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Family Stories
A potpourri of stories about various family members or events
Fargo Home
Introduction
Why did we move to Fargo? While our family was in Michigan, Dad was working on a graduate degree in biology, though I am not sure if the target was a Ph.D. or a Master's degree. In the story Leaving Michigan, the reasons why he left there with (only) a Master's degree for St. Cloud are covered. He taught at St. John's University starting in the fall of 1958 until the spring of 1965 (so six years there). He then was hired to teach at St. Cloud State College in their biology department. Some time in the 1967-1968 academic year, his department chair, Harold Hopkins (later to become my father-in-law), told Dad that for him to be eligible for tenure, he would need a Ph.D. since a bubble of biology PhDs was working its way through in the near future (hitting in the late 1960s and early 1970s). I don't know if this was a formal contractual situation, but both Mom and Harold told me that Dad was told that if he could come back with a Ph.D. in biology in two years, his position would be held, but otherwise not. This was a reasonable expectation since Dad had already done some work in studying the changes in habitat in the Garrison Reservoir area and floodplain regions before the dam. (The last statement I am not as sure about as the first. I know that starting in about 1965, we started spending time in Riverdale, ND, near the dam.)
As the reader may know, Dad did not complete his degree in two years, but it took him four years. Both Mom and Dad had a stressful time in Fargo; in particular, Dad was likely depressed as he worked on finishing his dissertation. I am sure it was stressful for the kids that lived there then as well, for a variety of reasons. Dad really loved to teach, and from what I have heard from others (faculty and past students), he was good at it. So it was particularly hard when he finished in 1972 that there was a glut of PhDs seeking academic positions. I don't know if he even actually applied for any; do you know? He did not take a job in academia, but one in the corporate world (namely with Northern States Power (NSP), now Exel Energy). Did Dad make a mistake in not finishing his degree in the allotted two years? What do you measure? As I point out in Sometimes Plan B is Better, it was likely significantly better for Mom's life that he worked at NSP, only measuring the economic benefits. However, despite him giving up his love of teaching, he also loved research, and my observations (limited - maybe you might have other viewpoints) were that he thrived at his work those ten years of working for NSP. He had a great relationship with Sharon, his colleague. I worked with him on some projects, and I found him energized. When everything is measured by some reasonable set of standards, I think things actually worked out better for him and his family. What do you think?
How is that for a long-winded answer? I gave it in part because maybe some readers might not have any clue what was happening. So that is why we moved. The move took place sometime in August, 1968 so that Dad could start classes on time and so could those of us in school (which involved all the kids, at this point). We packed things into a large U-Haul truck and into the Travelall. Dad drove the truck (with 2 kids likely), Mom drove the Travelall (with 2 kids likely), and Ken hung on for dear life as he rode his (size and power?) motorcycle that could barely (if that) match the minimum speed on I-94.
We moved to 601 S. University Dr. in Fargo. I used a label maker and put that address on my "firebox" that I bought there to hold the coins I found from my paper route. Since I still use that box, I continue to see the address. Nonetheless, it somehow stuck with me also since it was the first "address" that I have lived at (if one can discount rural route #1). This was a corner house at the intersection of a not-so-busy sixth street and a quite busy U.S. 81 highway. (Do you remember when these used to go through cities?) There was an alley at the end of our lot, and there was a large garage on our lot, though the doors appeared not to be very functional. Across the street to the north was the Allen family. There was a girl named Virginia (I think) that was about my age, and Lou remembered another named Veronica (though maybe they are the same). I played HORSE with Virginia a fair amount in the latter years using the hoop attached to our garage. West of the Allens was another family with kids about our age whose last name was Tollefson. Ron was the name of one child. The neighbor to our south, on the other side of the lilac hedge, was the Bruns family (though some kids had the last name Cassette due to a second marriage on the mother). There was a girl, Melanie, whom I knew the most and was the only person over there who seemed to operate in a sane fashion. I recall a number of times that we would play badminton in our backyard. If a mis-hit caused the shuttlecock to go over their hedge, Mrs. Bruns would take the birdie and stuff it down her rather large brassiere and then declare that it was now hers. I am sure there were other people in our neighborhood that I knew, but none come to mind now. No, another just did. Across the alley but to the north, the Ellsworth family lived, and there was a girl named Janet there who was in my fifth-grade class, and I think an older girl that Becky knew.
Ken took this photo in 2025. It looked more beat up when we lived there, and now the basement appears to have access on the north side rather than the west.
When we moved, Ken was starting ninth grade at South Senior High (not sure how far away, but some distance), Becky was starting seventh grade at Agassiz Junior High, a few blocks south of us, I was starting 5th grade as the last year at Jefferson Elementary (walking about 7 blocks W-NW), Louie was starting fourth grade there as well, and Bruce was starting Kindergarten there also.
Layout of the home
Rough floor plan of the main level.
Based on my memory, I drew the above floor plan. It was quicker doing it with a pencil than using software. A quick tour. Access from the front takes one up some steps to a porch, and then the front door was on the left side. My memory was that the porch was screened in, but I am not at all sure. Thoughts? (There is no screen in the photo that Ken took.) When one comes in the front door, there was a nice set of (oak) stairs that were fairly wide and had a landing halfway up where it turned 90 degrees. More later about what was up there. The other option from the front door was a fairly large living room, though I think my diagram makes it look too large. Maybe I am missing something. That opens up into the dining room. I think there was a door off both the living room and the dining room to our parents' bedroom. I think they had one of the doors blocked, but I don't recall which (but I guess the living room). In fact, I don't recall ever being in their bedroom, though I must have at some point. The kitchen was connected to the dining room and was basic but functional. There was a back door by the kitchen and also a set of stairs to go downstairs. It was just about 5-8 stairs down (with hooks on the side for coats) and then a landing and a 180 turn. There was also, I believe, an outside door there at the landing. From the back door, there was a large back porch that had vertical supports, but no sides, then about 5 steps down. There are several photos with us plucking down feathers from some ducks. There was then a sidewalk to the garage door, and the hoop was right above the door, I believe.
The upstairs floor plan I think was fairly symmetric (both east to west and north to south) with a bathroom on the south side and three bedrooms on the other three sides. I know that in a 1969 visit by Keith, I was in the north side bedroom, though surely not alone.
I don't have much memory about the basement, but I know that there was a laundry area, furnace, likely a pantry, but it was quite musty and humid (from my memory). Any help from anyone?
Questions for readers who might know:
1. There must have been a bathroom downstairs since I don't recall Mom or Dad coming upstairs. Thoughts?
2. Does my description of the upstairs need any modification?
3. Can you improve my description of the basement?
As an aside, but still relevant for our next move, we did not leave our Haven township home empty. We rented it out to a manager of the downtown Red Owl grocery store, and they vacated it for our return when we were ready. My recollection is that the house seemed to be taken care of well while we were gone.
Published 2026-07-22.
If you find any errors in the text, please let me know. Thanks. Contact me with errors or comments using hibbardac@gmail.com. [Back to the top] [About the author, Al]