The world can be cruel. What can go wrong, often does go wrong, and likely for that reason there is evidence of groups starting to insure ships and their cargo in the fourteenth century in Italy. Fire insurance was first sold in Germany in the sixteenth century, and life insurance was introduced in England in the late seventeenth century. They all realized, like we do now, that there is a great benefit in sharing the risk of tragedy among an entire community.

So when three young entrepreneurs walked into the office of Mr. F. L. Conklin, the then president of the Bismarck Commercial Club, to share their idea of a life insurance company, whose headquarters would be in Bismarck, Mr. Conklin was all ears. The young entrepreneurs came well prepared with facts and figures that supported their dreams. The Bismarck Commercial Club voted to approve their proposal, and on March 8th, 1915, the company was incorporated as the Provident Insurance Company.

Unfortunately for the young entrepreneurs, they had taken on more than they could handle. The group couldn’t keep up. Mr. Conklin was appointed to oversee affairs, and he soon realized the company didn’t have policy forms, rate books, or even agents. Mr. Conklin got to work and one month later the small company had over $9,000 in sales. Under two years later they had nearly $4,000,000 of insurance in force. Then came the Spanish flu, and World War I. The company’s surplus was exhausted, but they weathered the storm. In fact, Provident Insurance was one of only a few companies to pay all war claims, in spite of war clauses that freed them of the obligation. Not only that, but the company was able to expand into South Dakota, and Minnesota during the depression period of the early 1920’s.

In 1921, the name was changed to Provident Life Insurance. Bismarck Pioneer and Banker, C.B. Little was elected as their President in 1924, and led the company until his death in 1942. Under his direction, the company withstood the 1929 stock market crash, and expanded into Montana, Washington, and Oregon.

The group that got its start in downtown Bismarck with two small rooms and three wooden desks, moved to the corner of Broadway and Second Street. Later, in 1942, Mr. Conklin was elected as president, and the company continued to thrive. By 1954, nearly every newspaper in the region boasted of their next major move—to the location where you are now, here at 5th street and Rosser.

The building was a modern day marvel at the time. Newspaper ads were taken out daily highlighting a new feature the building boasted. One raved about the modern break rooms equipped with a kitchen and couches, so staff could enjoy their down time. Another covered the company auditorium, which could be utilized by the public. And yet another ad was titled, “The Magical Elevators.” It pointed out that the doors would come “at fingertip call.” Wait for you to get in, never close on you, and then take you to your desired floor.

We’ve come a long way since then, but the most coveted of all the luxuries was found at the top of the building–the weather beacon, which is still in use today. It uses simple colors to show the 12-hour weather forecast. “Green means no change foreseen, red as fire means temperature is going higher, white as snow means down the temperature will go, and blinking in agitation means there’s going to be some precipitation.”

While this basic weather forecasting may seem quaint today with smartphones and weather apps, you can imagine how it was once the talk of the town, and we’re happy it still serves the community today…