More than 9,000 people crowded into Hyslop Fieldhouse at UND 25 years ago when President Ronald Reagan came to Grand Forks.
He was here on Oct. 17, 1986, on behalf of Republican Mark Andrews' campaign to continue in the U.S. Senate.
At the time, Andrews was leading challenger Kent Conrad. But he lost the election in what many considered an upset.
Many farmers still working in the fields were unable to see the president, the Herald reported.
Workers had cleaned out the Hyslop, and even the ventilating system was checked by Social Security agents.
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Other presidents who had visited Grand Forks included John F. Kennedy. He came here on Sept. 25, 1963, to receive a doctor of law degree from UND.
Richard Nixon made a brief appearance at the Grand Forks airport on Oct. 19, 1979, on behalf of Tom Kleppe's campaign for Congress.
Harry Truman made a whistle stop visit here on Sept. 29, 1952, to blast Dwight Eisenhower.
Eisenhower was the opponent who succeeded Truman as president.
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** Memorial services were held Oct. 6, 1986, in University Lutheran Church for Jack Mayfield, 106. And there was a dedication of the newly decorated Jack Mayfield room in the Era Bell Cultural Center on the UND campus.
The event was sponsored by UND students and the Grand Forks Elks Lodge.
Friends paid tribute to Mayfield, a man remembered as a former vaudeville performer and a sparring partner for Jack Dempsey. Mayfield, who died June 6 in Minneapolis, would have been 107 on Oct. 6, 1986. Mayor H.C. "Bud" Wessman declared it Jack Mayfield Day in Grand Forks.
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The man who adopted Grand Forks as his home and worked here as a masseur for the Elks Club was born in 1879 in Algiers, La. Mayfield, who was black, first saw Grand Forks when he played a minstrel part in a show at the old Metropolitan Theater.
** Frederick "Fritz" Pollard Jr., was described as "one of the brightest athletic stars" when he came back for homecoming at UND 25 years ago.
Pollard was one of the black athletes who played a role in debunking Adolph Hitler's white supremacy claims during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the Herald reported.
He was returning to his alma mater for only the third time since he graduated in 1939 with a bachelor's degree in education.
Pollard placed third in the 110 meter hurdles in the 1936 Olympics in his freshman season at UND. He went into the race favored to win but hit the last hurdle and settled for a bronze medal.
Pollard was more than a hurdler, the Herald reported.
He was a Little All American running back at UND and competed on the boxing team. He received his law degree from John Marshall Law School in his home town of Chicago.
He left Chicago to take a position as director of the U.S. State Department Office of Equal Opportunity.
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Then, as now, the people of Grand Forks area were eating out. Shakey's was a popular place for family night pizza.
The Town House had a big breakfast buffet alongside the pool. Sanders 1907 was featuring Italian food on Tuesday, French fare on Wednesday and German meals on Thursdays.
The entrée was different, but it was always $7.50.
Legions of camouflaged hunters were ready to take to the fields, marshes and lakes of North Dakota and Minnesota 25 years ago.
"With guns, dogs and decoys," Kevin Grinde wrote in the Herald, "thousands will take part in the Oct. 10 opening."
And a photo showed wildlife taking refuge at Kelly's Slough west of Grand Forks.
