There is a state that built me. And today is her birthday. I have deep roots on this North Dakota land. It’s not always sexy. But it is cool, literally, at times.
It makes headlines for cold weather but most recently for energy, jobs and a government budget surplus.
But it’s not headlines that built me.
The state that built me has land. The land that my ancestors broke. The land that is vast. The land that produces a bounty. And sometimes despair.
It’s the people in the state that built me. It’s long standing family traditions. A way of life that continues through generations.
I once wanted to live far, far from this land, far from these people.
But the land and the people particularly brought me back.
And it’s the people that make me stay. The humorous people like one I visited with today, Marilyn Hagerty. She went viral this year for writing a food column about her happiness that Olive Garden opened in her North Dakota town. A little big of pop culture is a big deal here. Because we don’t have a lot of it.
I live 97 miles from Starbuck’s. And Olive Garden. And Wal-Mart. On the land that built me. With the people I love.
We are not rich with pop culture or big brand names. But the state that built me is rich with…things like honey. And honey is produced into wonderful products that this video highlights featuring a rural, small business just down the road from where we live.
A land rich with honey, with good hearted people, steeped in traditions of agriculture, booming energy providing revenue and jobs with a climate that tests even the toughest. It’s North Dakota. It’s the state that built me. Happy 123rd Birthday, my home. I love you.
Where is the “place” that built you or your sense of “home” today?
Follow my 30 days of a North Dakota November series daily and visit other farm mom friends sharing daily. Beyer Beware shares where pumpkins and canned pumpkin comes from today. (Plus she shares the pumpkin muffins recipe she made for our youngest daughter Miss A when she visited.)
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Why we plant genetically modified seeds on our farm |
We need to do a ND blog meetup sometime!! 😉 Enjoy your posts…I grew up in Montana but married a ND guy so everything you talk about is very familiar!
I am a ND girl who has moved far, far away–Germany to be exact. Many things here remind me of ND, but I miss it all even though I return for at least a month every summer. It is that month that I am able to teach my own children about the simplicity of life and pure goodness. I love reading your blog and revisiting “home.”
I am sharing your post.
Kara
Marilyn is just adorable! I love that she writes and reviews what strikes her fancy, and is not pretentious, as some food writers are here in NYC. I had no idea honey was a big product in ND. I am happy to see such happiness and success for a hard working family.
I always enjoy reading your blog. I have such wonderful memories of growing up in Minot! I do miss it at times!
It’s crazy how many of us wanted to leave the place where we are now. Home is where the heart is, and Miss Dorothy had it right. Very nice!
P.S. I have been through your state, and it is a great place for those who love wide wide open spaces.