It was a sunny September day in 1965. I didn’t exist yet, but my friend’s dad did…and so did his camera. Lawrence Welk and his orchestra flew into Bismarck to, as James Grimstad put it, a “royal turnout.”

I haven’t much to say about the event, since I wasn’t there (or anywhere), but I do have to pay tribute to my friend’s dad Jim. I barely knew him before he passed away of Alzheimer’s, although I had the opportunity to know him better. It was only after his passing that I realized he and I were such kindred spirits. It seems he never went anywhere without his cameras over the years, and has left an astonishing and irreplacable photo legacy. Now I really regret not getting to know him better and talking about his photos with him, helping him relive the moments he captured.

Through an enormous gift of grace, I’ve been entrusted with much of that legacy and hope to preserve it in its entirety. You’ll see many more peeks into Bismarck history through his lens here on my blog throughout the years, as he has decades of unique photos of memorable events. His work will live on.