Russell Samuel Reid
February 6, 1900 - July 4, 1967
Adapted from Far Spread the Sparks from Cantire, by Mary McKay
Additional photos from the State Historical Society of North Dakota
Dad's cousin, Russell Samuel Reid, was the third son of Peter Reid and Henrietta Balfour. He was born at the family farm near Hannah, North Dakota, on February 6, 1900. His father settled in Cavalier County in 1886 and his mother arrived there in 1889. The family moved to Langdon in Cavalier County in 1905 and then to Bismarck in 1913 where Russell graduated from high school.
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| Peter Reid's four sons: L-R: Russell, Austin, Neil, with Sterling in front |
Russell was the quietest of the boys, he studied and thought out problems quietly by himself. From his childhood he was interested in nature. He was the only one of the boys who knew when he was very young, what was to be his life’s work. When he was four or five he began to collect pictures of birds and animals. He maintained his interest in nature, especially birds, all his life.
Russell was never very strong. When he was twelve years old, he was ill all winter and lost a year of school. He completed his schooling in Bismarck and graduated from Bismarck High School when he was nineteen years old.
Russell found his first beaver dam when the family moved to Bismarck. Here were many more shore birds and he travelled many miles with his dog and gun. He gave up hunting with a gun and began hunting with his brother Austin’s camera. He covered the area around Hay Creek and Apple Creek, did considerable trapping but gave up trapping when a very young man. His interests were entirely to preserve and protect wild creatures and birds.
Russell studied and thought out his problems quietly by himself. He could take the engine of his motorcycle or the old Dodge apart and put them together again, then with his long, slender fingers tint pictures or slides.
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| L-R: George Will, Sr., Clell Gannon, and Russell Reid sit near the Missouri River. [Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota] |
About the years 1922-23, George Will, Clell Gannon and Russell had a boat built and named it “Hugh Glass.” They shipped it to Medora by train and they made great preparations getting ready for a trip starting on the Little Missouri. They did have some dangerous and harrowing experiences coming down the Missouri River and good times, too, and took many fine pictures all along the way. Such a trip was an undertaking for experienced river men, which they were not. Russell could not even swim. They had made maps and they knew where they were coming down the river and they wrote a very accurate report of their trip. They had a good time and had something to talk about for a long time.
Russell’s health did not permit him to go to college. He had the opportunity of going to George Washington University while his older brother, Neil, was there, but decided not to. Instead he got his education out of old books about nature, travels and history. He continued to build up a good library which was worth about $3,000.
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| A car fords the Little Missouri River at the south unit of the Theodore Roosevelt State Park near Medora. Photo by Russell Reid, 1935. [Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota] |
He had a wonderful memory and could tell the exact date of any important thing that happened years ago.
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| Captain Roald Amundsen stands in front of Theodore Roosevelt's Maltese Cross cabin while it was on the state capital grounds in Bismarck. Photo by Russell Reid, May 11, 1925. [Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota] |
While his two older brothers were serving in the army in France, Russell was accidentally shot by a friend. His mother gives this account:
“Russell visited his trap line every Saturday and often he invited boys to come and stay with him all night. He had the whole attic for his bedroom and they all slept there. One day Russell was showing the boys an old Civil War gun given him by Mr. Andrew Munson who had dug it up from a Soo Railway track. It was rusted clear though. Russell was holding the gun high showing the boys when one of the boys picked up Russell’s 22 rifle and began pointing around the room and he turned and pointed it at Russell and pulled the trigger. The gun was not supposed to be loaded but the bullet went through Russell’s left wrist, through his lung, scarcely missing his heart. He was able to come downstairs, open the kitchen door where I was making their lunch and said: “Mama, I am shot.” I helped him to a chair and ran over to the office to tell his dad. We both ran back. I thought he was dying as he could not speak. He was hurried to the St. Alexis Hospital. They had been phoned and were waiting for us and was taken to the X-ray room. Doctor Roan said if there was no serious hemorrhaging he would get well. However he did hemorrhage once, as Russell never had been very strong. He was a long time getting over this. He was sick most all winter and lost another year of school.”
By spring Russell was feeling much better but not very strong and he was restless and wanted some work to do. He was offered some work with the county surveyor, Mr. T. R. Atkinson. The fresh air and the interesting work did much for him. In 1922 he got a position with Doctor Gilmore in the museum for a time. Sometime later he became assistant librarian and had charge of the children’s room. In 1928 Doctor Gilmore offered him a permanent position as curator. In 1929 he became superintendent of the Historical Society which office he held until 1965. For the next two years he held the position of historian and superintendent emeritus until his retirement on July 1, 1967, only three days before his death.
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| Russell Reid looked after his mother, Henrietta (Balfour) Reid |
As a young man he never took part in any social affairs but stayed mostly at home. He shared his whole life with his mother who died only four years before him. The following quotes from her family story show the closeness of their relationship.
“I have been told that Russell’s collection of Badland scenes, historic sites, animals and birds and nests pictures are the best in the state of North Dakota. At that time they appeared in many newspapers, wild life magazines and school pamphlets. He still is a number one photographer but has not the time. No one but a photographer knows what it is to take pictures of wild life and wild flowers, waiting for the sun to be just right, the wind to go down, or wading the sloughs. I went with him on one trip to the lake at McKenzie to take pictures. We took our lunch and were there all day. Russell said you won’t like it mother but I assured him I would. I did not see much of him, he was behind the rushes and grasses; at nine o’clock it was almost dark and I could see a speck away across the water. It was Russell and I said guess we better go home, the mosquitoes are here by the thousands and horse flies. That was my last trip. He did get some good pictures, the patience he was waiting for birds to come back to the nest. The taking of rattle snakes, very close to them, are in his collection. Clell Gannon was with Russell on some of his trips and they did have a lot in common and took many pictures and developed them.
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| Clell Gannon atop a rock formation near Grassy Butte, North Dakota. Photo by Russell Reid, 1923. [Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota] |
“One trip I remember when he was about 20 years old he took the bicycle and went down to Sibley Island to spend the say. A terrible hail and rain storm had come up and he could not ride the bike home but had to push it 6 or 7 miles and most of the way home. He was so work out and tired I began taking off his shoes and stockings. He leaned back in his chair and said, ‘Oh, Mother, I had a good time today.’ ‘What did you do that you had such a good time?’ He said, “saw 6 or 7 big bull snakes.’ That was to him, a good time.
“Russell did have a great life in those early ’20s driving around on his new Harley Davidson motorcycle. I went with him on many trips and was comfortable in the side car, catching up or passing slow trains, it was like sailing in the air.
“Russell had known Usher L. Burkick for some time and he got the address of Duke de Vallombrosa’s in France. Russell had in mind getting some of the relics from the Marquis de More’s chateau. The Duke came to the United States and came on to Bismarck and gave the old chateau and all the possessions to the Historical Society, sending pieces of old furniture from France. He has been in Bismarck several times and stayed with us overnight. He was a sick, depressed and unhappy man as France had fallen to the Germans and he was anxious about his son in the French army. A very fine gentleman, Russell got to know him very well and will ever be grateful to him for giving the old home of his father and mother to the care and custody of the Historical Society. This was another highlight in Russell’s life. He had hoped for many years to have a building at Fort Abraham Lincoln. Through the W.P.A. work they did have a marker placed at the old building, block houses a stockade and a very fine stone structure, the museum, also picnic grounds. Another state park is situated at Arvilla, called Turtle River State Park and has cabins for tourists.
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| The Chateau de Mores in Medora. Photo by Russell Reid, 1942. [Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota] |
One of the highlights of Russell’s life was when he got a letter from Ernest Thompson Seton asking him to be his assistant and drive his car to the northwestern part of the country. He was given two months’ leave of absence by the Historical Board of Directors. With the party was Dr. Clyde Fisher and his wife, Mrs. Ray Buttrey, Seton’s secretary, Carol Stryker, Long Island, New York, and Miss Helen Saunders who was learning the sign languages. They left early July going by way of Fort Yates. It was a great experience for Russell. This expedition went as far as Arizona and New Mexico. They saw some wonderful country, climbed Long’s Peak in Colorado, witnessed several Indian religious dances, met some of the Indians, saw them weaving by hand the Navajo rugs and the making of pottery, brought some of their jewelry and baskets home. When their trip was almost at an end they were disbanding when Russell took seriously ill with typhoid fever. He was determined to come home and the health officer gave him permission to take the train home. How he ever stood the long journey the doctors said it was a terrible risk as well as terrible punishment for Russell. Carol Stryker brought him as far as Chicago and Clell Gannon went to meet him there. Not very long after this trip he was appointed Superintendent of the Society.
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| North Dakota Governor Norman Brunsdale, Joe Fleck, and Russell Reid with a 1904 Cadillac at the State Historical Society Museum, Bismarck, between 1951 and 1957. [Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota] |
Russell was superintendent of the State Historical Society of North Dakota from 1930 until 1965 and was editor of North Dakota History for 20 years. Even after his retirement he remained superintendent emeritus until July 1 1967, only three days before his death. After a short illness he died July 4, 1967. He was 67 years old.
Russell Reid was modest, steadfast, co-operative, very much a man of good counsel and of his word. He was the son who stayed home, shared his mother’s interest in growing gladiolus and gourds and cared for her in her old age. Despite the occasional stammer, he was a good conversationalist and a good story teller, not too retiring to give any asker the benefit of a remarkable store of North Dakota lore, ready at tongue-tip.
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| Russell Reid cuts the ribbon to open the Pembina Museum, July 4, 1962. [Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota] |
This newspaper article praises him highly for his contribution to North Dakota’s state heritage.
29 Years on Job, University to Honor N.D. Historian
by Ted Kolderie, Minneapolis Tribune Staff Writer
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – “What else is a historian but a man who collects history?”
By this definition – his own – Russell Reid is North Dakota’s No. 1 historian. In his 29 years as keeper of the state’s public attic he has stored away everything from Indian arrowheads to huge steam tractors.
His collections now fill 17 rooms of the state museum and a couple of small warehouses beside.
A Red River ox cart. Photo by Russell Reid, November 28, 1923.
[Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota]
For his devoted work, the tall, quiet superintendent of the State Historical Society is to receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree at commencement exercises at the University of North Dakota here this afternoon.
His object, Reid explained last week, is to preserve an example of almost anything that people who have lived in North Dakota have used.
He has a small armory of rifles and hand guns, and a full line of agricultural implements. He subscribes to every daily and weekly newspaper in the state. He has saved coffee grinders, vacuum cleaners and radios.
“People are too intent on looking backward,” Reid said. “You have to anticipate what things we’re using now that may be of historical importance in the future.” His collection of lamps, for example, includes the latest variety of fluorescent tubes as well as the pioneer’s candles.
His policy is simple: “If in doubt about an article, save it.”
Reid was born in 1900 on a farm in Cavalier county. He came to Bismarck in 1913 where he finished public school. He began as an assistant in the state museum in 1918, became curator in 1923 and took the post of superintendent in 1929.
A bachelor, he lives with his mother in a small house on Twelfth Street in Bismarck.
From his office in the Liberal Memorial building, on the lush green lawn such south of the state capitol, Reid also supervises North Dakota’s 4,390-acre state park system.
State Historical Society staff members Russell Reid and Margaret Rose in the Liberty Memorial Building in Bismarck, circa 1937. [Source: State Historical Society of North Dakota]
Originally concerned largely with the preservation of historic sites, the system is now moving more and more toward recreation as a primary purpose.
Only a handful of state employees surpass Reid in length of service. He has the kind of relationship with the legislature that every administrator dreams of. “If Russell Reid asks for this appropriation, he needs it,” is the attitude. “He spends every dollar as if it were his own,” one state official remarked.
A modest – almost shy – man, Reid seldom argues out a disagreement. He is more likely to begin, in Socratic fashion, a series of quiet questions that makes his point more effectively.
His personal interests in history are in Indian life, the fur trade, early navigation on the Missouri river and in the beginnings of railroading on the plains.
He writes occasionally, and once taught a short course in North Dakota history. But basically, he said, his job as a historian is to gather artifacts, household objects, tools, documents, photographs, newspapers, interviews – everything that goes to form the record of life in North Dakota.
“If historical societies didn’t collect things,” he said, “the people who write and interpret history wouldn’t have anything to write about."
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Russell Reid's death was noted in several newspapers.
Russell Reid, 67, Dies; 36 Years State Historian
An era in North Dakota history and the preservation of the state's heritage came to an end Sunday night with the death of Russell Reid in a Bismarck Hospital.
Death came to Reid, who spent his last 50 years in the service of the state, at 9:15 p.m. Sunday. He was 67 years old.
His efforts as superintendent of the State Historical Society helped bring about the creation of Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park, the Chateau de Mores Historic site, the International Peace Garden and the establishment of numerous other historic sties across the state. He served as state historian for 36 years.
Reid, a native North Dakotan, was born in Hannah, February 6, 1900. His family moved to Langdon in 1905 and to Bismarck in 1913. While he was attending Bismarck High School, Reid went to work for the State Historical Society as a library and museum assistant.
Following graduation from high school, Reid worked as a rod man for an engineering firm. He worked for the Bismarck Public Library for two years and then in the summer of 1922 he went back to the historical society. In 1928 he was named curator of the Historical Society Museum.
When the superintendent resigned in 1929, Reid took over that position and held it until July 1, 1965. He held the position of historian and superintendent emeritus from that time until his retirement on July 1, 1967.
In 1954, he was awarded the Pugsley silver medal for outstanding achievement in state park development and historic site preservation. The medal was presented by the American Scenic and Historical Society.
He served as editor of the North Dakota Historical Quarterly from 1945 to 1965. He was the first vice president of the International Peace Garden, Inc., and a founder of the Missouri Slope Izaak Walton League.
Reid was a member of the National Conference of State Parks and a senior fellow of the American Institute of Park Executives.
In 1958 he received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from the University of North Dakota.
Reid was honored at a testimonial dinner at the Municipal Country Club only a month ago, with friends and admirers from throughout the state speaking admiringly of him and his work for the state.
He was the guest of honor at another testimonial banquet in Bismarck 18 years ago.
He also contributed much to Bismarck, serving on the Bismarck Public Library board, the Bismarck Hospital board of trustees and the Girl Scout executive board. He was a member of the Rotary Club, the Bismarck Art Association the Garden Club and the First Presbyterian Church.
Considered the No. 1 authority on many aspects of North Dakota history and on its scenic and historic sites, Reid was regarded as the principal author of efforts to preserve this historic heritage.
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| Clipping from Annie Reid's scrapbook |
