Zip to Zap

by Corinne Edgerton

     The music festival at Woodstock would captivate the nation in August of 1969.  But before Woodstock, there was “Zip to Zap,” the only time that the state of North Dakota used National Guard troops to “quell a riot.”  During a time of war, and racial, political, and social upheaval, college students across the United States, students rebelled and demonstrated against authority, and traditional norms of society.  North Dakota's residents, remote from the big cities of the east and west coasts, saw themselves as living in a safe haven, free from such foolishness as protests.  That perception changed, when the “Grand Festival of Light and Love” began as a hastily planned music and beer festival in May, 1969 in Zap, North Dakota.

     The Zap festival idea originated when Chick Stroup, 1969 NDSU Student Body President, complained that few NDSU students could afford a “spring break” in Florida.  The NDSU student newspaper, the Spectrum, edited by Kevin Carvell responded with an half-joking article that suggested a “Zip to Zap.”  It commented on Zap’s central location in the valley of Knife River and its eager welcome of students from all over the Midwest. Carvell claimed Zap could become the “Lauderdale of the North.” The Spectrum printed classified ads for the festival that stated: “We’ll find it in Zap” (February 13, 1969), “Drink the Bars dry in Zap, May 10” (March 20, 1969), and “Glorious Festival of Life and Love (translation: Big Orgy) will be Celebrated May 10 in Zap!” (April 3, 1969). Not only did the campus newspaper promote the Zip to Zap festival, but so did the businessmen town of Zap, who hastened to turn the concept into profits. Located in rural Mercer County, Zap had a small population of about 350. According to city Mayor Norman Fuchs, “We thought, well, we’ll put ourselves on the map here.” Therefore, the town bars began to stock up on beer and the local grills hyped “zapburgers.”

     Students, responding to the ads, began pouring in Zap on Friday night, May 9.  Eager to began their festivities, they were disappointed to find no live music and only a handful of amenities.  Zap had two bars and one local café and could not sustain the desires of some 2,000 students.  Fights ensued when one bar owner decided to double the price of beer. Poor organization and no prior attention to crowd control led to a rowdy beer bash, several brawls, and a call for help to “suppress a riot.” As the sun fell and temperatures dropped below freezing, students built a bonfire on Main Street with lumber from an abandoned building. The town now had to deal with drunken students wandering the streets, urinating in public, and collapsing in odd corners to sleep it off.  The mayor soon called Governor Bill Guy who in turn sent 500 National Guard troops to clear the town.  The troop’s commander wisely ordered his men to use minimum force.  Forewarned of the troop movement, many students left town quickly and by the time the guard arrived no more than 200 students could be found out on the streets.  The next day was spent in getting the exhausted, hung over youth on the road.

     "Zip to Zap" quickly became a story for national TV, but after Kent State and Woodstock, it was a blip on the news radar, and made no political statement of any kind. Its aim had been to give students an affordable, good time and the local Zap merchants a boost in profits.  Zip to Zap went down in North Dakota history as the only time the National Guard was used to settle a “riot” – but to those who were there it is mostly remembered as a silly lark.

Quotes above, from Richard Shafer, “Spinning the Zip to Zap: Student Journalist Responsibility and Vulnerability in the Late 1960s.” in the The North Dakota Journal of Speech & Theatre, vol. 13 (2000).