Walter Paul Buck was born in Garrison, North Dakota on this date in 1915. In the early ‘50s, he helped found the Dakota Boys Ranch. A 1952 Bismarck Tribune article reads: “The first step toward taking over the boys ranch near Mapleton, N. D., was taken [in Oakes] Tuesday by delegates to the North Dakota District convention of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church” as articles of incorporation and bylaws were adopted.
“Purpose is ‘to provide a home and Christian training and education for juvenile boys who come from broken homes, or who are juvenile delinquents, or who are maladjusted.”
Mr. Buck was the organization’s first president, and he helped handle the rocky beginnings that stemmed from a misunderstanding between the board and the Mapleton landowner. Soon, Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Butts donated their 960-acre farm near Tolley, northwest of Minot, and the operation moved west.
By the end of 1955, the Dakota Boys Ranch was qualified to care for up to eight boys, ages 10 through 17. A Bismarck Tribune article stated: “Every boy at the Ranch is there under release from juvenile court or sent by welfare authorities…”
The plan was for boys placed on the Ranch to be so busy they didn’t have the chance to get bored – and thus get into trouble. It was a working farm, and each boy was expected to pull his own weight. Field work, milking cows, feeding livestock, dish washing, table setting, cream separator cleaning – every boy had to take part. In 1955 alone, the boys and their guardians harvested more than 5,000 bushels of wheat, 869 bushels of flax, 700 bushels of oats, 3,500 bushels of barley and 1,187 bushels of rye.
The boys also cared for 20 head of beef and dairy cattle, 12 hogs, 8 sheep, 400 chickens and also some ducks and turkeys. Two saddle horses were used for rounding up the cattle.
A photo that accompanied the story shows two boys feeding three hungry calves, with the caption reading: “Julian and Erling learn the good life…far removed from the pool halls which were once their haunts and education. Zestful living such as this at the ranch is combating juvenile delinquency.”
Since those humble beginnings in 1952, the Dakota Boys Ranch has served thousands from North Dakota and across the country. In 2000, the Ranch expanded services to the Bismarck-Mandan area, and in 2003, the board of directors changed the name to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, to more accurately reflect the population served.
Dakota Datebook by Merry Helm
Sources:
“Church group to have boys ranch.” The Bismarck Tribune. 28 May 1952.
“Dakota Boys Ranch gives break to youth who have had none.” The Bismarck Tribune. 9 Nov 1955.
“Walter P. Buck obituary.” Fargo Forum. Circa 12-3-2002.
Helseth, Candi. “Dakota Boys Ranch: Restoring families for 50 years.” Prairie Business. Oct 2002. http://prairiebizmag.com/article.asp?id=363
