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Tales of the Ranch

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  • North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame Inductee
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  • Biographies,  North Dakota History,  The Cowboy Chronicle

    Western Artists: Preserving our History

    December 17, 2022 /

    Published in The Cowboy Chronicle December 2022. Following is a more detailed version that was not published. Stories and art have always been part of human history. The written word evokes powerful images and emotions. The visualization of a story brings new clarity and a sense of reality.  When Theodore Roosevelt chronicled his life in North Dakota with the book Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, Frederick Remington was commissioned to do illustrations for the book. Roosevelt wanted the artwork to bring his experiences to life. The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame has recognized North Dakota artists since its inception with the Arts and Entertainment category. Since then, five…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    Biography of Andrew J. Nohle

    February 28, 2015

    Harold Schafer, Mr. Bubble and the Legacy of Medora

    April 9, 2015

    Lydia Langer: The Unexpected Candidate Amid 1930’s Political Scandal and Intrigue

    October 27, 2016
  • Biographies,  Minot Daily News,  North Dakota History,  Tales of the Ranch

    Historic Homesteads – Minot Daily News

    November 5, 2022 /

    2021 – 2022 Edition Photos from the Martell Family archives Information provided to the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame by Mary Pat Martell Jones Charles Martell was inducted into the NDCHF in 2019

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    A Wandering Man: Louis L’Amour

    September 28, 2019

    Biography of Charles Franklin Martell

    February 28, 2015

    The Cowboy Doctor

    December 22, 2020
  • Biographies,  North Dakota Today,  The Cowboy Chronicle

    On the Edge of History: A Profile of Medora’s Doug Ellison

    October 17, 2022 /

    “It is the romance and drama of history that still holds my interest. Growing up on a ranch was a reflection of the Old West, so that is the era that first attracted my attention. All of history is interconnected, so one theme leads to another.”  Doug Ellison There has always been a certain romance to the American West.  There is mystery, excitement, beauty and wide open spaces where adventure and opportunity awaits. Indeed this was true even back in the day when the west was first being settled. Men and women living in crowded tenements and working long hours in often grueling jobs, saw the west as the land…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    Lydia Langer: The Unexpected Candidate Amid 1930’s Political Scandal and Intrigue

    October 27, 2016

    Biography of Andrew J. Nohle

    February 28, 2015

    Biography of Charles Franklin Martell

    February 28, 2015
  • Biographies,  History,  Native Americans,  The Cowboy Chronicle,  Western History

    Sakakawea: A Good and Best Woman

    July 27, 2021 /

    Published in The Cowboy Chronicle, July 2021, Volume 25 Issue 4 Much of what we accept as historical fact is often interpretation and legend created from a few known and recorded truths.  It is frequently difficult to separate fact from fiction for many of the famous historical figures in our western heritage. The passing of one such person on December 20, 1812, was sadly noted by clerk John Luttig at Fort Manuel, a short lived (1812-1813) fur trading outpost along the Missouri River in what is now South Dakota.  He wrote, “This evening, the wife of Charbonneau, a Snake squaw died of putrid fever. She was a good and best…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    Biography of Andrew J. Nohle

    February 28, 2015

    The Cowboy Doctor

    December 22, 2020

    The Wandering Man

    June 4, 2019
  • Biographies,  North Dakota History,  North Dakota Horizons magazine

    The Cowboy Doctor

    December 22, 2020 /

    Printed in North Dakota Horizons Magazine Winter 2020 https://www.ndhorizons.com/articles/88/the-cowboy-doctor.aspx On a warm day in late July 1927, all of Dickinson shut down.  Stores and businesses were empty, their doors closed. There was no heart to carry on business as usual.  Crowding the cemetery people were saying goodbye to their beloved “Cowboy Doctor.”  He didn’t just heal and console, he was a friend to almost every family in the region. He was remembered with overwhelming gratitude for his gift of love and 44 years of dedicated service to the people he came to cherish. The “Cowboy Doctor,” Victor Hugo Stickney, was born April 13, 1855. He was raised on the family…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    Biography of George W. Nohle

    March 1, 2015

    Harold Schafer, Mr. Bubble and the Legacy of Medora

    April 9, 2015

    The Wandering Man

    June 4, 2019
  • Biographies,  North Dakota Horizons magazine

    A Wandering Man: Louis L’Amour

    September 28, 2019 /

    It was a love affair that ran the course of a lifetime. Whether it was consuming, creating, or collecting, the written word permeated every aspect of his life. He spent hours in the library. As a young man traveling and working all over the world, he would find time to read multiple books per week, boasting that between 1928 and 1942 he read more than 150 books a year. It was said, as a reader, his only match may have been Theodore Roosevelt who would often read up to three books a day. He attained a personal library of well over 10,000 books, journals, periodicals and maps, a vast and…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 3 Comments

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    Biography of Charles Franklin Martell

    February 28, 2015

    Lydia Langer: The Unexpected Candidate Amid 1930’s Political Scandal and Intrigue

    October 27, 2016

    The Cowboy Doctor

    December 22, 2020
  • Biographies,  North Dakota History,  Western History

    The Wandering Man

    June 4, 2019 /

    This love affair lasted a lifetime; whether consuming, creating, or collecting, the written word permeated his life. He bragged that between 1928 and 1942 he read more than 150 books a year. He built a personal library of over 10,000 books, journals, and periodicals; a varied collection that surprised and delighted visitors. He was one of the world’s most prolific authors writing poetry, over 400 short stories, screenplays and more than 100 books. Sitting in his sick bed, Louis L’Amour was editing his final book the day he died in 1988. Some discounted his writing as just simple westerns, but his stories perfectly expressed the romance and authenticities of Western…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

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    The Cowboy Doctor

    December 22, 2020

    Biography of Charles Franklin Martell

    February 28, 2015

    Biography of George W. Nohle

    March 1, 2015
  • Biographies,  The Cowboy Chronicle

    Charles Franklin Martell: Pre-1940’s Ranching Division nominee 2019

    February 13, 2019 /

    In 1908 a young man left his family dairy farm in New York going west to fulfill his dream in western North Dakota. Charles Martell arrived with nothing, worked for his uncles and was on his own by 1914. He established a ranch headquarters known as “Horse Camp”, running several hundred head of horses and cattle. Martell learned to identify and purchase strong breeding stock and expertly break horses. The 1920’s saw local horse markets declining, but Martell found new profitable markets for local horses in New York.  As farming practices became more mechanized the horse market again declined, so he shifted his focus to cattle. Martell’s ranch grew to…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 0 Comments

    You May Also Like

    A Wandering Man: Louis L’Amour

    September 28, 2019

    The Cowboy Doctor

    December 22, 2020

    Biography of Charles Franklin Martell

    February 28, 2015
  • Biographies,  North Dakota History,  The Cowboy Chronicle

    Lydia Langer: The Unexpected Candidate Amid 1930’s Political Scandal and Intrigue

    October 27, 2016 /

    SCANDAL !  Back room deals and a little back stabbing to maintain positions of power. Ah, the stuff of politics. In October 1934 some involved in this kind of political dance held a forum in Watford City to woo the ranchers, farmers, and independent minded residents. Surprising many was soft spoken Lydia Langer, the state’s recent first lady, now the Republican gubernatorial candidate. Traveling with congressional contenders in pursuit of their political desires, Lydia could not be farther away from how her life was anticipated to be. It was not the 1600 miles from New York to Bismarck; she could have been across oceans living a more expected life. Lydia Cady…

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 1 Comment

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    Charles Franklin Martell: Pre-1940’s Ranching Division nominee 2019

    February 13, 2019

    The Wandering Man

    June 4, 2019

    Harold Schafer, Mr. Bubble and the Legacy of Medora

    April 9, 2015
  • Biographies,  North Dakota History,  The Cowboy Chronicle

    Harold Schafer, Mr. Bubble and the Legacy of Medora

    April 9, 2015 /

    He was skeptical at first, but after a night of cleaning everything in his hotel room with a sample bottle he woke the supplier up in the middle of the night and ordered two boxcars full. ... “My obligation today is to see that Medora’s greatness can be carried on after my lifetime, that it’s future can be even better than it’s past”. Clearly Harold’s dream was realized and his goals are still being met today. What a great legacy Medora continues to be for Mr. Bubble.

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    Mary Patricia Martell Jones 3 Comments

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    A Wandering Man: Louis L’Amour

    September 28, 2019

    Biography of George W. Nohle

    March 1, 2015

    Biography of Andrew J. Nohle

    February 28, 2015
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