What do a golden eagle, two high school classes, a cowboy poet and a Avon saleswoman have in common?

They all have North Dakota ties and they all appeared on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show."

Carson, who died Sunday at 79, was famous for the variety of guests on his program. From 1962 to 1992 he entertained America late at night, and his fan base was probably as varied as his guests.

He had as much interest in his unknown visitors as he did with celebrities.

Probably the guest from the state most North Dakotans remember was Rosie Gries. The 90-year-old Avon saleswoman, from Goodrich, appeared on May 28, 1986. She described the delivery route she traveled in her old Chevy to Carson. And before the night was over she sold him $100 worth of Avon products.

She returned to "The Tonight Show" in 1996, but this time it was hosted by Jay Leno. She died in 1997.

Carson had a lot of fun with animals, birds and reptiles over the years.

Ithaca, the first golden eagle to be conceived through artificial insemination, earned a spot on the Carson show. The eagle was later given to Wahpeton's Chahinkapa Zoo.

The late-night host also enjoyed kids, inviting some unusual high school classes to visit.

In 1987, after seeing the six graduating boys from Bickleton, Wash., on "The Tonight Show," the all-girl graduating class of Lansford High School wrote the studio requesting the boys' addresses. Instead, Carson invited them to his show. He then surprised them by having the all-boy Bickleton class in the audience.

An all-boy class from Cathay also appeared on Carson's show, meeting an all-girl class from another school.

Cowboy poet Rodney Nelson, of Almont, was on the program on March 24, 1989. He appeared with Western poet Kay Kelly and talked about a proposed name change for the state to "Dakota."

There may have been other North Dakotans who visited Carson, but these were the ones on file at the Tribune. And they represented North Dakota well: The vitality of the young, able to laugh at the fact there were no boys in their class; a poet in love with the land; and a 90-year-old woman happily making her living selling Avon products.