In 1941, Herman Uden from Helena, MT, bought this Victorian house from Chuck Ellis. Originally from Minnesota, Herman served in the famed Rainbow Division under General Douglas McArthur in France. After returning home, he moved to Dickinson in 1928 to manage the J.C. Penney Store, and married Jennie Kittleson. In 1936, Herman became the manager of the J.C. Penney store in Hebron, ND.
When D.C. Mohr retired from his position at the J.C. Penney Store in Mandan in 1937, Herman moved to Mandan and took over as manager until he retired in 1957. The Uden family lived in this house from 1941-1987 until Jennie Uden, one of the four Uden sisters, passed away.
Ruth Uden, the oldest of the sisters enjoyed growing up in this neighborhood. She worked at the Purity Dairy during the summers after she graduated from Mandan High School in 1951. Her sister Jean worked at the soda fountain in the Mandan Drug during high school.
One of Ruth’s childhood memories includes an ice skating rink that use to be in an empty lot where the St. Michael’s Catholic Church now stands. There also was a barn north of the rink that belonged to J.D. Allen, where Ruth and her friends would look into the windows at all the birds and animals that were being mounted and run.
Story by Sue Bartholome, Mandan News. Transcription reviewed against the photographed sign on September 4, 2026; faded passages were cross-checked against the archived Heritage Homes text.