Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Laurie Westby continues to prep numerous flower pots on top of an abandoned loading dock that she has taken on as a community beautification project. She's been looking at this dock for quite some time, and it's definitely a the diamond in the rough. The letters on the foundation spell out "We are a small town with many helping hands" in Sheyenne school colors.
Sheyenne's main street was teaming with volunteers on Monday, June 21. Armed with weed eaters, paint brushes, power tools and brooms, local residents were busy making preparations for the hundreds of visitors who came to take in Independence Day festivities in Sheyenne this past Sunday.
The fix-up began earlier this year when the city of Sheyenne received a Mainstreet Initiative Vibrancy Grant from the North Dakota Department of Commerce. The $1,500 grant was matched by the Sheyenne Civic Association, specifically to make exterior repairs to the bricks, doors and windows of the Ostby Hall. Hogie Joseph, of the Sheyenne Trading Company, recently completed the work on the hall. Hogie, a Sheyenne resident, was hands down the right person for the job, as he took extra care to preserve the building to ensure it will last for another 100 years.
The Mainstreet Initiative Program values having a space where community members can gather for events and conversations, especially if centered around food... a vital element of vibrancy.
Sheyenne's 4th of July Stonepit BBQ beef dinner is just such a legendary food-centered gathering. Everyone looked forward to reconnecting with friends after a long year of social distancing.
Did you know that the Sheyenne Fire Department started preparing for the BBQ weeks ago by cutting and splitting a truck load of wood (old logs from Hendrickson Park)? The wood is turned into hot coals on July 3, at which time the specially seasoned beef is wrapped in foil and placed on the coals to cook overnight. The Sheyenne First Lutheran Church members work with the fire department to serve the delicious homemade dinner.
If you came to Sheyenne this past Sunday for the parade, BBQ beef dinner and rodeo, you probably noticed two new benches to welcome you to the restored Ostby Hall. These benches were dedicated in Chuck Franks' memory the night of the Sheyenne clean up. Sidewalk benches were a favorite part of Chuck's Sheyenne main street renewal/restoration of the mid-70s that he spearheaded as city planner for Sheyenne. His widow Denise Franks and his siblings Charlotte, John, Janis, Steve, Brian and Patrick saw fit to pay tribute to him with memorials received from Sheyenne friends toward this purchase. The inscription reads: In Memory of, Charles W. Franks, a visionary, May 10, 1948 - August 26, 2019, He lived the dash*, *the mark between his birth and his death.
