Bismarck Daily Bismarck Daily Bismarck Daily
    • Home
    • Advertise
    • About us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    14 Jul 2025
    • Bismarck Daily Bismarck Daily Bismarck Daily
    • Local News
    • State News
    • Politics
    • Crime News
    • Coronavirus
    • Sports
    • Community
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    Ward County Historical Society moves the late Ervin Erickson’s pianos to Minot
    Community

    Ward County Historical Society moves the late Ervin Erickson’s pianos to Minot

    Ally Dillinger, 5 years ago
    MINOT, N.D. – A Bismarck piano man’s legacy and dream of establishing a piano museum has been rescued by the Ward County Historical Society after his death last June.

    Ervin Erickson could never bear to see a piano – especially a player piano – sent to the dump and collected as many as 70 of them, said his sister, Enid Bachman.

    “He fell in love with pianos,” said Bachman.

    Erickson’s lifelong affinity began when he was in grade school and took piano lessons, said Bachman, and he had a dream of one day starting a piano museum.

    When he passed away, his family tried to find a museum or historical society that would accept the pianos or an individual or business who might want to buy them.

    Submitted Photo The Ward County Historical Society moved about 60 pianos that had once belonged to Ervin Erickson of Bismarck, who died in June 2020.

    “We weren’t really having any luck selling them,” said Bachman. “It’s not a good market right now.”

    It would also have cost the family to have the pianos taken to the dump, said Dan Caswell, a Ward County Historical Society board member, and Bachman said her family would have hated to see her brother’s lifelong work go to the local dump. The family put out some feelers in search of a historical society that might be willing to take possession of the pianos and the Ward County Historical Society answered the call.

    The pianos they rescued are currently in storage in semi-trailers owned by Gary Price, said Caswell.

    Caswell said one day the museum hopes to raise money to construct a separate building at its pioneer village in Burlington that would house only the pianos. There are only three museums devoted solely to pianos in the United States in Michigan, Maine, and New York. The Ward County Historical Society’s museum would make a fourth and would also complete Erickson’s dream.

    Caswell said the historical society also hopes to construct another building that would house a collection of old TVs and radios and another building for its antique cars. The historical society has applied for grants and done some fundraising since the museum was relocated to Burlington from its former site at the North Dakota State Fairgrounds in Minot. Donations are particularly appreciated.

    State News

    Proposal would give money to North Dakota coal plants by taxing wind power

    Coronavirus

    How Minot became the COVID-19 capital of North Dakota

    Related posts

    Community

    Nurse saw terrified teen holding a box and walking toward the special care nursery, ‘then saw what’s inside it’!

    Ally Dillinger, 2 years ago
    Community

    This past week the Minot City Council held a special meeting to discuss ways to improve economic development

    Ally Dillinger, 4 years ago
    Community

    Father Outraged Over Son Being Bullied And Physically Assaulted At Jamestown High School

    Ally Dillinger, 4 years ago
    Community

    Supporting the Salvation Army

    Ally Dillinger, 5 years ago
    Community

    The Minot City Council has revived a committee originally created in 1976 but had been inactive for years, officials say

    Ally Dillinger, 2 years ago
    Community

    Minot woman launches non-profit to ease insulin prices

    Ally Dillinger, 4 years ago

    Follow us on Google News

    Follow us on Flipboard

    Trending Slider

    Medora Business Loop project to bring traffic pattern changes ahead of presidential library opening
    6 hours ago
    First responders in Bismarck-Mandan complete specialized training to improve active attack response
    7 hours ago
    Three new officers sworn in at Bismarck Police Department
    7 hours ago
    Woman toId poIice she was undergoing Iip fiIIer procedure while Ieaving her baby and his toddIer sibIing aIone for hours, only to later find the 1-year-old having a seizure, later pronounced dead: police
    1 day ago
    Man kiIIed the woman he recentIy met onIine after the victim told him that she enjoys spending time with him but doesn’t have enough mentaI capacity for any type of reIationship right now: police
    1 day ago
    Groundbreaking ceremony marks start of new military gallery construction at North Dakota Heritage Center
    3 days ago

    Follow us on News Break

    Categories

    • Bismarck (1)
    • Community (595)
    • Coronavirus (232)
    • Crime News (278)
    • Local News (543)
    • News (14)
    • Politics (260)
    • Sports (215)
    • State News (446)
    • Trending (335)
    • Uncategorized (1)
    • Login
    • Register

    Forgot Password

    Registration is closed.