Grant County, ND

Marvel Schmacher, Sentinel Butte, is the Highway 21 Treasure Hunt grand prize winner of $100.00. Her name was drawn from nearly 1,200 names registered during the Highway 21 Treasure Hunt when eight communities along Highway 21 hosted city-wide rummage sales, June 20-21, 2008.

“Marvel was thrilled to hear she had won.” says coordinator Luann Dart. “This is the third year she has visited the event.”

Participating communities include: St. Anthony, Flasher, Carson, Elgin, New Leipzig, Mott, Regent and New England.

“Sales went well this year,” Dart says. A registration log was kept at one sale in Elgin, where 274 names were listed. Another gauge for attendance are the registration slips in each community. Duplicate registrations were not counted as much as possible, and Elgin had the highest attendance among the eight communities with 358 folks registering. Carson had the second highest registrants at 218.

Those registration slips also indicate how far visitors traveled for the sales. More than 100 people from the Bismarck/Mandan area made the trip. Folks traveled from Jamestown, Valley City, Minot, Williston and Dickinson. Smaller communities of Pingree, Cooperatown, Duseith, Zap, Watford City, Steele, Linton, Ashley and others were also represented. And lots of local folks supported the sales, which is also important.

“The Highway 21 Treasure Hunt has a large economic impact on this area,” Dart says. If each local rummage sale earns $400.00 rummage sales alone brought up to $48,000 into the area.

Local businesses also reported a positive economic impact from the sales. The Crossroads Inn rented nine of its 11 rooms to rummager that Friday evening. They came from Rugby, Bottineau, Baker, MT, and Cooperstown, just to attend the sales. Restaurants were also busy and reported a large volume of customers, while grocery stores and gas stations along the route also noticed increased business.

“I want to thank everyone who had a sale, and other those who supported the sales”, Dart says, “And I especially thank each community coordinator who make this event such a success.”

Next year’s Highway 21 Treasure Hunt will be held June 19-20, 2009.

County Fairs are a great opportunity for county residents to showcase their garden produce, craft, food or sewing item that was made by them.  For the 4-H member it is a great way to show the public what 4-H is all about. The 4-H program teaches life skills through many projects, such as rocketry, computer science, nutrition, citizenship, leadership, theatre arts, robotics, geospatial, electricity, bicycle, entomology and photography. 4-H is much more than livestock projects. It has evolved from a program that traditionally served rural youth to one that serves the needs of all youth, no matter where you live. Studies also show that youth who participate in 4-H do better in school, are more motivated to help others and are less likely to engage in risky behaviors.

So check out a county fair near you.

The Grant County Fair & 4-H Achievement Days will be held August 14-17, 2008 in Carson, ND.

The Dakota and Elgin Lions Club of Elgin, North Dakota are collecting eye glasses and hearing aides. They may be left at the Grant County News Office or left with Gail Schatz, 606 East St. N., Elgin, ND. The eye glasses and hearing aids are picked up by the Lions and recycled. Those in foreign countries receive the refurbished hearing aids and glasses.

The Elgin/ New Leipzig F ood Pantry will remain open thanks in part to Great Plains Food Bank and Community Action. Grant County recieved a partial truck load of food, to keep our food pantry open as part of a new program, the Food Bank was recently involved in a statewide Hunger study, and as a result they are interested in starting a few new rural outreach programs, one of which is Expanded Rural Delivery. While we don’t know how often they’ll be able to deliver to people’s doors, they began the pilot program on June 24th, in Grant County. Creating a HUNGER FREE North Dakota is the mission. 1 in 12 people use a charitable feeding network accross North Dakota, 40% are children. Although the state’s charitable feeding network as a whole provides slightly more food per person in poverty (111%) compared to the national average, 29 out of 53 counties remain under-served. Grant County is a county that remains under-served, with 0-27 pounds being distributed per person in need. Kelly Bachmeier, is the new director of the Elgin/ New Leipzig Food Pantry, for anyone wishing to donate food items or cash donations, the pantry is a non-profit 501c3 program. Kelly’s phone number is 701-471-4668 or anyone may mail a donation to PO Box 84, Carson, ND 58529.  

A group of volunteers are working to expand the public library in Elgin. The library plans include having an art center and a computer available for public use.

Recently I was reading an article in the February 2008 North Dakota Outdoors magazine.  It is a great story about a partnership between North Dakota State University Extension Service, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, and the National Archery Schools Program (NASP) to bring the sport of archery to youth.  Elgin and Carson are among the fifty-five North Dakota schools participating in NASP to introduce target archery to students during physical education classes.  “This is something they can take and do the rest of their lives.” said Grant County High School instructor Priscilla Roth.  Because archery isn’t specific to male or female, athlete on non-athlete it is growing in popularity among students.  Anyone can do archery.   Best of all, it sharpens concentration skills and builds self-esteem among students.  This community-based archery program is drawing youth from across the county to the Grant County fair building every Wednesday nearly year-around.  The communities in Grant County are working to build and grow a strong program that is bringing a cross section of people from all ages together.  

While visiting with a local business owner in Carson, I learned that there is a history of family owned businessess in Grant County.  ”Our hardware store  is a three generation business,” said Darcy.  ”We do what we can to keep our customers.”  

Businesses in Grant County have partnered with the community to build awareness of the different products and services available from their hometown merchants.  Their ’Shop-at-Home’ campaign is supported by residents and business owners alike.  According to one customer shopping locally is more than a convenience.  It’s about keeping the local store open.  

Some business owners and customers believe the increase in local shopping is a combination of the shop-at-home campgain and increased costs to travel.  “Time will tell how much gas prices will affect local customer traffic.” said Darcy.  The Shop-at-Home Committee will tell you that the campaign has helped change attitudes about the importance of keeping business local.  “It makes a difference in our community when our residents have access to purchasing the essentials,” said one committee member.  “Every business contributes to the vitality of our communities.”

The Grant County Job Development Authority (JDA) received a great response to its request for stories about “great customer service in Grant County.” Grant County residents were asked to share their stories about customer service from local businesses. We heard about businesses that delivered after normal business hours and placed special orders for customers. We also heard about the special relationships local businesses have developed with their customers.

One resident’s submission focused on supporting local businesses. “Does a person that hits the road to save a dollar really consider all the organizations that are being left behind?” wrote Dennis Johnson, Almont. “What happens when a fire call goes out or an ambulance is needed or we want to hold a special gathering and the fairbuilding isn’t available because no one took the time to keep the doors open for us?” “It is nice to be a name and not a number when doing local business, the place where a nice smile and a greeting always makes one feel good,” he wrote. “We have enjoyed being part of our local community and hope they will survive long after we are gone. It is great to see young people do well in our small town and we wish them all well and much success in the future.

The Grant County JDA heard from others who shared a story about great customer service. Here are some of their stories:

Reopening the store: I am a Grant County resident who comes and goes a lot. I had forgotten that Hertz Hardware in Carson closes at noon on Saturday. I walked up to the door at 12:15 and discovered it closed. Before I got back to my truck. Darcy had opened the door, reopened the store and got me the items I needed to finish my project. I have enjoyed above-average service and friendly folks from all the folks I do business with in New Leipzig, Elgin and Carson. That is five years of good service!                    Jeff Williams, Carson

They know me by name: Going to the store with my mom or dad is always fun, but when we go to S&V Country Market in Carson. Steve always makes it better. He makes sure that he teases me and then in return I tease him! Nobody in Wal-Mart will do that! Cassie of Flasher    

A friendly smile: As a resident of New Leipzig, I really appreciate the friendly atmosphere in local businesses when I go in to shop. They, of course, know you by name and are very helpful when you are looking for something. In our grocery store, I appreciate the fact that they always ask you if you were able to find everything you needed and if they don’t have it on hand, they do their best to get if ordered for you. It would be a real financial burden if we didn’t have our local businesses for groceries,  hardware items and appliances and would have to drive to Bismarck or Dickinson with gas prices skyrocketing. The convenience, friendly atmosphere and money saved in gas are valuable benefits to shopping locally.  Sharon Alt, New Leipzig

Coming to the rescue: The weeks leading up to our annual bull sales are always busy, from getting the bulls ready, printing and mailing the catalog, to the fact that by the time the sale arrives we are already calving and lambing. Last year was no different. We were so busy that we didn’t realize we had another problem until the night after the sale when we came home to a very cool house. At first we thought the furance wasn’t working, but a check of the fuel tank revealed we had run out of fuel. We called Erickson Oil and even though it was short notice and not exactly their business hours, they came to our rescue. While we try not to take advantage of them, we always know we can count on them when we need them. Marci Koepplin, Elgin

The little church on the prairie will be celebrating its Centennial birthday on Sunday, June 29, 2008. A special time of celebration for past and present members to reflect on the many great years of Bethesda’s existence in the commuity.

The Bethesda Church truly is a landmark, and a place that offers solace and comfort to those who attend it.

During a recent road trip through Grant County, I had the opportunity to visit with the mayor of Carson and also meet with a group of Horizon Program steering committee members.  With open arms I was welcomed to the community and was also invited to tour the main street businesses.  There is a home-town pride throughout the community like none other.  Together business owners and individuals are talking about actions they are taking to be a thriving community.  Making an impact in their progress is the shared commitment to work together more effectively in addressing complex issues.  From developing leadership potential to reducing poverty, solutions are coming from individuals who are willing to learn, understand, and work together.  To experience the spirit of community vitality and community pride visit Grant County soon!