The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award is an award presented by the governor of the state of North Dakota to prominent North Dakotans. The award "recognizes present and former North Dakotans who have been influenced by the state in achieving national recognition in their fields of endeavor, thereby reflecting credit and honor upon North Dakota and its citizens." [1]
It has been awarded to 50 North Dakotans since its establishment in 1961 under Governor William L. Guy. [2]
Name | Rationale | Date of Award |
---|---|---|
Lawrence Welk | Career as an entertainer | August 28, 1961 |
Dorothy Stickney | Career as an actress | November 2, 1961 |
Ivan Dmitri | Career as an artist | April 13, 1962 |
Roger Maris | Career as an athlete | January 4, 1964 |
Eric Sevareid | Career as a journalist | April 17, 1964 |
General Harold K. Johnson | Military service, 24th Chief of Staff of the U. S. Army | April 23, 1965 |
Dr. Anne H. Carlsen | Career as an educator | September 9, 1966 |
Edward K. Thompson | Career as a journalist | April 19, 1968 |
Dr. Robert Henry Bahmer | Career as an archivist, 4th Archivist of the United States | July 28, 1970 |
Louis L'Amour | Career as an author | May 26, 1972 |
Bertin C. Gamble | Career as an entrepreneur | October 20, 1972 |
Casper Oimoen | Career as an athlete | February 12, 1973 |
Peggy Lee | Career as an entertainer | May 23, 1975 |
Harold Schafer | Career as an entrepreneur | July 4, 1975 |
Era Bell Thompson | Career as a journalist | August 14, 1976 |
Dr. Leon Orris Jacobson | Career as a physician | October 1, 1976 |
Elizabeth Bodine | Humanitarian activities | July 27, 1979 |
Phyllis Frelich | Career as an actress | April 27, 1981 |
Clifford "Fido" Purpur | Career as an athlete | May 16, 1981 |
General David C. Jones | Military service, 9th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | May 21, 1982 |
Ronald N. Davies | Career as a jurist | June 11, 1987 |
Phil Jackson | Career as an athlete and coach | July 30, 1992 |
Larry Woiwode | Career as an author | October 23, 1992 |
Angie Dickinson | Career as an actress | December 2, 1992 |
Reverend Richard C. Halverson | Career as a clergyman, 60th Chaplain of the U. S. Senate | March 26, 1994 |
Brynhild Haugland | Career as a legislator | March 20, 1995 |
Admirial William A. Owens | Military service, 3rd Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | January 29, 1996 |
Carl Ben Eielson | Career as an aviator | August 26, 1997 |
Warren Christopher | Career as a public servant | June 20, 1998 |
Bobby Vee | Career as an entertainer | June 20, 1999 |
Chester "Chet" Reiten | Career as an entrepreneur | October 8, 2002 |
Thomas J. Clifford | Career as an educator | November 23, 2002 |
Sister Thomas Welder | Career as an educator | May 1, 2004 |
Harry J. Pearce | Career as a businessman | August 11, 2004 |
William C. Marcil | Career as a businessman | May 18, 2006 |
Woodrow W. Keeble | Military service, Medal of Honor recipient | July 23, 2009 |
Doug Burgum | Career as an entrepreneur and philanthropist | November 20, 2009 |
Ronald D. Offutt | Career as an entrepreneur and philanthropist | September 15, 2011 |
Louise Erdrich | Career as an author | April 19, 2013 |
Herman Stern | Career as a businessman, activist, and humanitarian | March 13, 2004 |
Gerald W. VandeWalle | Career as a jurist, 43rd Chief Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court | January 7, 2014 |
John D. Odegard | Career in aviation and education | October 15, 2015 |
Eugene Dahl | Career as a businessman and entrepreneur | October 28, 2016 |
Clint Hill | Career as a U. S. Secret Service agent | October 5, 2018 |
Monique Lamoureux and Jocelyne Lamoureux | Careers as athletes, Olympic gold medalists | July 14, 2021 |
Dr. Merton B. Utgaard | Career as an educator, founder of International Music Camp | July 29, 2022 |
Virgil Hill | Career as an athlete | October 30, 2023 |
James Buchli | Career as an aviator and astronaut | July 30, 2024 |
Steve D. Scheel | Career as an entrepreneur and philanthropist | November 26, 2024 [3] |
Theodore Roosevelt Jr., also known as Teddy or T. R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. He previously was involved in New York politics, including serving as the state's 33rd governor for two years. He was the vice president under President William McKinley for six months in 1901, assuming the presidency after McKinley's assassination. As president, Roosevelt emerged as a leader of the Republican Party and became a driving force for anti-trust and Progressive policies.
Medora is a city in Billings County, North Dakota, United States. The only incorporated place in Billings County, it is also the county seat. Much of the surrounding area is part of either Little Missouri National Grassland or Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The population was 121 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dickinson Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and disorganized in comparison to its status during the American Civil War roughly thirty years prior. Following the sinking of USS Maine, President William McKinley needed to muster a strong ground force swiftly, which he did by calling for 125,000 volunteers to assist in the war. The U.S. had gone to war in opposition to Spanish colonial policies in Cuba, which was then torn by a rebellion. The regiment was also nicknamed "Wood's Weary Walkers" for its first commander, Colonel Leonard Wood. This reflected their dissatisfaction that despite being cavalry, they ended up fighting in Cuba as infantry, since their horses were not sent there with them.
William Lewis Guy was an American politician who was the 26th governor of North Dakota from 1961 to 1973. Guy was North Dakota's longest-serving governor in state history, serving two consecutive two-year terms and two four-year terms in office.
Seth Bullock was a Canadian-American frontiersman, business proprietor, politician, sheriff, and U.S. Marshal. He was a prominent citizen in Deadwood, South Dakota, where he lived from 1876 until his death, operating a hardware store and later a large hotel, the Bullock Hotel.
Elizabeth Bodine was an American humanitarian. She was given the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award in July 1979 in recognition of the International Year of the Child. She was honored as North Dakota Mother of the Year and National Mother of the Year in 1968.
Larry Alfred Woiwode was an American writer from North Dakota, where he was the state's Poet Laureate from 1995 until his death. His work appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly, Harpers, Gentleman's Quarterly, The Partisan Review and The Paris Review. He was the author of five novels; two collections of short stories; a commentary titled "Acts"; a biography of the Gold Seal founder and entrepreneur, Harold Schafer, Aristocrat of the West; a book of poetry, Even Tide; and reviews and essays and essay-reviews that appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times and The Washington Post Book World. He received North Dakota's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, in 1992.
Harold Schafer was a North Dakota businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the Gold Seal Company, the original maker of Mr. Bubble. He also was a major benefactor in the tourist town of Medora, North Dakota and the Medora Musical.
Woodrow Wilson Keeble was a U.S. Army National Guard combat veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. In 2008, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the Korean War. He was a member of the people of the Lake Traverse Reservation, a federally recognized tribe of Dakota people.
Brynhild Haugland was an American Republican politician, who was well known for being one of the first female legislators in the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, as well as for being the longest serving state legislator in the history of the United States because of her continuous 52-year tenure in the North Dakota House of Representatives. Fred A. Risser retired in 2021 as the longest serving state legislator in United States history.
The Theodore Roosevelt Monument Assemblage is a collection of 24 stones and plaque located in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay, New York. The stones and other objects are meant to each represent a "chapter" and together form a "book" telling the story of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States.
Casper Oimoen was an American ski jumping champion.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of North Dakota:
Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt is a 1939 bronze sculpture by James Earle Fraser. It was located on public park land at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The equestrian statue depicts Theodore Roosevelt on horseback. Walking on either side of him are two men, on one side a Native American and on the other, a sub-Saharan African.
Rough Rider State Park is a public recreation area located along the eastern banks of the Little Missouri River about two miles (3.2 km) south of Medora in Billings County, North Dakota. The state park is used for camping, horse camping, and canoeing. The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry when it was led by Theodore Roosevelt. His presidential library is under construction nearby as Roosevelt hunted and ranched in the area in the 1880s. Formerly named after nearby Sully Creek, the name change in 2024 included consideration of General Alfred Sully who led military campaigns against the Sioux.
Douglas James Burgum is an American businessman and politician serving since 2016 as the 33rd governor of North Dakota. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Herman Stern was an American humanitarian, social and economic activist, businessman, visionary and director of the North Dakota Winter Show, and Holocaust rescuer.
Sister Thomas Welder, OSB was an American educator, academic administrator, and Benedictine nun. Born and raised in North Dakota, she entered Annunciation Monastery in 1959, at age 19. She began working at the Benedictine-sponsored Mary College in 1963 and served as its president from 1978 to 2009. Under Welder, the college expanded to become the University of Mary. She received North Dakota's highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, in 2004.
Anne Helen Carlsen was an American special educator born without forearms or lower legs, a disability rights advocate, private school superintendent, author, and namesake of a private school.