NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

September 9, 1999

Plains Folk: Web (Sites) of Activity

Tom Isern, Professor of History
North Dakota State University

©1999 Plains Folk

What goes around has come around. Last year, through this column, I compiled a rather massive collection of sayings in the you-must-be-from-North Dakota genre sent in by readers with a sense of humor about the place. Besides putting them into columns, I also posted them at a Web site (http://rrnet.com/~plains/youmust/). Now it seems the same items have been copied and are circulating as junk e-mail, a sort of cheap electronic folklore.

I promised last year that anyone who contributed you-must-be-from-North Dakota items would receive a free broadside publication of sayings selected from the collection. The publication is now out--long and lean, suitable for refrigerator posting--and so if you contributed to the collection, you should get yours within days. Many thanks!

While I'm on the subject of old business, I've also been promising in these pages to bring up a new Web site devoted to "Oases of the Great American Desert"--that is, great cafes, bars and grills, and drive-ins of the plains. This site (http://rrnet.com/~plains/oases/) also is now up and running, although still under construction.

Among the places profiled are the Corner Cafe (Buffalo, N.D.); the German-Hungarian Club (Dickinson, N.D.); the West Side Drive In (Grafton, N.D.); the Prairie Oasis (Cleveland, N.D.); the Drumstick (Bismarck, N.D.); the Pastime (Marmarth, N.D.); Hunter's Table and Tavern (Rhame, N.D.); Rock'n Rodney's (Luverne, N.D.); the Hanson House (Devil's Lake, N.D.); the Empress Cafe (Drake, N.D.); the Corner Bar (Camp Crook, S.D.); the Office (Watertown, S.D.); the Kingfisher Inn (Marion, Kan.); and La Siesta (Topeka, Kan.). More sites and more information will be added as I get around to it.

Suggestions of places to add, and comments about them, are welcome! "Oases of the Great American Desert" is purely a public service. Travelers will learn where to provision themselves on the prairies, and I think more importantly, the proprietors of good regional establishments will receive custom.

Since "Oases" is my own site, with no sponsors or patrons, I put in the places I like and just don't mention the rest. Some may ask, and it's a fair question, how I'll decide which places to list and which ones not. So here goes: criteria for an oasis of the plains.

First, I like a place that is grounded in its place and culture. The German-Hungarian Club of Dickinson, for instance, is a venerable ethnic association. La Siesta of Topeka is right near the Santa Fe Railroad shops and yards where so many Mexican section hands labored. The Empress Cafe in Drake, or Hunter's Table and Tavern in Rhame, or the Corner Bar in Camp Crook--these places are just magnets for local community. They are cultural treasures.

Second, the ambience of a dining establishment is important. These sorts of things score points in my mind: a nice mix of local regulars and traveling diners; tables of old guys and gals matching quarters, rolling dice, or cutting cards to see who pays for coffee; bulletin boards posting local notices; serving staff who take care of business, treat customers cordially, and give special care to people who need it most; and vinyl booths that sigh when you sit down. I subtract points for excessively sexist decor--such as beer posters with too much skin showing, or on the other hand, frilly things and so-called country crafts all over the place.

And then of course there's the food. Ethnic traditions and local ingredients score high. Sad to say, although I could give you a lengthy discourse about the kuchen at the Prairie Oasis and other culinary joys of the regional road, I usually find it necessary to evaluate food according to the absence of negatives rather than the presence of positives. Negatives include things like nondairy creamers, plastic potatoes, mixed-fruit jelly and brown gravy on a chicken-fried steak. I mean, brown gravy on a chicken-fried steak can ruin your whole day.

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Source: Tom Isern (701) 231-8339
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136

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