President

1930-1932

Colonel Charles F. Mudgett served as captain of the Valley City National Guard company and served in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. During WWI, he was an adjutant of the 81st brigade, 41st division from January 1918 to July 1919, under General Pershing.

When he returned, he moved to Valley City, North Dakota where he was vice president and executive officer of the National Bank of Valley City. He had 22 years of banking experience before he was appointed to his position of manager and director general and Bank of North Dakota February 15, 1930.

He was forced to resign from his position at the end of 1932. A retirement dinner was held for him January 16, 1933 at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Bismarck, North Dakota. About 20 former and present Bank employees attended it.

He and his wife, Florence, had five children.

1919

A native of Montezuma, Iowa where he met his wife, he came to North Dakota in 1901. Major Waters first lived in Grand Forks, moved to Minot and then to Beach where he ranched on 1,000 acres. It was during his time in Beach, North Dakota when he started a banking, mortgage and loan business.

The Major enjoyed horse racing, training and riding his own prize-winning stallion, Major Ong. He was a close friend of A.C. Townley, one of the key figures in starting the Nonpartisan League. Waters was described as a man with many friends “among all classes, parties and creeds. However, Attorney General Langer questioned his resume and Waters’ tenure at the Bank was a short one.

He and his wife had one daughter, Angeline, who married Dr. Chester Davis Dursmee of Chicago, Illinoi. They met while attending Northwestern University in Chicago. They had a son, George, who died when he was 15 years old of heart disease.

1945-1956

Harold Bowers was born August 13, 1889, in Filmore county, Minnesota. He was educated in Minnesota schools and the Winona Business College at Winona, Minnesota. In 1922, he moved to Hettinger, North Dakota and later to Regent, North Dakota where he was employed as a cashier at First State Bank starting in 1924.

Bowers was married to Claribel Westaby in 1915. They had two daughters, Mrs. James L. Smith, the wife of an army air corps lieutenant and Miss Wanda Bowers, employed by International Business Machine Company in Denver, Colorado.

Other business interests of Bower included a garage in Regent along with grain and stock farming operations in southwestern North Dakota. He was president of the southwest district of the State Bankers Association in 1942 and was a member of the association’s executive council in 1943. At the time of his appointment to Bank manager, he was the mayor of Regent.

He was an active member of the Lodge of Perfection, Bismarck-Mandan Scottish Rite bodies. The June 3, 1961 reported that the 70 something Bowers still played up to 27 holes of golf in a day.

Bowers passed April 2, 1974 while living in Sun City, Arizona.

1986-1992

The new president of the Bank of North Dakota was another small-town banker, Joe Lamb, who owned the bank in Michigan City, ND, the second smallest bank in the state. He had served on the State Banking Board. He was a Democrat, a personal friend of Governor Sinner, and a contributor to his campaign.

His family owned nearly every business in Michigan City which included a gas station, a café, a lumberyard, a general store, a furniture and appliance store and finally, a car dealership.

Joe Lamb was educated as a teacher and he worked in schools in Forest River and Cavalier. He then worked for the state highway department before going to work for the family bank in Michigan City.

Governor Sinner later said, “I had to have someone that I completely trusted as president of the Bank of North Dakota, so I asked Joe to take that position. He worked to straighten out the bank by identifying some of the inaccuracies and the truth of where we were with loans that were bad.”

Lamb had been a credit hawk all his life. He was able to clean up the Bank’s sometimes-loose loan portfolio and improve the Bank’s credit rating. Lamb also purged the ranks of the Bank’s staff, the largest change of personnel since the Langer years.

He was an avid fisherman who traveled internationally for his hobby. He was known for his fish fries held in the backyard.

1969-1986

Herbert Thorndal was born January 21, 1929, in Minot, North Dakota. He graduated from high school in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Thorndal served in the U.S. Air Force in Korea and received the Bronze Star for his work as an intelligence officer. His tour was in 1952-53.

A 1951 graduate of North Dakota State University with a degree in economics, he worked in a bank at Mankato, Minnesota before going into the family bank at Columbus in 1954. Thorndal was president of the Columbus State Bank before being appointed as the Commissioner of Banking and Financial Institutions by Governor Guy in 1966 and served in that capacity until his appointment as BND president in 1969.

After his retirement from BND in 1986, he moved to Minot, North Dakota and was the Chief Executive Officer of Farm Credit Service of Northwestern North Dakota until he retired in 1991. His banking career included six international trade missions.

Thorndal was known for his dry wit and generosity. He enjoyed a daily crossword puzzle. He and his wife, Nancy, had nine children and 19 grandchildren. He died March 4, 2002 at his home in Fargo.

1920-1921

Frederick W. Cathro had an impressive resume with a background in both education and banking. He served as state superintendent of education under North Dakota’s first two governors. After completing his tenure, he moved to Bottineau, North Dakota where he was cashier for 26 years at the First National Bank of Bottineau. After that, he was appointed to serve as director general for the new Bank of North Dakota, working for James Waters. Cathro basically took over operations for the Bank within days of its opening before being promoted to manager in 1920.

He died in 1937.