While the name Bernard Hoffman may not be recognizable to many, his pictures probably are. The LIFE Magazine photographer captured some of the most poignant images of World War II including construction of the Ledo Road in Burma and the devastation at Hiroshima following the use of the atomic bomb.
Shortly before the United States joined the war effort, on this day, March 1, 1941, Bernard Hoffman arrived at the Teachers College in Minot, ND to photograph a dude-ranch theme party hosted by the Alpha Kappa Delta Fraternity.

Watched by hundreds of spectators, party-goers “descended to the dance floor down a cattle shute, then walked thru to a corral in which there were two live calves.”

The story appeared in LIFE Magazine later that month.

Written by Christina Sunwall

Sources:
Caldwell, Dave. Minot Daily News (March 5, 2006) p.B1

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