Title: North Dakota Oral History Project Records
Dates: 1973-1977
Collection Number: 10157
Quantity: 5 feet
Abstract: Consists of oral history interview transcripts, indexes to recorded oral history interviews, interview referral files, interview files, photographs, lists of donations to the Project, oral history interview transcripts relating to the Governor’s Mansion, family histories, biographies, reminiscences, and manuscripts. Most of the records document administration of the Project. Genealogical information and oral history interview transcripts make up the remainder of the collection.
Provenance: The State Historical Society of North Dakota acquired the North Dakota Oral History Project Records as a gift from project director Larry Sprunk in June 1977. Juliann Henriksen prepared the inventory to the North Dakota Oral History Project Records in January 1984.
Property rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to this collection.
Copyrights: Much of the material in this collection consists of state government records and is accessible to researchers under provision of the North Dakota Century Code, 55-02.1-08. Copyrights to other materials in this collection remain with the donor, publisher, author, or author's heirs. Researchers should consult the 1976 Copyright Act, Public Law 94-553, Title 17, U.S. Code and an archivist at this repository if clarification of copyright requirements is needed.
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnotes and bibliographic references.
Transfer: Twenty-seven publications were transferred to the Library in January 1984. A list of transferred publications and donors is located at the end of the inventory. One hundred ninety-three photographs donated to the project were removed from the records and transferred to the Photo Archives in January 1984. Over eleven hundred photographs of interviewees were also transferred to the Photo Archives.
HISTORICAL SKETCH
In November 1973 Larry Sprunk, the North Dakota Oral History Project director, submitted a proposal for the project to the North Dakota American Revolution Bicentennial Commission. The Commission approved funding for a seven month pilot program with the intention of providing additional support later under Bicentennial grant programs. Due to the lack of funds, the North Dakota American Revolution Bicentennial Commission discontinued funding the project at the conclusion of the seven month trial period. The North Dakota Farmers Union sponsored the project from July 1974 to June 1975 as their contribution to the bicentennial activities. In July 1975 the State Historical Society of North Dakota assumed funding for the project. The project was completed in June 1977.
The primary objective of the North Dakota Oral History Project was to conduct "oral tape recorded interviews with North Dakotans who have lived through the state's history and who can speak of this history from a first-hand basis." Interviewees were photographed at the time of their interviews. Photographs of interviewees are available in the Photo Archives. In addition, the project borrowed over 6,000 historical photographs which were copied and added to the State Historical Society's collection. Many interviewees also donated family histories, documents, letters, ledgers, books, and artifacts.
Sources: North Dakota Oral History Project Records, A157.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The North Dakota Oral History Project Records date from 1973 to 1977 and occupy five feet. The records are divided into ten series: table of contents, incomplete transcripts, former Governor's Mansion transcripts, referral files, signed releases, completed interview files, miscellaneous files, data sheets, donation and loan lists, and special collections.
The table of contents series serves as an index to individual interviews and consists of a list of subjects discussed by the interviewee with a counter number for the location on the tape. The table of contents is filed under the county where the interviewee lived. Approximately 30 per cent of the interviews do not have a table of contents.
The incomplete transcripts series consists of transcribed interviews which were edited for possible publication in North Dakota History. There are also editorial notes concerning the interest value of a particular passage.
The old Governor's Mansion transcripts consist of transcribed interviews which were conducted with people knowledgeable about the former Governor's Mansion.
The referral files are organized by region and consist of letters and forms identifying older residents who would be good candidates for an oral history interview. The forms provide the nominee's age, past occupation, address, and personality characteristics.
The signed releases series consists of a release form signed by the interviewee governing property rights and copyrights to the oral history interviews. The signed releases are organized according to the interviewee's county of residence.
The completed interview files consist of letters and forms relating to scheduling of oral history interviews.
The miscellaneous files consist of administrative files, original forms, press releases, correspondence, deed of gift forms, research notes, financial records, photograph loans, articles on oral history techniques, county nursing home information, and miscellaneous papers. The administrative files consist of the North Dakota American Revolution Bicentennial Commission grant application and correspondence regarding funding and support of the project. The research notes contain regional historical information gathered in preparation for oral history interviews. The financial records consist of sales receipts for equipment and vouchers. The photograph loans consist of a master list of loaned photographs that were duplicated and returned. The county nursing home information consists of a list of nursing homes in North Dakota.
The data sheets series provides names of interviewees, interview number, cassette size, town, county, time and an occasional interviewee obituary.
The donation and loan lists consist of a record of when a donation or loan was received, photocopied, and returned. The sheets are filed by county and interview number.
The special collections consist of family histories, biographies, autobiographies, reminiscences, documents, poetry, newspaper clippings, maps, correspondence, and manuscripts that were donated by a number of interviewees.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Series I Table of Contents, n.d., Box 1
Consists of a list of subjects discussed by the interviewee with a counter number for the location on the tape.
Series II Incomplete Transcripts, n.d., Box 1-2
Consists of transcribed interviews which were edited for possible publication in North Dakota History.
Series III. Old Governor's Mansion Transcripts, n.d., Box 2
Consists of transcribed interviews which were conducted with people knowledgeable about the former Governor's Mansion.
Series IV. Referral Files, n.d., Box 2
Consists of letters and forms identifying older residents who would be good candidates for an oral history interview.
Series V. Signed Releases, 1973-1977, Box 2-3
Consists of a release form signed by the interviewee.
Series VI. Completed Interview Files, n.d., Box 3
Consists of letters and forms scheduling oral history interviews.
Series VII. Miscellaneous Files, 1973-1977, Box 3-4
Consists of administrative files, original forms, press releases, correspondence, deed of gift forms, research notes, financial records, photograph loans, county nursing home information, and miscellaneous.
Series VIII. Data Sheets, n.d., Box 4
Consists of an information form listing the interviewee's name, interview number, cassette size, town, county, time and an occasional interviewee obituary.
Series IX. Donation and Loan Lists, 1973-1977, Box 4
Consists of a sheet recording when a donation or loan was received, photocopied, and returned.
Series X. Special Collections, 1885-1976, Box 4-5
Consists of family histories, biographies, autobiographies, reminiscences, documents, poetry, newspaper clippings, maps, correspondence, and manuscripts that were donated by a number of interviewees.
BOX / FOLDER INVENTORY
Series I. Table of Contents
Box 1:
1 Adams County
2 Barnes County
3 Benson County
4 Billings County
5 Bottineau County
6 Bowman County
7 Burke County
8 Burleigh County
9 Cass County
10 Cavalier County
11 Dickey County
12 Divide County
13 Dunn County
14 Eddy County
15 Emmons County
16 Foster County
17 Golden Valley County
18 Grand Forks County
19 Grant County
20 Griggs County
21 Hettinger County
22 Kidder County
23 LaMoure County
24 Logan County
25 McHenry County
26 McIntosh County
27 McKenzie County
28 McLean County
29 Mercer County
30 Morton County
31 Mountrail County
32 Nelson County
33 Oliver County
34 Pembina County
35 Pierce County
36 Ramsey County
37 Ransom County
38 Renville County
39 Richland County
40 Rolette County
41 Sargent County
42 Sheridan County
43 Sioux County
44 Slope County
45 Stark County
46 Steele County
47 Stutsman County
48 Towner County
49 Traill County
50 Walsh County
51 Ward County
52 Wells County
53 Williams County
54 Miscellaneous
Series II. Incomplete Transcripts
55 Ole Abelseth
56 John Baird
57 Dr. James Blunt
58 Oscar W. H. Bode
59 William Bosanco
60 Alfred O. Brown
61 Wilbur Chapin
62 Dr. Charles R. Chapman
63 Ivan Christianson
64 Alice Conitz
65 William E. Cook
66 Mrs. L. E. Correll
67 Matt Dahl
68 Ronald N. Davies
69 William T. DePuy
70 Ada Engen
71 Winifred Erdmann
72 Dr. M. G. Flath
73 Jim Gayton, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gayton
74 William L. Gipp
75 Earl Henderson
76 Rudolph Haugen
77 Mildred Isakson
78 Margaret Johnson
79 Ernest and Lena Kohlmeier
80 Grace Lambert
81 Stella Long
82 Mabel Lorshbough
83 Henry Martinson
84 Frank Meier
Box 2:
1 Dr. S. W. Melzer
2 H. C. "Hugh" O'Conner
3 O. Leonard Orvedahl
4 Janet Penny
5 Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Powell
6 Ray and Hilda Putney
7 Dr. John W. Robinson
8 Mr. and Mrs. J. A. (Burt) Rock
9 Ed and Olga Sherlock
10 Don Short
11 William L. Smith
12 Charles and Collie Stedman
13 Olaf Tagestad
14 R. P. Taralseth
15 Edith Thompson
16 Henry Timm
17 Clarence Tweet
18 Esther Vaagen
19 Al J. Vohs
20 Hanna Walther
21 H.E. and Francis Winzenburg
22 Gilbert and Pearl Wick
23 Ted and Ralph Williams
24 Ray Zinsli
Series III. Old Governor's Mansion Transcripts
25 Luella Aandahl
26 Mr. and Mrs. Jay Bryant
27 Marion Burke
28 John E. Davis
29 Mary Langer Gokey
30 Edna Moser
31 James Moses and Mary Jean Moses Schwichtenberg
32 Frances Kellogg Shafer
33 Louise Aandahl Stockman
34 Jack and Thelma Vantine and Emerson Liessman
Series IV. Referral Files
35 Region 1
36 Region 2
37 Region 3
38 Region 4
39 Region 5
40 Region 6
41 Region 7
42 Region 8
43 Region 9
44 Region 10
45 Region 11
46 Region 12
47 Region 13
48 Region 14
49 Region 15
50 Region 16
51 Region 17
52 Region 18
Series V. Signed Releases
53 Adams County
54 Barnes County
55 Benson County
56 Billings County
57 Bottineau County
58 Bowman County
59 Burke County
60 Burleigh County
61 Cass County
62 Cavalier County
63 Dickey County
64 Divide County
65 Dunn County
66 Eddy County
67 Emmons County
68 Foster County
69 Golden Valley County
70 Grand Forks County
71 Grant County
72 Griggs County
73 Hettinger County
Box 3:
1 Kidder County
2 LaMoure County
3 Logan County
4 McHenry County
5 McIntosh County
6 McKenzie County
7 McLean County
8 Mercer County
9 Morton County
10 Mountrail County
11 Nelson County
12 Oliver County
13 Pembina County
14 Pierce County
15 Ramsey County
16 Ransom County
17 Renville County
18 Richland County
19 Rolette County
20 Sargent County
21 Sheridan County
22 Sioux County
23 Slope County
24 Stark County
25 Steele County
26 Stutsman County
27 Towner County
28 Traill County
29 Walsh County
30 Ward County
31 Wells County
32 Williams County
33 Governor's Mansion
34 Miscellaneous
Series VI. Completed Interview Files
35 Region 1
36 Region 2
37 Region 3
38 Region 4
39 Region 5
40 Region 6
41 Region 7
42 Region 8
43 Region 9
44 Region 10
45 Region 11
46 Region 12
47 Region 13
48 Region 14
49 Region 15
50 Region 16
51 Region 17
52 Region 18
Series VII. Miscellaneous Files
53 Administrative File
54 Original Forms
55 Press Releases
56 Correspondence, A-I
57 Correspondence, J-R
58 Correspondence, S-Z
59 Deed of Gift Forms
60 Research Notes
Box 4:
1 Governor's Mansion Information
2 Financial Records
3 Photograph Loans
4 Oral History Techniques
5 County Nursing Home Information
6 Miscellaneous
Series VIII. Data Sheets
7 A
8 B
9 C
10 D
11 E
12 F
13 G
14 H
15 I
16 J
17 K
18 L
19 M
20 N
21 O
22 P, Q
23 R
24 S
25 T
26 U, V
27 W
28 X, Y, Z
29 Special Collections
Series IX. Donation and Loan Lists
30 Adams County - Grand Forks County
31 Grant County - Nelson County
32 Oliver County - Williams County
Series X. Special Collections
33 Henry Anderberg - correspondence, 1942; 1944; 1968
34 Carol Anderson - letter, 1910
35 Alice Arnegard - reminiscences
36 Enid Bern - reminiscences
37 Joseph L. Bina - biography; document, 1896
38 Mary Bishop - family history; documents
39 Boschee - autobiography
40 Frances Braaten - family history
41 Edward V. Brown - stock certificate, 1921
42 Mrs. Fred Bryans - family history
43 LeRoy Burnstad - correspondence; documents, 1905-1908
44 Alice Conitz - family history
45 Eva Connors - "South Prairie Saga"
46 Eva Connors - "Pictures of South Prairie"
47 G.M. Christensen - manuscript
48 Mary Christopherson - reminiscences
Box 5:
1 Gilbert S. Cryne - poetry
2 Gilbert S. Cryne - poetry
3 Peter Deutscher - reminiscences
4 Mrs. Alfred Domier - manuscripts
5 John Leslie Easton - reminiscences
6 Martha Espeseth
7 Ralph Fisher - family history
8 Fred Fleck - "Personal and Family History"
9 Clifton Foye - account book, n.d.
10 Mr. and Mrs. Charles Friese - reminiscences
11 Inga Geinager - family history
12 Anders Hagburg - family history
13 Lillian Haig - reminiscences
14 Sybil Hall - reminiscences
15 Ernest Halverson - miscellaneous
16 Mrs. Minard Halverson - newspaper clippings
17 Jean M. Hill - Valley City records; an account sheet and Christmas greetings
18 Rudolph Hoefs - reminiscences
19 Lewis Hoffman - mine location maps
20 Mrs. John Holbach - postmaster appointment
21 Mrs. Martin Holter - family history
22 Bernard Hultstrand - reminiscences
23 Fred Jeffries - "Washburn and McLean County"
24 Clarence Jensen - "Life of Elling and Hannah Jensen"
25 Cliff Jensen - Tales, 1896
26 Harvey Jenson - reminiscences
27 Frank Johnson - Dickey County newspaper list
28 Fred Kurle - reminiscences
29 Lee Leftwich - "History of Early Days in Sidney Township"
30 Edwin Leiby - letter, 1885
31 Issac and Dora Loeppke - family history
32 Oscar Lund - letters discussing family history, 1971-1976
33 George and Myrtle McHugh - "Mapes, D.T."
34 Harriet MacDonald - family history
35 Walter Martin - family history
36 Mrs. George Mitchell - family history
37 Mrs. Olaf Moen - family history
38 Gordon Olson - military documents
39 Ole A. Olson - poetry
40 Ole A. Olson - poetry
41 Mrs. William Overby - "Glimpses Into My Past" by Morten Mortenson
42 Mr. and Mrs. George Overn - periodical clipping
43 M.G. and Ida Pederson - autobiography, "History of Baldwin Township"
44 Kathryn J. Peters - song sheet "Our Hilltop Home"
45 Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Pierson - family history
46 Mary Pittsley - "Western North Dakota An Introduction to a Far County" by Rev. Ronald Korfmacher
47 S. Anne Preszler - "St. Mary's Catholic Church"
48 Ray Putney - poetry
49 Esther Rode - "Adrian: Just Passing Through" by Paulette Rode
50 Jennie Schindler - Indian stories
51 Otto Skager - family history
52 Horton Starke - land information
53 Charles Stedamn - "Early and Later History of Business Establishments in Sheyenne, ND"
54 Mrs. James Sullivan - "Pioneering in Eddy County 1854-1954"
55 Louis Thorstad - documents
56 Ernest Utke - family history
57 Joseph Volk - "Oral History of St. Anselm's Church"
58 Al J. Vohs - reminiscences
59 Mrs. M.E. Walsh - military documents
60 Meade D. Ward - military documents
61 Ole Watne - biography
62 Jacob P. Westby - Fairdale, ND history
63 Thomas B. White - "Narrative of James Sweeney"
64 Opal Wothe - "Prairie Smoke Tayles"
65 Philip Woutat - "Pioneer Medicine" by Dr. W. H. Witherstine
MZ-22 Margaret A. Johnson History of William Charles Johnson and Wife Catherine and Their Descendents, July 1970.
MZ-17 Solveig J. Stedseth Echos, Anna O. Bertinuson, 1962
LO-16 John Gross Schmaltz Family History, 1971; Gross Family History, 1970
WE-15 L.W. Bower Just An Ordinary Family, Mary Twist,
TR-19 Wallace Haugom Diamond Jubilee, 1882-1957, Portland, ND
TR-5 Peter O. Paulson The Evenson-Moen Family, 1785-1958
TR-2 C. Norman Brunsdale "Facts about North Dakota's New Laws."
RI-19 Rudolph Hoefs Area Fact Survey, Hankinson, North Dakota, 1964
OL-10 Ralph Hickle My Family Tree - Seven Generations High, Sherman Hickle, 1952
DU-20 Grace Smith The David Juzeler Family
DU-1 Mrs. Harold Lee The David Juzeler Family
DI-20 Mrs. Alfred Johnson Seventy-Fifth Anniversary - Our Savior's Lutheran Congregation, 1884-1959, Clement, North Dakota; Fortieth Anniversary - St. John's Lutheran Church, 1905-1945, Oakes, North Dakota
BI-14 Hazel Schlangen Along Paupay Creek, Hazel Bendix Schlangen
BA-24 Mrs. John O. Hanson Thanks Be To God, 1885-1960, The 75th Anniversary of Eidfjold Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hannaford, North Dakota and St. Olaf Evangelical Lutheran Church, Walum, North Dakota.
BA-22 Jean M. Hill The First Sibylline Book of Valley City High School, 1907
BA-8 George & Esther Overn Kathryn Alumni, 1925-1975; Kathryn, North Dakota 75th Anniversary,1900-1975; Seventy-Fifth Anniversary, 1886-1961, Waldheim American Lutheran Church, Kathryn, North Dakota
St. Pauli Lutheran Church, 1903-1953, Kathryn, North Dakota
Unknown The Chenoweth Trailblazers
RI-10 John Barner Poems, Agnes Stowell Pinkney; Vocational Adjustment of Ex-Prisoners in the District of Columbia, Sister Helen Angela Hurley, 1938.
Resources of Dakota, Commissioner of Immigration, 1887
RM-6 Mrs. Minard Halverson "Historic Ramsey County."
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