Wednesday, March 22, 2006

The Story Behind the "Treasure"...

In 1949, William Gamble saw an ad in THE FARMER, seeking information from individuals who were long-time state residents. The purpose of this search was to find the oldest living persons from which oral history could be taken. William responded.

One of the people conducting such a search during this period was Leonard Sackett. Sackett, a professor at NDSU and a historican for the Institute for Regional Studies, was fortunate enough to hear from the Gamble family again in 1955.

This explains how the letters were loaned to the Institute by a member of that family so they could be transcribed, and the information they contained preserved. Sackett's letter also conveys the profound effect they had on him as he read them. I have had a similar experience as I continue to read through them. I will be posting more shortly...

No comments:

Post a Comment