Dakota Datebook: Link fiddle contest

Since his birth on May 24 in 1914, Arthur Albert Link became widely recognized in his home state for his service as a US Representative and as the twenty-seventh Governor of North Dakota.

Perhaps a less familiar aspect of the former governor is his lifelong interest in the fiddle. An accomplished fiddle player who learned to play at the age of eight, he often performed at the annual Lawn Party hosted by the Former Governors' Mansion each August.

When the Society for the Preservation of the Former Governors' Mansion sought a way to honor Art Link and his wife Grace for their dedication to the preservation of the Former Governors' Mansion, fiddling provided the answer. The first annual Governor Arthur A. Link Fiddle Contest was in March of 2008 to encourage students of the violin and provide scholarships to the International Music Camp.

Dakota Datebook written by Christina Sunwall.

"Dakota Datebook" is a radio series from Prairie Public in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota and with funding from Humanities North Dakota. See all the Dakota Datebooks at prairiepublic.org, subscribe to the "Dakota Datebook" podcast, or buy the Dakota Datebook book at shopprairiepublic.org.