Governor Hoeven Passed Bill to Make the Chokecherry North Dakota's State Fruit

On March 29th, 2007 Williston area Middle School students finally got to see the fruits of their labor brought into State Legislation and passed though into Law. Governor Hoeven signed into law a bill that names the Chokecherry as the North Dakota state fruit. Up until this day North Dakota has not had a national recognized state fruit to call it's own. "We are here to witness and to celebrate one year and 13 days later the signing of the Senate Bill 2145," says Nancy Selby, fighting back tears.

Last year Nancy Selby's 6th Grade Rickard Elementary School class decided that North Dakota needed a State Fruit. They decided that the Chokecherry would be that perfect fruit! The chokecherry is mentioned in the Lewis and Clark journals as having been eaten by the two journeyman when they were on their expedition across our great state back in the 1700's with Pocohontas. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikars Indians in the region have made a steady food staple off of the chokecherries for centuries! Area folks have made jams, wines, and syrups from the juices of the chokecherry for centuries also.

When deciding to take on this project the elementary students were told that they had to find some sort of evidence of the chokecherry being referred to in the history of North Dakota's 'formative years'. This task was a relatively easy one as Lewis & Clark loved the Chokecherry and wrote about them in their journals on a couple of occasions giving the students plenty of amunition for their petition. They were also informed that they would have to get up in from of the legislative committee and testify as to why the chokecherry should be the state fruit instead of another fruit.

The students were not able to complete their petition in time for them to see it signed into law before the graduated from 6th grade, but were in attendance for the signing in of the bill on the 29th of March, at the State Capital Building in Bismarck, North Dakota. The Middle Schoolers were happy to see the fruits of their labors finally brought to fulfillment after such a long journey and process.

Chokecherries grow wild all around our beautiful state almost anywhere that you drive down a dirt road our even in poeple's own backyards, and most people do not even know it. The berries of the chokecherry are a deep red and are relatively small being only about the size of a penny or less around in size when fully ripe for picking. Their are a lot of area people that pick these fruits and make these jams and syrups and sell them at local craft and trade shows as they are so popular with the public. To make jams or syrup out of the chokecherry you must first boil the fruit and then mash it and strain out the skin and seeds for the best flavor.

The students learned that it takes a lot of hardwork and teamwork to bring a state bill to legislature and finally to being signed, and that you should never give up if you believe in something enough.