On Sunday, June 25, the Paul Broste Rock Museum in Parshall, North Dakota, will throw a party to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The museum actually opened on June 3, 1996.

Unlike many other roadside attractions that are the obsessive handwork of one person, the Paul Broste Rock Museum has long outlived its creator, who died in 1975. Broste, however, was already 78 when the museum opened, and the nine years that he lived there (along with his rocks) were doubtless the happiest of his life. Broste referred to the museum building, which he designed and which is built of rocks selected by Broste himself, as the "Parshall Acropolis."

The Paul Broste Rock Museum closed in 1997, and there were fears that it was gone for good. But local boosters rallied 'round the rocks and raised the funds necessary to have the place cleaned, repainted, reorganized, and reopened by the following year. Robert "Jake" Jacobson was a devoted curator of the collection until his death in 2006, and the anniversary event acknowledges his work -- his wife Doris is the current curator.

Broste, a life-long farmer, saw himself as an artist, and filled the museum with not only rocks but with his artwork, which includes strange "sphere trees" and the mirror-lined "infinity room."

According to a report in the Minot Daily News, the June 25 celebration will include "shredded pork on a bun" from a local meat supplier, and a "pie social" ("Pie will be sold by the slice as well as by the pie."). Also: "Rocking ’50s girls will be selling souvenirs and dancing to rock music throughout the afternoon." Perhaps in the infinity room?

If you're anywhere near Northwest North Dakota on June 25, you have to check it out. [06/20/2006]

November 26, 2009