This month, the State Archives marks American Archives Month by highlighting the memory keepers at work behind the scenes collecting, preserving, and sharing North Dakota’s documentary history. I asked some of our hardworking memory keepers—the amazing State Archives staff—what their favorite thing about being an archivist is and about the special moments that make this job worth doing. Check out their answers below!

Matt Ely, photo archivist

My favorite part of my job is working with obsolete photographic formats such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes.

Daguerreotypes were the first commercially viable and publicly available style of photography and capture an image directly on a piece of metal, which is then housed in a case. Wet collodion direct positives, such as tintypes and ambrotypes, came next. These types of photography use the same process as daguerreotypes but capture images on a thin sheet of metal or a piece of glass respectively.

It’s very interesting to see how much photography has changed over the years, both in the process and the product. I think it’s great to work with historical photographs so closely, and it’s also neat that examples of these processes in our collections range from over 150 years ago to just a couple months old!

From left: An 1875 tintype of Ellen Malloy and Mollie Taggert next to one of Millie and Madeleine Hyatt at the Former Governors’ Mansion State Historic Site in Bismarck, created just this year by Kary Janousek from Fargo. SHSND SA 2010-P-025-00002, 2024-P-016-00013

Daniel Sauerwein, reference specialist

Working in reference allows me to use my research skills to assist people find records and answers to their questions. Helping them solve historical mysteries and leaving patrons better informed than when they entered is a great feeling. I especially enjoy aiding genealogy researchers and kids learn more about themselves and the history of North Dakota and its people. Working with the collections is also a wonderful part of being at the State Archives.

Megan Steele, local government records archivist

My favorite thing about being an archivist is browsing through the past. Seeing snapshots in time from someone else’s life can be an almost surreal realization. Second to that feeling is the joy and excitement I see when a volunteer or patron makes a connection or finds an interesting tidbit that they cannot wait to tell others about. I always encounter something fun or interesting when processing collections that makes me laugh or smile.

Sarah Walker, head of reference services

We take the term “memory keepers” quite seriously. The items held in our collections are direct collections and recollections of individuals who lived here, worked here, and loved here. We are keeping their memories alive for their family and friends and for future generations. How can you not get goosebumps thinking about that? What an honor to work in this field, at this agency, and help preserve the history of this state.

The author and coworker Lindsay Meidinger excited to capture oral histories for the State Archives’ collections while at the Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site in Jamestown, spring 2024.

Kylie Ward, newspaper archivist

As an archivist, my favorite part of the job is touching history. Our newspaper collection is extensive and having the opportunity to handle old papers from the late 1800s or early 1900s is always exciting. The pages are worn with age and detail the lives of countless North Dakotans who made an impact on their communities. From marriage announcements to crop harvests to the prices of products advertised—nearly every aspect of these historical newspapers is interesting to look through. One of my favorite finds is this cute dispatch from a dog show that ran in a 1950 edition of the Bowbells Tribune below.

Bowbells Tribune, March 9, 1950, p. 7

Ashley Thronson, reference specialist

As for me, my favorite thing about being an archivist is helping researchers access the State Archives' collections. So much history can be found within our collections, but it can be a confusing experience if you don’t know where to start looking or what topics/events we have information on. Talking to people about their research and helping them search our website and the resources we have available to navigate our collections is my favorite part of the job. Not only am I answering their questions, I am also helping patrons learn about the State Archives’ resources and teaching them skills they can take with them on their research journey.

Working at the North Dakota State Archives means interacting with our collections on every level. Our team of archivists processes incoming materials, often becoming experts on each collection they touch. Our reference team uses these collections to assist others in access and research, learning many tidbits along the way. Through scanning, skimming, and handling the documentary pages and files of our collections, our staff loves to acquire new knowledge about the many significant things that have happened in our state. Learn more about some of the cool collections staff have recently acquired or rediscovered below!

Lindsay Meidinger, deputy state archivist

Did you know the State Archives boasts nearly 10 miles of paper records and a staggering 56 terabytes of electronic records? With so many fascinating collections just steps away, it is quite hard to choose just one to feature in this blog post. So I decided to put my decision in the hands of a random number generator. The result? Folder 2 of Box 4, State Series 31530.

A plain brown box in the State Archives stacks contains information related to the agency’s past educational outreach efforts.

What’s inside this unassuming box? It details the activities of the State Historical Society of North Dakota’s education team! These records chronicle over 120 years of educational events and programming, revealing how history has been presented and shared across generations. This specific folder contains programs from 1989.

Box 4, Folder 2 features programs of educational events and symposiums from 1989.

One might wonder, “Why preserve this?” Well, these documents offer insights for researchers and staff, providing a look at the evolution of outreach and programming by highlighting popular topics, types of interactions, and collective memories. This information helps our current education team build on past projects.

Virginia Bjorness, head of technical services

Earlier this year, the State Archives received four digital publications from Michael Gustafson, all relating to the early history of Portal, North Dakota, and the Lanthorn family. Included in the quartet is a short booklet by Wesley C. Engstrom, titled “Merna's Penny Bank.” This digital booklet documents the struggles of the Union Bank of Portal during the 1920s and the tragic death of the bank manager, who had gifted the penny bank to Merna Lanthorn. Engstrom also includes excerpts from The International, the newspaper serving the Portal area at the time, along with pictures of the recently restored bank interior.

SHSND SA OCLC 1417163131

Emily Kubischta, manuscript archivist

The State Archives recently received the records of the Monday Club, a study club for Bismarck women that has operated since 1902 (MSS 11655). In addition to researching and presenting on assigned topics, club women made charitable contributions and worked to make Bismarck stronger. Even though the Monday Club bylaws set a limit capping membership at 20, the club women have a long list of contributions. Some of these include raising funds for the Sakakawea statue on the state Capitol grounds, assisting with the first state sale of Red Cross stamps, advocating for public health by asking for funding for a state tuberculosis sanatorium site and securing the first nurse for Bismarck schools, preparing the first MASH unit locally that was then replicated during World War I, and adopting a French orphan (for one year) after World War I. Included in the records is an album of photographs of the homes of early Monday Club members (early 1900s) and the homes of members in 2002. This album documents some of the historic residences in Bismarck, ties owners to the homes, and demonstrates the continuity of the organization through its many years of active service to the community.

Letters and a postcard photograph to members concerning the adoption of French orphan Marc Régnier in 1919. SHSND SA MSS 11655

The historic residences photograph album shows significant Bismarck homes of the time. SHSND SA MSS 11655

Larissa Harrison, state government archivist

You never know what information you will uncover in some collections. State Series 32566 is part of the Department of Transportation’s records. However, this series, covering the district of Grand Forks, includes letters of recommendations from the North Dakota Democratic and Republican parties from the 1930s to 1940s, reflecting the political cronyism of the period.

Greta Beck, audiovisual archivist

One of my favorite home movie collections at the State Archives was filmed by Clayton Maw who documented his family's everyday life and important moments in and around Kidder County from 1949 to 1970—all on 8 mm film. His films cover a wide variety of family milestones like weddings, birthday parties, and graduations, as well as more everyday events like reshingling a barn, stunt car races, harvesting a field, and playing cards.

Maw loved farming and had a passion for airplanes, hunting, and traveling with his family. These interests are visible in the footage he captured of hunting scenes, family vacations, the Bismarck Air Show, and aerial shots from an airplane of Bismarck and the Garrison Dam. Home movies tell a very personal story through the perspective of a family and give the viewer a more intimate look at what life was like when the films were made.

This still from Clayton Maw’s 8 mm film shows young children and a dog helping out on a family farm in Kidder County, circa 1955. SHSND SA MSS 11375-00001