We started our adventure in Underwood, N.D. where we followed around a young resident who introduced us to what its like to know everyone you walk by and have stories for every part of town. Every time he started a sentence with “You don’t understand Underwood until…” or “I remember when…”, we knew we picked the right summer job. Here is a an excerpt of what we’re working on for the book.

Strolling down Lincoln Avenue, Kellen Utecht recalled the time a couple classmates painted graffiti on the Underwood water tower. Or when he and his friends got kicked out of their usual parking lot hangout because cigarette butts were found.

“I heard you’re leaving us,” a storeowner said to Kellen.

“Someday,” he replied.

At 27, Kellen returned to Underwood – population recorded at 710 in 2008 – after studying economics at the University of North Dakota, working in Fargo and serving two years in the Peace Corps. For Kellen, his hometown is just another stop along the way. A deep-set appreciation for the people who watched him grow doesn’t offset his desire to find his way in a bigger city.

Take the turn off Highway 83 about 45 miles north of Bismarck and the D’Eggo Diner comes into view. It’s unmistakable, painted blue and sitting on the corner of Lincoln Avenue, the town’s main street. Across from it: The Black Nugget – “I always thought that’d be the bar I go to,” Kellen noted. The two establishments look like pillars between which a banner could be stretched, declaring to any newcomers: Welcome to Underwood.

Inching block-by-block, several stores have changed ownership, purpose or closed altogether throughout Kellen’s life. One thing hasn’t changed, though. The town still has an original soda fountain – one of three left in the state, it was said.

Kellen sat on a bar stool at the counter of Sodas and Things and ordered a bubble gum flavored ice cream cone. He recounted memories with the soda jerks working on the other side of the bar. One of the women’s nephews used to serve him his ice cream. Kellen went to school with their sons.

His family moved to Underwood before he was born because his dad got a job at the town’s school. They’re a transplant family, like so many others in Underwood, except that most others moved to work in the coal mine or nearby plant.

Gail Leidholm, one of the soda jerks at Sodas and Things, moved to Underwood in 1979 when she married a local. She said at that time the town population was at a high (over 1,000) because the coal plant was being built. The congestion showed in the overflowing state of the trailer courts.

It’s quieter now. This year, Underwood High School graduated about 16 seniors. Kellen started high school in a class of 40, but by the time he graduated in 2001, the class was down to 33.

Adventure, Essence, North Dakota, Small towns, Underwood North Dakota Project