One..Four..Oh!!!
Happy Birthday! Your YMCA turns 140 today. Let’s celebrate.
Remember 140 years ago? I don’t. I may look old, but I don’t reach that far back. In fact, the YMCA in Fargo was already 100 years old when I started teaching swimming lessons at my home Y. Thinking back that far makes my brain hurt a bit.
However, and I only get to say this at these times, thank goodness that I have a history degree!
Let’s look back.
One of the most important things to remember is that when the YMCA was founded in 1886, North Dakota wasn’t a state yet. We wouldn’t gain statehood until 1889. In fact, we are a railroad YMCA, following the construction of the railroad out to Seattle, our YMCA pops up along with many others. A few years after our founding, the first YMCA building in Fargo was on Burlington Northern Railroad land.
Our YMCA started in the front room of Mrs. S. G. Roberts' house at the corner of Roberts Street and Second Avenue. It started as a bible study in those early meetings. More importantly, it was a way to gather young men in a healthy fashion. Something we still do today.
In the 1890’s, our YMCA, along with the YMCAs across the country, started to offer programs and different ways to gather. Things like basketball and Father’s Day were invented at the Y. Group swimming lessons are another example of the impact of YMCAs and things that our local YMCA would have participated in all those years ago.
There was also the Klondike Gold Rush happening. The General Secretary, or what we would know today as the Executive Director or CEO, of the Fargo YMCA left his position here and went to find his fortune in Alaska. He was successful and donated $1,000 to the YMCA in the early 1900s, over a $40,000 donation in today’s dollars.
Our YMCA also opened one of the first resident camps in the country in 1903 on Big Cormorant Lake, or what we know today as YMCA Camp Cormorant. Our camp is actively serving kids today and helping bring young people together to form lifelong friendships and skills. That was a major purchase back then, and getting there meant taking a train from Fargo to Lake Park, followed by a seven-mile walk to Camp. It sure has changed today!
In the 1930s, we had a distinguished visitor from our national Y movement, John R. Mott. Mr. Mott spoke to a large male crowd during his visit. The neat part of the story was that the women were also involved, forming the YMCA Women’s Auxiliary Club. We weren’t just for men even back then. Mr. Mott is also noteworthy because he won the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the YMCA in 1946. This was for the YMCAs work during World War I and World War II, helping send YMCA professionals to the front line to minister and provide comfort to our troops. His work in the YMCA, along with other leading national organizations like the Red Cross and Salvation Army, led to the formation of what we know today as the USO (United Service Organizations).
Today, the Y has facilities and equipment, serves children and families through childcare, sends kids to camp, is a major food provider to kids, promotes healthy lifestyles, provides scholarships to participate, and so much more. We are here for good!
And yet, if you boil down the very first meeting of the YMCA in Mrs. Roberts’ sitting room and what we do today, it really isn’t that different. What started as a way to gather people into community with each other, is exactly what the YMCA is doing today with more volunteers, staff, and ways to serve and grow our community.
We didn’t accidentally reach 140 years, we have earned it and will continue to serve for another 140 years.
One…Four…Oh, or Oh Boy!, for sure.
See you at the Y!
Steve Smith, President and CEO
Posted on: October 29, 2026