Portrait of Goden Hoberg.

Welcome to Beaver Lake State Park, still commonly known as Red Lake. When thinking back to the homesteaders and pioneers of North Dakota, one often imagines the sod houses, the horse drawn wagons, or the difficult winters those families must have had to endure. Prairie fires weren’t uncommon, and farmers went too many seasons with fickle rainfall. These families truly did whatever they had to in order to survive and put food on the table.

For Gordon Hoberg’s parents, Ole and Nora Hoberg, that meant starting Hoberg Park at Red Lake in 1931. Hoberg Park consisted of “a pavilion, two cottages, and a couple of ice cream stands.” The Hobergs promoted fun activities like dances, picnics, and even hand-built small roller coaster rides made out of wood, with the occasional piece of metal here or there. No doubt, by today’s standards the rides would not have passed an inspection. But nonetheless they provided an escape to the old settlers who gathered for celebrations. The Annual Old Settlers Day was established and North Dakota Governor Bill Langer once spoke at the event.

The festivities at Hoberg Park must have made an impression on Ole and Nora’s son, Gordon, because before the 17-year-old graduated from high school, he had already contacted the Ringling Circus out of New York to see if they would have a place for him the upcoming summer. On the last day of school, Gordon packed up his bags and hitchhiked all the way to New York City. He traveled with the circus all summer throughout the United States. When asked about his time with the circus, Gordon says, “Well, you had to learn quick. I learned what to do and what not to do, and who not to mess with pretty early.” He went on to tell the story about a friend he had met while traveling with the circus–she was a trapeze artist, and on one particular night he remembered that she had imbibed a few too many, and almost fell, which earned plenty of ooo’s and ah’s from the crowd. The circus ended their tour that summer in Washington State, and Gordon must have realized he was lucky to have survived it as well, because when it was all over he hitchhiked back to his hometown to pick up where he left off.

The adventures of Gordon’s storybook life didn’t stop there. He later enlisted with the army. He became a paratrooper, and jumped out of so many planes it became second nature. While on tour during the Korean War, a fellow soldier walking alongside Gordon stepped on a landmine. Unfortunately, Gordon’s brother in arms didn’t survive, and Gordon was left with shrapnel that severed parts of his neck and spinal cord. He was told he would never walk again. But, after months of rehabilitation first in Japan, and later in Denver Colorado, he slowly regained his ability to walk and proved all those doctors wrong.

He returned home again, this time with the plan of getting serious about his life. He enlisted at what was then Jamestown College, where he met his wife Shirley. Shirley was an accomplished young teacher at country schools and later at Jamestown College. The young couple relocated to Grand Forks where Gordon got his law degree from the University of North Dakota. Gordon and Shirley had 3 children, and say that life turned out about as beautifully as anyone could imagine.

Funded in part by Humanities North Dakota, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Humanities North Dakota or the National Endowment for Humanities.