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Oral Interviews

This collection consists of oral interviews of prominent people from northwest Minnesota. Some of these interviews are a part of the Heritage Education Commission's Regional Oral History Project.

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Oral Interview of Sally Adelson

Sally Hilleboe Adelson

Sally Hilleboe Adelson, the first woman in the Fargo-Moorhead area to have her own television show, discusses her involvement with television talk shows.
Oral Interview of Frances Akeley

Frances Akeley

Mrs. Akeley discusses how the local Junior Leagues were started. She tells of the League's history and activities.
Oral Interview of Byron Gilchrist Allen

Byron Gilchrist Allen

Byron Allen discusses his involvement in politics throughout the 1930s, and with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Oral Interview of Merle Allen

Merle Allen

Mr. Allen discusses his many years of experience in farming, first with his father and later on his own farm.
Oral Interview of G. Robert Allison

G. Robert Allison

Mr. Allison, a Fergus Falls businessman, discusses his involvement with the Rotary, including the Rotary Foundation and various conventions.
Oral Interview of Fred Altenbernd

Fred Altenbernd

Mr. Altenbernd started farming in 1960. He discusses his experiences as a farmer in Wilkin county and later near Sabin, MN.
Oral Interview of Donald Anderson

Donald N. Anderson

In the first part of this interview Anderson speaks of his student years. The subjects include student housing, financing his education, faculty-student relations, dining facilities. and campus social activities Anderson also talks about faculty members he knew, such as Sliv Nemzek. In the second part of the interview Anderson discusses his work at Moorhead State before and after World War II, the Physical Education Department, the planning of Nemzek Hall, and the Faculty Senate. Anderson also talks about changes he witnessed while at Moorhead State such as a growing faculty, the demise of the Campus School, and the evolution of student teaching.
Oral Interview of Roy L. Anderson

Roy L. Anderson

Roy L. Anderson reflects on his years at the Fergus Falls State Hospital, including such topics as changing attitudes towards mental health therapy and psychiatric help, and the expansion of the mental health program in Minnesota. He speaks of his early years as a groundbreaker in Minnesota in modern psychiatric therapy. He also mentions his plans for retirement in December of 1983.
Oral Interview of Hugh Anstett

Hugh Anstett

Mr. Anstett was a member of the Moorhead Rotary Club since 1951. He discusses the purposes, projects, and membership of the club.
Oral Interview of Philip Antilla

Philip Antilla

Reverand Anttila, former pastor of the Bethesda Lutheran Church in Moorhead, discusses in detail his involvement in church activities, liturgy, and education. He also discusses the various synods of the Lutheran Church and the future of the ecumenical movement.
Oral Interview of Clara Arnberg

Clara Arnberg

Mrs. Arnberg discusses the family owned business of Arnberg and Rasmus, a meat processing plant, and her many business responsibilities.
Oral Interview of Alvin Arneson

Alvin Arneson

Interview with Alvin Arneson on schools and farming during the 1920s and 1930s, and his involvement in progressive politics in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Oral Interview of Oscar Askegaard

Oscar Askegaard

Oscar Askegaard discusses his childhood in Comstock, Minnesota, and his time at the Moorhead Normal School, where he was a member of the first football team. Other topics include the lives of Norwegian immigrants, the Great Depression, World War I and World War II, Prohibition, and the growing use of automobiles and tractors.
Oral Interview of James Baccus

James Baccus

Baccus discusses his involvement in community arts, including his careers as administrator of the Children's Village and as president of the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre.
Oral Interview of Jim Baccus

Jim Baccus

Mr. Baccus, retired journalist, discusses his writing career for various newspapers, including the Forum.
Oral Interview of Robert Badal

Robert Badal

Interview of former Dean of Arts and Humanities at Moorhead State University.
Oral Interview of Les Bakke

Les Bakke
Oral Interview of Serine Bale

Serine Bale

Serine Bale talks about her family’s pioneer history and her experiences in rural schools. She also discusses how different events in American history were perceived at the time and affected life in rural North Dakota.
Oral Interview of Joseph A. Belgum

Joseph A. Belgum

Joseph A. Belgum discusses the attitudes of pastors and the Lutheran Church towards counseling and psychiatry in the 1930s and 1940s, including how this led to his attending the School of Social Work at Columbia University in New York. Belgum also tells how the Lutheran Social Services in Fargo developed and describes the agency’s relations with Children’s Village. He also describes the development of training programs for prison and mental health hospital chaplains. Belgum also mentions the North Dakota House of Mercy, settling refugees, and his involvement in the Model Cities program in Fargo, which included low cost housing for poor people. He also discusses attitude changes in social workers, the problems connected with social work, and how people’s attitudes have changed towards social problems.
Oral Interview of Ewald Bennedict

Ewald Bennedict

Mr. Benedict shares some of his many experiences as an onion farmer. He discusses the crop failure of 1936 and the use of German prisoners as laborers.
Oral Interview of Agnes Berg

Agnes G. Berg

Mrs. Berg worked in the offices of Drs. Fred Thysell and James Duncan from 1937 to 1975. She discusses medical problems the doctors encountered and emergency work and surgery of earlier days.
Oral Interview of Charles Berg

Charles Berg
Oral Interview of Peter Berg

Peter Berg

Peter Berg discusses the Great Depression and its effects on the farming community, as well as economics, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s politics in the 1930s, and local social events.
Oral Interview of Dewey Bergquist

Dewey Bergquist

Mr. Bergquist describes his experiences in radio and television from 1946 to present, including announcing at KVOX radio and announcing and directing at WDAY-TV.
Oral Interview of John Bloom

John Bloom

John Bloom discusses the conditions at Fergus Falls State Hospital from the 1950s to 1983. Topics include the population of the institution, and methods such as shock treatment, lobotomies, and drug treatment. He also talks about the growth of social services and the role of the social worker.