Corbin A. Waldron Papers

Corbin Ara Waldron was born January 7, 1889, in Independence, Iowa. He graduated from Mandan High School, after which he joined the United States Army. He enlisted August 21, 1918, at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He served in the Student Army Training Corps at Fargo College until his discharge on December 13, 1918. Following World War I, he attended Fargo College, graduating in 1922 with a Bachelor of Arts. In 1927, he obtained a law degree from the University of Minnesota and was admitted to the North Dakota Bar in 1928. He settled in Minot where he founded the firm of Waldron, Kenner, Halvorson, and Sturdevant. During his forty one years as a lawyer, he served as president of the Ward County and Minot Bar Association. He was a member of the North Dakota Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, Toastmasters International, and served as chair of the Ward County Republicans. Waldron was interested in civic affairs and served on the board of directors for the Minot YMCA, the Heartview Foundation, and the board of trustees for the Minot Presbyterian Church. Using the pen name “Dakota Cal”, he wrote seven books: Lines from Dakota, Lines and Lyrics from Dakota, Falling Leaves, Quasi-Legal Tender, Footprints in America's Fields, Adventures of Pedro the Polar Bear, and Voice of the Valley. He also composed several hymns along with numerous melodies. In 1957, he was named Poet Laureate of North Dakota by the State Legislature and became a member of the United Poets Laureate International of Quezon City, Philippines. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from the Free University of Asia, Karachi, Pakistan, in 1969. Corbin A. Waldron died in April 1978 in Minot, North Dakota.

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