Charlie, Third Edition.

As promised, no more sidetracks. This week’s column is dedicated to Charlie Richter and his impact on irrigation in North Dakota.
He first got involved with water irrigation in 1960. He became a director for Garrison Diversion in 1969 and served as director up until January 1st, when he resigned from the board of directors. There were struggles from the beginning, as he recalls a 15-year-long period when North Dakota was “pretty near flooded,” and a time before the western part of the state even had decent drinking water. Charlie could tell you anything you need to know about irrigation, the Missouri River, or basically all things water-related. “Someday in your lifetime, you’re gonna realize water is a very precious commodity. Without water, the human being can only live about 6 or 7 days. With that in mind, we have to take care of it and see that it is distributed for the state of North Dakota. This is what I fought for since 1968,” he told me.
“That’s what he believed in forever, and always will,” said his son, Carter Richter. Yet, when asked about any triumphs he has had over the years, Charlie humbly says,
“Seems like I’ve had very few of those.” I beg to differ. I asked him about all the traveling he had to do, mostly to Washington, D.C. “I got to know my way around the Halls of Justice pretty well,” he said. I have only seen a few people in my lifetime who are as passionate about anything as Charlie is, and apparently always has been, as he would much rather talk about North Dakota and Eddy County’s need for water and irrigation than any traveling he got to do (coast to coast), or awards and recognition he has gotten (the Water Wheel Award, and the Comodore Award, to name a few).
He was, however, keen on talking about the wonderful people he got to meet and get to know over the years. “I’ve enjoyed working with the people immensely, you can’t beat it. They were all farmers at heart. We had a lot of fond memories from some mighty fine people.” There was a going away/retirement party of sorts held for Charlie in December. Some of the old directors came to wish him well, which he really appreciated because it is almost unheard of, and all the Carrington staff was there as well. “Good, good people,” as Charlie described them.
As for the future of irrigation in North Dakota, Charlie continues to believe in the dream of getting water for irrigation all across the state. After serving the longest term in history on the board, he has nothing but high hopes and confidence in it. “We can’t look back, we gotta keep looking ahead.”
Always, Anna