President's Message
Every new year brings with it fresh opportunities — a time to reflect on where we have been and to look ahead with purpose and hope. It is also a time for resolutions and recommitment. As members of the North Dakota Pottery Collectors Society, each of us can support and strengthen a nonprofit organization that preserves, celebrates, and shares our shared passion for North Dakota pottery.
While our support may not always take the form of financial contributions, one of the most meaningful ways to make a difference within NDPCS is through volunteer service and leadership. Our organization relies on members who are willing to share their time, talents, and experience to ensure its continued success.
Over the past few years, NDPCS has faced two ongoing challenges: growing our membership and encouraging members to step forward into leadership roles. Like many volunteer organizations, we have also found it increasingly difficult to identify individuals willing to succeed current leaders as terms conclude. At the 2025 NDPCS Convention, we had several key positions that remained unfilled, including convention chairs, auction chairs, a board position, and the commemorative chair. I am sincerely grateful to Sue Stubson, who agreed to continue serving on the board for another term, George Myhre, who stepped forward to serve as the commemorative chair and to Linda Otterson who accepted the position of newsletter editor. Their willingness to serve is deeply appreciated.
Because we were unable to fill convention and auction chair positions, the Board and Executive Council were faced with making some difficult—but necessary—decisions. This past year, the board and council collectively assumed responsibility for convention planning. While this allowed the convention to move forward, it is not a sustainable model for the future. We will need at least one, and ideally two, members to step into leadership roles to guide convention planning moving forward.
As a result of these constraints, there will not be a public auction at the convention this year. However, we are expanding the number of pottery pieces accepted for the silent auction. Additional details about this change are included elsewhere in this newsletter.
We also recognize concerns regarding rising costs associated with convention registration and hotel accommodations. While these costs are largely outside of our control—meal expenses make up most registration fees, and hotel rates are set by the venue — I am pleased to share that the 2026 convention registration fee will remain at $140, the same as in 2025. In addition, every member who registers and attends the 2026 convention will receive the commemorative piece as a token of our appreciation.
If you are interested in serving on the Board or Executive Council, helping bring back the Saturday afternoon auction, or serving as a convention chair, I encourage you to reach out to me at adietchman@gmail.com. Leadership does not require special titles — just a willingness to help and a commitment to our shared mission.
I firmly believe that every member of NDPCS has something valuable to offer. Together, we can ensure that our organization continues to grow, adapt, and provide meaningful experiences for current and future members. I look forward to working alongside you in the year ahead.
Respectfully,
Ann Dietchman
President, North Dakota Pottery Collectors Society
Sitting Bull
By Linda Bakken
Sitting Bull was born in 1831 near Grand River, Dakota Territory in what today is South Dakota. He was the son of Returns-Again, a renowned Sioux warrior who named his son “Jumping Badger” at birth. The young boy killed his first buffalo at age 10 and by 14, joined his father and uncle on a raid of a Crow camp. After the raid, his father renamed him Tatanka Yotanka, or Sitting Bull, for his bravery.
His tribe was polygamous and he had four wives. Their names were Light Hair, Snow-on-Her, Seen-By-Her-Nation, and Four-BlanketWoman. He had six children.
It was in a camp at Little Bighorn River that Sitting Bull, then a revered leader and holy man, or “Wichasa Wakan,” participated in a Sun Dance ceremony where he famously danced for 36 hours straight, making 50 sacrificial cuts on each arm before falling into a trance. When he awoke, he revealed that he had a vision of U.S. soldiers falling like grasshoppers from the sky, which he interpreted as an omen that the army would soon be defeated.
On June 25, 1876, General George Custer entered the valley with about 300 men. Sitting Bull ensured the women and children of the tribe were safe while Crazy Horse led more than 3,000 Native Americans to victory in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, overwhelming Custer’s smaller force. Custer and every single one of his men were killed in what came to be known as Custer’s Last Stand.
After seeing Annie Oakley perform, he struck up a friendship and nicknamed her “Little Sure Shot.” In 1885 Sitting Bull joined Annie performing in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. He even met President Cleveland.
Sitting Bull was shot in an incident involving the Indian police on December 15, 1890. He died instantly Sitting Bull was buried at Fort Yates Military Cemetery in North Dakota by the army. In 1953, family members exhumed what they thought was Sitting Bull’s grave and reburied the bones they found near Mobridge, South Dakota, overlooking the Missouri River.
The Rosemeade Sitting Bull piece shows a striking resemblance to his portrait as shown below:
NDPCS Road Show
By Russ Carlson
August 2-3, 2025, the NDPCS was represented at the Ward County Historical Society event in Burlington, ND. Russ Carlson organized a modified Road Show for a public event held from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm both days. Attendance was recorded at 1,043 attendees (if the gate keeper remembered to push the counter button as each person passed).
The Ward County Historical Society was gifted a collection of Rosemeade pottery by the society president’s aunt. The pottery is on display in the Samuelson House located at the Pioneer Village Museum.
Russ was stationed in the Samuelson house in the room where an entire wall displayed the Rosemeade pottery on shelving with 6 glass doors running floor to ceiling! This location provided an opportunity to engage with visitors admiring the pottery display. The NDPCS table contained several items of interest, educating visitors regarding the history of pottery production in the state of North Dakota. Many of the visitors had no idea pottery was even produced in North Dakota, let alone from clay harvested in North Dakota!
Many inquisitive conversations ensued. Several pieces of educational materials were handed out to visitors. The NDPCS presence at the event was very well received!
Now, with all that information shared, having the opportunity to visit with several individuals, and in review of the existing material, I believe now is the time to update (modernize) the NDPCS Roadshow… an exciting challenge that will require inputs, comments, and reviews from members. Technology has advance from the days of lamination and CDs. One of the goals of modernizing the NDPCS Roadshow is to be able to ‘digitize’ the information and share with a broader audience thru the Internet.
To see the NDPCS Roadshow in real life, be sure to attend the 2026 NDPCS Annual Convention June 1214, 2026 at the Holiday Inn, Fargo, ND.
P.S. If any NDPCS members have an inexpesive piece of one of the eight potteries acknowledged by NDPCS and will like to loan it to the NDPCS Roadshow for use during a roadshow, please reach out to Russ Carlson @ farmer_russ2003@ahoo.com to discuss. I would like to have tangible examples to share with roadshow attendees. Thank you!
Royalty Visits the Red River Valley
By Karen Midgarden
In the spring of 1939 the citizens of Norwegian descent in Grand Forks and Fargo, busied themselves to prepare for the visit of Norwegian royalty. As part of a lengthy tour of the United States, Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Martha visited the commencement ceremonies of UND and Concordia. The prince spoke at each graduation and received an honorary degree from both institutions.
To commemorate the visit, the Grand Forks Chapter of Daughters of Norway commissioned the UND School of Mines to create a medallion that would serve as a remembrance of the visit. Now a highly sought-after piece by North Dakota pottery collectors as well as collectors of Norwegian Royal Family historic pieces, the medallions rarely appear on the open market. The UND Pottery Collection holds one of the original pieces.
Welcome to Fargo
The 37th ANNUAL NDPCS CONVENTION - FARGO, ND
HAPPY NEW YEAR! It’s that time of year again.. . . NDPCS convention planning time!
We are making a few adjustments to our convention, trying some new things out. I hope you will consider joining us on June 12-13-14, 2026. We have some fun things planned as we celebrate 37 years of NDPCS. Once again our convention will be at the Holiday Inn in Fargo.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS @ 701-282-2700.
Be sure to mention NDPCS Convention as there will be a block of rooms available. When reserving your room, specify if you want a room close to our event rooms. Remember: your membership must be current in order to register and attend our annual convention.
We are excited to be celebrating our 37 Years of NDPCS and look forward to seeing you all on June 12-13-14, 2026!
Linda Fiedler, Co-Convention Chair
REMINDER: Registration will close May 18th! No registrations will be accepted the day of convention.
2026 Annual NDPCS Convention Tentative Agenda
Holiday Inn
3803 13th Ave S.
Fargo, ND 58103
Friday: June 12, 2026
4:00pm Room Check-in; Holiday Inn
3:30 - 5:00pm Registration Check-in; Commemorative Pickup
5:30 - 8:00pm Welcome; Social & Reception
8:00pm Room Visitations
Saturday: June 13, 2026
7:30am Board of Directors Meeting
9:30am Guest Speaker
10:45am NDPCS Road Show
12:00pm Box Lunch
1:15pm Board Bus for Bonanzaville
1:30pm Bonanzaville
4:00pm Back at Holiday Inn
5:30pm Social; Silent Auction; Banquet
8:00pm Program
9:00pm Room Visitations
Sunday: June 14, 2026
8:30am Coffee & Rolls
9:00am NDPCS Annual Member Meeting
11:00am Bakken Auction
2026 NDPCS Commemorative
SURPRISE #1! The Board has decided to make this year’s commemorative a surprise! Our commemorative chair, George Myhre, is in contact with potential potters and it will be another great addition to your commemorative collection but you will have to wait till convention to see what it is!
SURPRISE #2! As a “thank you” and an incentive for those who physically attend the convention, the 2026 commemorative will be a gift to you from the club! You can’t beat that deal! For those not attending, the 2026 Commemorative piece pricing will remain the same as last year, despite postal rate increases.
2026 Convention Auctions
Silent Auction 5:00 PM June 13th, 2026
A Silent Auction will be held during the social hour from 5:00-6:30 pm, before the banquet Saturday evening.
1. Any member who has paid convention registration and attends the convention in full may apply to enter an item (one item per member). Item to be registered with the Auction Catalog Chair on the form below.
2. Because there will not be a Saturday afternoon auction, there will be a limit of 25 items in the Silent Auction. The first 25 items submitted will be accepted. No duplicate items will be accepted.
3. The item submitted for auction must follow the following criteria:
** Pottery Type: Ros, Rosemeade; Dik, Dikota; UND, University of North Dakota; MES, Messer; Etc.; 3TS, Three Tribes; TMP,
Turtle Mountain; LH, Little Heart; WPA, WPA Ceramics ND ** Condition Definitions: Mint - perfect
** References: All references to ND Pottery are encouraged. Some common items are shown for convenience in completing the
list.
(A) "Beautiful Rosemeade", Sampson & Harms, © 1986
(B) "Collector's Encyclopedia of Rosemeade Pottery", Dommel, © 2000
(C) "Dakota Potteries", Dommel, © 1996 (D) "UND Pottery—A Comparative Study", Forster, © 2004 Other references may be used, but be sure to include the reference used in the description of your auction lot along with page, row, and item number or position of item.
4. Photos may be submitted but are not mandatory.
5. The owner may set a reserve which will be kept secret until the end of the auction. Items must have a reserve of at least $100 as bidding will begin at that amount. Bids must be in $10 increments.
6. Silent Auction items must be delivered to the banquet room at 4:30 PM for check-in. ALL auction items must be delivered in person. Mail-ins will NOT be accepted.
7. Bidding will begin at 5:00 pm and close at 6:30 pm.
8. ONLY NDPCS members who are registered for the convention may place bids.
9. If the reserve is met, the item is sold. If not, the high bidder will be told the reserve and offered the opportunity to meet it. If the item is not sold, the owner may reclaim it at no cost to the owner.
10. Winning bids will be announced during the program following dinner.
11. The winner will write the check to the NDPCS. 90% of the selling price will be paid to the owner and the NDPCS will keep 10%.
PLEASE NOTE: Times listed for auction activities are tentative; the program timings will be adjusted as needed.
Save the Date - June 14th, 2026
Bill & Linda Bakken
ND Pottery Auction
June 14, 2026 @ 11:00 AM
Holiday Inn, Fargo, ND
The Bakkens will be selling approx. 650 pieces of North Dakota pottery (mostly Rosemeade pottery) at auction following the business meeting of the NDPCS. The catalog and photos will be available online by April 1 at www.northstarauction.com. This will be a live-only auction, no internet bidding; however, we gladly accept absentee bids.
Bill & Linda have been longtime pottery collectors & members of the NDPCS. Don’t miss this incredible sale!
North Star Auction & Appraisal Co.
Auctioneer: Dean Moos (701)527-5353
www.northstarauction.com