VALLEY  CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Barnes County Historical Society Lecture Series Season 22 Presents: Tricia Velure and Tom Sandhei April 27th. Tricia Velure and Tom Sandhei: “Dust Yourself Off: The Gravel Road to a Good Life,” 7PM Thursday, April 27th at the Barnes County Museum. (315 Central Ave N. Valley City, ND)

Fort Ransom native Tom Sandhei and Kathryn native Tricia Velure grew up on farms less than 20 minutes from each other, 30 years apart. They didn’t know each other or even about one another while they lived in North Dakota. But when Sandhei needed help writing his mother’s life story in 2019, he heard through the grapevine about a woman living in the same suburban St. Paul community where he lives. He met Velure for coffee, and now three-and-a-half years later, their biography of Muriel Henrickson Sandhei has been published by NDSU Press.

Titled “Dust Yourself Off: The Gravel Road to a Good Life,” the book chronicles the life of Muriel and her family in Fort Ransom during roughly the first half of the twentieth century. While the co-authors describe Muriel as a quintessential Norwegian-American farm girl, she was forced to leave home at age 18. Death and tragedy visited her regularly in her 20s-30s, when time and again she challenged the traditional norms of what it meant to be a farm woman in her day. Muriel’s quiet yet bold courage helped create this touching family story, rich in historical details and local color.

If some of you think you knew Muriel from Valley City, you likely did! She moved here later in life and worked at Valley City State University (then College) until she retired in 1986.

Tricia Velure is a personal historian who helps elders share their life stories with their families. Known for being easy to talk to and interested in life’s everyday details, Tricia has been talking with elders about “the old days” since she was a young girl dunking cookies in her grandma’s coffee. She grew up on her family’s cattle and small grains farm near Kathryn, where she was her father’s official parts runner and helped her mom cook every meal from scratch. After graduating from Litchville High School in 1991, Tricia earned degrees in English and history from Valley City State University and a master’s degree in history from North Dakota State University. Her subsequent 20-year career in public relations further developed her love of researching, interviewing, writing, and archiving. In 2019, she started her own business, Storyography, to interview elders and preserve those stories for their kids and grandkids. Tricia lives in suburban Saint Paul, Minnesota, and is a fitness enthusiast, avid traveler, and research buff. She loves to return to the farm, which four generations of her family have operated since 1904.

Tom Sandhei is a retired school administrator who grew up on his parents’ and grandparents’ farms near Fort Ransom in the 1940s and ‘50s. From an early age, he milked cows and cared for livestock. He operated tractors from a standing position until he was tall enough to reach the clutch pedal while seated. Thanks to the influence of his strong mother, he recognized that education was the way to a good life of his making. Following his graduation from Fort Ransom High School, Tom received a bachelor of science degree from Valley City State College, which qualified him for a teaching license. He taught upper elementary students his first few years, during which he became interested in school administration. He then earned a master of science degree in elementary school administration from North Dakota State University. Tom’s career in education spanned almost 40 years, including more than 30 as an elementary school principal in Colorado and Minnesota. Tom married Linda Edwards in 1965, and the couple raised three children before she passed in 2015. Tom lives in suburban Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he is active in his church, enjoys spending time with his children and five grandchildren, and has a love of golf and travel.

All Lectures are at the Barnes County Historical Society Museum and held in conjunction with Valley City State University. They are free and open to the public.

For more information contact Wes Anderson at 701-845-0966.