MANDAN Historical Society

Working to Preserve & Promote Mandan's Heritage since 2004

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The 1880s

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The 1890s

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1958 Lincoln Stamp FDC

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Area Landmarks

Cary Bldg - Mandan Drug

CCC Camp Chimney

Christ the King Church

Collins Av Civic Bldg

First Lutheran Church

First National Bank Bldg

First Presbyterian Church

Great Plains Academy

Great Plains Expermt Stn

Lewis & Clark Hotel

Mandan Hill

Mandan Theatre

MV Produce Warehouse

Methodist Church

NP Beanery

NP "Colonial" RR Depot

NPRR Freighthouse

NP Rail High Bridge

Roughrider Statue

St Joseph Church

WWar Memorial Bldg

Youth Correctional Center

Gone Forever

Central School

Collins Ave Courthouse

Cummins Building

Deaconess Hospital

Eielson Field

Emerson Inst/Opera House

First St Federal Building

Havana Club

Hotel Nigey

InterOcean Hotel

Liberty Memorial Bridge

Mandan Creamery & Produce

Mandan Flour Mill

Merchants Hotel

NP "Queen Anne" Depot

Original Passenger Depot

Palace Theatre

Peoples' Hotel

Rock Haven

Topic Theatre

Young's Tavern

Heritage Homes

Altnow-Smith Home

Dunlap-Harris Home

Ellis-Uden Home

Freeburg-Esser Home

Lyon-Weigel Home

McGillic Home

Olson-Brick Home

Parkins-Cooley Home

Stutsman-Wyatt Home

Swanson-Reichman Home

Welch-Ness Home

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Biographies A-C

J D Allen

Franklin Anders

Richard Baron

James Bellows

George Bingenheimer

Margaret Bingenheimer

Philip Blumenthal

Elijah Boley

Frank Briggs

Leo Broderick

William Broderick

Frank Bunting

Lyman Cary

James Clark

Henry Coe

Viola Boley Coe

Daniel Collins

Elizabeth Custer

George Custer

Biographies D-L

Alice Dahners

Henry Dahners

C E V (Charles) Draper

Esther Davis

Tony Dean

Joseph Devine

Ronald Erhardt

John Forbes

Palma Fristad

Gilbert Furness

Aloysius Galowitsch

Frederic Gerard

Zalmon Gilbert

Charles Grantier

James Hanley Jr

James Hanley Sr

Mary Harris

C Edgar Haupt

Michael Lang

William Langer

Albert Lanterman

William Lanterman

Richard Longfellow

Rolland Lutz

Hiram Lyon

Biographies M-R

George Marback

Gary Miller

Lee Mohr

Margaret Naylor

John Newton

Anton Ness

John Osterhouse

George Peoples

Arthur Peterson

Nels Romer

Hoy Russell

Walton Russell

Antonie Rybnicek

Ervin Rybnicek

Hynek Rybnicek

Biographies S-Z

Margaret Schaaf

George Shafer

Benjamin Shaw

William Simpson

Anna Knox Stark

Mary Stark

Benjamin Stephenson

J O Sullivan

John Sullivan

Era Bell Thompson

Andrew E Thorberg

Ida Thorberg

C L Timmerman

George Toman

Earle Tostevin

Edwin A Tostevin Sr

Edwin D Tostevin Jr

Walter Tostevin

Felix Vinatieri

A B Welch

Levon West

Frank Wetzstein

Harry Wheeler

Philomena Yunck

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What's New

Ervin Hynek Rybnicek (1917-1945)
Libuse and Ervin circa 1927
Two weeks after Hynek and Antonie [Mendlik] Hynek moved into their new house at 710 5th Avenue NW in Mandan, a son was born to the couple at home on October 16, 1917. Both parents were naturalized US citizens who had immigrated from Bohemia, today known as the Republic of Czechoslovakia. But his father, though proud of his adopted country, insisted in preserving their Czech heritage and gave his son (and later daughter Libuse) a Czech name.

Ervin attended St. Joseph’s School for about 3 years and then Mandan Elementary School. Scouting was among his boyhood activities. He earned his Eagle Scout rank and continued supporting the Boy Scouts of America by serving as scoutmaster in his early 20s.

Nicknamed "Riggie," his high school buddies included Bill Ordway, Jack Shinners and Bill Reko. Near the end of senior year, their request for Senior Skip Day was rejected. Despite his mother’s warnings, the foursome instead marched around the senior high school building banging pots and pans and generally disrupting classes. When the administration called his mother to intervene, she refused politely, saying that she had warned them against the action and she was not coming in to discuss it.

Ervin participated in a wide variety of activities including student government, plays and musical performances. He played “Indian Joe” in the MHS production of Tom Sawyer and the male lead role in their senior class play Seventeen.  Ervin was a talented violinist and sang with a deep base voice. During his teen age years, he was sought after as a vocal soloist, and as a violinist in quartets. He was also voted best male dancer of his high school class. Softball and boxing were among his favorite athletic pursuits.

Ervin Hynek Rybnicek graduated from Mandan High School in 1935. Ervin attended the University of North Dakota for two years. His activities included singing with the Madrigal Club and took both voice and flying lessons. He but did not return in the fall of 1937 due to limited financial resources.

After leaving college, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio for two years where friends and family of his parents resided. He worked for the Metropolitan Live Insurance Company there.  But he returned to North Dakota after economic conditions back home improved.


Ervin wrote and conversed fluently in the Czech language, which was spoken in the Rybnicek home. This skill was an asset many times, among them when he went on the road to sell monuments for his father’s business. In many Czech communities, the language was spoken and of course those fold loved to be address in their familiar language.
In April 1941, Ervin was inducted into active duty while in the National Guard 188th Field Artillery Unit in Mandan.  After the start of World War II in December 1941, the unit left for Fort Warren in Cheyenne and eventually to Fort Lewis in Washington State.
From Fort Lewis, Ervin and several other soldiers were sent to Officer Candidate School in Fort Sill, OK (the site of the principal artillery araining school) After Ervin was commissioned 2nd lieutenant, he was reassigned to Camp Roberts, CA to train soldiers.

While at Camp Roberts, Ervin met Leona Kelley. They were married on September 1, 1943. Ervin was later reassigned and dispatched to study at Officers' Training School. Two weeks after their son Steven was born June 26, 1944, Ervin was deployed to the Pacific Theater of War. Promoted to 1st lieutenant, he was assigned battery commander of the 363rd Field Artillery 96th Division. The unit was involved in the invasions of Leyte, Phillipine Islands and Okinawa.

Leona and Ervin Rybnicek
Official USMC Photo of US Marines on Okinawa 1945 (from the collection of a Mandan area collector)
Ervin was killed in action on April 2, 1945 one day after they landed on Okinawa.  He is buried beside his parents in Union Cemetery, Mandan.

His widow later remarried.  Both Leona and his son Steven currently live in California.

The Society would like to thank MHSoc lifetime member Libuse [Rybnicek] Imbrone for sharing this information on her brother with us. All images used with permission.

The MHSoc's museum and office is located at 3827 30th Avenue NW; PO Box 1001; Mandan, ND 58554
Contact us at info@mandanhistory.org


Last Updated 03/28
/23    ©  2007-2023  Mandan Historical Society   All rights reserved