Category Archives: Around Bismarck-Mandan

Glorious shade of winter

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Who says that winter has to be devoid of color? Not I. I don’t even recall where I spotted this barn at sunset, but I sure am glad I did. In fact, the only reason I say that this was a sunset photo is that I vaguely remember pointing my camera eastward when I took it. Boy, I should have had fewer concussions in my active youth!

Your message here

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I spotted this empty sign on a drive south of Bismarck yesterday afternoon. I risked getting the truck stuck in the mud as I eased off the roadway into the ditch, determined to get the shot. I eased slowly onto the grass, bolted out and slogged over to the fence, and did my photographic duty. I dashed back to the truck and started rolling again before the tires could sink into the mud, and eased back out onto the road as if nothing had happened. Then I got to home satisfied that my “long way home” travel route had paid off.

My encounter with the Whirling Chicken O’ Doom

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I’ve wanted to take a crack at photographing this chicken at the Village Mart in south Mandan for a while but wasn’t sure about how to treat the photo. I opted for a late night monochrome shot with plenty of grain. I don’t know if it makes it look spooky but my eye likes it. No actual chickens were harmed in the production of this photo…that I know of. The chicken ain’t talking.

And the walls came down

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The title of this post is inspired by one of my favorite early 80s songs by The Call. It seems appropriate since the building pictured above ws very important to me during the early 80s. While many people know this building as the Boneshaker Coffee, Epic Sports, Simply Salads building, or (heaven forbid) the CineBar building, its most important function for me was as the Dakota Twin Theater.

The last movie I remember seeing in this building was Sylvester Stallone’s “Demolition Man” with a bunch of friends from the karate dojo. My most vivid memory of the place was a lady who worked the ticket counter with iron-fisted notoriety. In the early days of the PG-13 rating, she was an unapologetic enforcer of what we kids thought was age discrimination. She was the gatekeeper between those things certain kids wanted to see and what the rules allowed them to see.

While I wasn’t inclined to sneak into movies rated for more mature audiences, I did look extremely young for my age (and still do). That was a problem even for a PG movie; without a parent present, I could have a hard time getting a ticket! Oh, the tribulations of youth.

I was more saddened when the Dakota Twin closed and the building remodeled than I am to see its shell finally coming down. The real tragedy for me was when it ceased serving its purpose as a movie theater, one for which it was solely designed. It wasn’t suited for much of anything else, which is why I believe it sat vacant for so long. Now it will be replaced with something else, but for me the demolition really began many years ago.

By the way…while I was outside my truck looking for a good angle with my camera, my four year old rolled down his window and shot the above photo from his booster seat in my truck. I didn’t have to level it, crop it, or anything aside from a slight color correction. I couldn’t be more proud of my little boy’s knack for photography! I have not taught him anything per se, choosing instead to simply hand him a camera and wait eagerly to see how life appears to him through the viewfinder. It appears he’s a natural!

Lunchtime excursion

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I had some errands to run over lunch a while back and figured I might as well grab a quick photo along the way. It may not look like it, but this old telephone pole is actually right on the edge of city limits! It took five minutes to get to it, leaving plenty of time to maneuver for the right angle and polarizing filter to take a pleasing photograph. It was a nice accent to an already good day.

Sadly, this old postcard just got a lot more relevant

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This is one of the old Bismarck postcards in my collection, and it is particularly noteworthy because the hotel it features suffered a terrible fire in January. The postcard was issued by AAA a long time ago. It lists the hotel as “1 Mile East of Downtown Bismarck on Highway US 10 & 83”.

It’s sad to see parts of Bismarck-Mandan history pass, isn’t it?

Our favorite Bismarck-Mandan Christmas display

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If you like Christmas celebrations, certainly you’ve passed by this house near the intersection of Kennedy Avenue and N 23rd Street. If you haven’t, you only have a couple more days in which to check it out! It’s worth your time.

This display gets better every year, with familiar characters placed strategically around the yard. I like to think that this version of the Grinch is the one after his heart grew three sizes that day!

Of course, the stars of the show have to be the abominable snowmen…not one, but two! The original big guy now has a little Mini Me monster to keep him company.

Some of you may recall that some chowderhead(s) stole the head off the big snow monster a year or two ago. Not only has the big guy been repaired, but I’m told that security measures are in place. Hopefully nobody tries it again, but if they do I hope they get a beatin’!

Let’s not forget the real reason for Christmas, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. No Christmas display, no matter how elaborate, would be complete without a nativity scene.

A sign out front invites passers-by to get out and walk around, taking in the sights. The weather was pretty decent so I accepted the invitation to take my little boys out for a walk. They loved the whole display (and the free candy).

It’s nice to see the display still going strong for a few more days after Christmas. I’ve always liked continuing past Christmas Day until the New Year’s holiday has passed before taking down Christmas decorations and getting set for another eleven months of waiting. If you need one mroe little shot of Christmas cheer, don’t hesitate to take it all in before the displays get stowed away!

Get your favorite Christmas display “on the map”

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View 2010 Bismarck-Mandan Christmas Lights in a larger map

I’ve recently started a Google Map of my favorite Christmas displays in order to share them with anyone else who loves taking ’em all in. Enjoy, and check back for updates.

If you know of a display that you feel should be on this map, send me the location either with a comment on this post or by using the “Contact Me” link on the upper right of this page.

If you are reading this on one of the website that syndicates my blog, you’re going to have to come directly to bismarck-mandan.com to do it.

Merry Christmas!

A few local attractions I miss this Christmas

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If you’ve traveled up or down Northview Lane this Christmas season, you’ve likely noticed that the giant pine tree isn’t decorated from top to bottom and that the lit menagerie is conspicuously absent from the yard in which it stands. I’m told Dr. Hamar sold this house, which has some worried because he was known as the organizer of Northview’s decorations. Let’s chip in and rent a lift or bucket truck for the new owners, eh?

This tree along north 4th Street was one of my favorites but I haven’t seen it lit or decorated this year.

When I was at Fort Lincoln tonight I didn’t see any decorated blockhouses. This display was lit by a generator running inside the blockhouse. What a cold hike that was…but photographically worth it!

Of course, who can forget the Schaff house, south of Mandan? Sadly, Paul Schaff announced a couple of years ago that he was done with his amazing display, one which could be seen from the Seven Seas and a good stretch of Interstate 94.

I don’t think I ever photographed the Anderson building on west Main Avenue when it was decorated, but I’ve come to expect the Christmas decorates to be lit around the top of the building. Tonight it was dark.

While driving around with my best friend tonight we were pondering that the number of decorated homes has declined steadily each Christmas. On a limo ride earlier this week I noticed that we really didn’t have many Christmas lights to see, other than at Sertoma Park and the Northview area. Hopefully this trend reverses.

As we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth, don’t let the lack of lights get you down…I sure won’t. Sure, it’s fun to get into the spirit of the season by means of festive decorations, but they pale next to the true meaning of Christmas.

Beacon burnout, and a quick Weather Beacon history lesson

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I couldn’t help but notice that a portion of the Weather Beacon isn’t lit, at least when it displays red. Despite the title of this post, I doubt it’s actually a case of “burnout.” That’s a term used most accurately for light bulbs, and I think the Beacon is now sportin’ a whole lot of LEDs. One section of the red ones appears to be malfunctioning. Bummer.

So…that thing doesn’t really make the weather…does it?

It was fun to joke about that during my KFYR days. The TV station control operator (me, five nights a week) was in charge of changing the weather beacon to reflect the updated forecast throughout the broadcast day. On our program log in the control room, in between entries for commercials and programs, were occasional reminders to update the weather beacon.

There was a panel in the weather room with six buttons on it: red, white, green, flashing red, flashing white, and flashing green. These switches are still in a rack at the TV station, even though they are have not been connected to the Beacon for quite some time. Last I remember, the KFYR Radio control guys switched it by dialing a phone number (no, I’m not posting that here).

The poor Beacon almost faded into history in 1997. It was showing its wear, and the cost of modernizing it was prohibitive. That was, however, until KFYR Radio rode to the rescue. Phil Parker and Mark Armstrong headed an effort to Save the Beacon!

At this time, Meyer Broadcasting was still intact. While I was hard at work on the TV side of the building, I also freelanced the website for KFYR-AM Radio. As part of the campaign to save the Weather Beacon, we had a couple of pages on the website urging people to help donate.

You can click here to see the original Save the Beacon page from my archives. Yeah, the Web has come a long way.

The campaign was a success in that it raised money toward the Beacon’s restoration, increased public awareness of its plight, and served as a rallying cry to its rescue. While the entire cost of the Beacon’s renovation was not raised, its importance to the community was indisputably proven. Through a matching grant from local government and plenty of donations, the project was underway.

As part of the KFYR website, we were happy to post that the Beacon would be saved. Cliff Naylor did a report on the Beacon that aired as part of a live telecast from the roof of the Provident Building, atop which the Beacon still sits.

You can click here to see the post-campaign page from my archives and watch the video.

As I recall, and the details in my head are quite murky, the Beacon was restored but still had some gremlins. I believe it was then refitted one more time and has functioned ever since. None of it would have been possible without Phil and Mark. To this day, the controls reside with KFYR Radio instead of the television station. In fact, why don’t you call the PH Phactor on KFYR 550 AM and ask Phil about it?

Oh yeah…the t-shirt. We had t-shirts made, and I still have mine. It has caricatures of Phil Parker and Mark Armstrong on the front, and a key to understanding the Beacon on the back:


Weather Beacon white as snow, down the temperature will go.
Weather Beacon red as fire, temperature is going higher.
Weather Beacon an emerald green, no change forseen.
When colors blink in agitation, there’s going to be precipitation.

Provident Life used to sponsor TV spots featuring the Beacon and its rhymes. Since they’re no longer doing business there, the ads don’t run. That means that the weather beacon itself is somewhat obscure now, with newer Bismarck-Mandan residents unaware of its history. For those of us who have lived here a long time, it’s good to see the weather beacon standing tall. No matter what the forecast, there’s something great about seeing it red in the spring, green when things are just right, and white when Thanksgiving and Christmas approach. Thanks to everyone who helped keep it up and running!