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Fargo’s Most Notable Madam

  1. Connie Nelson Reply

    Thanks for sharing. Well done. I learned something new, too!

  2. Mike Hennessy Reply

    Being from Grand Forks and looking up history for thr Red River Valley I found this very interesting. I find it especially interesting that the madam was African American. I never considered the fact that even up north that an African American could run a buisness…Legal or illegal…..A very interesting clip

  3. Maryann Reply

    My grandmother ran a boarding and or other for a white woman, this was because my grandmother could cook, alms she didn’t play with people, she was about it. She could handle her person. She used the money she made from cooking and what ever else she did, too send my Mother, Auntie and Uncle shoes and clothing. My grandmother went to Minot North Dakota to find her father who grew up in the North Dakota Orphanage. My Grandfathers, father had his land taken away because he married a Black Jew. How do I follow up on this information?
    Maryann Robinson
    mrobinson3000@gmail.com

  4. Kevin Burke Reply

    Thank you! My grandmother and her sister ran a female boarding house in the Hollow in 1920. I am just putting all the pieces together. They were raised in Ayr, ND, by French Canadian immigrant parents. My best guess is that they were involved in occupations that supported the sex trade: assistant decorator, seamstress, salesgirl…but who knows. 1920 census data lists them ages 19 and 21 living with two other 22 year olds, one whose native language was Norwegian. I don’t think “respectable” young women lived in situations like this, but I could be wrong. I am quite open to sharing information with others: Spyrock8@yahoo.com. Thank you again for such a well produced mini documentary.

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