Author of Loons in the Kitchen

Bender wins national award for column

Emmons County Record, Linton, North Dakota, July 24, 2001, Page 4

They say humor goes a long way and Tony Bender's humor will carry him to Milwaukee September 14 to receive a National Newspaper Association first place award for best humor column.

Established in 1885, the National Newspaper Association has 3,000 newspaper members and is the largest news paper association in the United States.

The Ashley Tribune publisher's column, That's Life, has been a staple in newspapers in North and South Dakota for more than a decade in a score of both weekly and daily newspapers with an estimated weekly readership of more than 65,000.

Bender, who grew up in Frederick, South Dakota got his start in his hometown newspaper. Bender's winning entry, "The Redheads's Tractor," tells the rollicking tale of his purchase of the world's homeliest tractor, a 1952 Ford, to mow his weed-infested five-acre spread.

In the column Bender writes: I was wearing bib overalls and a feed store hat when I went down to the implement dealer to order my 60-inch Farm King mower. While I was there, I looked at corn pickers.

"Might put in corn this year," I announced loud enough for everyone at the parts counter to hear. "Then again I might put half of my acres into soybeans."

I sidled up to a farmer at the counter. He was getting filters. "Whatcha runnin'?" I wondered. "8970 New Holland. Got a real impressive PTO torque rise."

I puffed up my chest till it was almost even with my belly. "Runnin'an 8N Ford, myself," I bragged. "It's yellow." He gave me the sort of look I expect deranged postal workers get, and moved over to the next stool.

"Excellent writing," the NNA judges said about the piece. "I loved the description and visuals of a man who has no idea what he is doing on a tractor suddenly thinking he's a farmer."

The award-winning column is one of Bender's best 50 stories compiled in his regional best-selling book, Loons in the Kitchen. The book, Bender's first effort, was published November 1 and quickly became one of the most requested titles at book
stores across the Dakotas.

Other acclaimed stories in the book include, "Dreams for Sale," the moving tale of a farmer's decision to sell the farm, and "Chopper," the story of an old quarterhorse who misses the old man who once sat in the saddle.

Loons, now in its second printing, shows no sign of losing steam, driven by fans and word-of-mouth. Critics have been kind as well. The Bismarck Tribune called Bender's work "blisteringly funny." The Minneapolis Star Tribune said, His stories are models of human-interest reporting and commentary by a gentle man and a devoted journalist."

The National Newspaper Association honor, which will be awarded during the NNA national convention, is not the first honor for Bender's column. He won seven newspaper association first place awards in the 1990s. But he's experienced lean times as of late. His column has not won first place for three years in the North Dakota Newspaper Association contest.

"Tough room," he laughs as he stands beside the infamous tractor. The machine has just returned from a body shop where it was repainted in the original gray and red.

"It's almost parade material now," Bender says.

Bender's book is available at the Emmons County Record in Linton.

Reprinted with permission of the Emmons County Record.