Diane Boit: Mandan celebrates the Fourth, 1899-1999

25 Years Ago – 1999

For more than 40 years, Main Street Mandan has been closed to make way for the Jaycees' Fourth of July Parade. Angling down Memorial Highway and heading three miles west on Main Street, an estimated 35,000 area people lined this year's parade route, featuring more than 150 units, including floats, covered wagons, horses, gymnasts and dancers, clowns, a variety of musicians and the usual array of "decorated" farm equipment. The parade was led by the color guard, the MHS Marching Band and the Grand Marshal, Ken Ciavarella, longtime Mandan Junior High teacher who rode in one of Dan Kraft's prize Mustang classic cars. This year's parade theme, "Round Up of the Century" was chosen in honor of the upcoming Millennium.

Recognized as the top parade floats were Dakota Community Bank as Most Original; M & H Gas, the Best Development of Theme; Dakota Star Gymnastics as the Best Non-Commercial float; and Karrington Assisted Living as the Best Commercial entry.

The 18th annual "Art in the Park" collection of more than 112 booths lined the Burlington Northern Park on Main Street on July 3rd and 4th. Artists and crafters came from throughout North Dakota, plus South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, California, Texas, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri, offering all types of crafts such as apparel, foil art, lawn furniture, birdhouses, paintings, jewelry, leather items and stained glass. And more than 23 food booths offered a wide variety of snacks. "It's truly a gastronomical food experience," said Del Wetsch, events coordinator and executive director of the Mandan Progress Organization.

In an addition to the booths, continuous daily entertainment was offered to the public, with Steve Harmon as Master of Ceremonies, and included folk and country music, jugglers, Jazz Masters, the Larry Olson Comedy show, Preston Schmidt on the fiddle, along with Heather and the Thistles, a drum and pipe band out of Fargo.

It was perfect weather conditions for this year's 42nd annual JC rodeo where more than 125 bulls and horses provided from more than 10 contractors entertained the nightly crowds. Other popular rodeo features were the chuckwagon races, which made its first appearance in 1998, and the "circle of death," pitting six "brave" local businessmen against a charging, curious bull, with the last man standing winning the pot of entry fees.

As in the past years, the Fourth concluded with a giant $4,000 display of fireworks at the rodeo grounds. However, this year at 11 p.m., it was time to relight and dedicate the Bismarck area's longtime favorite icon, the Weather Beacon, on top of the Provident Life building. And then it flashed Red... "no storms ahead!"

Temps recorded Monday, July 5: a high of 77 degrees; 58 degrees for the low.

50 Years Ago – 1974

The Mandan Jaycees completed the latest renovation of the rodeo grandstand a week before the beginning of the annual three-day rodeo July 2-4. The crew added 1500 seats to bring the total seating to more than 4,000. The task was headed by committee co-chairmen, Dale Schmidt and Don Rychlik, assisted by Gary Kincaid and Bob Paul. The renovation of the wooden grandstand began in 1972, with a third of the seats being reconstructed each year.

This year's Miss Rodeo Mandan is Jamie Ann Johnson, 18, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Art Johnson, Rt. 2, Mandan. She is a 1974 graduate of Mandan High School and will compete for the title of Miss North Dakota Rodeo in November. Jamie also holds the title of Miss Mandan Horse and Saddle Club.

Some 40 units signed up for the Mandan Jaycees parade, including the Marine Mounted Color Guard, the Liberty Heights Kitchen Band, the Mandan Elks' clowns, vintage cars, buggies and tractors, along with plenty of horses, courtesy of the newly formed Seventh Cavalry group. According to parade chairman Bob Wuttke, this year's parade began, as usual, at 3 p.m. at the west end of Main Street, continuing east across town to its conclusion at the viaduct. After the parade, onlookers were invited to a giant public barbecue, served by the Mrs. Jaycees in Burlington Northern Park, across from the Lewis & Clark Hotel. Admission to the feast was just one dollar or a Rodeo Booster button purchased earlier in the week.

Thousands of people gathered at the southside grandstand each afternoon and evening for the annual Mandan Jaycees rodeo which offered three days of competition between 210 men and women for a piece of the $5,700 purse. A packed grandstand shared the excitement as three cowboys tied for top place in the popular bull riding event with scores of 59 each: Jody Luger, Fort Yates; Fred Berger, Mandan; and Ron Keinzle, Steele. This year's ladies barrel racing champ is Marcy Lang of Mandan. Her time was one-tenth of a second faster than Elgin's Linda Haas. Jolene Berger of Mandan was third with a time of 19 seconds, six-tenths of a second behind Lang's winning time of 18.4 seconds. Other rodeo events included: bareback riding; steer wrestling, team roping, calf-roping and saddle bronco competition.

South Dakota's Truman Kongslie served as the daily rodeo announcer, while Tex Riehl, of Carson, provided the lighter moments in his third year as rodeo clown. Pickup men were James Mosbrucker and Toby Backsen.

Temps recorded Friday, July 5: a high of 95 degrees; 57 degrees for the low.

75 Years Ago – 1949

The 1949 Mandan rodeo broke all records for attendance with estimates of at least 44,000 people attending the five performances. (The combined population of Mandan and Bismarck was 25,938.) Although Saturday's 107-degree day held the crowd to less than 3,000, the 10,600 seats all around the arena were occupied for the other performances, with an overflow crowd during the final day attracting at least 12,600 people. Ross Dollarhide, Lakeview, Oregon, won the title of "all-around rodeo cowboy" with 750 points, winning first place in bareback and bronc riding. Manuel Enos, Fort Worth, Texas, claimed second in the overall rating. The Sims Horse and Saddle Club is North Dakota's new stake race champion, being awarded the Breslin trophy. Eight other teams competed: Hebron, New Salem, Youngtown, Bismarck, Mandan, Flasher, Wing and the defending champion, Almont.

Chief of Police Earl Vredenburg estimated a minimum of 20,000 people lined the streets of Mandan on the Fourth to see the parade, led by Governor Fred Aandahl on a gorgeous prize-winning palomino horse, wearing a bright blue satin shirt and ten-gallon hat, and full cowboy regalia, in the place of honor between the "Colors," carried by Frank E. Wetzstein, a director of the Mandan Rodeo Association, and Leo J. Cremer of Big Timber, Montana, the world's largest rodeo rancher and producer. It was with extreme difficulty that the police escort of motorcycles, cars and marching policemen kept a lane open through thousands of spectators who jammed the line of march through the business district for a glimpse of the main attraction, Gene Autry, rodeo, radio and movie star, who sauntered slowly down Main Street upon his famous horse Champion, greeting everyone with a wave of his white hat, making it possible for amateur camera operators to snap a good picture. Autry's graciousness and smile kept the line of march moving at a snail's pace, resulting in the parade lasting more than two hours, instead of the predicted one.

First prize for parade floats went to Cloverdale, Mandan Creamery and Produce Co.; second prize went to the Ranch House; third prize, to Connolly Chevrolet; fourth, to Blue Ribbon Hatchery, and fifth, to the Elks Crippled Children's float. The $100 in prize money was divided five ways.

Another celebrity arriving during Mandan's Rodeo Days was an unexpected guest. Ralph Bunche, internationally known diplomat and the current United Nations mediator, spoke in Mandan and Bismarck earlier in the week regarding his work with the recent turmoil in the Far East. He and his wife and three children were persuaded to remain in Mandan for the parade, and he was invited to speak to the packed grandstand before the final rodeo performance. After receiving an official rodeo cowboy hat, he and his family joined the crowd to experience their first "Wild West Rodeo," which Bunche characterized as "America at its best!"

Posing for pictures, never losing his smile, signing his name in autograph books- all these things were part of the day's work for Gene Autry. An outstanding incident in the Saturday parade was the stopping of Autry and Gov. Aandahl at a nearby station wagon to autograph the book for a little girl, wearing a cast up to her arm pits. Another kid in a wheelchair was given similar attention by the police escort and the two parade leaders.

When Autry took time off from the Mandan rodeo to visit handicapped children at Camp Grassick, his visit there was also a reunion with Camp Director Edward Agre of Bismarck. As a member of the special services unit on the West Coast during World War II, Agre drove Autry by station wagon as he entertained from camp to camp, and they became good friends. While at Camp Grassick, Autry visited with more than 70 handicapped children, signed autographs and sang several of his well-known songs.

Births announced this week: daughters, to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Koppy and to Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Karls, all of Mandan. Born on the Fourth of July, a son, to Mr. and Mrs. John Doll, New Salem.

Temps recorded Tuesday, July 5: a high of 73 degrees; 59 degrees for the low.

100 Years Ago – 1924

"The week ending July 4th was a whirlwind of activities, featuring the annual roundup rodeo, the State American Legion convention, a boxing extravaganza at the fairgrounds, the dedication of memorial plaques at the Missouri bridge, the unveiling and dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt statue and last, but not least, the annual Fourth of July festivities.

"The statue of Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider, was presented to the city of Mandan by Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, of Portland, Oregon, who served as mayor of Mandan in 1888 and was a good friend of Theodore Roosevelt. The bronze statue was commissioned from prominent sculptor Alexander Phimister Proctor who created similar Roosevelt statues for the cities of Portland, Oregon, and Minot, N. Dak. The statue, depicting Theodore Roosevelt as a Calvary Colonel in the Spanish-American War atop a spirited horse, was unveiled by little Miss Meredith Lanterman and accepted for the City of Mandan by current Mayor A.O. Henderson. The unveiling ceremony followed a spectacular parade in which roundup cowboys, service men, citizens and friends of Roosevelt played a big part and which, even included the old Mandan-Deadwood stagecoach.

"On hand to witness the dedication were the following representatives of the Roosevelt family, including Mrs. Theodore (Edith) Roosevelt, stepdaughter, Mrs. Alice Roosevelt Longworth, three sons and one daughter and their spouses - Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Kermit Roosevelt, Mrs. Ethel Roosevelt Derby, Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt's sister, Mrs. Corinne Roosevelt Robinson.

"On Thursday, July 3, visiting Legionnaires gathered at the Missouri bridge for services arranged by the Mandan and Bismarck chapters of the American War Mothers to dedicate the two native rock boulder monuments, one placed at each end of the bridge. A bugler on the east side blew "Assembly," followed by the invocation by Rev. Fr. Slag of Bismarck as the crowd sang "America" accompanied by the Mandan Municipal Band. Gov. R.A. Nestos delivered the dedicatory address, and the monument to "Our Sons and Daughters who served in the World War" was unveiled. Crossing to the west side of the bridge, the band played the "Star Spangled Banner," the audience sang "America, the Beautiful" and the monument on the west side was unveiled and dedicated to the buddies who "Went West." Rev. Owens delivered the benediction, followed by the bugler playing "Taps" to conclude the ceremony."

Temps recorded Saturday, July 5: a high of 86 degrees; 59 above for the low.

125 Years Ago – 1899

"On Wednesday, July 5, the mercury climbed to a high of 76 degrees; 55 degrees was the low.

"Not that there was any lack of patriotic fervor burning in the hearts of the Mandan people for the great day that gave this nation an anniversary; not that there was an absence of patriotism, national interest or national pride, but there existed a sentiment that other towns and localities should be given an opportunity to do the demonstrating this year, and the Mandan people would aid them. The result was that a large number of Mandan folks went to Bismarck; many others traveled to Glen Ullin, Hebron, Fort Rice and other points.

"Various picnic parties were organized in Mandan, and the day was pleasantly spent. Most of the business houses on Main Street were tastily decorated in red, white and blue bunting. In the evening there were fireworks at a number of the private residences, along with other patriotic decorations throughout the city indicating the day was dear to the hearts of all. In fact, everyone in the city gave some evidence of the observation of the 123rd anniversary of our national independence."

Diane Boit can be reached at .