4/20/2013:
Eleven thousand dollars is a lot to pay for one year in taxes, especially in 1953; but on this date, reports out of Tioga indicated that residents were not unhappy about it, since it came about due to the oil found on their land.
As Mr. and Mrs. Moratzka gave their check for that amount, Mrs. Moratzka told Forum reporters and others, “This is the happiest day of our life.”
They had plenty to be thankful for, with income from Mr. Moratzka’s work at the Tioga Farmers Telephone Company, their regular farm income, and with the royalties from oil on 240 acres.
The royalty check for the month of March alone was just over $1,500 dollars—a nice sum, for 1953.
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
The Fargo Forum, Sunday Morning, April 19, 1953