Badlands
I don’t know if anyone living in Hazen recalls what life was like in Hazen before coal mining. With 2 coal mines and a few coal power plants, and with a population of a little over 2500, Hazen is your typical coal town in North Dakota. The history of the town revolves around the coal mining industry. And the life of the locals revolves around inhaling polluted air and not knowing what the long term health effects of lignite are on them or on their future generations.
Brenda wakes up at 6 AM as she does on Mondays these days.
She lives alone in a two bedroom house, one of the 1000 odd houses in the town. Brenda has never been this excited to get out of the house on Mondays since her retirement. She packs her lunch, carries her suitcase, and gets into her car, one which she has been driving for the past 15 years. And starts her 2.5 hour drive.
There were over 700 applicants for this new job Brenda is starting this week. Brenda was one of the 40 who got selected. She is proud of what she has managed to accomplish and she hopes she would be meeting some of her former miners at her new job.
Presidential Library
Although documents, records, and artifacts were considered private properties of the presidents from the beginning, that notion changed sometime during the mid-twentieth century and for every president since Herbert Hoover, public presidential libraries have been established typically in each president’s home state. That’s 13 libraries till date with the 14th one, a work in progress. It’s a big deal for a city to host a presidential library. And a city perhaps must meet a variety of requirements including the library’s capability to provide an active series of public programs throughout the year.
“I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
That brings me to Teddy Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the country, for some reason, fell in love with the Badlands region in Dakotas. Something about the rugged terrain, the cliffs, the buttes, and the valleys attracted Roosevelt to North Dakota that he invested in ranches here and began his commitment towards conservation of American’s natural resources. How that passion led to the creation of National Parks Services eventally under Woodrow Wilson is history.
North Dakota is currently one of the least populated states in the country. To many, it’s an endless flat or rolling prairie, bearing the black earth of the plowed land, the green blanket of a new crop, or the yellow cover of ripened grain. The geography of the state doesn’t promise much for agriculture but ranches galore with livestocks. That prompted Teddy Roosevelt to invest in a ranch in Medora.
Medora
Medora is about 120 miles from Hazen.
Brenda reaches Medora by 9 AM. She drives directly to her apartment in Medora which she shares with 2 other volunteers that week. Each has their own room and like Brenda, all of them are in the mid-60s to early 70s, retired, and excited to volunteer.
“They take good care of us”, Brenda says with a smile.
“The apartment is fully furnished. We get three meals a day. And an occasional special dinner here and there. The job keeps me busy. I get to talk about history, and I get to meet people like you. What more can I ask?”.
One could sense a certain joy in her voice.
Medora is a small town that sits right outside the South Unit entrance of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The park is the reason why the town exists and the population is mostly floating. That includes people like Brenda who travel to Medora to volunteer.
“I spend a week here and go home. Then come back after a couple of weeks. I mean they have to divide the work for 40 of us.”
There are two main streets in Medora, and one happening intersection. When you walk through the streets of Medora, you feel like you are walking in a Hollywood movie set made for a spaghetti western. I walked into a saloon to order some pizza and when I stepped out, I realized I was standing right across from a bank. I could literally listen to the theme of “For a Few Dollars more”. A bank robbery followed by a boisterous barroom brawl would have completed the scene.
That moment of surreal imagination was interrupted when Brenda saw me and started walking towards me with a broad smile.
“Hi, How long are you going to stay here in Medora?”
She was clearly disappointed with my answer. But she was doing her job which was to be a brand ambassador for Medora. She introduced herself and started talked about everything that’s happening in this little town. She emphasized multiple times that the highlight and the flavor of the season is “Medora Musical.”
I spent the next 25 to 30 minutes holding four oven hot pizza boxes in my hands, at 1 PM, in 85 degrees Fahrenheit, trying to learn more about Medora and Brenda. She didn’t stop telling her story or Medora’s even after she found out I was not going to attend the musical that evening. She told me why it’s important for Medora to build these year long activities around the town and why she has to continue to spread the good word. It is because Medora, you see, is going to be the site of a new Presidential Library, one that of President Theodore Roosevelt.
“Do come back to Medora. And don’t miss the musical!”, Brenda waved goodbye with the same verve she had 30 minutes back.
Buoyant people like Brenda can pluck the air with their bare hands and choose to hear music all the time. I smiled at her and walked back to my car.
When the hot wind blowing across that happening intersection hit my face, I heard the “For a Few Dollars more” theme music again.
