Jun 25, 2005 - 23:45:33 CDT
Traveling north of Bismarck on Highway 1804, the blacktop winds along the Missouri River, revealing glimpses of the shimmering, fast-moving water, and eventually passing by Simons working ranch and farm, homesteaded in 1882 by Willard Simons.Postcard perfect, the white, two-story home with its angled rooflines and balconies catches the eyes of passers-by -- a sentinel over the Missouri River.
The view of the mighty river from the house is one many never see, let alone wake up to every day, and even fewer can say their ancestors awoke to the same view.
"I am the fourth generation on the farm," Arlen Simons said with pride. "Not many people can say their great-grandfather homesteaded on the same property they are standing on today."
Arlen Simons grew up in the historical house overlooking the Missouri, but after being married in 1967, he and his bride, Shirley, purchased a small house in Bismarck and moved it just southeast of the main house. They continue to live there today.
However, the larger farmhouse is not an empty showcase overlooking the river: The Simonses' sons, Scott and Troy, moved into the house in 1995.
"We didn't want to move from our smaller house that had been home for so many years, so we let the boys move in (the main house)," Shirley Simons said with a laugh. "It's bigger and a lot more to clean."
Constructed by Jay Delong and Harold Sworn, the definitive house with its spectacular view of the Missouri River was completed in October of 1920, according to Arlen Simons.
"The house took a couple of years to build; it was constructed after an accidental fire destroyed the original home."
The majestic house sits about 75 yards east of the steep Missouri River embankment, separated since 1971 by Highway 1804, which snakes its way between the house and steep cliffs.
Access to the homestead has not been always so easy, especially in 1882 when Willard Simons, Arlen Simons' great-grandfather, moved from New York to North Dakota.
"He walked the 22 miles to Bismarck -- just for a gallon of kerosene," Arlen Simons said; the river was his great-grandfather's constant guide to and from town.
Despite hardship and trials, the Simons family grew and flourished along the Missouri, and 48 years later a house was finished for Willard Simons' son, Walter, and his family.
Although unusual for a rural home in 1920, the house was constructed with numerous large windows, indoor plumbing, heat, electricity and a covered porch on the south offering relief from summer heat and a view of the vast Missouri River.
"The porch, other than the floor boards, is original woodwork, as is most of the remainder of the house. It's just been painted over the years," Arlen Simons said.
The interior of the home is warm and inviting, its soft white walls accented by original dark wood floors, staircase, trim and baseboard, with only minor changes being made over the years.
"The only recent remodeling project was the kitchen, which was completed last year," Shirley Simons said. "The last project (before that) was in the early 1990s, when a bedroom and washroom were added to the main floor."
The main level of the home consists of the kitchen, dining and living rooms, and the added bedroom, while the second floor holds three bedrooms and the original bathroom, complete with a classic claw-foot tub.
Upstairs, the master bedroom opens to a private veranda, the perfect escape to listen to the river below in solitude. Built with only three bedrooms, the home originally housed a crowd, making time alone next to impossible.
"Imagine two adults, nine children and two hired hands all living together in this house," Arlen Simons said. "Most people could never live that way today."
But back then, people made do with what they had, cherished their families and maintained possessions to last a long time. That kind of dedication is reflected in loving maintenance that has preserved the home in exceptional condition despite the 85 years of battling the wind, snow and rain that have made upkeep a continuous challenge.
While the house takes work to maintain, the course of the river is beyond the Simonses' control.
"We are afraid that eventually Highway 1804 will be moved as erosion eats away the cliffs and the river creeps closer, which will mean the house would have to be moved," Shirley Simons said.
Both a blessing and a curse, depending on the time of year, the relentless wind is part of life along the river.
"The wind blows almost constantly," Shirley Simons said. "You get used to it, and even appreciate that it keeps the mosquitoes out of the air and cools you during the summer."
When fierce winter storms push across the plains, the wind, glancing off the river, becomes a danger rather than benefit.
"In March of 1966, the blizzard was so bad you couldn't see anything for three days. Once it blew itself out; we had to find the cattle, and we were glad they hadn't wandered off the cliff," Arlen Simons said.
Cattle falling off the cliff or cutbank, while a concern, is not as serious as the possibility of a child falling down the embankment into the rushing river.
"The first place I'd always look if I couldn't find my sons when they were small was by the cliffs," Shirley Simons said. "You just never know, and if a child fell into the river, the chances of survival would be small."
Because the steep embankment makes river access difficult, Arlen Simons' grandfather made a road to the south for hauling water, and hints of the old road, used now primarily by wildlife, still linger along the bluff where nature hasn't reclaimed it.
Which is perfect for Scott Simons, an avid sportsman, who explained that the deer, fox, coyotes, and other creatures are everyday sightings along the Missouri River bottoms, which provide forage and shelter for the wildlife.
After 123 years of co-existing, the Simonses' farm and ranch has blended with the Missouri River, becoming one unit, and like syrup on a pancake, neither would seem quite right without the other.
"I wouldn't trade this life, the good or the bad, for anything," Arlen Simons said.
... wrote on Mar 1, 2007 12:58 PM:
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