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Title: Mandan Creamery and Produce Company - History Contest Records
Dates: 1933
Collection Number: 10008
Quantity: .25 ft
Abstract: Correspondence, reminiscences, and historical sketches relating to North Dakota submitted to the creamery as part of a history contest.
Provenance: History Contest entries were turned over to the State Historical Society of North Dakota in 1933.
Property rights: The State Historical Society of North Dakota owns the property rights to the collection.
Copyrights: Copyrights to materials in this collection remain with the donor, publisher, author, or author's heirs. Researchers should consult the 1976 Copyright Act, Public Law 94-553, Title 17, U. S. Code and an archivist at this repository if clarification of copyright requirements is needed.
Access: This collection is open under the rules and regulations of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Citation: Researchers are requested to cite the collection title, collection number, and the State Historical Society of North Dakota in all footnote and bibliographic references.
From the Mandan Daily Pioneer, February 28, 1933:
“OFFER $100 IN PRIZE ESSAY WRITING EVENT
A “pioneer stories” contest, based on events of North Dakota’s early history, is announced today by the Mandan Creamery and Produce Company, which sponsors the contest in conjunction with the State Historical Society.
Any frontier story of territorial or early statehood is eligible for the contest, and any person may submit an entry, officials of the two organizations declare. The stories may be written in any language, and should not exceed 1,000 words.
The contest extends only during March, it is pointed out, and all entries should be mailed to the Mandan Creamery and Produce company before March 31. All contest entries should be typed or written in ink on one side, of white, standard letterhead paper.
Stories must be titles “Interesting Facts of the Pioneers” and need not be personal experiences, officials point out, the source of the information and incident should be given in the story.
The contest is sponsored in the hope that it will uncover information concerning early days of the state, or that it may reveal some new source of pioneer information, creamery officers say. All entries will be submitted to the historical society for adoption into state history. All incidents written for the contest, they point out, are aiding state history compilation and permanent recording of deeds and men in the early days.
Personal experience or first hand information are desired in the contest, and in addition the effect the events chronicled exerted on the advancement, and development of early communities of the state.
Not only pioneer memories of immigrants from Iowa, Wisconsin and other states are desired, but also those of emigrants who came to North Dakota from Europe in the early days. By allowing stories to be written in any language, creamery officials believe they are furthering this aim.
Russell Reid, Bismarck, superintendent of the historical society, H. K. Jensen, superintendent of Morton county schools and R. C. Newcomer, county agent, will judge the stories. Their decisions will be accepted as final.
One hundred dollars in prizes are offered for the contest, ranging from $25 for first Prize, $20 for second place, $15 for third place and $10 for fourth honors to six prizes of $5 each for places from fifth to tenth.
Contest announcements and progress will be included in the creamery “Old Timer’s hour” from 8:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. (M.S.T.) every evening on KGCU.”
W. S. Bates of Bismarck won first prize for his story about his experience working for the Northwestern Stage Express which operated between Fort Lincoln and the Black Hills in 1877.
BOX / FOLDER INVENTORY
Box 1:
1 Contest Correspondence 1933
2 Contest Entry A-D 1933
3 Contest Entry E-H 1933
4 Contest Entry K-O 1933
5 Contest Entry P-W 1933
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