Gordon MacGregor Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 861

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Gordon MacGregor Papers are organized into two series: Correspondence and Subject files. In the Correspondence Series is a 1930 letter concerning New Rockford Park, a 1932 letter from S.W. Thompson about Missouri Diversion, and several letters to and from the Ripley "Believe It or Not" radio show (1937) concerning an appearance by Chief White Bull on the show. There are several letters from George M.B. Hawley about articles he wrote for the Bismarck Tribune on Charles Stow Eaton, Yellowstone Kelly, and Gerald Nye (1938), a letter from Daisy DeGraff Smith about her father, William DeGraff (1938) and a letter about Ben Ash (1940). The Subject Files contain articles on Bismarck history including one on 1883 settlers, some 1874 incidents, articles on Ben Ash, on statehood and on steam boating, including articles on John B. Belk and Mr. and Mrs. Charles MacGuire. There are several articles on cattle ranching, and on the Missouri, later Garrison, Diversion project (1933-65), with clippings on Indians including Chief Joseph, the Des Champs family at Fort Union, Geronimo, the Mandans, and the missionary, Father Bernard (Michael Strassmeier). There are also clippings on the army and its battles, including the Custer battle, the battles of Big Mound and the Killdeer Mountains, and Gen. Crooks' Mule Train. There are also articles on writer, Colin Clements, an article by Gov. J.M. Devine on North Dakota, some articles on Grand Forks including one on the Ingalls house and miscellaneous biographies. There's an article in the Pacific Northwest Quarterly (July, 1965) on Thomas J. Walsh and Dakota Territory.

Dates

1933-1965

Creator

MacGregor, Gordon, 1903-1943. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection are not held by the Institute for Regional Studies.

Biography

Gordon MacGregor was born in Fargo, North Dakota, January 28, 1903, to Dr. and Mrs. Murdoch MacGregor. He attended school in Fessenden, North Dakota, and later in Fargo, where he graduated from Fargo High School. He attended the University of Wisconsin and then the University of North Dakota, graduating from there in 1925 with a BA degree. After graduation he went to work for the Fargo Forum, leaving in 1926 to become managing editor of the Bismarck Tribune. On June 1, 1930, he returned to Fargo to become publisher of the Fargo News. He later returned to the Bismarck Tribune as managing editor, and while he was there the paper won a 1940 Pulitzer Prize for most useful service of any paper. His articles on the state's grass cover and irrigation potentialities also won renown. In September, 1940, he left to become editor-manager of the Dickinson Press. In 1931, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he married a teacher and former U.N.D. classmate, Alida Jacobson. They had two daughters, Mary and Jean. On April 16, 1943, Mr. MacGregor died of a heart attack, and is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Fargo, N.D. He belonged to the Elks and to Masons, and to Sigma Chi fraternity. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Bismarck, North Dakota.

Extent

0.4 Linear Feet (0.4 linear feet)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Editor of the Bismark Tribune when the paper won a Pulizer Prize.

Provenance

Donated by Alida MacGregor Haugen, July, 1957 (Acc. 861)

Separation Record

The following item has been removed from the Gordon MacGregor Collection and sent to the section indicated. Books (Institute book collection)

Oil Hunting in North Dakota, by Gordon MacGregor