Victoria MN Newspaper

I might add that they also need piano teachers so the kids can take piano lessons, and gymnastics coaches, too.

Earlier this year, 2014, The Drill reported: “North Dakota has the lowest rate of unemployment in the nation. The jobless rate in Williams County [home of Tioga] is a jaw- dropping record low of .57%.”

From The Drill, Jan. 1st: “This area was once not considered more than a grazing land for buffalo ... Our sleepy unknown state has some growing pains, but the majority of the people waking it up are ones I would proudly call family.”

Also from The Drill, Jan. 1st: “In America we still have one of the highest standards of living in the world. What is considered living poor here would be heaven to millions in the Third World. We have free education for all and more potential for upward mobility than in many other countries.”

From the Tioga Tribune, Feb. 12th: “Since coming to the Oil Patch in the spring of 2012, I have witnessed unbelievable acts of kindness, humanity, and the entrepreneurial spirit. For many, the Oil Patch is pumping out crude oil and making them rich. For others, like me, this oil boom is pumping up my faith in humanity.”

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And so the canvas of colors from the Oil Patch at Tioga, North Dakota, is an ever-changing kaleidoscope of activity and adventure.

As I’ve previously written, this oil boom in the Bakken is not unlike the Wild West, when wagon trains and hardy souls pushed into challenging territory. It is also not unlike the California and Alaskan Gold Rushes when strong men, and the women who followed them, set out to make their fortune.

Today’s story, similar to others in our nation’s history, is about an Oil Patch in North Dakota that connects us all in ways seen and unseen. Those on the ground floor are making history, and the Gazette personally knows some of the players.

Many more photos and story in Sue’s Album. Scroll to The Oil Patch.