A love triangle is an age-old story, and it makes for good gossip. In 1912, a reporter in Mandan heard about the fallout from a local love triangle and knew it would make a juicy tale for the newspaper. According to Fritz Bumburg, he was the victim of a fiancée whose head was turned by other men. Mr. Bumburg had placed an advertisement in a matrimonial newspaper, and Mary Ehlert, a widow from New York City, responded. Mrs. Ehlert packed up seven trunks of clothing, china, and silverware to pursue romance in the West, far from the bustle of New York.
Upon arriving in Mandan, Mrs. Ehlert moved into Mr. Bumburg’s home as a housekeeper for a trial period before marriage. However, much to his dismay, the 40-year-old widow soon attracted several gentlemen callers. After Mr. Bumburg scolded her, Mrs. Ehlert left his home and found refuge with Herman Hasel. She moved into his home, planning to marry him instead. The heartbroken Mr. Bumburg told the reporter, “There’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip.”
This was Mr. Bumburg’s version of events, but Mrs. Ehlert wanted to set the record straight. On this date in 1912, a second article appeared in the newspaper, giving her side of the story. According to her, this wasn’t a love triangle, but a tale of socialist ideals gone wrong. Mrs. Ehlert, originally from Germany, had come to New York City with her husband in 1911. After his death, she ran a rooming house and became active in the local socialist party. She explained that Mr. Bumburg was also a socialist and had placed an ad in a German-language newspaper advocating for the party. Intrigued, she began corresponding with him, hoping to move west.
Mrs. Ehlert fully intended to marry Mr. Bumburg and support the socialist cause in North Dakota, but she was unhappy with the conditions in his home. Dissatisfied, she accepted Mr. Hasel’s charity while planning to return to New York. She denied any romantic involvement with Mr. Hasel, claiming she only needed a place to stay until she could leave. In the end, no one involved ended up married—socialist or otherwise.
Dakota Datebook by Trista Raezer-Stursa
Sources:
- Author Unknown. “Romantic Tale from Mandan,” The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, November 16, 1912, pg. 10.
- Author Unknown. “Woman Tells of Her Romance,” The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, November 27, 1912, pg. 1.
