North Dakota

Ronnie Oldham's Travels Across America
North Dakota

My first trip to North Dakota was while I was selling grain storage for Agra-Sun back in 1979. Mostly, I called on grain farmers in the central and south eastern parts of the state. It was summer and I did make several sales, so it ended up being a pretty good experience. One of the best parties that I've ever stumbled into was the big Mother's Day bash in Jamestown. Chris Hilditch, a friend from childhood, and I slept in my Thunderbird one night by the dam. We awoke to a snow covered car when a car load of girls pulled into the parking lot. They asked if we were going to the Mother's Day party, so we said "sure" and it ended up being quite an event. We met someone who owned a local liquor store. Well, let's just say there are a few stories from that party.

I also did some oil well drilling in the Williston area near the Montana border a few years later. Joe Hesse, Dave Rainey (friends from Decatur, IL that moved to Oklahoma to work in the oil field) and I made our famous trek to the Williston Basin via the Rocky Mountains. We didn't stay long or work a lot, but it sure was an adventure, from a gas tank leak in the car to the incident at a local bank.

I really did start to explore North Dakota until the USAF gave me an assignment to Grand Forks in 1984. People would say that the hunting and fishing opportunities were the highlight of their assignment. I found the rivers to be mostly muddy and slow. There were lots of extremely large mosquitoes. I did catch a few walleye and northern pike, even though I generally had to drive a fair distance. The best trips were the pheasant hunting trips with Dick Haynes and Howard Smith (civilian friends that lived near the base). These are pictures from a river / camping trip with Dick and Howard.

321 CSG - Grand Forks AFB - My Job
Living in Grand Forks, ND
Pheasant Hunting in North Dakota

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