His name was Gilbert Henry Bromenschenkel, but everybody called him Gib. He was drawn into Fargo city politics by discussions of widening 12th Avenue North and connecting it via a bridge to Moorhead’s 15th Avenue North and won his first term on the City Commission in 1970.
Bromenschenkel would go on to serve eight terms, making him Fargo’s longest-serving city commissioner when he stepped down in 2002 — a remarkable tenure for someone who planned to serve a single term when first elected.
During his 32 years on the Fargo City Commission, including serving as deputy mayor from 1974 to 2002, Bromenshenkel had a hand in a long list of issues and developments that helped to shape the city.
Bromenschenkel, who died at the age of 92 on April 22, left quite a legacy during his many years of service at City Hall and engagement in civic affairs.
More than anything, he is remembered as a steady and committed public servant of integrity.
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“He did a lot of good things in town,” said Bruce Furness, who served as mayor from 1994 to 2006, and noted Bromenschenkel’s active involvement in the 1997 flood fight as an example. “He was always there and he always had good information.”
He was always there. Bromenschenkel was there during reorganization of the city bus system, the model cities project, Sheyenne Diversion, Broadway Mall project, West Acres development, creation of the Metropolitan Council of Governments, redevelopment of the city water treatment plant, construction of the Fargodome and several bridges.
Bromenshenkel was known as the person people turned to when they wanted to get something done. His style was low-key and he was a quiet but insistent voice for fiscal restraint.
Born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, in a family of 13 children, Bromenschenkel developed rheumatic fever as a teenager, an illness that left him unable to work on the family farm and to be refused enlistment in the military nine times.
He started his career at North Central Airlines in St. Cloud in 1952, work that later took him and his wife, Doris, to Fargo, where he was station manager at what then was called Hector Airport. Although he rose to management, Bromenschenkel was a member of the airline employees union.
His daughter said she couldn't remember him having the time to watch television programs; he was always doing something, more often than not, something for others.
We join Gib Bromenschenkel’s family and friends in mourning his passing, and in celebrating a life well lived.
The Trust Project
