Bob Dylan was having none of it as he rode with my colleague’s uncle from the Iron Range back to the University of Minnesota one Sunday night in 1959. “Bobby, don’t you think you should go to class once in a while?” Dylan’s concerned classmate asked. As we all learned after watching the Oscar-nominated Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” Bobby, …
Cat Stevens and Eddie Vedder 2016 And the late great B.B. King (who grew up in the same area in Mississippi as my late father). If you are in the Indianola area, I highly recommend a visit to the B.B. King Museum. And because I was young in the 1970s, there is always the epic Eagles “Hotel California.” Yes, I have watched the …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axVmpvz6VcQ Chelsea Sorenson, Senior Solo for Vocal Performance Degree at Dickinson State University, 2009 (above). Shot by me, her proud mother (the little coughs are her twin sister sitting next to me in Dorothy Stickney Auditorium). And this is why I describe Chelsea as a bit of a “piano snob” — I’ve known she had perfect pitch since she was …
This past week was a very long and eventful one in American history, punctuated by, among many other things, the emphatic gestures of Elon Musk to his audience on Inauguration Day. Great passions ensued. Were those Nazi salutes that Musk threw out to an adoring throng? It sure seemed that way to me, but only he knows for sure. In …
You can’t go wrong with a casserole that contains cheese. That’s what I thought after viewing this recipe recently on a Facebook friend’s news feed. I had all the ingredients on hand except for the sour cream, so it was a no-brainer. The only substitution was six Gray (Hungarian) Partridge breasts in pl the chicken. I couldn’t have been more …
On finding an old map in the State Historical Society of North Dakota Archives: Somewhere near the Turtle Mountains. By the La Butte Mark, by the “Half Breed Road”. On the Des Lac River. East of the La Roche. Northeast of Strawberry Island on the Missouri River. North of the Little Knife River. North of the White Earth River. North …
The Good Intent Essays
“There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” — Fred Rogers “In the end, only kindness matters.” — Jewel There have been times in the past few weeks when the words of Jewel and my friend, Fred, have seemed hopelessly …
The Parting Glass Martin Kerr Curious Heart
The other thing I am doing. SOUTHWIND IN APRIL by Paul S. Bliss
Well, it was warm in my kitchen at Red Oak House. Playtime January 2025
On Tuesday, at a prayer service for the Inauguration of Donald Trump, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde preached the sermon of her life, directly pleading for the president to show mercy to those who are being impacted by this administration’s policies. She did so respectfully, thoughtfully and lovingly. And biblically. She spoke truth to power. As a pastor, I was deeply …
“Battlefield” by Nanci Griffith
(Above) Wayne Thomas, son of Mozelle Ellis Thomas, and Garland Crook, son of Lena Bell Ellis Crook, 8 months old, Friendship, Miss., 1925. Lena Bell and Mozelle were sisters. Garland and Wayne were their first babies. Sarah, Thomas, Lillian and Beckie, January 2025 Golly it was fun to have the four of us together for a meal. Jim tolerated us …
A little while ago, I inherited a collection of North Dakota History magazines from some really old — well, older than me — neighbors who moved away to assisted living and had to disperse a lot of things they had collected over the years. Some date back to as early as 1973. I already have a bunch of older ones, …
Twenty-five years ago, it was the beginning of a new millennium. When I thought you read books. When I thought you didn’t watch much television. When I thought you hiked. When I thought you watched the stars. When I thought you liked poetry. When I slept on the ground. Before social media. When I was young. Twenty-five years ago I …
And that’s all folks, that’s the last of the 8mm films my Dad shot in the 1950s and 1960s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ae3Gu33SQo&t=1s My mother bought the 8mm camera and a projector by saving Green Stamps. Remember those? Here are my mother’s annotations. The film is not in chronological order. I don’t care. Don’t watch if the fact that this stuff is out …
My friend, Chuck Suchy. Lay You Down In a Cattail Bed
My friend, Darrell Dorgan, is comfortably ensconced in his condo in south Florida, spending his days walking his dog, Coco, on the beach, but as a lifelong newsman in North Dakota, he’s keeping up with the news back home in Bismarck. He spent some time this past week digging into what’s going on in the North Dakota Legislature and sent …
One of the video interviews I did with my Mother in her elder years.
Skillet meals are great for people who are pressed for time or those who don’t care to put a lot of time into a meal. I’m retired, so the former isn’t an issue, but a lot of times its just nice to put an entree together in a short amount of time. The following recipe fits the latter category. I …
This is a homage to California. The humble abode in which my parents lived in El Monte in 1958 before they moved the little house trailer to Ellsworth Air Force Base. When they left California, pulling the trailer, with (then) two little kids and another on the way, they headed across the desert, skirting around the mountains, heading in a …
Sacha Boisvert scored 2:19 into overtime to lift the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team to a 4-3 National Collegiate Hockey Conference win over Arizona State University on Saturday night in Tempe, Ariz. The No. 14-ranked Fighting Hawks (12-8-1 overall, 7-3-0 NCHC) lost the series opener 4-1 to the No. 16 Sun Devils (11-8-1 overall, 6-4-0 NCHC) Friday night. …
I’m reprinting this story from The Dickinson Press. It’s one of the most heart-warming stories I’ve found in a newspaper in a long, long time. By Jacob Cheris The Dickinson Press January 10, 2025 at 6:10 a.m. DICKINSON, N.D. — DHS junior swimmer Bohdan Shevchenko has already made a name for himself in his short time in the Dickinson community. This …
The new Bob Dylan movie, which was excellent, has generated a lot of talk about Bob, and newspapers and magazines are writing about it a lot. Here in North Dakota, The Forum has done a few stories because Dylan did a brief stopover there between Hibbing, Minn., and New York. He played with a couple of bands, briefly — including …
She was so much fun. This was taken at her last birthday party. But I have more.
I’ve been thinking about whether to stay on Facebook, and I’ve decided at least for now to stay. The simple truth is that the concept of Facebook began as a way to rate women at Harvard, which is despicable. So the recent decision by Mark Zuckerberg further solidifies the lack of character he has. However, for me, it has become …
It’s Jan. 7. The results of a free and fair election were confirmed Monday in a peaceful transfer of power . Although the election did not go as I had hoped, this is what democracy looks like. Not violent insurrection. So what now? Stacey Abrams recently said that we shouldn’t focus now on resistance but insistence, and I like that …
This is an original essay by Lillian Crook, Dickinson State College English seminar writing course required submission for Senior Level Course credit (1981). This had been a bad year, lots of snow and ice and that terrible cold wind. More new calves than ever had died, and if he had to watch one more not pull through, Maggie knew she …
1977. 1978. Spring Lake ice fishing (southwest of Rhame, N.D.), 1971. Earl and Lena Belle Crook visit the Slope County farm, 1973. El Paso, Texas (Marian, Sarah, Thomas, and The White Cat.) Garland Crook and his son, Thomas, visiting Vaiden, Miss. Garland Crook, back in South Korea for the second time. The Crook kids in El Paso, Texas. Jasper Earl …
Mac Swanson, Dalton Andrew, Dane Montgomery, Carter Wilkie and Cody Croal scored goals and goalies Hobie Hedquist and T.J. Semptimphelter each had eight saves to lead the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team to a 5-0 exhibition win over the University of Manitoba on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Fighting Hawks (11-7-1) led just 2-0 after two …
My readers know I am a gardener. It’s a love I inherited from my father, who each summer grew a garden full of vegetables, with varying degrees of success, to treat his family to fresh produce. Fresh produce wasn’t something you could get in grocery stores in rural North Dakota in the 1950s and 1960s. But we had ’em, and …
Penance Playlist 2025 Mother Maybelle Carter. Nanci Griffith (everything she ever wrote and sang and recorded and performed). Sara Watkins. Lucinda Williams. Brandi Carlisle. Gillian Welch. Phoebe Snow. Carly Simon. Tanya Savory. Joni Mitchell. Patty Loveless. Katie Lee. Celeste Krenz. Lucy Kaplansky. Sarah Jarosz. Janis Ian. Tanya Tucker. Billie Holiday. Loretta Lynn. Tish Hinojosa. Iris DeMent. Shawn Colvin. Dolly Parton. …
Jimmy Carter was my hero — a man who embodied what it means to not only talk the talk but walk the walk. Much has been said of his post-presidency, where he spoke out for the Palestinian people, waged war on the Guinea Worm, advocated for free and fair elections and transformed the world of affordable housing with dignity and …
Although the Grandma for whom I’m named was Norwegian, I love to make these Swedish meatballs. Swedish Meatballs Meatballs: Two large leeks (the white portion, grated) 2 teaspoons of butter (I use good butter, preferably Irish butter) ⅔ cup of milk 4 to 5 slices of bread, crusts removed (I use a grain bread when I have it on hand.) …
On Saurday, I went to a Bismarck grocery store to buy leeks. Nice man from India working in the produce section had not heard of leeks, so I described leeks, and he found leeks under the loose carrots. He asked me how I cook leeks and said he will try that. We both smiled. I found some Greek yogurt. Paid …
“Words are like shards of glass. By themselves they’re worthless, however, when placed together in just the right way, they can become great works of art.” ― Leigh M. Lane
What’s your favorite day of the week? Mine’s Thursday. It used to be Saturday back in my working days, but now … in retirement, pretty much every day is Saturday. But Thursday is now my favorite day because that’s the day the two weekly newspapers I subscribe to arrive in my mailbox. Well, not my outside mailbox, but my computer …
“The Moon Comes Walking On with Me,” by Colonel Paul Southworth Bliss,December 21, 1931. Original woodcuts by Harold J. Matthews. From an inscribed copy of “The Arch of Spring.” And some Christmas memories of my own. While I watch the neighborhood kids sledding today in the sunshine, I was taken back to a thousand memories of sledding and skiing and …
Christmas is a time for dreams, and for dreamers. It’s a time of wonder. I wonder … There’s a proposal making the rounds to create a new National Monument in western North Dakota, encompassing 11 areas in the North Dakota Bad Lands, land owned by the federal government but leased to ranchers for grazing their cattle. What if those ranchers out …
