Mark Fossum now lives near Deer River, Minn., near Grand Rapids, but he was born and raised in Rugby, N.D., and he writes “Neighbors” that even though he moved to Minnesota 30 years ago, he is “still a proud North Dakotan.”
Mark was kind enough to write that he enjoys this column, especially those concerning people and places in North Dakota.
“The people you highlight and the stories you write are heartwarming to many of us,” he says. “For many of us, it’s easy to relate to the small towns, the storekeepers, bankers and farm families that inhabited every town that surrounded our town.”
Mark then tells of the town where his mother was born in 1932: Overly, N.D., near Bottineau.
“I remember visits to my grandmother’s home there throughout the years,” he writes. “Mostly, I remember some of the characters that lived in that little town.
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“Most of them are gone now, but it’s funny how so many of the survivors have remained friends and keep in contact with each other.
“The only business left there is the elevator company. No bars, no post office and I don’t think they use the church anymore.”
Mark says he hopes to convince an Overly native to write “Neighbors” about that town’s history.
Meanwhile, he thanks The Forum for sharing these old-time stories with its readers.
The Forum delights in doing that, Mark!
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If you have an item of interest for this column, mail it to Neighbors, The Forum, Box 2020, Fargo, ND 58107, fax it to 701-241-5487 or email blind@forumcomm.com.
