubt many people held the same attachment to it. Sure, there were parts of it that were pretty cool…but one of the best of those has found itself a home about a mile down the river.
Farewell to a familiar sight along Highway 1806…the House of Brides
Thanks to my friend Tad for the close-up photos. I, of course, didn’t have a camera with me. I always see things like this when I leave the cameras at home…you’d think I would have learned my lesson by now!
Unearthed beneath Double Ditch
I don’t know why people of the last century seemed to think it was a valid idea to pitch their cars into the drink, but it seems that there are a lot of old cars from the 40s through 60s rusting away quietly along the river in various places. Thankfully this practice doesn’t seem to happen often any more. As for the relics that do occasionally appear along the river banks and from beneath the river’s surface, they’re just another noteworthy and even somewhat familiar part of life along the Big Muddy.
When you absolutely have to get something lifted atop your capitol building
The capitol will be undergoing some limestone reclamation and repair in the near future, making for some interesting closures around the grounds. It’ll be interesting to see this local landmark get a facelift inside and out!
Aw, nuts
I’ve got some other interesting fastener photos around here somewhere, perhaps I’ll cobble together some for a future post.
Not with a bang, but a whimper
The game play was good, so don’t let the title of this post lead you to believe that the Wizards went quietly. Once the last buzzer sounded, though, it didn’t take long for the lights to go down and the place to empty for the last time as home to an NBA game.
Many sports franchises have come and gone here in Bismarck. Anyone remember the Dakota Rattlers baseball team? The Bismarck Blaze or Roughriders indoor football squads? For a small town with seemingly fickle interests, the Dakota Wizards have been a unique success story in professional sports here in North Dakota. They succeeded where teams in other cities slowly faded away. The crowd involvement activities during breaks in game play were fun and energetic, sponsors seemed to be always present, and the Wizards managed to rack up a few league championship titles as well.
That’s what made it so odd when, once today’s game concluded, things just shut down as usual. While Kevin Rice’s number was retired during a brief ceremony at halftime, there wasn’t any sort of fanfare celebrating the history of Dakota Wizards basketball here in the capital city. Bummer. It was a great run while it lasted.
We still have Bobcats hockey to ease our craving for local sporting events, of course. Otherwise I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the next big thing is, and if it can enjoy the success and longevity of the Dakota Wizards.
This “Vanishing American” didn’t vanish…he just moved to U-Mary
Later on when I bought my first camera and was looking for cool things around town to photograph, a vague recollection of something really cool on the wall of that building with the gold mirrored windows popped into my head. I drove by and examined the building from multiple angles, but sadly it was gone. I was sure I remembered it, but perhaps it had simply been removed? That would certainly be a shame…but in any case, it was no longer there.
A couple of weeks ago I went for a walkabout with a friend who worked in the Gold Seal Building back when it was leased by the MDU Resources Group. I mentioned that building and the etched stone artwork I thought I remembered, and he knew instantly what I was talking about. “That was moved out to the University of Mary,” he revealed. Joy! I knew then that I somehow had to find that slab of stone which had eluded me for so long.
A quick trip out to the ACC Art Show a couple of weekends ago gave me the opportunity to ask someone at the desk of the Harold Schafer Leadership Center if they knew what I was looking for. Naturally they did, and they led me to a concrete patio on the lower level of the building. Voila’ – here stands the stone I was seeking, looking boldly over the Missouri River to the west. Score!
I guess I can cross this one off my Bismarck-Mandan photographic “Bucket List” and move on to the next one. Thankfully this piece, commissioned by Harold Schafer himself, was preserved. It’s available for anyone on campus to see, but it’s in a location that isn’t readily obvious. The best way to find it is to wander the lawn to the west of the Tharaldson Business Center and saunter slowly southward toward the back of the Schafer center. Once you get to the right area you can’t miss it, unless of course you’re overwhelmed by the stunning view of the Briardale woods and Missouri River valley below.
Just in case
If this windmill indeed becomes a casualty of the sale, I’ll at least have some nice memories of it.
Somewhere in Bismarck-Mandan a Trans Am is missing a piece of its soul
For instance, when an 8 track tape deck “changed tracks” it was so cool, almost like random access (in a seventies kind of way) – unless it had to do so in the middle of your favorite song. Then of course was the fact that the tape heads didn’t always align themselves properly with the tape, leading people to wedge a matchbook or something under the tape to “shim it” into position.
While the 8 track collection in our family consisted of smash hits from Johnny Cash, Charley Pride, Tom T. Hall, Johnny Horton, and the like, this bin contains albums from a slightly different genre. I couldn’t help but dive straight for a big ol’ batch of stereotypical humor as a result.
