Olin, Ronald, collector

Fargo, N.D. Postcard Collection, [190- - 200-]
1,252 postcards & photographic postcards (Photo 2001)

Biography

Ronald Olin is a native of Winnipeg, Canada and received his medical degree there. He practiced medicine at MeritCare in Fargo, N.D. from circa 1965 until retiring in the late 1980s. One of his long-time interests has been postal history. He was a charter member of the North Dakota Postal History Society formed in 1983. Although interested in Dakota postal history, Dr. Olin also has collected extensively in postcard images of North Dakota cities and towns. Dr. Olin is retired and lives in Fargo.

Scope and Content

The Ronald Olin Postcard Collection comprises over 1,200 postcards documenting Fargo, N.D. The postcards in the collection date mainly from the early to mid-twentieth century, although there are also postcards from throughout the later part of the twentieth century. They hey-day of postcards was from 1907 to 1915. Most of the cards in the collection were commercially produced and represent well-known Fargo buildings, monuments, and views. A small number of the cards, though, document town life, including street scenes. In addition to documenting the built landscape of Fargo as it existed during the last hundred years, some of these images may not exist in any other format.

Some of the cards were produced privately and are in fact photographs that have been printed onto postcard paper. These were created by individuals for the consumption of their own small circle of family and friends, although some were mass-produced and sold in retail stores. Such postcards are called ‘photographic postcards.’ The two types of postcards are integrated in this collection.

Postcards are not only visual records. Many of the postcards were in fact mailed and so contain written messages, stamps, and postmarks. The backs of the cards were also printed with information about the publisher, captions describing the image, and ornamentation. The printed text, along with the stamp and postmark, can help to date and place the manufacture and use of the cards. Alternatively, the captions and written messages contain a wealth of information that can be used to learn about the postcard’s image or to illuminate the attitudes and interests of the past.

The Olin Collection organization follows generally Dr. Olin’s original groupings, although they have been organized into five series: Downtown Fargo, Buildings, Businesses, Topical and North Dakota State University. Researchers should consult the Contents Listing for a detailed folder-by-folder breakdown of the collection.

Downtown Fargo is the most heavily documented area of the city in this collection, with the heaviest emphasis on the major commercial streets of Broadway, Main Avenue (formerly Front Street), N.P. Avenue and First Avenue North. The Downtown Fargo Series also includes aerial views, elevated views and panoramic views. In additional to general views of the streets, there are images of specific buildings that are arranged by address and so noted in the contents listing. For some, the business or building name is also noted.

The Buildings Series organizes postcards by type of building, such as churches, city and federal buildings, hospitals, hotels and motels, and schools. Most of the building types are subdivided by the specific church, hotel, school, etc.

The Businesses Series contains a small number of images of specific businesses that are scattered across Fargo. These have been organized alphabetically by the name of the business. These also are newer postcards, published in the second half of the twentieth century and printed in color.

The Topical Series includes a very diverse collection of images. This series contains those images of a more social nature, documenting town life. This series also includes humorous postcards, ‘Greetings from Fargo’ cards, montages, and an impressive collection of view books that contain multiple views of Fargo . Other categories include delivery vehicles, disasters, events, golf courses, Hector Airport, monuments & statues, parks, people, radio stations, and quite a number of Great Northern and Northern Pacific railway depot and train scenes. A number of images attributed as located in Fargo or of a building with the name Fargo, but not located in Fargo were grouped under ‘Faux Fargo.’

The North Dakota State University Series has been organized into two subseries: Buildings and Topical. The Building subseries is the most extensive and includes image of most of the main buildings on the campus, particularly from circa 1907 to the late 1910s. Also included in this subseries are aerials, photomontages, panoramic views, and monuments. The Topical subseries includes only ten postcards which are more of a social nature, with many including people or groups of people. All the topical images are actual photographic prints. Of particular interest are the postcards of the Student Life Train, Men’s Track and Field and the Military Band from World War era.

Finch Brothers, importers of stations and mares

Pioneer Mutual Life (A.O.U.W.)

General (4)

56 – Pirie’s Café (1) Image

102 (Straus interior) (2)

200 block (3)

509 (Ford Motor Co.) (2)

520-524 (Fargo National Bank) (3)

General (1)

Buildings Series

Hospitals— (76)

Hotels and Motels— (68)

Svee Memorial Children’s Home (1)

Businesses Series (16)

Bergstrom & Crowe Furniture Co.

The Bowler interiors

Bronk’s Package Store

Cities Service Oil Co. (Bill Alexander’s Service Station, 1016 Front St.)

Congress Inc., 601 15th Street North

Crane & Ordway Co. interior

Iver’s Funeral Home (2)

Kroll’s Diner

Otto’s Grocery interior

Shotwell Nursery green house (?)

Union Storage & Transfer Co.

West Acres Shopping Center

Western States Life

Topical Series

Agriculture (13)

Candidates for election (7)

J. Walter Olson, for City Commission
Ed Schafer for governor
Jo Ellingson, for N.D. House of Representatives
Tim Flakoll, Blair Thoreson, Byron Clark for N.D. Legislature
Brad Wimmer for Park Board
Birch Birdick for Cass County State ’s Attorney
Yes on Measure #2

Delivery vehicles, automobiles & horses (5)

Disasters (4)

Events (12)

Fairgrounds (13)

Fine Arts Club—Adv. postcards for Coburn Players they sponsored, 1914 (8)

Grand Army of the Republic (1)

Greeting postcards (87)

Humorous message or image

Pennant postcards

General

New Year

Easter

Thanksgiving

Christmas

‘Greetings from Fargo’ (6)

People on wagon on street

Eagle over Broadway

Bear and people on Broadway

People behind boat prop

People behind barrel prop

People in air balloon basket prop

People behind wagon prop

People behind train prop

Charles Lindbergh (3)

Indian statue on Broadway

Rollo statue Image

Henrik Wergeland statue, Island Park

Civil War monument, Island Park

Statue of Liberty

Sod Buster

Dedication to a Birthplace

Roger Maris, Lindenwood Park

“Pioneer Protection” mural, Pioneer Mutual

Nursing homes (5)

Americana

Bethany

Villa Nazareth

General

Island Park

Lindenwood

Oak Grove

River Drive

People (15)

Alf Amundson

W. Andrew

Mark Andrews family

C. A. Blix

Quentin Burdick

Fender Benders and Sherwin Linton

F. W. Johnson

John P. Nygaard

Public Library (6)

Radio stations (14)

KFGO

WDAY

Unidentified

Railroads—Northern Pacific (45)

Street side of depot

Trains and passengers (looking west)

Depot looking west

East side park, including Shotwell’s

West side park

People in front of Fargo Northern Pacific railroad car prop

Red River & Bridges (47)

General views

Bridges

Winter

Dams

Foot bridge and swimming area

Street scenes

Houses

Bluemont Lakes

Restaurants (2)

‘Showboat on the Red’ (1)

View Books (10)

Fargo-Moorhead

Greetings from Fargo, North Dakota / Souvenir folder of Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota

Miniatures, Fargo, North Dakota

Souvenir folder of Fargo, N.D.

Souvenir folder of Fargo, N.D.

Souvenir letter card from Fargo, North Dakota

Souvenir of Fargo, North Dakota

Souvenir post cards of Fargo, N.D.

Souvenir folder of Red River Valley of the North, Fargo, Grand Forks

[Untitled], ‘Compliments of Stone Piano Company’

Aerials (9)

Photomontages (4)

Panoramic views (18)

Alba Bales House

Barns, Cow

Barns, Horse

Bentson-Bunker Fieldhouse

Bjørnson Obelisk

Burgum Hall

Ceres Hall

Chemistry Building

Churchill Hall

Engineering Center

Campus entrance

Francis Hall

High Rises

Library

Ladd Hall

E. Morrow Lebedeff Hall

Little Country Theatre

Loftsgard Hall

Mechanical Arts & Old Engineering

Memorial Union

Minard Hall

Morrill Hall

Music Education Building

Northern Crop Science Laboratory (USDA)

Old Main

Putnam Hall (formerly Carnegie Library)

Shepperd Arena

South Engineering

Theta Chi Fraternity

Van Es (Old)

Y.M.C.A.

Winter scene at main entrance

Crack gun squad, at Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco, 1915

Military Band, First Contingent, NDAC Training Detachment

ROTC student in uniform (unidentified)

Pres. John H. Shepperd in horse-drawn buggy