Arrowwood Prairie Co-op and
Land O’ Lakes Make Donation
to Depot Restoration Project
Arrowwood Prairie Co-op and Land O’ Lakes Foundation have made an $800 donation to the WimbledonCommunityMuseum for the Midland Continental Depot Restoration.
Arrowwood Prairie Co-op is a locally owned and operated cooperative with the main office located in Wimbledon, ND, and offices in Cooperstown, Carrington and Sutton, ND. Merged in 2006 Arrowwood Prairie Co-op provides gas, refined fuels, propane, fertilizer, chemical custom application, automobile and light truck repair, tire sales, and Agronomy.
The Land O’ Lakes Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life in rural communities where the cooperative has members, employees, plants and facilities. Submitted by Mary Beth Orn
PHOTO: JUNE 28, 2011: Mary Beth Orn accepts the check from Paul Klosterman, Arrowwood Prairie Co-op General Manager. The Co-op in turn received a Golden Spike in acknowledgement of the gift.
-----
The new platform between the caboose and Depot was built during May 2011.
TCI Insurance Donates to Depot Restoration
Photo, L to R: Renee Huber – TCI, Mary Beth Orn – Depot Restoration
Committee Treasurer, Staci Guscette – TCI, Ross Florhaug - TCI
June 2011: TCI Insurance of Wimbledon has made a $500 donation to the Wimbledon Community Museum for the Midland Continental Depot Restoration project. “Doing what we can to keep our town and the surrounding areas active and vital is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to our clients and our business community”, stated Renee Huber, one of the owners of TCI. TCI is locally owned and operated and has offices located in Wimbledon, West Fargo, and Enderlin.
Photo & text submitted by Mary Beth Orn
Successful Peggy Lee Day in Valley City
by Wes Anderson, Curator, BarnesCountyHistoricalMuseum
and member of the Midland Continental Depot Restoration Committee
June 3, 2011 was PEGGY LEE DAY in Valley City ND. Peggy Lee's music played all day on KOBC 490 AM radio, and the Barnes County Histroical Museum organized special Peggty Lee displays for people to view.
The perfect capstone to the day was the big band sound of Myron Sommerfeld and the Music of the Stars Orchestra at the Valley City Eagles Club, where over 160 people danced and enjoyed the sounds of days gone by.
-----------
Cass County Electric Cooperative Grant Funds Depot Restoration Work 
The Wimbledon Community Museum has received a contribution from the Rural Development Finance Corporation one-time grant program through Cass County Electric Cooperative. These funds will be used to complete the restoration of the only Midland Continental Railroad Depot for re-use as the Midland Continental Depot Transportation Museum.
The grand plan for the Midland Continental was a north-south transcontinental railway linking grain markets of Winnipeg Manitoba and the port town of Galveston TX. The 67-mile short line railroad, built from 1909-1913 connecting Edgeley, Jamestown and Wimbledon was the extent of the railroad actually constructed. A disastrous spring flood in 1969 dealt more than $200,000 in damage to rail beds and bridges, both the Soo Line (now Canadian Pacific) and Burlington Northern (now Burlington Northern Santa Fe) picked up small stretches of the line and the Midland Continental railroad was abandoned.
The museum will also document the life of singer-songwriter Peggy lee, who lived and worked at the depot from 1934-1937 while her father served as the station master. This facility will serve as a visitor attraction and have a positive economic impact on the community. Several contributors have assisted with the more than $275,000 total project.
Cass County Electric provided the assistance of Bobby Koepplin, manager of rural development based in Valley CityND, to serve as the project manager for development of drawings, bid documents, managing contractors and providing grand administration.
The Rural Development Finance Corporation is pleased to offer these one-time grants to community projects in North Dakota communities with populations under 5,000 through its members – all 16 North Dakota Rural Electric Cooperatives and nine of the state Rural Telecommunications Cooperatives.
Submitted to the Valley City Times Record and appearing in the May 16 2011 issue - Mary Beth Orn, Midland Depot Restoration Committee Treasurer
Midland Depot Restoration Receives Tourism Grant
A 2011 North Dakota Tourism Infrastructure and Expansion Grant for $15,000 was awarded to the WimbledonCommunityMuseum to restore the Midland Continental Depot. The grant requires the sponsor to provide $1 for every $2 of grant money. The Wimbledon project was one of 10 grants receiving funding. Fargo Forum November 7 2010
Midland Continental Depot Preservation & Restoration Seed Money from Myrna Bultema's Estate Presented
A ceremony was held on July 6 (2007) to mark the formation of the Midland Continental Depot Restoration Committee. In her will, Myrna Bultema provided for a $20,000 gift which is to be used monies. Mary Beth Orn (WHS ’75), daughter of Myrna Bultema, presented the gift to the Wimbledon Museum Board. The Board then symbolically passed the check to the Restoration Committee to begin the project. for the preservation and restoration of the Midland Continental Depot. Myrna had been a long-time supporter of the depot and its ties to the famous jazz singer Peggy Lee. As a member of the Wimbledon Museum Board, she took part in the dedication of the building as a National Historic Place in June, 2005. It is the intention that her gift will be the seed money which allows the restoration committee to fund necessary studies and pursue grant monies. Mary Beth Orn (WHS ’75), daughter of Myrna Bultema, presented the gift to the Wimbledon Museum Board. The Board then symbolically passed the check to the Restoration Committee to begin the project.
