9/25/2009:
North Dakota and Italy have more in common than you might realize.
Sure, one doesn't generally think about North Dakota in terms of ancient ruins, gondola rides, and exotic cuisine, but North Dakota does have historic encampments and Indian villages; tubing on Missouri, it's own exotic cuisine ... sauerkraut, fleischkuekle and lutefisk for example ... and once, just like Italy, North Dakota had its very own leaning tower, in the town of Lehr. Only for a little while, though.
On this date in 1945, E. M. Levi of Zeeland could vouch for that. After all, he was the reason North Dakota ended up with such a sight.
It all started when Levi purchased a 90-foot grain elevator and decided to move it from Lehr to Wishek. The task sounded difficult, but it wasn't impossible, and after he loaded his elevator onto the proper equipment to move it to its new location, he took off through town.
However, the elevator was top-heavy, and the streets were narrow with sharp corners. As Levi negotiated one of those corners, grain elevator slid to the side. It would have toppled, but a telephone pole held the building in place, creating a curiosity for the whole town to view, right in the middle of town. In fact, those driving by had to detour around on side streets.
Luckily, aside from some battered vehicles, no one was hurt. It was thought that the incident stemmed from a soft shoulder. In any case, Levi straightened Lehr's one and only leaning tower, then pulled it back to its original site.
Levi decided to postpone the move indefinitely. After all, a leaning tower was a great tourist attraction for Pisa, but a leaning grain elevator in the middle of Lehr caused a few too many problems. Although it surely attracted onlookers at the time.
So, just remember this the next time you have the urge for the exotic - because you might be able to find a little Italy right here in North Dakota.
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
Sources:
The Ashley Tribune and the Wishek News, Thursday, Sept. 27, 1945, p.1