Hanson Mechanical Trade School Records

Collection

Identifier: SC 89

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Booklet (ca. 1926) with extensive information on school and which was sent to prospective students, accreditation certificate, trade school association membership certificate, instruction lesson for electric class, 50th anniversary booklet, and a newspaper clipping.

Dates

1926, 1967-1968

Creator

Hanson Mechanical Trade School (Fargo, N.D.) (Organization)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the NDSU Archives.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection is held by the NDSU Archives.

History

Hanson Mechanical was originally created as Hanson Automobile, Tractor, and Electrical School, in 1918. It was founded, owned, and operated by Swedish immigrant August Hanson (b.1871-d.1945). The school was started in order to better train young men for the new 20th century world, which required highly specialized and technically proficient persons necessary to function. In the 1930s, with the depression going strong, the facility offered the ability to escape grinding poverty through the instilling of skills in a desirable trade. The facilities burned in 1947, and were then rebuilt the following year, expanding the size and capacity of the school.

The school offered courses in arc, and acetylene welding, metal lathe, stamping, machining, and electrical automotive work. Various courses were started and stopped throughout the tenure of the school, such as wheel balancing, rotation, alignment, other automotive work.

As of 1929 the school offered aviation repair and certifications for government aviation programs, this was later sold and the education was discontinued.

The business continued for 58 years, until it was closed in 1976, citing increasing cost of services, and material, as well as the increasing amount of trade and technical schools as reasons for the closure. While the school was originally founded in order to train young men, by the time of its closure, over 200 women had received degrees, and over 10,000 total graduates, many of whom paid for their degree with funds from the G.I. Bill.