We got a wonderful town here. We got everything they got black tail. We got everything it's hard to get along. I mean to get acquainted but after you're in you're in or you'll know everybody's he when you go someplace with you. You can send you don't say goodbye there. Good morning or nothing. If you do just look at you like what the hell is the matter with just the right size town? We don't have all of that corruption and everything you want. Maybe we everybody knows everybody's business, but that don't make no difference. That's one of the 1368 residents who considers Mott North Dakota is home. This is one program in a series called our hometown exploring the values and character of life in small towns in North Dakota is programs are produced by Minnesota Public Radio Station k c t m with funds provided by the North Dakota committee for the Humanities and public issues under this program. You'll hear white folks enjoy living in mott and longtime resident Oscar Buehler gives his personal history. The interviewer is John ydstie establish the name marks the spot. And we don't like the second line, which is God forgot because that only happened in what is known as the dirty thirties. Since then we've had the marvelous crops. And a good cattle production. So it's now kind of laughable, but we like the slogan marks the spot. Cuz when you go up on the Prairie. I think you become acclimated and accustomed to it and you learn to like it and I've haven't been here all my life, but I accept it as as being natural. We go to the mountains a lot in I have a feeling after I'm there for a 2 or 3 weeks. That I long to look further a greater distance probably because of the long time of childhood and Young Manhood in the open Prairie that sticks that stays. So I'm always happy to get back when I see a long-distance. We're so happy to get back after we go on a vacation. I can remember my brother standing up in the car as we came home from a trip. He stood up in the backseat. And yelled when he could see. Here we come. He was about 4 years old. He had the feeling right then. Here we come. We live out here because we love the Open Country. We love the Clean Air. We love to see the stars at night. And we love to see our neighbor and we enjoy just this part of the country. We like the hills. We like The Buttes we like it just as it is that's why we're living here and don't get the idea that we wanted to stay just like this because we're all Progressive people and we do change with the times when we do always start new thing, but we love the Elbow Room out here and that's why we're here you see like this way of life. We can walk into like the hotel here and there probably isn't 10 people in here. We don't know, you know. You'll say hi to all of them and it bothers me when I walk into a place and I can say hi to somebody, you know antelope in Fox and I don't know I just I just like it out here. It's it's so free. And I don't know you can see the sunshine when it comes up in the day and see the stars at night enough to worry about Smog and you know breathing and are lung disease and all this stuff is free and clean. And is Matt the spot that God forgot. I think the people are very friendly. I think your lifestyle is quite a bit different. It's not a hard-nosed work work work attitude to a lot of people. It's a easy-going life. We all work don't kid yourself run out here like it was put in 16 18 hours a day when we're running. but it's a a lot different from more flexible way of life. Our attitude of the people here for instance you come in you set down out here in the coffee shop June and I've done this myself lots of times and see a stranger sitting there and if he doesn't look like he's going to bite your head off you sit down and you talk to him or you see us out here some coffee friends since you walk in and and you can set any Booth, you know, you just sit down and talk. There's a good family life around here. I never heard about the divorce rate has very little compared with the rest of the country that is unique that there is a good strength and family life here. And that's where your strength of the society lies is with your family or friends. No greater than what the people individuals that you associate with saw. And I think this whole Southwest area to me. It's got a personal touch in it. the feeling the people have the the wedding is the The confidence I know where are you? Where do you want at a condo and blank are special group of people that lived on this area. I've always felt that the people in the my area and the surrounding towns were special. We've been very active in many organizations. We've gone to the regional state and National meetings and I have never attended a meeting her mods been represented that they haven't come home and it with a special order recognition of some sort. I think we're kind of a special breed of doors feel good doing you can leave something like that in an area no matter where you at what meeting you're at? And what size Town your you knows. Leave a little bit of mock there and you remember any respect? I think that speaks well to visit for the community. That you see a poor child growing up in a small town you grew up in the city very obvious and very lovely lack of sophistication. You know a real innocence and sincerity that you just don't find other places. They're happy that they're much more Carefree without being careless. There's dishes the real Joy of life that I think they have here particularly and more more. So with the youngsters who come from the farm. You know, they know what work is all about and they know the fruit of their labors and and they can enjoy and appreciate from that point of view and voice in my company and we went overseas together. We were very good friends, but I found out that they felt a little sorry for me because they were fortunate to live in New York and I live in a small town in North Dakota Symphony one day. One of them was telling me What do you have in mind? He said though he knew exactly what he was going to do someday when he was a success when he had it made you said he had a place all picked out where you can move out of New York and live up in the Catskills and enjoy a little hunting and fishing and things like that. I said to you can't do that. Now don't know if you know being a new yard get to too expensive and too far and take too much time. But he said that's what he's saving up for and I said, you know something you're going to work a lifetime so you can live the way I live every day that I can walk out of town with my shotgun and go hunting I go half a block down the river or similar distance and fish I can walk to the airport and fly my own airplane, I know I can walk about a mile to the golf course. All these things I can do and I are part of my daily life. I want to minutes to get to my office. My former law partner went to Los Angeles he drove. 45 minutes every morning in 45 minutes every evening through the world's worst traffic just to get to work you work 2 hours another words everyday. You're more than 2 hours where I can play. Send wife a pig. Why is Nick Regal disturbing? I was Twenty-One years-old a 7th of July in 1911. What was Matt like in those days? Too much yet setlist. I had quite a lot of business places that had eating places hotel accommodations restaurants. She's a railroad got in the hall before show the things start to bloom be of course not started to grow in 19 5. That's when that's when the people started to come. homesteaders and business started to build Brown started this tan. He was a big land. They learn. He started my hands in Odessa and flasher one of the first buildings after the hotel is there office. The owner on Main Street sells at the post office. Radio shop is in Harold radio. Where did mr. Brown come from Chicago? I need help. Please homesteaders or knowing where were most of them from. Wisconsin from from South Dakota not too many but the Indiana and Wisconsin was a really the most in the first place that came here. Most of the people who lived in that motor States was the land was all gone Nevada family. There was nothing to pick up around there anymore until they came. Turn off Dakota another big land boom and 19. Well round 1914-15 into the air than a lot of people came in again. Talk to you. homesteaders out American from Rotterdam, South Dakota You might say all over closer states there quite a few German Russian people. How did they get here? Did they come as a group North Russia? And then they some of them wanted to Canada first. Some of them came here. Most of them went to South Dakota first. Then may starve to come up here to see. There was a couple of families are ranchers west of town. that got some of them paid that way from Russia. Call me or nothing at work for him and sheep herders and such. Would like to happen and then one rounded to the other and got the others to come and see what they call a shame that this District. Rizal. Russian German they were all Catholics and that was another settlement. Orica Newburg, they were promising German Russians they started out they both build a big church if that's how they got here. I know they live in the group. I mean they didn't come as a colony. Sherman people. Play American eyes. Michelle has right away. They all want to be citizens and they learn how to read and write and talk the American language with a Russian German. First aid. There are people a lot of them couldn't talk a word. I used to drive out to their place and you'd say something English to make it throw up your shoulders. but now it's different the younger generation are all Americanized but regular German Russian people they didn't try to American autism sellers affidavit like that didn't Russia cook like they did in Russia and everything is it didn't try to be all they wanted to be Americanized enough that they can get Landon. If they got their citizenship papers. I don't know how they did it because most of them. Didn't even know who the president United States was even people that came here just as bad as born in this country. I work for Scandinavian family. They talk Norwegian to each other all the time that Bullock was born in, Iowa. My favorite person in the world. That's all I have to know how to talk a couple languages, but you don't have to do it. Just to hang on to it, so I should be Americans. I had to have Norwegian church have to have German church. And I know something they don't do that anymore. That's all gone. They can't find them kind of preachers anymore. But as long as I could talk. Russian German or Norwegian pretty storm. I ain't got nothing to Norwegian people get don't get me wrong or German people are Russian people. But if they're going to live in the United States, Are there still people around you speak a lot of German Russian or Norwegian? It is invited was. A lot of people come tomorrow and work during the summer and then they left especially after harvest start to harveston. We would have about a thousand extra Men ship in here. So the Harvest is Hayfield, you know, I stay of us three months and then I got everything done thrashing and all life. They left again. They were all pretty good guys once in a while everyone. Try to get a little smart, but we had. Have a good Law and Order. We always had a Police in town you known. They were respectable man. I just come here to work if we needed extra help I get some of them dollars are known if they didn't want to go out on the farm lot of Megan load up and down water tanks. Cookin and somebody to go pick him up and he doesn't like it then come back heaven, but they'd work a few days and no one play a little poker and Some of them didn't ever come to work. They've come to play poker USA. We always had a pretty decent sort of a town. people or congenial and friendly and everybody was in the same boat whether you was a businessman or a labor. Where is I would say we was one happy family in the early. It is much better than this today. I mean people were more. Working together it's different when living in a different age young people are different much different. You never seen any trouble with any young people and they all. went Round with well, like dances and stuff. You never had any trouble. Or some days. I didn't know any boot around guns. Hold are better. We made our own entertainment. We didn't ask anybody to make Recreation. I was we made our own Recreation. We had dances and ball games and basketball and whatever went on in the school people all went to if there's any entertainment at the school FL the building. No, they told me they're half-a-crown. We had a city Van Bortel girl and people that played at everything. And I bought him. All the towns along the line. even played Bismarck and Mandan Verona special trains or ball games, you know, if we played New England on Sunday Milwaukee would come down and get regarding him so many tickets on the train. Same way on the Northern Pacific if they played Easter month. trans runners Well backed up our ball team, you know, everybody went stem days are business Pages wouldn't hire a man unless he had fell Horner. Play baseball. That's all they had a lot in early days, but I was debating all the kids on Migrate. BabyCenter introito mothers I called my Uncle Oscar and followed me around all day and panda ride behind on the trail Runner big Dre or in the winter time when I photos had a Healer just let don't let him hooked us behind you known all along that way. I never left them tied up that they can let loose. You know, nobody got hurt. All I feel is to worry or head off about I Hurt Somebody by never heard anybody all the years that I dread. Are you raise the kids are alright, if he's one of the oldest of the old-timers still left here anna Dre service. With horses and in the winter time, it was a bobsled. And we would catch on the bobsled sled with ropes and our little sleds. 6 8 10 of us behind. He never said a word waited for us if we weren't quite ready and he delivered groceries from house to house and we'd ride and of course he meant we had to railroads in this down Milwaukee and then ignore in Pacific and he always meant both of them would come to dry spots and we knew enough to get up and carry our sled across need wait and we go again all those are those are great days. All right. It's the only spot in the whole United States. Ben Jackson ice spaces around you know about this is old folks home. And if you guys Farms the land you think a small town is a good place to grow old and and retired plastic Road. in a small town I'll look after I got neighbors here. The check on us every day. If I live in Bismarck, I don't think they would do that. I need anything why? If I can get down to get it by their brand, what would you miss most if you had to leave here? I don't intend to leave here. I am going to worry about that. I got my place. on the hill radar for me When they take me away from here, that'll take me on the hill. People will make their small fortune here and then they'll move out to California or someplace where there is a warmer climate and then they'll be home sick the rest of their lives and I could name you quite a number of them who've done that and are now moving back to Mont. You become attached to a place lots of these old people. It's an explainable but everything that happens here mean something to them everyday, but if they live in an apartment or in the Antilla called Los Angeles or someplace like that tour, Phoenix. Their neighbors don't even know them and then certainly they don't give a damn about them and the worst mistake thing and make is to fill out here and they're only age and their old age and then be strangers the rest of their lives someplace. You can't live any place as long as I have them and not miss it one fellow told me he said even if I can't home to anymore and fall. He said if I wasn't here during those fall days when 156 years I've been going out to she would have food browser. Some pheasants are the ducks start flying. Why isn't that kill me? Should I couldn't live without that it's there's no one sentence definition for why a person loves his home. I ain't got nothing to say I got to take some more Rooms To Go on Monday. at my place know where did they say where it isn't wet. Got no worms. Yesterday was beautiful out on the lake. But no fishing day in 1912 when the peach Meldrum. Feed Barn and lemon are some guys from Meadow down there they come up and when they got the town, they probably got to town twice a year. And David were hitting the booze and it would be there was singing there was all good things like Hulu and all them guys down there to come in there and stop singing This is why don't you sing keep on singing this one guy singing that song. You didn't want to hear it no more. So, how'd you make out on cars last night? We can make it over he's going to come over here, too. I got to put my things on dog, but I couldn't get you pull up friends were over last night where they you never got the game. That's why you play. God, dammit. Play 3 Day in wrist and never got a game. escalator alive Formica, dad about 4 years now no more net. guide to Spring spring early spring I don't know when he came back, but he was here that 11. Yahoo John made the whole moonshine. Sometimes you have to let stuff get to Moonshine there. suica. Their moonshine retrieve four miles north of a sphere they arrested in Detroit got caught making moonshine Revenue man. Got him in that means. new choices You know what? He's going to play that someplace we going to get arrested because you take 17. Mark North Dakota population 1003 68 our hometown one of a series of programs Exploring Life in small towns produced by Minnesota Public Radio Station KCCI the funds provided by the North Dakota committee for the Humanities and public issues producers of the series are John ydstie, Dennis Hamilton and Bill Sebring. You may purchase a cassette copy of this program by contacting kccm, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota 56560.