Let’s All Join Hands is the fifth volume in Larry Lee Kruckenberg’s acclaimed Big Bend Country book series – a deeply personal and thoroughly researched look into the early history of this famed region of southwestern North Dakota. This installment focuses on the pivotal years between 1916 and 1929, a period marked by war, social change, and moments of unexpected prosperity in Mercer County and the surrounding area.

 

Using original newspaper accounts and contemporary sources. Kruckenberg paints a vivid portrait of daily life during this turbulent time. From the local impact of World War I to the struggles of Prohibition and the shifting tides of rural prosperity, the book offers a rare and unfiltered view into the experiences of those who lived in this vast prairie landscape.

 

Rather than offering distant summaries, Kruckenberg invites readers to step into the shoes of early settlers – capturing their challenges, celebrations, and the resilience that defined a generation. Whether you’ve lived in Big Bend Country your entire life or are discovering it for the first time, this book offers another meaningful window into the stories that shaped the region once explored by Lewis and Clark and home of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Native American tribes. It stands as both a heartfelt tribute and an essential addition to the most robust historical examination of this storied part of North Dakota ever published.