About

Once upon a time, a family had a farm in western North Dakota. For many years, it was a peaceful place to live. The prairie was wide open; the people and cars were few. Then, something happened to the family’s peaceful place: an oil boom! We are smack dab in the middle of what’s known as the Bakken Formation. Thousands of people moved in, the wide open spaces got smaller, and oil wells, new roads, and hastily-constructed developments popped up everywhere. The unemployment rate dropped and Help Wanted signs were everywhere. The small towns became boomtowns and almost couldn’t hold all the people. The classrooms couldn’t hold all the students. The roads could’t hold all the trucks. It was a boom, all right!

A few years later, the boom turned into a bust. Many people went back to their home states. Then it boomed again. Then we thought it was going to bust again… but it didn’t really. We never quite know what to expect! Let’s just say living here isn’t always easy nor predictable. When this all started, I had so many stories that I needed somewhere to write them down, and that’s when Boomtown Diaries was born.

A little about me: I live on our farm and ranch with my husband Corey, our three boys and our dog, and a handful of cats. I work as a high school educator during the day and otherwise am usually mom, cook, farm / ranch wife, and whatever else I need to be that day.

Here is my story and the stories of others like me, along with other random tidbits about life in an oil field in the wild Midwest. I love it here, and this will always be home. It’s a crazy life but a good one!