June 1, 2016

Alexander museum to house Link exhibit

By Betsy Ryan
Farmer Staff Writer

Arthur Link was a McKenzie County home-town boy.
Born in 1914, Link grew up on a farm in Alexander, N.D. He went to school in Alexander and eventually attended North Dakota Agricultural College.
Well liked by North Dakotans, Link was a great advocate of issues important to the state. Though Link was a Democrat, he was socially quite conservative. He was pro-life, religious, and functioned on a strong moral code. He brought his no-nonsense North Dakota spirit with him throughout his political career.
 Link served in the North Dakota House of Representatives, the U.S. House of Representatives and served as Governor of North Dakota from 1973 to 1981.
With deep roots in North Dakota, it is no wonder that his family wanted a collection of his memorabilia to be displayed in Alexander at the Lewis & Clark Trail Museum.
Very active in community matters, Link was actually an original board member for the museum in 1967.
Link passed away in 2010, and since then his family has been holding on to many pieces of memorabilia from his life and his political career.
The Link exhibit will be officially opening to the public on Saturday, June 4, as the museum hosts a summer kick-off party to celebrate the opening of the museum. As part of the summer kick-off event, the museum will be serving free brats, chips, and drinks beginning at noon, along with a living history demonstration by the Fort Union Trading Post Park Rangers.
After months of turmoil, where the future of the museum and whether it would open this summer or not was unclear, things have turned around.
Recently hiring a curator, several part-time employees, and recruiting more board members, the Lewis & Clark Trail Museum is ready to open for the summer.
Link’s two sons and their wives played a huge role in bringing about the opening of this exhibit.
Board President Barbara Curren says, “Members of the Link family have put together a wonderful exhibit full of honors bestowed on the Links and memories of their family and the Link’s public life. The museum is thrilled to house the collection and have it on display.”
The exhibit will take the visitors through the different phases of Link’s life and includes displays of his early years, and his campaigns for the U.S. House and N.D. House, as well as  campaign posters and buttons and pictures of his Governor years.
Last week, Link’s family worked tirelessly to prepare the exhibit and brought Art’s wife, Grace, to see the final result.
“It was so touching to see Grace enjoy the exhibit,” says Curren. “The effort that Arthur’s children put forward was huge and Grace was so pleased with how it turned out.”
Don’t miss the chance to not only celebrate the life of Arthur Link but also celebrate the re-opening of the Lewis & Clark Trail Museum on June 4 at Noon.
The museum’s regular summer hours will be Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays by appointment, Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

WATFORD CITY WEATHER