[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16341-16342]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      125TH ANNIVERSARY OF LaMOURE

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, it was 125 years ago that pioneers 
created the city of LaMoure, ND.
  LaMoure and its surrounding territory got off to an unexpectedly 
strong start due to the work of a fellow named MAJ H.T. Elliott. He was 
employed by a real estate firm whose financial fortunes depended upon 
the prosperity and success of homesteaders and town builders in the 
LaMoure area.
  To ensure that region boomed, Major Elliott was sent to the nearest 
railroad station to meet incoming emigrants. If they appeared to be 
bright, industrious, honest folks with adequate financial resources, 
Elliott directed them to the region around LaMoure. But if they were of 
a suspect type, Elliott sent them off in the opposite direction.
  Elliott himself was the county's first citizen but had the misfortune 
to establish the town of Grand Rapids which immediately found itself in 
a fight with LaMoure over which should be the county seat. When Grand 
Rapids lost that election, LaMoure's citizens armed themselves and 
trooped across country in the dead of night to seize the governmental 
records.
  They were met at Grand Rapids by barricaded doors and rifles 
bristling from the courthouse windows. But with the aid of a battering 
ram, they smashed their way in and the Grand Rapids defenders slipped 
away. LaMoure had its first triumph.

[[Page 16342]]

  There have been many more since then--some headline making like State 
championship sports teams, installation of a Coast Guard radar site 
serving mariners and pilots all around the globe, a national award as 
an All-America City, home to U.S. Senator Milton Young.
  But many more of its successes never garnered headlines. They were 
the quiet but meaningful stories of strong families, vibrant 
businesses, prosperous farms, good kids, and the warmth of citizens who 
cared about each other.
  LaMoure is both a wellspring and a repository of what is best about 
America--old-fashioned values of honesty, decency, hard work, faith, 
and family. Its foundation is solid, and its people will continue to 
create a community where dreams are turned into reality.

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