Zip to Zap facts for kids

The Zip to Zap event happened from May 9 to 11, 1969, in Zap, North Dakota. It started as a fun idea for spring break. An article in the North Dakota State University newspaper, The Spectrum, was picked up by the Associated Press. This led to about 2,000 to 3,000 people traveling to Zap. Zap is a small town in Mercer County, nearly 300 miles (482 km) from the university. This gathering is sometimes called the Zap Festival.

As the small town's supplies ran out, the friendly mood changed. The people of Zap asked the visitors to leave. Some left, but others stayed. The event became very chaotic. The National Guard was called in to help. They helped the crowd leave. The Zip to Zap is known as the only time in North Dakota's history that the National Guard had to stop a large public disturbance.

Why Did the Zip to Zap Happen?

The idea for the Zip to Zap came from Chuck Stroup. He was a student at North Dakota State University in Fargo. Chuck couldn't afford to go to popular spring break spots like Fort Lauderdale, Florida. So, he thought of a new plan. He called it the "Zip to Zap a Grand Festival of Light and Love." Chuck put an ad in his university's newspaper, The Spectrum.

Soon, students from all over the Midwest, and even from Texas and Florida, loved the idea. News spread quickly through college newspapers and the Associated Press.

In 1969, many college students across the United States were speaking out. They were protesting the Vietnam War and the spread of nuclear weapons. News reports sometimes made it seem like there was a big conflict between students and older generations. The National Guard had been called to help with over 200 public disturbances by late 1969. The Zip to Zap was one of these events.

North Dakota was far from where the "hippie movement" was strongest. But students there still knew what was happening at schools like UC-Berkeley. There was tension between students and leaders. Also, local governments were not used to dealing with very large groups of people expressing their views. This mix led to the event that put Zap, North Dakota in newspapers across the U.S. It was even the main story on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. What started as a fun idea turned into a chaotic event that caused a lot of damage.

How the Event Grew

Mysterious ads and articles in student newspapers made people very curious about the Zip to Zap. A front-page story in the Spectrum newspaper said:

Zap (Zip 58580) is located in the beautiful Knife River valley. Its 250 residents welcome students. We should not say no to this kind welcome. On May 10, we and students from all over the Midwest will go to Zap. It will be the "Lauderdale of the North."

This article was the first one picked up by the Associated Press. The people of Zap were excited. They saw a chance for their town to get noticed and to make some money. The two local bars stocked up on drinks. Local diners started selling "Zapburgers." Norman Fuchs, who was the mayor of Zap in 1969, remembered, "We thought, we'll put ourselves on the map here." The event got a lot of attention. A toy company, Wham-O, even used the event to launch a new toy called the Zip-Zap. Mayor Fuchs was photographed playing with the toy. Local rock bands were hired to play music.

The people organizing the Zip to Zap, and the town leaders, got caught up in all the excitement. They didn't plan much for how to handle thousands of college students looking for a good time. More news stories made the excitement grow. The Spectrum newspaper even published a map of Zap. It also wrote about Zap's bars and cafes and the beauty of the Knife River Valley. The article ended with a statement that turned out to be true: "A full program of brawls, freakouts, and arrests is being planned. Do you dare miss it?"

From Party to Chaos

Students started arriving in Zap on Friday, May 9, 1969. They quickly filled the town's two bars. There was so much demand for drinks that the bar owners doubled the prices. This upset the students, but it didn't matter for long because all the drinks were quickly gone. The weather got very cold. The college students started a large bonfire in the middle of town. They used wood from a building that had recently been taken down.

The townspeople, led by Mayor Fuchs, asked the students to leave. Most students did leave, but some stayed. What began as a spring break gathering quickly turned into the only major public disturbance in North Dakota's history. Local security could not handle the crowd. A cafe and one of the bars were badly damaged.

Governor William Guy called in 500 troops from the North Dakota National Guard to help calm the situation. Over 1,000 people were still in Zap when the Guard arrived at 6:30 am. About 200 of them were still awake. The guardsmen, with their bayonets ready, woke up the students. There was little resistance as the students were asked to leave. All of this happened in front of national news teams. The Zip to Zap was the main story on the CBS Evening News that day. It was also covered by Pravda, a newspaper from the Soviet Union, and Stars and Stripes, a newspaper for the U.S. Armed Forces.

The damage from the event was estimated to be more than $25,000. The student governments of North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota eventually paid for these damages.

What Happened After

The people who organized the Zip to Zap felt bad about how things turned out. Mayor Fuchs thought that only about 300 of the 3,000 visitors caused any trouble. Several businesses had to be torn down and rebuilt. A new city hall was built where the old building that fueled the bonfire used to be. Later anniversaries of the event have been celebrated without any problems.

Students in North Dakota and Minnesota continued to express their views during the Vietnam era. But the Zip to Zap remains the only event that needed the North Dakota Army National Guard to use force.

The claims for damages were settled in a friendly way. Both North Dakota State University in Fargo and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks added a small fee to student costs for several years. This money helped pay the townspeople for damages that insurance did not cover. The town even hosted a 25th anniversary reunion in 1994. That event was much better organized and went smoothly. Other small towns in North Dakota joked about planning similar events to get national attention, like a "Gallop to Gackle" or a "March to Medina."

A 50th anniversary celebration was held on May 12, 2019.