Back Then with Tracy Briggs: Recent Episodes
Forum Communications Co.
Midwest memories of the good old days and a few cool people we’ve met along the way.
Find more stories by Tracy Briggs here: https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
As one local archivist retires, I take a look at just how important historians are to our community.
See more from Tracy Briggs on our website: https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Area couples detail the ways they met their significant others, from Captain America to MTV to a squirt gun.
See more from Tracy Briggs on our website: https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Opponents couldn’t always clobber "The Greatest" of all time, but 55 years ago, a Fargo snowbank did.
See this and the rest of Tracy Briggs' Back Then stories on our website: https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Columnist Tracy Briggs trades laborious dishes to making easy inspired-by-her-sweet-tooth desserts for gatherings. Lazy? You decide.
See more from Tracy Briggs here: https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Tom Netherton starred in the hit television show in the '70s, became a popular Christian performer in the '80s, and made national headlines with Kathie Lee Gifford in the '90s.
Visit our website to see photos and read more stories from Tracy Briggs: https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
After Tracy Briggs' column on the popular hamburger joint that operated in Fargo from 1961 to 1979, her inbox was flooded with comments and stories, including priceless ones from "Prince Leo."
Read Tracy's original column, along with the rest of her work, at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Even with 15 cent burgers and 12 cent fries, Fargo fast food pioneer King Leo's raked in the cash in the '60s and '70s thanks to a loyal fanbase and a fun-loving crew.
News readers might just have been craving some good news. Perhaps that’s why Forum journalist Cal Olson grabbed his photo gear and set out to snap a few pics that would undoubtedly put a smile on people’s faces.
He found himself at the Presentation Sisters Convent at 1310 Broadway in Fargo to take a few shots of the sisters on ice.
According to Olson’s story on Jan. 22, 1956, “each afternoon for the past several weeks, between 30 and 35 of the nuns have been skating for an hour or so, whirling around the ice on a small rink behind the convent.”
The story of how Bob Blake became a world-renowned builder of race cars for Jaguar while holding onto his Midwestern personality.
Around this time every year, my hospital administrator dad would put away his suit and tie and put on the Santa gear, with very mixed results.
Fire tore through the Earle Hotel on Dec. 13, 1951, killing three, making news around the world, and turning a one-armed man into a hero.
The partnership was formed nearly 75 years ago so the women could recreate a taste of the old country. What they did changed baking forever.
We asked your help in finding some of the "Famous Valley City Twins of 1935" and you delivered.
As many of you head to the Christmas tree lot to pick out that perfect pine, what would you think if one of America’s favorite TV dads, Ward Cleaver, sold it to you?
Yes. That Ward Cleaver, as in June’s husband and Wally and Beaver’s dad.
Sounds likes a fever dream (like Greg Brady taking your order at Starbucks or Gidget soaping up your tires at the car wash). But Ward Cleaver helping you with your Christmas tree actually could have happened.
Hugh Beaumont, who starred as Ward Cleaver in the popular family sitcom “Leave It to Beaver” from 1957 to 1963, was once the proud owner of a Christmas tree farm in Grand Rapids.
Read the rest, along with all of Tracy's Back Then stories, at http://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy was a cataclysmic moment for American journalists, and the reporters and editors of the Fargo Forum, as it was known in 1963, were no different. In a special episode of Back Then, Tracy Briggs reads an account of the moment the assassination made its way into the pages of the Forum, along with the chaotic hours and days that followed with the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald and his subsequent murder by Jack Ruby.
North Dakota high schools looking to replace outdated school nicknames are in luck. Thanks to science, the following mascots are now as representative of our state as bison, buffaloes, roughriders or vikings.
How do these sound to you?
The Fighting Jǫrmungandrs?
The Walhallaensis Warriors?
The Mighty Mosasaurs?
Okay, maybe they need a little work.
But the fact is any of those names would work after the American Natural History Museum recently released the name of a giant sea lizard "with angry eyebrows" who once swam here.
Readers solve the mystery identity of the Fargo toddler who traveled via U.S. Mail. It turns out that might have been one of the least interesting things about him.
This photo was found tucked in a book at the Fargo Public Library. But who are these people?
Some witnesses claimed they saw politicians looking down from a 'mystery airship' while others said they were Martians coming to buy ladies' clothes. What exactly was going on in Barnesville?
In 1913, when the U.S. Postal Service introduced parcel post service, customers took advantage by shipping their children.
Oct. 14, 1943, became known as 'Black Thursday' with devastating losses at the hands of the Nazis. Arthur Linrud of Velva, North Dakota, survived. Today his family seeks to remember those who didn’t.
Simon Wenzel Melzer was one of a kind, a seemingly brilliant physician who gave all to his patients, but saved a few shots for the fowl.
These days if you take a stroll down Broadway just south of Northern Pacific Avenue toward the railroad tracks, you’ll pass banks, restaurants, and a place to get your dog groomed.
But 80 years ago you could see and maybe even touch evidence of the enemy.
On Sept. 21, 1943, at the height of World War II, a Japanese submarine was parked on the street just south of where the Old Broadway restaurant is now and thousands of curious folks came out to catch a glimpse.
Edna Kirby just might have been Kim Kardashian before Kim Kardashian was Kim Kardashian. Kirby was a movie actress in the 1920s but became more famous for letting people just watch her live her life.
Was she the world’s first reality star?
Maybe, but whatever you call her, we know for sure that 95 years ago this month, she was delighting the gawkers right here in Fargo-Moorhead.
Greg Carlson and Katie Smith embrace the mid-century style of the orignal owners, Blaine and Virginia Amidon.
Dr. Blaine Amidon, one of the area’s longest-serving OBGYNs, left an indelible mark on the community and not just in the delivery room.
Viewers' heads might have been spinning when WDAY became ABC and KVLY (then KTHI) became NBC on Aug. 22, 1983, but broadcasting in North Dakota would never be the same.
After 62 years of growth, Hans Langseth’s beard was measured at 17.6 feet long - a Guinness World Record for “The Longest Natural Beard Locks ever (male)” which still stands today.
Warren Magnuson was the Spud team captain and later hobnobbed with U.S. presidents, dated movie stars and quietly became one of the most powerful men in the country.
August 4th is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, a day to honor the nation’s No. #1 homebaked cookie. But how was GI Joe responsible for its popularity?
Gate City was founded 100 years ago this summer. Employees today say after more than a century, you'd be surprised at what hasn't changed.
It might not be a Dreamhouse, but my guest room features my favorite childhood Barbies and other vintage favorites.
The ketchup debate rages on this National Hot Dog Day over tastes, traditions, and what is just none of your doggone business.
On July 4, 1923 — 100 years ago — 3,000 people swarmed The Forum building to get the as-it-happens news of the fight, but the aftermath of the brawl was far more interesting.
Last month Forum Communications looked into whether the Batmobile was impounded by Fargo Police in 1968 and whether one certain child might know the answer.
See more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs.
It was the place to go for students to grab a bite between classes, but the deadly 1957 tornado tried to put an end to that.
Penny Andrist of Penny and Pals has retired after more than 30 years as a children's entertainer. She left her mark on my kids and so many more.
Reggie candy bars were all the rage when Mr. October ruled the baseball diamond in the late 1970s. Now, after more than 40 years they're back and chocolate-loving baseball fans are on board.
We can all second-guess our school days, but a recent bus ride in Mayville makes me wonder how things could have been different
The famous TV car was in Fargo in the fall of 1968 for a publicity tour that might have ended in an arrest and court appearance.
See more from Tracy Briggs at http://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Harold Hill actors from Robert Preston to Matthew Broderick to Hugh Jackman have sung about how this man raised in Grand Forks was the route of all the 'trouble' with a capital 'T.'
During Teacher Appreciation Week, here are the "Back Then Teaching Awards" for outstanding achievement in all things great (and groovy).
Lena Rock was moving into her new place when she found this photo of a smiling couple. She'd love to learn more about them.
Read more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
As the event marks its 50th anniversary, take a closer look at its intriguing past.
Read more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs.
As another Taco John's closes its doors, what am I supposed to do with my cravings (and memories)?
Read and hear more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
In 1935, Valley City, North Dakota attracted attention as a hot spot for multiple births. One small school boasted nine sets of twins, six pairs in the same grade.
See more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs.
In 1966, Fargo North High administrators told seven students to leave school until they could get a proper haircut. The boys had another idea.
Read more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Over the last three weeks, Inforum published “The Capones of North Dakota,” a look at the famous gangster connections to the upper Midwest. After the stories ran, you surprised us.
See more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Rumors have circulated for 100 years that Capone was a Minnesota lake lover and friend to the owner of East Grand Forks "Whiteys" bar. But is it fact or fiction?
Read more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Stella Hildre was only a teenager when the gun-toting gangsters “in fine clothes” asked her to lock the doors of her family's cafe and serve them dinner. It became a night she'd never forget.
Read more from Tracy Briggs here: https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs.
Sometimes called “the white sheep” of the family, what would make Vincenzo Capone choose to fight the booze trade that was making his little brother Al the most powerful gangster in the world?
For more from Tracy Briggs, visit: https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Did you once have an item of clothing that made you feel like a million bucks? Where did it go? And why the heck did you get rid of it?
See more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
The Probstfield name is well known in Moorhead. Now a new book digs deeper into the lives of Catherine Probstfield and her 'difficult' husband Randolph.
Read more from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs.
On Valentine's Day 1942, the war was less than three months old, but children were already in the fight.
Read this and more from Tracy Briggs at inforum.com/tracy-briggs.
Fred Fancher also survived North Dakota’s deadliest blizzard, wrote the state constitution, and became a multimillionaire businessman.
Check out more stories from Tracy Briggs at https://www.inforum.com/tracy-briggs
Esther Allen, 88, died Dec. 18, 2022 in Moorhead after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She paved the way for generations of women, including me.
A former Fargo woman said her pilot father once brought the great aviator home for supper and a night of incredible stories.
Officials called it "the most baffling and mysterious fire cases" in the state's history. Who or what was responsible?
The Bachelors and Benedicts Dance Club formed in Fargo in 1898, in part, to help single men find women to marry. Then the traitors were invited.
After a meltdown for the ages, columnist Tracy Briggs shares that she took her husband's advice to decrease Christmas stress and carried it out with help from an old Sicilian friend.
It was an almost impenetrable copper box inside a cornerstone of Trinity Lutheran Church. Members learned it was a time capsule with surprises from the past, but what did the past want to share?
The Forum set out to answer an intriguing question: What are the oldest restaurants in the Fargo-Moorhead area that still exist today? You might be surprised at what we learned.
John Denver spent a lot of time in the upper Midwest touring and living here. Some readers shared memories of their 'brushes with his greatness' after a recent column and podcast by Tracy Briggs.
The genealogy site MyHeritage has introduced a new feature that lets you (or photos of you) time travel to different decades. Hear which time period WDAY anchors Kealy and Mogck and Forum writers Tracy Briggs, Tammy Swift, John Lamb and Jeff Kolpack all belong.
As the Fargo Theatre welcomes a John Denver tribute show Dec. 3, a look back at the Minnesotan who inspired more than one of his songs and how the state's cold spring inspired another.
Master Sgt. Chester Ovnand was born in Thief River Falls and also spent part of his childhood in Adams, North Dakota. He was assigned to an eight-man American Military Assistance Advisory Group sent to train South Vietnamese troops. He was stationed at a base camp in Bien Hoa, 20 miles northeast of Saigon, where trouble was brewing.
Beverly Hanson, a 1941 Fargo Central High graduate, was the first-ever winner of the LPGA Championship and had a hugely successful career in golf. So why isn't she better known?
To read more and see photos, find this story here at inforum.com.
Fourteen people, including prominent CEO's and politicians, died on Oct. 30, 1941 when a Northwest Airlines plane crashed just outside the city. Only the pilot lived to tell the horrific story.
The Forum archives are full of hundreds of stories about Halloween celebrations, struggles and shenanigans. Here are 5 that might make you smile. 🎃
North Dakota native Clifford Thompson, was believed to be the tallest man in the world from 1940 to 1955.
InForum recently published a story on student journalists at MSUM rocking the boat in 1971, but equally big storms were brewing at other FM campuses.
As Minnesota State University Moorhead celebrates more than 50 years of The Advocate, a look back at its predecessor that ruffled more than a few feathers.
As television networks start debuting their new seasons, a look back at the best TV lineups of all time - from groundbreaking to groovy. Do you agree with my list?
Virgil Greaney was killed by a Viet Cong terrorist while helping a village install a water supply. Years later, his family struggled to understand what happened.
Bob Larson, a 1951 graduate of Oak Grove Lutheran School, died in the first U.S. Air Force plane crash in South Vietnam.
During the first WDAY Honor Flight, many World War II veterans were escorted to Washington, D.C., by their Vietnam veteran sons. Now it's time for those sons and others who served during the Vietnam era to get the thanks they deserve.
Finn Harrison was beyond cute as he did the "Jailhouse Rock" as a 2 1/2 year old. Now he's all grown up, working at WDAY in Fargo and still has a little Elvis in his soul.
The term “flying saucer” was born 75 years ago this summer after numerous sightings all over the country. North Dakotans called in reports, too, while others decided to have a little fun with the whole ordeal.
It's been called one of the "scariest," "most haunted" and "creepiest" houses in the Midwest, but what is it really like inside the Villisca Ax Murder House?
A couple of weeks ago, I shared what some of us at The Forum remember as our first memories of a news event. Now it's your turn to share the stories that you'll never forget.
As Fargo-Moorhead’s biggest shopping mall turns 50, a look back at the ways West Acres helped shape generations of kids.
Whether it was the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated or when planes hit the World Trade Center, early news memories stick with you.
Forty years ago this summer, Robert Asp's Hjemkomst ship journeyed to Norway and into the history books.
Trailblazing journalist Muriel Babcock started her journalism career selling Saturday Evening Posts as a child in Wahpeton, North Dakota, and she'd end it being one of the most powerful editors in the business.
It was known as Cully's, then Willy's, but whatever the name, some area food lovers still remember their homestyle dishes.
You can find the recipes Tracy mentions at InForum here: www.inforum.com/lifestyle/its-been-closed-for-11-years-but-customers-of-a-dilworth-restaurant-cant-stop-talking-about-that-food
All of the talk recently of reinvigorating Island Park in Fargo sparked a sweet memory for 87-year-old Joanne Wilson of Moorhead.
Wilson recently found an old postcard her mother wrote to a friend in Wisconsin in 1910 featuring the park.
The young city (just 35 years old in 1910) was clearly proud of its oldest and grandest park, choosing it as the image to share of Fargo to out-of-town relatives.
The Prospect House Museum at 403 Lake Avenue North in Battle Lake, Minnesota is almost easy to miss. Just off the main drag, it’s tucked away on a residential street like any other in lakes country.
But when owner Jay Johnson greets you, it’s pretty clear you’re about to have an adventure. Clad in overalls and a Civil War Union cap, Johnson ushers you inside the Georgian-style mansion, not for a leisurely stroll down memory lane, but a deep dive into one Minnesota family's past 140 years. And Minnesota’s premiere Civil War Museum just happens to be in the basement.
After being diagnosed with scarlet fever as a nine-year-old, Donald Person was sent away — off to the Fargo City Detention Hospital, nicknamed the "Pest House."
"I was scared to death. I think I was the only patient there," Person says.
So what was this mysterious brick building at the corner of Elm Street and 11th Avenue North, what went on in there — and what ever became of the "Pest House"?
Find this story here: http://www.inforum.com/lifestyle/what-was-it-like-to-live-in-fargos-pest-house
On Memorial Day every year, we remember those who have died in service to our country. Sadly, some people face a greater burden than others. What happens to a family when they lose more than one soldier to war? How does it affect the parents and surviving children and the trajectory of the entire family?
This is a story about the Schellhas family of Minnesota who faced the unthinkable during World War II, but managed to survive, thrive and now remember years after trying to forget.
Perhaps it’s unavoidable as a parent — when your child hurts, you hurt. When they’re sick, you’d rather be sick for them. But it doesn’t work that way, right? Still, the empathy we feel for them never goes away.
Ask any parent of a child who graduated either from high school or college these past three years. The classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022 have certainly had a different school experience than their parents did. The pandemic made sure of that with its whole new world of online learning, masked-up, social-distanced events and all-out cancellations.
When you only have 3 or 4 stations, you tend to hear the same commercials over and over again, and boy do we remember them. "Back Then" columnist Tracy Briggs wants to know your favorites.
These young women in Grand Forks Central's 1936 yearbook didn't just earn school letters by eating breakfast, but that was a big part of the drill.
Meet "The Outing Club."
For Memorial Day, an American military cemetery in Cambridge wants to honor the Americans (including North Dakotans and Minnesotans) who are buried there with photos beside their grave markers. Maybe you know one of these men.
I’ve mentioned before how I love that my job at The Forum allows me to spend countless hours deep in the archives of the newsroom. Most of the time, I’m scrolling through the microfilm and digging for specific news stories, but occasionally I'm surprised by unexpected news nuggets that make me smile.
One photo I found is an example of that. It's from the April 20, 1966, edition of The Forum and shows two young men on a teeter-totter. Fourteen high school boys in Grand Forks set out to break a world record in teeter-tottering — and they did it in the snow and cold.
I admit it, much of what I know about the '50s came from watching "Happy Days." Just like most of my Korean War knowledge came from MAS*H. But now we can fill in the blanks that The Fonz and Hawkeye Pierce couldn't.
After 72 years locked away for privacy sake, the National Archives and Records Administration has now officially released the 1950 U.S. Federal Census.
Read more: www.inforum.com/lifestyle/what-fonzie-didnt-tell-you-about-life-in-the-50s
When pollsters ask Americans to name their favorite candy (so much more fun than naming your favorite politician) the most common answers are usually Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and M&M's. It's pretty clear why those two candies have been around so long.
Read more: www.inforum.com/lifestyle/8-retro-candies-you
Last week I wrote a column about Masse's Grocery, at 1140 Eighth St. N. in Fargo — a little mom and pop shop that delighted customers from 1947 to 1971.
The story made me remember my own childhood and the little corner store where we spent our days. The memories flooded in about bike rides, sugary treats and getting our first sense of independence during some of my favorite summers of all time. I can't help but wonder if my kids ever felt that carefree.
Read more: https://www.inforum.com/lifestyle/1970s-kids-remember-candy-cigarettes-and-freedom-at-their-little-corner-stores
Napoleon and Simone Masse were a beloved French-Canadian couple who ran a mom and pop grocery store in north Fargo for 25 years. He is remembered for singing opera as he cut your pork chops. Now one former customer has a beloved butcher block from Masse’s store in her kitchen.
Read more: https://www.inforum.com/lifestyle/remembering-fargos-pavarotti-of-pork-chops
The genealogy site My Heritage is not only animating old photos, they're helping deceased loved ones talk and tell you their "LiveStory." Click here to read more.
Like what you’re hearing? Unlock our entire news network for only ninety-nine cents a month for your first three months when you subscribe to inforum.com You heard that right! Subscribe now for only ninety-nine cents a month at inforum.com/subscribe
As we approach the time of year where all talk is on "the luck of the Irish" and we go in search of four-leaf clovers (if the snow would ever melt, that is) I'd like to introduce you to a man who has proof that he's one lucky guy. It's on his left arm and on his driver's license.
Meet Albert Luckyboy Dalmeida. Yes. Luckyboy. It's not his nickname. It's his legal middle name.
Bud's Roller Rink in Moorhead was "the place to be" for teens in Fargo-Moorhead from 1962 into the 1990s. And for some it was the place to meet your crush or even your future spouse.
https://www.inforum.com/lifestyle/gen-z-might-find-love-online-but-moorheads-baby-boomers-had-buds-roller-rink
FARGO — When 20-year-old Jens Olaf Kittlesrud arrived in England with a few thousand other American troops to fight in World War I, he was handed a letter from the King of England.
Read more: https://www.inforum.com/lifestyle/fargo-woman-finds-100-year-old-letter-to-her-great-uncle-from-the-king-of-england
FARGO — North Dakota Native and singing superstar Peggy Lee was an award-winning artist, but an award from a North Dakota State University fraternity in 1975 had her “misty-eyed.”
Read more: https://www.inforum.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/peggy-lee-called-a-north-dakota-state-university-fraternity-guy-the-first-love-of-my-life