Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Sometimes in life, a solid work ethic, a few timely breaks and a great sense of humor can combine for a very satisfying existence. Such is the case with Ken Throlson, better known as “Doc” around these parts.
Milo Throlson and his wife Gudrun (née Berge) raised Doc and his siblings, Geraldine and Leroy, to work on the family farm when they were young. As a young boy, Doc not only raised and sold vegetables, but he also delivered newspapers and mowed lawns. Growing up, Doc remembers having good, clean fun, too, by riding horses around with makeshift sleds from old car hoods in the winter and playing baseball and swimming at Warsing Dam. He deadpans, “There were no umps for the baseball games, and we called Warsing Dam the Archie Campbell swimming pool.”
Before leaving Sheyenne for St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., Doc observed the utmost respect that children had for their elders. Shoes were polished, and baths were taken every Saturday night after families bought groceries and socialized with friends in town. He says that for most families, church was as important for religious purposes as it was for social reasons. Most people did not work on Sundays, and businesses definitely were closed for the day.
Although Doc knew from a young age that he wanted to work as a veterinarian and possibly a rancher, he decided to study chemistry for three semesters at St. Olaf after receiving a National Science Foundation Scholarship in the summer of 1960. While attending college, he participated as an athlete in football, baseball and wrestling.
The scholarship was Doc’s first big break toward his future. Being chosen for the Peace Corps in 1962 was another life-changing break for him. He was one of the first 1,000 young Americans to volunteer for this newly established agency under the direction of President John F. Kennedy. Doc was also one of the youngest Peace Corps members. After an intense training period in Brattleboro, Vt., he spent a month in Puerto Rico for physical fitness, survival training and Spanish language enhancement.
Venezuela was Doc’s new home for the next 2 ½ years. The Peace Corps’ mission for the volunteers who were stationed there was to build outdoor YMCA parks for youth in poverty. Becoming proficient at soliciting materials, equipment and labor from industrial companies, the volunteers worked to clear jungles and slums for the new YMCA structures and spaces. Doc’s 4-H, rural, and athletic backgrounds had gifted him the skills to achieve the group’s goals.
Unfortunately, while working in Venezuela, Doc was seriously injured in a public transport accident. “The hospitals were so dirty that I was put up in a hotel where a nurse came every day to lift up my scalp so that she could remove glass fragments,” he recalls. The nurse continued this procedure until his frontal scalp grew back. A regrettable long-term result of this accident was that Doc could no longer remember how to play various instruments that he had learned, nor could he recollect how to type.
Because of his brain concussion, Doc could not follow through with plans to bring two young Venezuelan boys back to North Dakota to attend school so that they could in turn operate the YMCA’s that had been constructed by the Peace Corps volunteers. Doc decided to cash in his airline ticket and hitchhike back home to North Dakota through Central America and Mexico.
Doc married Doris Myhre in the summer of 1964 before attending NDSU that fall until 1965 as a student of agricultural and pre-vet courses. He then transferred to Iowa State University. While in vet school, Doc worked for a mobile home business. He chuckles, “It was so good that I suffered a loss of income my first year or two as a vet!”
During his senior year at ISU, Doc was the honored recipient of the Lane Wells scholarship. Chosen by the members of the senior class, he accepted this acclaimed scholarship as compensation for his entire senior year; hence, another timely break had occurred for him. In 1969, he graduated with his Doctor of Veterinary degree.
Moving back to New Rockford, Doc evolved his “Paul Revere” nomadic practice into a stationary work place in which he could serve more clientele when he built the Central Dakota Veterinary Clinic in 1971. He feels very fortunate to have worked for so many good clients for many years. He also hired exceptional employees, which helped make his career a very fulfilling one.
In 1973, the purchase of three buffalo as a hobby was a “break” that led to the next phase in Doc’s life. After selling the clinic in 1981, Doc bought more buffalo and built a ranch south of New Rockford. Due to his experience as a veterinarian who raised buffalo, he was asked to conduct several buffalo seminars in the U.S., Canada and Europe. For years, Doc enjoyed writing “Doc Ken’s Korner,” a column in “American Bison World” magazine.
One of the best experiences for Doc when he was raising buffalo occurred when New Rockford was the site for the American Buffalo Association (now known as the National Buffalo Association) convention in 1990. Small town hospitality and friendliness made this a well-attended convention, which Doc still appreciates to this day. The Throlson Bison Foundation Scholarship, which was started by the ABA as the Doc Ken Scholarship, is presented annually to a student who wants to further the study of bison.
Doc partially retired in 2006 and sold the ranch in 2010. He and Marlys, his wife of 45 years, have been spending winters in Benson, Ariz., since 2007. The couple has six children and six grandchildren. Retirement was a fairly
easy transition for Doc, who stays busy with his many woodcarving projects, 4-wheel riding, travel and yard work. During a stop in Caracas, Venezuela on their honeymoon Caribbean cruise, Doc and Marlys were gratified to see that the YMCAs that were built while Doc was a Peace Corps member were still thriving well. This gave Doc a really good feeling. He also gets a good feeling when he thinks back to his early years as a vet in New Rockford. “My practice wasn’t doing well enough to make a living the first year or so, but the good people of New Rockford gave me other jobs until I got established,” he warmly states. After becoming a bit sentimental, Doc lightens the atmosphere with his famous philosophy: “Never say ‘Whoa’ in a hard pull!” Remember: he has not only the education, but also years of experience, to back up this statement!
