Author: judylsauter

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REMEMBERING WEEKLY OLD RED TAIL ARTICLES BY DELORES KLUSMAN (9.8.1940 - 11.6.2019)

The Rummage Sale

April 2024 by Ben Kubischta

Rummage sale season will soon begin and one of North Dakota’s great rummage sales will be held on June 1st. That sale is the Old Red Trail Rummage Sale which is held on the first Saturday in June.

When and where did rummage sales begin? I have found sales called “Rummage Sales” were held in Ireland in 1820 and in the United Kingdom throughout the 19th Century. Rummage sales during that time were auctions of items that are similar to the items that can be found in your Red Trail rummage sales.

In Dublin, Ireland an ad in the Freeman’s Journal edition of August 13, 1860 listed the following rummage sale items to be sold: “ladies dresses in pieces of silk, satin, and orleans cloth; 35 pair of Whitney blankets; linen and calico sheets; bed and window curtains; new and second hand men’s and women’s apparel; hats, caps, hosiery, and umbrellas; firearms and fishing tackle; musical and optical instruments.”

In about 1900, rummage sales were transforming to the format we use today and were becoming popular in the United States. Many of which were used as fundraisers for philanthropic causes. The Kings Daughters (an international Christian philanthropic organization) chapter of Knoxville, Tennessee held a rummage sale in November 1900. The Knoxville Sentinel’s November 27th issue reported that their “sales were surprisingly large yesterday and today, a fact that is probably due to the attractive salesladies” and the ladies names were listed. Men must have come in to visit with the attractive salesladies who were able to get them to dig deep into their pockets to buy items.

Like last year, each Old Red Old Ten town will have a Community Coordinator who will be your contact person for registering your rummage sale. More information on the 2024 Old Red Trail Rummage Sale will be in your local papers the week of April 29 through May 3.

My Judy and I will be visiting rummage sales and coffee shops along the OROT. We hope to have good conversations with you and find that special item like the bench we found in New Salem. Goodbye for now. Remember, promoting the Old Red Old Ten promotes our towns, and always take time to talk to the cows.

Bennett Kubischta is the President Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee.

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Along the Red Trail . . . North Dakota’s most Historic Highway

It’s Tournament Time

February 2024 By: Bennett Kubischta

            For over 100 years basketballs have been put up in the air in hopes of going through the hoops in gymnasiums in our Red Trail towns. This season, the Glen Ullin Hebron boys are the top team along the Red Trail. And they recently defeated both teams that were on the Yellowstone Trail. The Bearcats are a strong squad with the potential to get to and do well at the State Tournament.

            In 1924 there was one class of basketball in North Dakota. The state was divided into 8 Districts and each District had a tournament to see who would advance to State. New Salem was one of the top teams in District 3. Eddie Keller, one of the top players on that team, was participating in a football scrimmage on the school grounds about a week before the District tournament was to begin. He broke his leg during that scrimmage and was out for the rest of the season. Without Keller, New Salem went into the tournament as an underdog. But, the beat Linton, then Wilton, and advanced to the championship game where they were defeated by Mandan.

Moving ahead twelve years to 1936, here are summaries of contests between schools along the Red Trail. The January 18th Bismarck Tribune reported that “New Salem’s high-scoring basketball team ran up a 29 – 10 against the Almont prep five…” And over in Glen Ullin “Paced by Fischer, center, and Hermes, guard, the Glen Ullin prep quint trounced Richardton 32 – 16.”

            On February 11th of ’36, in a game played at Almont, Hebron defeated the locals 19 – 14.

Hebron was one of the top teams in the Missouri Slope Conference at that time. The Mandan Pioneer’s game report stated that “Almont displayed unexpected strength and under the lead of Atkinson held the margin up to the third quarter. A Hebron rally led by Mann stowed away enough points for a Hebron victory.

            On February 20, 1936 the Taylor independents defeated the Gladstone independents 38 to 23 at the gym in Taylor. Leading scorer for Taylor, with 13 points was guard J. Teie. Forward P. Degel led the way for Gladstone with 9 points.

            North Dakota high schools had girls were playing basketball in the 1920s. Their games were played as preliminary games before the boys played and few game reports were published in newspapers I have reviewed. As part of a well-advertised doubleheader the Glen Ullin girls played the Mandan girls on March 1, 1924 in the Mandan High School gymnasium. The other game was a boy’s game between Mandan and Jamestown. Mandan won both games. Their boys beat Jamestown 14 – 10 and beat our Glen Ullin girls 17 – 9.

            After the game, the Mandan Pioneer reported that the Jamestown boys and the Glen Ullin girls were guests in a party in the gym. There was dancing and a lunch was served at midnight. I wonder what the Glen Ullin boys thought about their girls dancing with boys from Jamestown and Mandan?

Goodbye for now. Remember, promoting the Old Red Old Ten promotes our towns, and always take time to talk to the cows.

Bennett Kubischta is the President Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee.

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Along the Red Trail . . . North Dakota’s most Historic Highway

The Moto-Sway Machine

January 2024 By: Bennett Kubischta

            Modes of personal transport along the Red Trail has varied throughout time. From walking to horses, from bicycles to motorized bicycles, and by cars, buses, and trucks are some conveyances we have used to move between our cities and farms.

            The importance of the horse in the first decades of the Twentieth Century is emphasized by a sale in Richardton in June 1914. An advertisement in the June 2nd edition of the Fargo Forum by the Richardton Horse Sale Company stated that 800 horses will be sold on June 18th, 19th, and the 20th. Over 600 of these horses, which came from area farms, were harness or halter broken and that the unbroken horses are not wild.

            During the next twenty years the importance of the horse for transport faded and we moved between our Red Trail towns, across North Dakota, and the United States by cars and trucks. And with this change came a change in how we maintained these different means of transport.

            A good horse needed good feed, proper rest, and good medical care. Motor vehicles, a machine, needed engine maintenance, tire repair, the brakes needed to be serviced, and moving parts needed lubrication.

            Squeaks and rattles were a common occurrence on vehicles in the late 1920s and into the early 1930s. In the early 1930s a machine was developed that, in the garage, would simulate road action while the car is not in motion and allows the mechanic to lubricate all points of friction and identifies loose bolts, nuts, springs, and shackles, that need to be tightened.

            The Red Trail Garage, in Mandan, acquired a Moto-Sway lift in August 1934. The Mandan Daily Pioneer reported on August 9th that this “new innovation has accomplished what engineers have attempted for years. It creates road action…and…enables the grease to penetrate every part.”

            The Moto-Sway continues to show up in garage newspaper ads until the early 1960s. Many of the cars that traveled on the Red Trail/US Highway 10 during that 30 year period were likely serviced using the Moto-Sway. One of the selling points of the Moto-Sway was that the life of your car would be extended.

            Did the using the lubricating method of the Moto-Sway extend the life of our grandparents cars longer than other lubricating methods of the time? We probably don’t know; but what we do know is that the regularly scheduled maintenance of our motor vehicles is most important.

Goodbye for now. Remember, promoting the Old Red Old Ten promotes our towns, and always take time to talk to the cows.

Bennett Kubischta is the President Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee.

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REMEMBERING WEEKLY OLD RED TAIL ARTICLES BY DELORES KLUSMAN (9.8.1940 - 11.6.2019)

Highway Signs and Vandalism

December 2023 By: Bennett Kubischta

            In 1923 the North Dakota State Highway Department began signing and marking of our state highways. The Red Trail was designated as ND Highway 3. Along with route signing the Department also began installing signs to provide safety information to motorists such as curve, stop, and railroad crossing signs.

            Almost as soon as the signs were installed, vandalism began. The December 17, 1923 issue of the Mandan Daily Pioneer reported on vandalism of highway signs on ND 3 in the St. Vincent and Crown Butte area. Today this segment of ND 3 is Morton County 139 on the north side of I-94 from Exit 140 to ND 25.             County Surveyor E. R. Griffin found ten route marking, curve, and danger signs that were removed and thrown in the ditch.

            Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway signs have been stolen. One was on Morton County 139 just north of I-94 Exit 102. If you happen to see them in some one’s garage or for sale on-line you are most likely looking at stolen public property.

            Stealing and/or destruction of North Dakota’s highway signs has not been limited to small signs. Recently I was at the Fargo District Office of the North Dakota Department of Transportation and was visiting my old highway friends. One of those was Sign Shop Foreman Lyle Landstrom. Lyle told me that down at the South Dakota border thieves have cut down and stolen Welcome to North Dakota signs whose size are 4’ x 8’.

Highway signs are there for your safety and to provide information for the travelling public. Respect them and when you do see that they have been vandalized report that to the entity whose road or street you are on. A missing or destroyed sign can, and has, led to deadly consequences.

Goodbye for now. Remember, promoting the Old Red Old Ten promotes our towns, and always take time to talk to the cows.

Bennett Kubischta is the President Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee.

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REMEMBERING WEEKLY OLD RED TAIL ARTICLES BY DELORES KLUSMAN (9.8.1940 - 11.6.2019)

Stories of Thanksgiving

November 2023 By: Bennett Kubischta

As Thanksgiving nears, we will be completing plans for the gathering of our family and friends. As they have for over 100 years, guests will be travelling in motor cars and pickup trucks to our homes along the Red Trail. Be it a cold day or be it a warm and sunny day they will arrive and smiles and hugs will be given.

Pies will be made, potatoes will be mashed, and the turkey will be carved. As much as we enjoy the food, we enjoy more the conversations in the kitchen and around the table. The table in our house has been in my Judy’s family for 70 years. Within its wood it holds the stories of people who were born in three different centuries. Stories told by farmers and farm wives, preachers and teachers, musicians and athletes, nurses and a highway man (myself). You, the people of the Red Trail, your stories are within your tables and homes.

Like our tables, North Dakota’s most historic highway holds the stories of those who have traveled upon her ground. The Old Red Old Ten Scenic byway has followed the same route for over 100 years. The road knows your trips and the trips of your forebears. Your stories are ingrained in the dirt of the Red Trail.

As you gather in kitchens and around tables this Thanksgiving, remember and retell the stories of the past. Talk about Grandpa hauling wheat to the elevator and cattle to market. Talk about Grandma butchering chickens and then getting dressed in her finest to go to church. Talk about the football and basketball games played between the schools along the Red Trail. Talk about when your old Ford was parked along the road and you kissed your best girl for the first time.

Talk about the happy times such as when babies were brought home from the hospital. And especially talk about the sad times when friends and family were laid to rest. Always retell the stories of those who have passed before us. We must keep their stories alive.

Goodbye for now. Remember, promoting the Old Red Old Ten promotes our towns, and always take time to talk to the cows.

Bennett Kubischta is the President of the Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee.

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REMEMBERING WEEKLY OLD RED TAIL ARTICLES BY DELORES KLUSMAN (9.8.1940 - 11.6.2019)

Bridge That Boost Built

October 2023 By: Bennett Kubischta

            Shortly after Anton Westgard completed his 1912 pathfinding tour across the northern United States from New York City to North Dakota to Seattle this route became known as the Red Trail. What then followed was the realization from Red Trail business people and city officials that auto tourists will be travelling across the country and they wanted them to use this route.

            At that time counties were responsible for building roads and bridges. Those roads were little more than graded trails with cuts into hillsides and raised grades over low areas. Gravel surfaced roads were a rarity. Most streams were small enough for small bridges that counties could afford. Cass, Barnes, and Stutsman counties had the financial resources to fund bridges across the Red, Sheyenne, and James rivers. The bridge across the Missouri at Bismarck was so costly that it couldn’t be built until federal assistance became available.

            The Little Missouri River needed to be bridged for automobiles; but in the 1910s Billings County was a poor county and did not have the $15,000 needed to build a bridge. The North Dakota Red Trail Association took the lead in finding financing for the bridge. George Keniston of Beach, as reported in the July 25, 1916 issue of the Bismarck Tribune about the bridge dedication, was the man who “Got the men to get money.”

            Keniston went out and encouraged cities and counties along the Red Trail to help fund the bridge at Medora. His boosting of the bridge described the importance of this project to North Dakota and eastern Montana. Keniston’s efforts led to contributions from Fargo to Fallon, Montana. And this bridge became known as “The Bridge that Boost Built.”

            The Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway committee is much like Red Trail Association. As they understood then we understand today that a combined effort in promoting our byway is essential for our byway towns. Drawing a few of the thousands of travelers off of I-94 to view the buttes of the Missouri Slope, golf at our courses, visit our historic churches and museums, and interact with us at our coffee shops, gas stations, and saloons will benefit our communities.  

Goodbye for now. Remember, promoting the Old Red Old Ten promotes our towns, and always take time to talk to the cows.

Bennett Kubischta is the President of the Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee.

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Along the Red Trail North Dakota’s most Historic Highway

The US 10 Northern Pacific Underpass

September 2023 By: Bennett Kubischta

As we drive east from Glen Ullin to New Salem on the Red Trail we get to the intersection of Morton County Roads 139 and 87. Just ahead of us, as we look to the old bridge across the Big Muddy Creek, we see no visual clue that the underpass in this picture ever existed.

When the Northern Pacific Railway was constructing its railroad in the 1870s and 1880s they were using horses and manual labor to build the grade and lay the track. From New Salem they went southwest following a stream until they got to the Big Muddy Creek and then went northwest along that stream.

When the Red Trail was established in the 1910s the road followed the NP line from New Salem to Almont, to Glen Ullin. In the early 1920s, as road building equipment was improving, the North Dakota State Highway Department rerouted the Red Trail straight between New Salem and Gen Ullin.

Collisions between automobiles and trains were a huge issue across the United States in the early 1920s. To improve safety at these locations the federal government and the ND Highway Department undertook measures to eliminate at-grade crossings and construct separated crossings on the main highways across North Dakota. This underpass, which was completed in 1928, was the last at-grade crossing on US 10 west of Bismarck to be eliminated.

After World War II, advances in earth grading equipment allowed the NP to construct a cut-off route directly between New Salem and Glen Ullin. This reduced the mileage between these towns by 9 miles and decreased the travel time between them considerably. The cut-off was opened to traffic in December 1947. The last train on the Almont loop was the North Coast Limited passenger train on December 1st.

The removal of the underpass and the obliteration of the roadway was done so well that when future generations, such as us, drive through that location we cannot discern what was once there. Goodbye for now. Remember, promoting the Old Red Old Ten promotes our towns, and always take time to talk to the cows.

Bennett Kubischta is the President of the Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee.

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Along the Red Trail North Dakota’s most Historic Highway

The Beginning of the Old Red Trail

August 2023 By: Bennett Kubischta

Mid-Summer greetings to all. I am Bennett Kubischta, the President of the Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway and this story renews Old Red Old Ten stories that were written by Delores Klusman prior to her death in 2019.

In 1912, as automobile travel was becoming prevalent, the American Automobile Association hired Anton Westgard to map transcontinental routes across the United States. On June 11th, Westgard leaves New York City beginning his pathfinding tour. His plan was to make three cross country trips that summer and fall. The first route, which he called the Northwest Trail, went across the northern states to Seattle. With him on this journey was his wife and a driver.

From Seattle he went south to San Francisco, then east back to New York and then west again arriving in Los Angeles on November 25th. He traveled 12,768 miles in his Pathfinder 40 automobile and averaged 76 miles per day. The Pathfinder averaged 13.5 miles per gallon and used one gallon of oil every 200 miles.

In North Dakota’s west river country Westgard traveled through our Old Red Old Ten towns. He saw our farmers at work. He visited with our business people. And he might of watched a baseball game. When it wasn’t raining, his journey through our country went well. The most difficult portion of his trek across our state was in the Bad Lands.

In 1913 the American Trail Blazing Association started marking Westgard’s Northwest trail with red and white markers and the route was called the Red Trail. And the auto tourists began coming to North Dakota.

Goodbye for now. Remember promoting the Old Red Old Ten promotes our towns, and always take time to talk to the cows.

Bennett Kubischta is the President of the Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee.

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Articles by Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee members and remembering articles written by Delores Klusman, longtime committee member and volunteer (9.8.1940 – 11.6.2019)

The German Hiker

In June 2011, five young people began their walk across North Dakota. Beginning on June 3rd at Montana they reached Bismarck on June 16th.  Because of other commitments, they paused their hike and restarted on June 1, 2012 and completed their journey at the Red River of the North on June 13th.

Many of you likely saw them walking, encountered them in local cafes or saloons, or discussed them when you gathered with area folks that June. They wrote a book, The Walk Across North Dakota, about their journey which was published by NDSU Press in 2016.

They were not the first to walk across North Dakota. In the 1910s travelers on foot were not unusual. A Dickinson Press story on December 26, 1914 titled “German Hiker” began with “The Red Trail seems to be the route for hikers and long distance pedestrians as another lover of the sport visited our city last Saturday.”

That person was Reginald von Bruenig. A recent immigrant from Germany, von Bruenig had brothers serving in the German armed forces in the war in Europe that recently begun. Three of his brothers had been killed.

The United States official policy at that time of the war was neutral. Reginald von Bruenig wanted to help the soldiers serving in the conflict and decided that raising money for the Red Cross would be an appropriate way of helping them.

He proposed a bet that he could walk from Missoula to Chicago in three months. The bet was made with the University Club of Missoula. Business people put up $2,500. If Reginald makes it to Chicago before three months are up, $1,000 will be provided to the German Red Cross. If he doesn’t make it there in three months the $1,000 will go to the English Red Cross. The remaining $1,500 was to go a young lady in Missoula who was to marry Reginald when he returned from the hike.

There were strict rules that he had to comply with in order to win the bet, some of which were; He could not accept nor ask for donations. Any money needed to finance the journey had to be raised during the journey. He carried postcards that he sold along the way. Reginald had to obtain signatures of mayors in the towns he passed through and county officials in county seat town.

Von Bruenig carried a letter from the mayor of Missoula describing the purpose of the journey he was on. Reginald presented the letter to the local officials when he was obtaining their signatures. His travelling companion was a well-trained bulldog.

He entered North Dakota about December 17, 2014 and reached Fargo on the 31st. He walked across North Dakota in 15 days. The young folks in 2011/2012 likely followed close to the same route he hiked; but it took them 27 days in the summer. Von Bruenig walked across North Dakota in December. The average temperature in Bismarck for December 1914 was 7.3 degrees Fahrenheit. There are 148 years of data for temperature in Bismarck and December 1914 is currently ranked as the 17th coldest.

Reginald von Bruenig left Missoula on November 11, 2014 and had to be in Chicago by February 11, 1915. He arrived there on the February 4 a week ahead of schedule and won the bet. He took the train back to Missoula.

by Bennett R. Kutischta, OROT Committee Chair

February 9, 2022

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News

Backyard Bird Count

North Dakota is home to a large number of bird species, and many of them can be found in Morton and Stark Counties. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way to be involved in the world of birds and learn about the birds in our own backyards.

For a quarter of a century the annual Great Backyard Bird Count has been a bright spot for nature lovers. The 25th edition of the event is coming up February 18 through 21. Everyone is invited to join the count so their birds become part of a massive database used by scientists to track changes in bird populations over time. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Bird Canada.

“Sometimes people feel intimidated about jumping into the world of birds if they have no previous experience,” said Patrick Nadeau, president of Birds Canada. “The Great Backyard Bird Count is a wonderful way to get your feet wet, feel the warmth of the community, and start to realize the wonders in your own neighborhood. The tools and resources are free. And you are helping birds when you get involved.” 

Participants enter a new checklist for each new location or time of day during the four-day count. There are also tools and information on the GBBC website at www.birdcount.org to help new and returning birders.

Each participant counts birds for any length of time (but for at least 15 minutes) and reports what they see online. It’s easy for people of all skill levels.

A record number of participants joined the 2021 count. An estimated 300,000 people submitted checklists reporting 6,436 species.

To learn more about how to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, visit www.birdcount.org.  

For information about birding along the Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway, visit www.oldredoldten.org and choose “Birding” from the menu.