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My name is Don Homuth. I was the editor of the NDSU Spectrum the week after Kevin Carvell wrote and printed the now famous piece that kicked the whole thing off. I got the phone calls from all over the country saying that people were coming, did the television and newspaper interviews for weeks afterwards.
I was en route when the National Guard got called in by the governor. Then I got to handle a bunch of after the fact recriminations.
But from where I stood then and still stand now, this was one of the funniest, most memorable incidence in North Dakota history. I see where the ND Historical Society ranks it third on their list of notable matters.
Just to give fair warning, Kevin and I spoke just yesterday of noting, to our considerable surprise, that next year will be the 50th anniversary. We are starting to get in touch with others of the old gang who were directly involved. We plan to show up at least for a day.
It's just one of those things we Have to do.
My old sweatshirt is now in possession of the City of Zap. I gave it to one of the city officials ten years ago at the 40th reunion. I still have the Zip to Zap commemorative license plates I bought from one of the vendors, and have put them on cars I've entered in car shows several times. One person out here at the Portland Roadster Show actually knew what it was about. I also featured it on the cover of one of the books I wrote several years ago.
I hope the city officials in Zap will want to do some early planning about the event. I have just No idea how many people might show up, but it's something to seriously consider.
In future years, few who were actually on the scene at the time will probably show up to observe the event. I will be 75 next year. But it could become something of an annual city event, if it were to be thought through and marketed properly.
Over fifty years, memories have softened somewhat. The initial upset was indicative more of the times than from what actually happened.
A shout-out to the memory of Norman Fuchs -- the mayor at the time. I spoke with him often and remember him fondly. Nice man, caught up in a Happening that sort of got away from all of us.
Looking forward to next year!
The Zip to Zap 50th anniversary is coming up in May of this year, 2019. There are currently two Facebook sites for events and news about the anniversary, tons of photos and news articles plus event swag at Zip To Zap 50 here [url]https://www.facebook.com/ziptozap50/[/url] and the town of Zap has a 5k entry and more info on their site at Zip to Zap at [url]https://www.facebook.com/Zip-to-Zap-1969-2019-222963504967539/[/url]
After this went on, students at South Dakota State University thought that they should come up with their own rendition of "Zip to Zap". It was known as "Whip to White." The tiny Village of White is only 7 miles from Brookings SD where SDSU is located. The object was to drink the town dry. I do not know if they accomplished this. I do know that it was one big party. Not the size of Zap's, but pretty big.
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