10/31/2009:
On this date in 1910, Pastor John Orchard of Dickinson presented his congregation with plans for a new Congregational Church in Medora, for which the citizens of the vicinity had been fundraising. Initiative for a new church building began the previous summer, and church members had been busy soliciting donations.<span </span Members raised over $1,000 by this time, allowing work to begin on the structure.<span </span Although the largest donation amounted to $500 on behalf of the Congregational Building Society in New York, the church congregation drew utmost pride from another benefactor from New York.<span </span Church member J. A. McGreggor had written former Medora resident Teddy Roosevelt about the congregation’s plans, and Roosevelt responded by donating $50.00 to the church’s efforts – evidence that the former President had not forgotten his North Dakota roots.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Source:
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican <span style="normal;" , Friday (Evening ed.), Nov. 4, 1910: p.1.