BOWMAN NORTH DAKOTA  A TRUE "HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE" SAGA

Be sure to scroll below the slide show for much more

Joe and Eunice grew up not too far apart  on the plains of Bowman North Dakota where Joes family  moved in 1930 from Buffalo Springs ND.  Joe was raised with a family of 11 in a small stone house at the foot of Talbot Butte in the heart of the great depression.... many days only having gruel to eat at best.  Many of the stones in this old structure are the now highly prized local petrified wood. 

It was an extremely  difficult time full of hardships and 'making due',  but those challenges became  the very catalyst for Joe's inventive and resourceful nature.  Fashioning potters wheels from old engines, grinding glazes from colorful "Depression Glass" dump finds,   and hand digging the local clay for their pottery were only a few of the creative ways Joe found to mold their business, Ceramics by Messer......  literally from the ground up.

You can see in the slideshow as we visited the homestead over the years, how cattle rubbing on the house as well as elements  caused the home that once protected this family to eventually crumble.
 

The weathered window and door frames from Joe's homestead using for Sandras photo staging area

The only wood in this structure were the window and door frames.  Eunice and Joe managed to bring home a few precious mementos while vacationing in Bowman, and you will see them as the backdrop for the photoshoot that their daughter Sandra (Messer) Miller did in 2011, showcasing the Messer family's personal collection.  A perfect way for these old time worn boards to come full circle.