This past Sunday, Kyle and I took our kids and our twelve-year-old’s friend up to Canada for the Manitoba World War One Museum’s “Day in the Trenches.”  Kyle and Twelve are fascinated by wartime history – meaning I have been an involuntary visitor to dozens of related museums and historic sites since Kyle is usually my ride.  I say “involuntary” not because they aren’t interesting, but because I find them incredibly sad.  For example, I have yet to see a wartime museum plaque that reads, “Great news!  No one died; in fact, everyone became best friends and lived happily ever after.”

In the case of the “Day in the Trenches,” I didn’t actually HAVE to go.  Kyle was day-tripping, Eight was lukewarm on a drive, and things such as “The Grocery Store” and “Not Going to a War Museum” were a-callin’ me.  However, as a patron of museums far and wide, my Number-One Rule is that if there is an option for an in-person docent (versus a self-guided tour), I take it because those guides know all the really good stuff; and my Absolute Number-One Rule is that if there is a reenactment or any situation where people in costumes do something, I drop what I’m doing and watch it.  “Day in a Trenches” had not one, but TWO scheduled reenactments, so up to Manitoba I went.

The Manitoba World War One Museum is a non-profit museum in rural Pilot Mound and features an exhibit hall with artifacts and photographs, a 250-meter simulated network of trenches, and a series of outdoor stations such as soldier tents and a company headquarters.  Get this: it’s someone’s homestead.  Not former home; active place of residence.  A couple named Bruce and Pam (who is the real boss – or General – of the operation), have converted their entire acreage into a year-round museum.  The museum has set hours, but you can also go by appointment if they are around.

Bruce and Pam must be some kind of landscaping savants, because when I say their “entire acreage” is a museum, I mean that the bulk of the yard is World War I stations, trenching, and parking lots, but still manages to feel pastoral and cozy.  I had to stop myself from picking apples off an apple tree (which I noticed during the bayonet demonstration, as one would) since I momentarily forgot we were there as tourists and not as personal guests.  Although the “Day in the Trenches” was free, so maybe we were guests.

Okay – so, we showed up, parked the car, told the kids to stop fighting, and joined a group of five other folks for the start of the tour.  There were a few hundred people milling about the site, and so the organizers (Pam) had determined the best way to make it easy for everyone to get the full experience would be to move people through the stations in groups of ten, ten minutes at a time.  Each station was manned by a fellow in a uniform (mostly reenactors, but also Bruce), who gave a ten-minute speech on his specific station.  I learned, for instance, that the Canadian Postal Service made a ton of money during the War shuttling messages back and forth from soldiers to families.  For those who couldn’t pay, however, they had a free postcard where the soldiers could check a series of prescribed boxes such as, “I am fine,” or “I am in the hospital.”  I also learned that I could have made it my whole life without seeing a photo of trench foot.

An air horn sounded by Pam indicated when the groups should advance to the next station.  Except that Pam was also in charge of the in-house exhibit hall (I didn’t go into the hall, which was accessed through a trapdoor into their basement, because Eight was done by that point but Kyle said Pam was possibly the most knowledgeable docent he’s ever met), and sometimes Pam would get caught up in that, and so we’d be at the stations for longer than ten minutes – which gave Eight the chance to ask the uniformed presenters questions like, “What happens when you run out of batteries in The Battery?”  and “Have I ever seen corned beef in a can?” 

The reenactments took place at 1:30pm and 3:00pm.  They were scripted and directed by Bruce, and were carried out by actors from Canada, North Dakota, and Minnesota.  In the 1:30 reenactment, the people playing Canadians soldiers attempted, and failed, to cross No-Man’s Land.  In the 3:00, they were successful, capturing Zee Germans.  In the first performance, one of the Canadians accidentally hurt his hand dying on a rock and needed to be bandaged up.  War is dangerous.

The reenactments were great.  The actors were great.  The museum and exhibits were great.  The attendees were great.  Bruce and Pam were great.  On the way home, the boys listed what they liked best, which was everything (they especially got a kick out of the fact that one of the Germans chainsmoked through both reenactments and how they got a face-full of smoke from the smoke bombs).  Eight was so concerned about trench disease carried by rats that he decided he would NEVER own a rat.  Kyle, who has read every book and watched every movie in existence about World War I, loved the reenactments (as well as running into his long-time friend, John Casarin – hi, John!).  For my part, my favorite thing was that we tricked the kids into learning something and got to spend the day with some fantastic people. 

Also, great news!  No one died; in fact, everyone became best friends and lived happily ever after.  The end.

The photo above is of Kyle looking out onto the reenactment. In the background are the Germans. In the foreground is Kyle’s new mustache. I put a few more photos of the Museum on Instagram, which you can see here.

This week on North Dakota Today, we talked about Jim the train conductor at the Roosevelt Park Zoo, the North Dakota Northern Lights Network, and the Jamestown Dog Walk.  Check it out! (North Dakota Today)

The North Dakota Railroad Hall of Fame in Mandan has a new face: Ramona Dockter, the first female engineer in the US. (Facebook)

Twenty-five volunteers spent the past three weeks prettying up (although if you’ve ever been there you know it’s beautiful) Icelandic State Park. (Grand Forks Herald)

For the 11th year, Josef’s is providing free haircuts to Fargo school children. (Valley News Live)

Teachers from across the region launched canoes filled with messages of love and hope on the “River of Dreams.” (Grand Forks Herald)

In North Dakota-adjacent news, Moorhead’s Vern Shellito gifts salsa and barbecue sauce to an area bank that supported him when times were tough. (Fargo Forum)

The Badlands were the backdrop – and Bismarck’s Dean Bellin did production design – of a new western film, entitled Sanctified. (Williston Herald)

As a reminder, I’ll be appearing on North Dakota Today on Monday mornings. Tune in, and send me the people and stories that are nice.  Thank you in advance!

ALSO as a reminder, Kyle now has a North Dakota hockey podcast on Pulltab Sports. It’s called “North Dakota After Dark” and he hosts it with our friends Kelly and Corey. It’s pretty dumb, pretty funny, and I said, “KYLE, you can’t say that” at least 3x when they were recording…so be warned. Episode 6 is now up. Click here to listen.