Where Are They Now? Sheyenne is truly "home" for the Boyds and Nilsons

"After some considerable thought, travel, and investigation, we decided that it is true: 'There is no place like home.'"

"We enjoy our Sheyenne home and the small-town setting where 'Everybody knows your name.'"

These two statements supplied by Dawn and Bob Boyd and David and Kay Nilson are the essence of why these two couples decided to return to Sheyenne after living in other places for years. Memories of a simpler time have enticed them to carry on their established roots in this quaint community.

Although the Boyds recently moved to Stillwater, Minn., to be near their two daughters and their families, the couple nevertheless maintains their 1914 Sheyenne home that was originally a Baptist Church. Dawn's grandfather had contracted workers to transform the building into a two-story home when he managed Power's Lumberyard in Sheyenne. An only child, Dawn had lived in the house since she was two years old. Her mother died in 1987, and after her father passed away in 1990, Dawn and Bob acquired the house.

Obviously, the family history of the home is endearing to Dawn, and so the desire to retain this home as a "retreat" is quite natural. "It is hard to give it up," she admits. With the exception of some renovation and several modernizations, the house remains much as it was first constructed. Beautiful historical furnishings, such as a 1900 sewing machine and a dramatically illuminated framed early piece of etched art, are just two of the many interesting pieces that are nicely displayed in the home. Their collections come from both sides of the family, so Dawn says the home has an "eclectic" feel to it.

Dawn (Stedman) Boyd graduated from Sheyenne in 1962 in a class of 16. Bob also was raised in a small town in North Dakota. He graduated with 19 other classmates in the Rock Lake Class of 1960. Dawn and Bob met while at Minot State University, each intending to become educators. Dawn graduated with majors in speech therapy, elementary education and deaf education. Bob's major was mathematics, and his minor degree was in chemistry. Both furthered their education at the University of North Dakota (UND) with masters degrees. Bob also earned his doctoral degree in educational administration at UND.

After living and teaching in Mohall and Minot, and in the state of Louisiana, the couple settled in 1978 in Grand Forks. Both Dawn and Bob retired in 2011 after working as a speech pathologist and as the vice president for student and outreach services at UND, respectively. Their daughters Amy, who was born in 1971, and Tiffany, born in 1975, live with their families in Stillwater and in Minneapolis. The Boyds have four grandchildren.

Amy and Tiffany enjoy visiting the Sheyenne home with their young families. If it were up to them, these daughters would want the house to stay in the family indefinitely. The Fourth of July especially holds a special place in the hearts of Boyds' 14-year-old twin granddaughters, as they have spent the holiday in Sheyenne every year except one. The tradition continues as Dawn and Bob's two grandsons are now old enough to spend the annual summer holiday in Sheyenne also. At this point, the only reason for the couple to give up the home would be if health problems would not permit the Boyds to travel back and forth to the house frequently.

The Nilsons, who built their house on the hill east of Sheyenne, have quite a different story about their housing situation than the Boyds, as the Nilson family history dates back many years in the Sheyenne area. The significance of the location for the David and Kay's home is that the land has been owned by David's family for a very long time. David's father James farmed this land that was homesteaded by his mother's parents Isak and Elna Olson. Another interesting aspect of this family history connects to David's grandfather, P. I. Nilson, who was a section foreman at the Sheyenne train depot. After the depot burned down, a new one was built to replace it and was eventually moved in 1975 to where Stan and Marilynn Kruger now live. The building is still in use today.

David and Kay purchased 40 acres to have as their own in the same area that the homesteading took place. They had done much of the work of building their home in Hazen in 1982, thinking it would be the final major construction job on a house for them. Instead, while working in the western part of the state, they drove back to Sheyenne every weekend to work on the new house and monitor the construction process. This huge undertaking of this retirement home went on during in 2010 and 2011. They were extremely busy with this project, but they took even more time to finish the interior work. After staining all of the interior wood and completing the basement, this couple "put the hammer down" and have made the claim that they "will not be building again!"

David and Kay both graduated in 1966, David in a class of 16 from Sheyenne, and Kay in a class of 41 from Maddock. They had known each other in high school, but when David attended UND and NDSU, and Kay went to Lake Region State College, their connection was lost. Seeing each other at the Sheyenne Centennial celebration, in addition to mutual friends from Hazen suggesting that the two become acquainted again, led to a courtship and eventual marriage.

David earned a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in Botany and Zoology, and specialized in range and wildlife management. Kay was an accountant for Krause Super Valu in Hazen for many years. Like the Boyds, both the Nilsons also retired in 2011. David had worked as a reclamation supervisor at the Glenharold Coal Mine near Stanton, N.D., prior to his retirement. He did go back to work on a contract basis for Basin Electric to complete all state and federal requirements for revegetation of a surface coal mine. "It was a memorable event at the North Dakota Public Service Commission when all the reclaimed land was released from bond and given back to landowners," David proudly states.

The Nilsons have traveled quite extensively. Their son Troy works for an asphalt shingle factory south of Dallas, Texas, and they enjoy visiting him. Kay and David have met many fascinating people through their pastime of golfing on different courses in several states and in Canada. A four-hole "just for fun" golf course has been set up on their property. Along with the golf course, flower gardens and their large yard keeps them active outdoors.

Looking back at growing up in Sheyenne, both Dawn and David have many good memories. Dawn remembers Kep's Drugstore as "the place to buy candy and comic books." She fondly recalls that the Tastee Freez and Hendrickson Park were both popular places for people to gather. David reminisces about his own rock 'n roll band called The Invaders. Band members were his sister Naomi, Ed Gedrose, Mike Schagunn, Danny Kjos and Larry Paul. Naomi even went on to play in an all-girls' band, which became a warm-up band for major performers at the beginning of the rock 'n roll era.

One memorable event that was painful at the time, but can be laughed at now, was David's first football game. His Sheyenne team played the "always tough" St. James team from New Rockford. David relates, "The score was 56 to 0. We all stumbled to the bus quietly. I told Rod Zieman, 'I'm sure glad that game is over!' Rod laughed and said, 'Are you kidding? It's only halftime!' We got killed in that game!"

David sums up his thoughts about moving "back home" this way: "We can make our quiet life a lot busier, but we have learned that it is time to slow down some, take deep breaths once in a while, and look around to enjoy all that comes with being home." When Dawn and Bob spend time at their Sheyenne home, I have a strong feeling that they share David's sentiments.