[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 69 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S5777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            OPENING OF THE NORTH DAKOTA COWBOY HALL OF FAME

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, because truth in labeling is 
important these days, let me just simply label this as some old-
fashioned bragging about my brother.
  In last Sunday's Fargo Forum, a column by Jack Zaleski described the 
work of my brother Darrell in an extraordinary way and I wanted to 
share it far and wide.
  Darrell has been a journalist, filmmaker, a writer, a historian and 
now a builder. It is already a remarkable career and much is yet to 
come.
  But today I am reprinting for my colleagues the newspaper column that 
describes his latest project: the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. It 
will be dedicated to the history of ranch life and cowboy life on the 
northern Great Plains. His work is an inspiration to those who have a 
passion about honoring our history.
  From the Indians, to the settlers and ranchers, to the rodeo cowboys 
and the bucking horses, the stories will be brought to life in the 
Cowboy Hall of Fame in Medora, North Dakota beginning next month.
  It is a tribute to the dreams and hard work of Darrell Dorgan and 
many others who share in this accomplishment.
  Congratulations to all of them.
  I ask to have the attached article entitled ``Long Ride to Cowboy 
Hall of Fame'' from the May 22nd edition of the Fargo Forum printed in 
the Record.
  The article follows.

                     [From the Forum, May 22, 2005]

                    Long Ride to Cowboy Hall of Fame

                           (By Jack Zaleski)

       I've known Darrell Dorgan for 30 years. He's a member of a 
     shrinking cadre of journalists and former journalists who got 
     started in this business in North Dakota at about the same 
     time. Most of them still are at it. Dorgan (a former 
     journalist) is a contemporary of Grand Forks Herald editor/
     publisher Mike Jacobs, Bismarck Tribune managing editor Ken 
     Rogers, North Dakota Public Radio news director Dave 
     Thompson, and me.
       These days Dorgan is executive director of the North Dakota 
     Cowboy Hall of Fame. A few years ago he wrapped up a career 
     in broadcast journalism during which he established himself 
     as one of the most knowledgeable, dogged reporters in the 
     Bismarck press corps. His work for Prairie Public 
     Broadcasting was some of the best ever done for public 
     television. For his efforts he won nearly every award a 
     broadcaster can win.
       But history was calling--specifically the history, legend 
     and lore of western North Dakota. A bona fide expert on the 
     exploits and foibles of Gen. George A. Custer, Dorgan 
     eventually found a way to fold his love for the state's 
     history into a craft and a living: filmmaking. His videos on 
     such topics as Lewis & Clark in North Dakota, Fort Abraham 
     Lincoln and Custer's 7th, and Sheheke, Ambassador of the 
     Mandan have won praise and plaudits across the nation and in 
     Europe.
       It wasn't a big leap when Dorgan took on the task of 
     raising funds to establish a North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame 
     in historic Medora in the Badlands. As executive director, he 
     worked tirelessly for several years to raise public and 
     private money to fund the $4 million western heritage and 
     cultural center. His efforts have paid off: The hall of fame 
     has a sneak preview scheduled May 28 during the Cowboy Poetry 
     and Art Show. The center will open officially in mid-June. A 
     dedication celebration, complete with induction of hall of 
     fame candidates, will come in early August, at about the time 
     of the Champions Ride rodeo near Sentinel Butte, one of the 
     state's premier bronc riding and roping events.
       Dorgan would be the first to say he didn't do it alone. And 
     of course, a lot of people deserve a measure of credit for 
     the success of the project. But without his vision and focus 
     on the task, the hall would still be a wish. It takes a point 
     man to raise that much money. It takes perserverance.
       I know there were times when Dorgan was discouraged. But he 
     knew North Dakotans would respond to a center where cowboy 
     and ranch life could be enshrined. He understood how deep 
     western roots are planted in the state's history and 
     heritage. He realized that the unique saga of North Dakota's 
     cowboys, ranches and rodeos needed to be gathered in one 
     western place and told through the eyes and by the voices of 
     the men and women who lived the stories.
       It was an ambitious vision from the start. It's been a long 
     ride on a sometimes skittish horse. But Dorgan stuck with it, 
     and this summer the hall of fame will open.
       Not bad for a former newsman--and a broadcast journalist at 
     that . . .

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