Stadum Family Archive · Primary Sources · Archive Evidence

Sources &
References

The documentary evidence behind the Stadum Family Archive — photographs, government records, newspaper clippings, academic writing, and oral histories.

Browse sources ↓

Rural Electrification

Electrification Sources

Program Document · Physical

REA 40th Anniversary Program, 1975

Official anniversary program from the REA celebration at Rugby Pioneer Village, North Dakota. Names Palmer Stadum among those recognized for 1937 Benson County electrification work. Held in Beverly Stadum's archive.

Rugby Pioneer Village · 1975

Institutional Record · External

Baker Electric Cooperative Records

Historical records of the Baker Electric Cooperative in Benson County, ND — the organization through which Palmer Stadum helped wire the first farms in 1937.

Baker Electric Cooperative · Benson County, ND

Government Archive · External

Rural Electrification Administration Records — Library of Congress

The Library of Congress holds the national REA records from the 1930s onward — providing institutional context for Palmer's Washington, DC lobbying trip and the 1937 electrification work.

Library of Congress · Washington, DC

Military Service

Military Sources

Oral History · Family

Palmer Stadum's Navy SeaBee Service — Oral Account

Palmer's WWII service in the Naval Construction Battalions (SeaBees) in Hawaii is documented through Beverly Stadum's written account and Rod Stadum's oral history. No official discharge papers have been digitized to date.

Rodney Stadum · Beverly Stadum · c. 1990s–2010s

Institutional · External

US Navy SeaBee History — Naval History and Heritage Command

Institutional context for the Naval Construction Battalions' role in the Pacific theater during World War II.

Naval History and Heritage Command

BGSU · Student Journalism

BG News Sources

Archive · External

BGSU Finding Aid — The BG News

Details the historical runs of the BGSU student newspaper, establishing the institutional record for Kristin's newsroom years (1993–1997) and Scott's brief overlap (2001).

BGSU Libraries

Digital Archive · External

BG News PDF, September 13, 1996

Digital archive copy of The BG News from September 13, 1996, featuring Kristin's early writing at BGSU ScholarWorks.

BGSU ScholarWorks · September 13, 1996

Family Records

Photographs, Letters & Personal Papers

Physical Collection · Family

Beverly Stadum Family Biography

Beverly Stadum's multi-decade compilation of family photographs, letters, and documented oral histories. The primary source for the Norwegian immigration history, Palmer and Signe's early life, and the Benson County years.

Beverly Stadum · Compiled c. 1980s–2010s

Physical · Family

Palmer Stadum's Model Railroad Photographs

Photographs of Palmer's hand-built model locomotives — several held at Rugby Pioneer Village museum, others in the family collection. Key visual evidence of his precision craftsmanship.

Rugby Pioneer Village · Stadum Family Archive · 1980s–2000s

Photograph · Family

Palmer & Princess Astrid — Høstfest 1986

Family photograph of Palmer Stadum with Princess Astrid of Norway at the Høstfest model railroad exhibition in Minot, ND, 1986. One of the most documented events in the archive.

Stadum Family Archive · Minot, ND · 1986

Institutional

External Archives & Institutions

Museum · External

Rugby Pioneer Village Museum, Rugby, ND

Holds Palmer's model railroad collection, family photographs, and the REA anniversary display. The principal institutional repository for Palmer Stadum's legacy.

Rugby, Pierce County, North Dakota

Government Archive · External

North Dakota Studies — State Historical Society

North Dakota State Historical Society records providing context for Norwegian immigrant settlement patterns, rural electrification history, and Benson County agricultural records.

State Historical Society of North Dakota

Church Records · External

Saint Petri Lutheran Church Records — York Township, ND

Church records for the Norwegian Lutheran congregation in York Township, where Palmer and Signe are buried at Saint Petri Cemetery. Cemetery records document the Stadum and Solberg family burial plots.

Saint Petri Lutheran Church · York Township, ND

Archive Sources

The Stadum Family Archive draws on a mix of primary and secondary sources — physical documents, digitized records, institutional archives, and oral history.

Much of the archive's core evidence comes from Beverly Stadum's family biography, which she compiled over decades from personal photographs, family letters, and interviews with Palmer and Signe. That biography, combined with Rod Stadum's oral histories, forms the backbone of the personal narrative.

Institutional records — REA anniversary programs, BGSU newspaper archives, North Dakota Historical Society records — provide documentary corroboration for key claims.

Sources &References