75 Years Strong

What a way to kick off a milestone year! October marked our first full month of celebrating BEK Communications Cooperative’s 75th anniversary, and we’re grateful to every member who watched, played, shared, and reminisced with us along the way.

As a quick reminder, we’re marking this milestone with five projects running from now through our Annual Meeting in June 2027: a Mini Docuseries, Friday Flashbacks, a weekly Trivia Contest, a Time Capsule, and a special Member Gift. Each one is a way to honor BEK’s history and say thank you to the members and communities who made these 75 years possible. Here’s a look back at October and a peek at what’s coming next.

Trivia Contest: October Answers

Thank you to everyone who tested their BEK knowledge in October! Here are the answers to last month’s questions:

Week of October 5

BEK’s fiber-optic service territory is often described as larger in area than which U.S. state?

A – Rhode Island

B – Delaward

C – Connecticut

D – Massachusetts

Week of October 12

As of recent counts, how many miles of buried fiber does BEK’s network span?

A – 3,200

B – 5,750

C – 9,019

D – 12,100

Week of October 19

BEK’s service territory today spans how many North Dakota counties?

A – 4

B – 8

C – 12

D - 20

Week of October 26

BEK was founded by neighbors banding together because larger phone companies wouldn’t do what?

A – Lower their rates

B – Extend service to rural areas

C – Offer party lines

D – Provide free telephone equipment

Every correct answer earns another entry into the monthly drawing, so keep playing. Watch for new questions each week in your local paper and on our social media pages, and submit your answers by clicking on ‘Play’ on the BEK Anniversary Page.

Friday Flashback: October Recap

Every Friday in October, we opened the BEK history books on our social media pages. In case you missed one, you can read them below or find them all on our BEK Anniversary Page.

October 2

In the late 1940s, it became evident that getting telephone service to rural North Dakota was going to be a challenge and that providing the service would lie in the hands of farmers, ranchers, and small-town residents. People like George and Frances Jackson, who had never had telephone service became a major driving force behind this. So, in December of 1950, Jackson spoke with a group of county extension agents and suggested that the farmers of Burleigh, Emmons, and Kidder Counties form a rural telephone company. The first attempt of forming such a company was made in August of 1951. Just a year later, BEK Communications Cooperative began.

October 9

One year after BEK officially became a recognized cooperative in 1952, the Board secured its first loan to bring telephone service to 529 subscribers in its rural service area. The amount of the loan was $371,000. The agreement also allowed for available funds in the amount of $5 million to be used as requested and approved for future construction. The following February in 1954, BEK acquired its first telephone property with the purchase of the Hazelton Exchange. By November of that year, the 53 miles of line and 101 subscribers included in the purchase officially became the property of BEK. The purchase made BEK the first cooperative in the state to complete this type of negotiation.

October 16

In 1954, BEK had been in operation for two years. It was the same year the cooperative received the honor of becoming the first member of the National Telephone Cooperative Association. BEK was preparing to expand, so office space became necessary. The city of Steele provided that space rent-free at the Steele Community Building. By December of 1954, BEK received a $1.5 million government loan to begin construction that would connect 1,700 subscribers in Dawson, Hazelton, Kintyre, Moffit, Pettibone, Robinson, Tuttle, Wing, and an area between Menoken and McKenzie. Growth was taking off!

October 23

The 1960s brought significant advancements to the cooperative. The 2-way mobile dial radio telephone system was one of them, and BEK became only the second provider in the state to install the units. In 1963, the Board decided to take on another big advancement. After experiencing costly damages to its aerial cable lines, primarily from weather and vandalism, the Board decided to bury 7.5 miles of aerial cable between Kintyre and Braddock. All new construction after that included buried lines, saving the cooperative a significant amount in maintenance and repair costs.

October 30

An historic storm in 1966 paved way for some of the cooperative’s biggest challenges yet. The state was completely shut down in March following a major blizzard. Telephone communication was severely disrupted across much of the state, and it would take a considerable amount of time and expense to restore service within the cooperative’s service area. The areas around Strasburg and Hazelton were hit hardest. Crews had to dig through several feet of snow just to reach the tops of poles. Ice buildup caused wire lines to break, and many poles snapped. Extra workers were hired just to knock ice off the lines.

New Flashbacks post every Friday on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and we’ll recap November’s in next month’s Beacon.

Mini Docuseries: Coming in November

Our debut episode with founding Director Neil Beittlespacher brought the cooperative’s earliest days to life, and the story continues this month.

Our next episode features current BEK Director Sanford Williams of Wing, District I. Sanford’s family ties to BEK run deep. His father was one of the founding members who helped bring telephone service to the countryside in the 1950s. Sanford shares his father’s story, along with his own decades of service on the BEK Board, offering a rare look at how one family has helped guide the cooperative from one generation to the next.

The new episode premieres on BEK TV on Sunday, November 8 at 7pm CT, and will air each following Sunday until another new episode is released in the second Sunday of the month. You can also find it on our BEK social media pages and on BEK TV+.

Time Capsule: We Want Your Ideas

What should the members of 2051 find when they open BEK’s time capsule? We’re now collecting ideas for items that capture the cooperative’s past and present. Think rotary phones and copies of our original Articles of Incorporation, smartphones and today’s local newspaper, or something only you would think of. A family photo from a BEK event, an old phone bill, or a note to future members could all tell part of our story.

Email your ideas to marketing@bektel.coop. We’ll reveal selected items one at a time on social media and in the Beacon before the capsule is buried this spring, to be reopened on BEK’s 100th anniversary.

Member Gift

Plan now to join us at the Annual Meeting in June 2027, where every member in attendance will receive a special keepsake commemorating 75 years.

Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and watch for next month’s Beacon for more. Here’s to 75 years, and to the members who made them possible!