Some days you can find them in the corn fields south of Bismarck, other days they’re occupying a sandbar by the marina. Today they’re just hanging out in a field north on River Road. Why fly south when you’ve got all this?
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Monthly Archives: January 2006
All but forgotten – Greenwood Cemetery
There are only about a half-dozen tombstones remaining at this cemetery, all dating back to the mid to late 1800s. Most are in quite a state of disrepair. The cemetery is maintained, however. I may ask around to find out who…what’s important is that it’s not neglected. In fact, several of the stones have protective fences around them.
One thing I missed on this hike was a stone that lies flat and has all kinds of weird markings on it. I haven’t been out to Greenwood Cemetery since I was a kid, so I don’t have a clear recollection of this particular stone. So when there isn’t any snow covering it (it’s behind one of those protective fences) I’m going to get another picture of it.
Update: The verse on the base of that white stone is from I Thessalonians 4:13, which says: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”
That’s where Paul is instructing Christians not to grieve those who have passed away because they have a place in the resurrection.
Verse 14 continues: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”
Side note: Theodore Hagerott wrote a book about this cemetery. It may be available at the state library or the ND State Historical Society if you’re interested in learning more. Greenwood Cemetery remains in my mind one of Mandan’s best kept secrets.
Farewell to Arms
This building changed hands (and names) several times over the years and was most recently known as the Palace Arms Hotel. Much of the facility was not even in use at that time. The bar hosted a pretty good comedy club at one point but shut down as the Millenium club under some licensing circumstances (if memory serves me correctly). It has sat empty for quite some time.
This will now be the site of the Bank of North Dakota once the demolition is completed and construction can begin. That, combined with the upcoming replacement of the Veterans Memorial Bridge with a shiny new one, could revitalize this area somewhat. Since I love our fair city I hope this eventually comes to fruition.
From our ‘What were they thinking?’ department
I’m not sure what this grotesque has to do with Lewis and Clark, thunderbirds, or anything else…but there it sits. No one I’ve talked to thinks it’s anything but an eyesore. Now I hear rumors of a second one?
Saturday morning moon
International Space Station (ISS) overhead in January
The International Space Station (ISS) will be visible over Bismarck this month! If you’ve never seen it, it’s quite large and moves very quickly overhead. When the Space Shuttle is docked with it, the thing is enormous.
Because of its orbit, it’s not always visible from Bismarck. This month, however, it will be. It only takes a few minutes at most to pass from horizon to horizon.
You can track the ISS overhead by clicking here.
Bismarck Trivia Nobody Cares About™
In the 1980s I worked in this building, the Pinehurst office building at 1424 West Century Avenue. Who cares, right? Well, the oddity about this building is that it wasn’t even near Century Avenue at the time. West Century Avenue continued straight westward from Washington, eventually intersecting with Tyler Parkway. Clydesdale Drive, the street that the Pinehurst building actually sat on, continued due south to intersect behind Country West Conoco (at that time the Truck Plaza 35 truck stop).
A call to the City of Bismarck’s engineering department confirmed that the plan for Century Avenue was to divert it south around the water tower hill; yet it followed the section line to the north of the hill until such time as city growth warranted the new road, which now curves south of the water tower hill. It turns out their planning was very wise, because that’s where the bulk of the new “big box” stores have popped up recently. Can you imagine if all that traffic had to go up that hill and back around through the neighborhoods in the Tyler Parkway area? What a mess!
Friday night sunset
The water’s pretty high at Fox Island. And frozen too.
Story behind the statue
I remember riding my bike past this statue when the guy was carving it. His name is Peter Toth, and at the time he claimed he was going to make one of those statues in each of the fifty states. He calls them his “Trail of Tears” series if I remember correctly. Well, he’s made a lot of them. Google “Peter Toth carving” and you’ll get a lot of hits from the states and Canada.
Sadly, no other information popped up on a quick search. Toth was born in Hungary and obviously traveled all over the country making these things, but there’s nothing recent mentioned about him. Did he make all fifty? If you ever find out, let us know.
“Lefty” Faris Field set for refurb next year
For any of you who have used the facilities that Mandan High has for track & field or football, this should be good news. They’re going to build some locker rooms and sports medicine rooms at the facility and give it an overhaul.
The locker rooms in that field were…well, let’s leave it at that. It’s good to see the improvements on the way.
“Lefty” Faris was a long time Athletic Director for Mandan. I met him back when I was in high school, and he passed away my junior year. The field was named in his honor a short time later.
In 1987 the kids painted the Braves logo you see on the back of the facility. I resurrected a grainy picture:
It’ll be good to see the facility once it’s completed!