contributors
Tom Matchie's (Impact of a North Dakota writer, pp. 43-47) tenure at North Dakota State University dates back to the 1960s when he taught God in the Modern Novel at the old School of Religion. He's taught literature and the humanities in the English department since the early '70s, and he served in the North Dakota Legislature from the mid-'70s to the mid-'80s, representing the Fargo district surrounding NDSU. Throughout the 1990s Matchie traveled the state discussing novels about the prairie in small town libraries. He's published many articles on Midwestern and multicultural authors, including North Dakota authors like Tom McGrath, Lois Hudson and Louise Erdrich. Twice he's received national awards for his essays, one connecting Kathleen Norris' thinking in Dakota: A Spiritual Geography to four novelists of the Great Plains. In 1998 he received an award for his creativity and research from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and in 1999 the College Advisory Board named him its Oustanding Educator.
Jerry Richardson, (Wooly boys, pp. 16-21) editor emeritus, generously contributes his time and talent to NDSU magazine. He was director of communications at North Dakota State University for 30 years, retiring in 1993.
Kathy Freise (On the cover, p. 6; Introduction, p. 42) is a frequent go-to-gal for NDSU magazine, thanks to a nicely varied career that has allowed her to earn expertise in a number of specialties. She's been a newspaper reporter and a public relations practitioner. She is now a teacher, a Web developer, and recently, the earner of a doctorate in American Studies from the University of New Mexico. She is teaching technical communications at Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute, a two-year tribal community college in Albuquerque, and working at a small Web development company.
Carol Kapaun Ratchenski (Trinity, pp. 10-15)
Hometown: Casselton, North Dakota
Current address: Same as above
NDSU degree: Master of Education, 1994
Coffee: Dark roast with cream
Tea: Licorice with sugar
Fiction writers: Sherman Alexie, Margaret Atwood
Non-fiction writers: Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodrin
Music: folk, Greg Brown, Fred Eaglesmith, Gillian Welch
Day job: Counselor in private practice, Fargo, stories and transformation
Now writing: Second novel about a year in the life of a university counseling center (first novel seeking editor who likes wordy prose with lots of food imagery).
Martin Fredricks (Gate to plate, pp. 28-33) grew up in Medora, North Dakota, in the 1970s, playing in the boilers and around a smokestack that are vestiges of the Marquis de Mores visionary slaughtering operation, which made him a natural to write about plans for a new incubator for developing small beef processing centers across the state. Fredricks has come a long way from this childhood immersion in the rich history of the Marquis and his contemporary, Theodore Roosevelt. These days, in addition to writing features for a variety of publications, Fredricks runs a writing, editing and communication consulting business in West Fargo.
Steve Bergeson (Cooler than cool, pp. 34-41) has spent the better part of the last eight years writing up the news of the day for North Dakota State University. Thanks to that hard work, he found a gem to write for NDSU magazine about the Antarctic adventures of Allan Ashworth. Bergeson has a solid news background, having worked some 20 years in broadcast news. He is a baseball fan, and served for sixteen years on the Roger Maris Celebrity Benefit golf tournament planning group.
