We Celebrated!

 We celebrated this Christmas season with all the immediate family able to come at the same time.

Newspapers

When I went to the barbershop the other day I had to wait a few minutes while the barber finished with a customer. On the counter sat a daily newspaper, The Minneapolis Star Tribune.  It seemed to be waiting for me to pick up and page through since it had been quite awhile since I had held a real daily paper in my hands. I enjoyed turning the pages. This is not to say I don’t read a daily paper since I subscribe to four of them, two in-state and two national. But here’s the rub, they are digital. Holding a paper in hand like the one in the barbershop encourages a slower, deeper concentration of reading experience for me. Digital versions just aren’t quite as comfortable.

Since we have available so much reading material in our home, it’s been very tempting to make some choices and drop one or two. One of the subscriptions considered for dropping was the Bismarck Tribune, but something occurred recently that changed my mind. The Tribune was the subject of a takeover by a company named Alden Global Capital that made a bid to buy Lee Enterprises, which owns them along with about 100 other U.S. newspapers. 

The management of the Lee company did some maneuvering I don’t quite understand, but it succeeded in making themselves undesirable for the outside company to own. This was important because Alden has the reputation of firing staffs down to bare minimum and sucking out profits and assets. As it stands, the Tribune is a good paper and because of their action to keep the wolves away, I decided they are worthy of my support.

Newspapers and other news media hold a strong place in a democracy. They’ve been called the Fourth Estate, the first three being Legislature, Executive, and the Judiciary. Citizens of this country have a right to know what’s going on with the other three which makes it essential for the media to tell us.

 

A book by Doris Kearns Goodwin - The Bully Pulpit - clears the way for me as a citizen to understand the importance of journalism in relation to governmental affairs. It outlines a transformative period in our history, especially so with the parts covering “The Golden Age of Journalism.”  

The foremost politicians of the period were Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, but a journalist named S. S. McClure and his staff caused significant change at high levels. McClure employed investigative reporters, namely Ida Tarbell, Ray Baker, and Lincoln Steffens who successfully uncovered the crimes of robber barons, corrupt politicians, and corporate exploiters of our natural resources. Their reporting gave rise to the term “Muckraker Journalism.”

What was Ida Tarbell’s involvement? Her father had been a small independent oil producer who found the rates suddenly and arbitrarily double on shipping his crude oil by rail. John D. Rockefeller was behind it, a move designed to choke competition and set him on his monopolistic ways. The Smithsonian Magazine states it clearly, “Tarbell would redefine investigative journalism with a 19-part series in McClure’s magazine, a masterpiece of journalism and an unrelenting indictment that brought down one of history’s greatest tycoons and effectively broke up Standard Oil’s monopoly.”

Her father’s bankruptcy rankled her and caused Tarbell to say of Standard Oil, “They had never played fair and that ruined their greatness for me.” She got on Rockefeller’s case and her investigative reporting made Americans realize Rockefeller was a man who drove honest men from business. As a result Standard Oil was broken into baby Standards; he was stung by it all, calling Tarbell “that poisonous woman.”

Ray Baker began to notice a growing tension between labor and capitalists, and his work along that line caused McClure to hire him. Baker developed strong empathy with the working man and reported on the strike brought by workers of the Pullman rail car company whose wages had declined while stockholders dividends increased. In another instance he traveled to Colorado and reported on what he said was “corruption & bribery on the part of the corporations & violence on the part of the strikers.” Where other reporters glossed over details, Baker reported accurately.

Lincoln Steffens was one of these original “muckrakers,” and wrote newspaper and magazine exposés that gave journalism a new purpose, a voice in American democracy. He is especially noted for his reports on the workings of corrupt political machines in several major U.S. cities. They inspired reformers in other cities to address the corruption that plagued their city halls.

Other journalists earned their place in what is called the Progressive Movement. Jacob Riis wanted urban reform, Ida B. Wells sought Civil Rights, Florence Kelley fought for rights of working women and children, John Spargo wrote of the horrific working conditions of child laborers. Upton Sinclair has to be mentioned as the author of The Jungle which told of the unsanitary conditions in the meat packing industry.  

The importance of journalism reveals itself when reading the works of the previously mentioned writers who worked during this period. Both presidents that Doris Kearns Goodwin writes of in the book became supporters of the Progressive Movement and much legislation improving working conditions occurred during their terms in office. Changes occurred with domestic policies, promising the average citizen fairness, breaking of trusts, regulation of railroads, and pure food and drugs. As I mentioned earlier, this was a transformative period in the United States brought about because of exposing through the pens of journalists. That’s what I was reminded of when I held the barber’s newspaper in my hands.

Learning at the Nome School

We made our first visit this recent Saturday to the Nome Schoolhouse to check out their Makers Mart featuring vendors of handmade items. I’ve been wanting to enter and see the school where my dad and many of his siblings attended for a few years. Upon entering I made the wooden stairs squeak and groan like any of the buildings of this type but must say the owners have done a great job in making the over-one hundred year place presentable and usable. While much space was given to exhibitor stands in the building, one room housed a collection of interesting artifacts related to the city and the school. 

I wanted to verify the age of the building to settle my mind that this building was indeed the school building which Dad’s family members attended. A couple of men were standing in there who might know. I asked, “Either of you guys know when this building was built?” The one spoke right up “1916,” and when he found out my name said, “You’re Lynn Bueling, I read your article in the paper all the time.”  We were off to a good start. 

He had been looking at an old 1928 Barnes county atlas opened to Raritan Township. “Right there is where the Buelings used to live on Carl Lindemann’s place.” Turned out he knew quite a few stories about my family, and I will contact both gentlemen in the future for more.

Upon opening a 1984 Barnes County history book I stumbled upon something I’d not seen before. Dad had submitted a family history for the book. Among other things he wrote,
“Charles Bueling first came to North Dakota in 1900 to work on a threshing crew in the Alice, N.D. area. After coming back several seasons, he liked the area so well that he stayed on. His younger brother, who had traveled with him, returned to Wisconsin to take over the blacksmith business they had established earlier. Charles married Ottilia (Tillie) Menge in 1907, and they started farming in the Alice area. Then they moved one half mile north of Nome where they lived from 1922 to 1927…” So that information established the dates of my family connection to Nome.

 

There was more to see and do so we started roaming around the building and found it filled with vendors and then lingered by a pen of two alpacas in the gym area. About that time a family with three small kids came along and were lined up against the pen for a group picture. Those kids were all three smiling ear to ear and I wish now I’d have taken their picture standing there in front of the alpacas, too. But it was time to eat a lunch which we found in a nice sunlit room. We’ll probably return next year.

***

Perhaps a mention of the death of Bob Dole is in order. When I heard of his passing, I took a bit of time to find something memorable about his time as a U.S. Senator. I learned  of the stalemate in Congress that blocked passage of any bill regarding Social Security during the remaining months of 1982. It was at this point that Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) stepped up and led a bipartisan compromise that ultimately allowed passage of support.

Dole said, ”…and I have learned in my own life, from my own experience, that not every man, woman or child can make it on their own. And that in time of need, the bridge between failure and success can be the government itself. And given all that I have experienced, I shall always remember those in need. That is why I helped to save Social Security in 1983 and that is why I will be the president who preserves and strengthens and protects Medicare for America's senior citizens.” That quote stands on its own.

His death brought back a memory. I had just finished my first year of teaching and was approached by a farmer at Bowdon who invited me to travel south with his crew to Kansas for the wheat harvest. I agreed and drove one of the trucks with a combine loaded on my back.  As we traveled down U.S. 281, we came into Kansas where stone fenceposts started appearing north of Bob Dole’s hometown of Russell, Kansas. I remember the location because a large billboard proudly proclaimed him as a hometown boy.

I had never seen or heard of such a thing as stone fenceposts in my young years and marveled at the sight. Here is what the Kansas Historical Society says about them.  “In 1862 the Homestead Act opened the way for the settlement of the plains. People with varied backgrounds were drawn to the dream of relatively free land. The fact that much of central Kansas was treeless created numerous problems for early settlers. A significant problem was finding a means by which to enclose portions of the free range.”

Fields of sandstone lay close to the surface and resourceful people realized it could be cut quite easily and planted in the ground to hold wire like wooden posts. I saw them 56 years ago, and while I’ve not seen them still in use, someone told me they are. 

Speaking of combine crews, that wasn’t the only time I went with one into Kansas and Nebraska. The next two summers found me on another one, this time with the Larson Brothers from Enderlin. This is worthy of mention because a hale and hearty and ready-to-go combining again Chet Larson just celebrated his 90th birthday at a party we were able to attend. Happy birthday, Chet!

 

Nome Schoolhouse

 We made our first visit yesterday (Saturday) to the Nome Schoolhouse to check out their Makers Mart featuring vendors of handmade items. I’ve been wanting to enter and see the school where my dad and many of his siblings attended for a few years. Upon entering I made the wooden stairs squeak and groan like any of the buildings of this type but must say the owners have done a great job in making the over-one hundred year place presentable and usable. One room housed a collection of interesting artifacts. I wanted to verify the age of the building and a couple of men were standing in there. One was looking at an old 1928 Barnes county atlas opened to Raritan Township. He asked my name and said “Right there is where Buelings used to live on Carl Lindemann’s place.” Turned out he knew quite a few stories about my family. The building was filled with vendors and the dining room served light lunch. A couple of live alpacas stood in their pen, too. Included are a few pictures.

Stone Posts

 The recent death of Senator Robert Dole brought back a memory. I had just finished my first year of teaching and was approached by a farmer who invited me to travel south with his crew to Kansas for the wheat harvest. I agreed and drove one of the trucks with a combine loaded on my back.  As we traveled down U.S. 281, we came into Kansas where stone fenceposts started appearing north of Bob Dole’s hometown of Russell, Kansas. I remember because a large billboard proudly proclaimed him as a hometown boy.

     I had never seen or heard of such a thing as stone fenceposts in my young years and marveled at the sight. Here is what the Kansas Historical Society says about them.  “In 1862 the Homestead Act opened the way for the settlement of the plains. People with varied backgrounds were drawn to the dream of relatively free land. The fact that much of central Kansas was treeless created numerous problems for early settlers. A significant problem was finding a means by which to enclose portions of the free range.”

     Fields of sandstone lay close to the surface and resourceful people realized it could be cut quite easily and planted in the ground to hold wire like wooden posts. I saw them 56 years ago, and while I’ve not seen or heard if they are still in use, I presume some of them are. 

 

It Might Be Called a Hobby

It might be called a hobby. Whenever I run across someone’s original thinking, I copy some of it for future consideration onto any notebook or scrap of paper I can find. The best way to describe what I mean will be to enter a few here and state why they deserve some extra attention.

A favorite was written by Larry McMurtry of Lonesome Dove fame. He said cowboys, after reading the stories, attending Roy Rogers movies, and watching tv westerns, became influenced  by their own imitations. Media told them this was the way they’re supposed to look and act and so they fell in step.

This influence is alive today. A recent magazine ad begs, “Get the Yellowstone Look,” and enjoy the classic Western wear in the style of Kayce Dutton. I’ve never watched the Yellowstone tv program, but Dutton must be the man. We can even buy a copy of his black distressed hat for a bargain price of $539. They’ve even thrown in the dust and grime. I still laugh at the story told by the manager of the bookstore in Medora who told of one fellow who walked in fully garbed with hat, long duster, and boots with spurs. When he turned to leave one of his spurs got caught up in a bookshelf.

Unfortunately, the copycat culture extends into other significant areas. Gunplay almost always found its way into these stories. It has carried into contemporary crime stories, and now we have more guns than people. I won’t say any more about that.

A line from a Springsteen song called “Glory Days” rings true to me.  In the lyrics he visits with an old friend who in his younger days must have been a good fastball pitcher. He sings, “all he kept talking about was Glory Days, well they’ll pass you by…” 

I hear it as the song of a once-successful athlete who never got beyond the glory, never made it past the cheers of the crowd, hadn’t made much of himself and craved those days. Yes, they are out there plodding along in their dead-end jobs and craving the positive attention of the old days.

In a magazine called “Texas Monthly” a reporter had gone to Willie Nelson’s place where he sat visiting. In a nearby field he spotted a car “cutting cookies” and driving wildly in weird patterns. What in the world? Willie said it’s just Stevie Wonder driving. Even though he had a passenger with him to keep him from running into fences or tipping over in some steep ditch, he was otherwise free to steer with wild abandon. We can imagine the thrill a blind man felt to temporarily leave his restricted lifestyle and feel the speed. If in doubt just imagine it could be true.

“Don’t be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people’s thinking,” said Steve Jobs. Maybe this has become a pet peeve, but when on Facebook, we cannot find much in the way of originality. To copy and paste someone else’s thinking is the common format and pronouncing it as true makes them happy. Political hazing comes too easily. If someone  digs or slams a politician they don’t like, they copy and paste it on their site and it continues to be passed along. The well-known writer Edward Abbey might’ve called this “…the ideology of the cancer cell.”

To conclude, we’ll look at an unlikely pair of gentlemen who raised the art of reasonableness to heights we seldom see of late. John Wayne, a Republican, and Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, did not see eye-to-eye with their politics. But after the 1976 election which Jimmy Carter won, Wayne promptly sent him a mailgram “congratulating the loyal opposition.” 

The night of January 19, 1977, he spoke briefly but with great elegance at the preinaugural reception: “Good evening. My name is John Wayne. I’m here tonight to pay my respects to our thirty-ninth president, our new commander-in-chief—to wish you Godspeed, sir, in the uncharted waters ahead. Tomorrow at high noon, all our hopes and dreams go into that great house with you. For you have become our transition into the unknown tomorrows, and everyone is with you. I’m pleased to be present and accounted for in this capital of freedom to witness history as it happens—to watch a common man accept the uncommon responsibility he won ‘fair and square’ by stating his case to the American people—not by bloodshed, beheadings, and riots at the palace gates. I know I’m considered a member of the loyal opposition—accent on the loyal. I’d have it no other way.”

Carter was asked to write the foreword in the biography John Wayne: The Genuine Article. He stated, "During my time in office, his correspondence, notes, suggestions, and criticisms sent my way were always respectful and heartfelt.” He went on that he was pleased to sign into law the bill ordering that a specially designed gold medal be struck in John Wayne’s honor out of gratitude for his innumerable contributions to the nation.

He further stated he was pleased and honored to visit Duke during his final stay in the hospital. Writing that foreword in 2012, his concluding words still ring true: “John Wayne frequently disagreed with me - in fact, he didn’t even vote for me. And yet, I considered him a supporter, and I was certainly an unabashed fan of his.”

R.I.P. Bob Dole

 Senator Bob Dole was an effective U. S. Senator. I learned this morning of the stalemate in Congress that blocked passage of any bill regarding Social Security during the remaining months of 1982. It was at this point that Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) stepped up and led a bipartisan compromise that ultimately allowed passage of support.

Dole said, ”…and I have learned in my own life, from my own experience, that not every man, woman or child can make it on their own. And that in time of need, the bridge between failure and success can be the government itself. And given all that I have experienced, I shall always remember those in need. That is why I helped to save Social Security in 1983 and that is why I will be the president who preserves and strengthens and protects Medicare for America's senior citizens.”

R.I.P. Senator Dole.