Definition: Scavenger - A person who searches through and collects items from discarded material.
A yearly dance takes place each year in
Mandan called something like Trash Pick-up Day. The
price of a ticket sells cheap. All you have to do is set unwanted
items on the boulevard (those that normally don't get picked up on
regular garbage pickup). Then what happens is that you - on the
night before – look out your picture window and see empty pickups
driving slowly along the streets. They seem to be searching for
something. This is proven when they stop and out jumps someone who
scans your pile, inspects a treasure, and throws it in his pickup.
There is a variation or two. On the night before our scheduled, the
door bell rings and there stands a young lady with a self-conscious
grin on her face. “This might sound like a dumb question, but I
was wondering if you'd mind my taking that white set of shelves out
there.” “White set of shelves? Mary, did you throw away any
white shelves?” “Well, no, but you can take anything out there.”
So the three of us walk to the front of the house, and there is
a set of white shelves, but that's not all. Someone also graced our
junk pile with a large treadmill. Plus a few other things. The next
morning I'm still shaking my head as I walk out, but to my surprise
the treadmill is gone. Someone picked it as a treasure. All before
the trash truck made its rounds. I can't wait for next year.
…
I
gained another occupation. Last Friday I volunteered to help in an
archaeology lab at the state historical society. One nice piece came
to light in the bag of screenings I was given: a rim shard, ie, piece
of a broken pottery piece. It was kind of nice, about 3 inches
square with some nice decorative work on the edge. How old? Between
300 to 500 years old.
The
best part about Friday was when I arrived, they asked if I wanted to
join a tour going through the new addition to the Heritage Center.
Sure, I did. What a building it will be when finished!
…
The
archive library keeps yielding interesting tidbits for me. Here is
one from Sheldon's old newspapers, 1909: A. H. Laughlin and
son Leigh of Lisbon autoed up from the county capital on Tuesday, but
before reaching town, the machine began to buck and they had quite a
time reaching their destination. After their arrival the machine was
put under the care of auto doctor Geo. Severson, who finally got it
in shape to resume its travels but not till the shades of night had
fallen, so the return trip was postponed till the following day. Mr.
Laughlin is accumulating material for a history of the early days of
this portion of the state and is full of reminiscent stories of that
period. The Progress man acknowledges a pleasant call and an
addition to his stock of historical knowledge.
My personal library
contains Laughlin's History of Ransom County, and an
interesting one it is. He writes Okiedan Butte is a noted high
mound on section 35, Island Park township, five miles south of
Lisbon, as it is near the crossing of the Fort Abercrombie and Fort
Ransom, Fort Sisseton and Fort Totten military roads, and the
Overland Oregon Immigrants' Trail. Colonel Creel, of Devils Lake,
then in the United States regular army, in the early sixties [note –
that would be 1860's] had his command surrounded by an immense herd
of buffalo and had to wait several hours for them to pass. He stood
on Okiedan Butte for over four hours with his field glass, watching
the herd pass. It was a solid moving phalanx extending in every
direction beyond the vision of the glass. He estimated the herd at
several hundred thousand...
Here's one more
interesting story : Miller to Move Against Sheriffs - Attorney
General of North Dakota Declares He Will Clean Up “Bad Spots” -
Sheriffs of several counties in North Dakota are promised special
attention in a short time by Attorney General Andrew Miller who is
the nemesis of the illegal liquor trade in this state. Miller
announced that he would move in a short time against the sheriffs of
counties where violations of the law are most flagrant...
Apparently too much turning of a blind eye was taking place at this
time regarding liquor. Maybe one of the sheriffs was the one that
called my grandpa and told him he was coming out to see if he had a
still, the still which immediately got hid in the cupola of the barn.
North Dakota was admitted as a dry state in 1889 and liquor sales
were illegal until repeal in 1933. What was a thirsty man to do?
…
If you think you've
got it tough, read a history book!
