Zip to Zap organizer Chuck Stroup dies at 77; colleagues remember his leadership (2024)

In 1969, Chuck Stroup set out to throw a party that would eventually go down in North Dakota history. Now, his legend has outlived him. The Hazen resident died this past weekend at 77.

Stroup is perhaps best known for his affiliation with Zip to Zap — a May 1969 event in which thousands of college students flocked to the small western North Dakota town of Zap for a party and were subsequently cleared by the North Dakota National Guard, making headlines across the country. But he also spent significant portions of his life in service to the state, including as a member of former Gov. Ed Schafer’s Cabinet and as president of the State Board of Higher Education.

Stroup’s family did not return a Tribune request through the funeral home for interviews before publication. But some of Stroup’s colleagues remembered a man who was a straight shooter on policy work and could bring together varied perspectives under a common end goal.

Stroup died in Hazen on Saturday, just days after the 55th anniversary of Zip to Zap on May 10.

Zip to Zap

Zip to Zap started because Stroup was mad that his parents allowed his sister to take a spring break trip to Florida, while preventing him from doing so. The then-student body president floated the idea of an in-state gathering before graduation to a staffer for the North Dakota State University student newspaper, sowing the seeds of what could be considered the pre-internet equivalent of modern-day virality.

Kevin Carvell of Mott, who was then the editor of the student newspaper, latched onto the idea of an end-of-year gathering, initially imagining a picnic for staff members. Stroup suggested Zap, mostly because of its unique name. As the plan gained traction among student reporters, staffers began to promote the event through classifieds and jokes in the masthead. At one weekly staff meeting, it became clear that the event had grown bigger than expected: members of NDSU fraternities, the football team and the vets club also planned to attend. Zip to Zap was no longer an inside joke among friends.

Carvell eventually put together a tongue-in-cheek story about the planned event, which got picked up by The Associated Press national wire. “The cat is completely out of the bag,” he told the Tribune in reflection on the event in 2019, on the 50th anniversary.

As Zip to Zap drew closer, the community of Zap welcomed the students -- but did so apprehensively. Then-Mayor Norman Fuchs warned attendees in a letter that the town of fewer than 300 people was willing to take measures to discourage riots.

Those measures included the deployment of the state National Guard. Former longtime Secretary of State Al Jaeger, who was a Guard member at the time, told the Tribune in a Wednesday interview that he recalled being summoned on a Friday night. His unit was brought from Bismarck to Beulah that evening, and he said the Guard was on hand partially because of the prospect of an evolving event -- at the time, campus tensions were high as college students protested against the Vietnam War -- and partially because the town had expressed concerns.

“There was some concern that this was something more than a spring party,” Jaeger said. “So they were prepared in case something did happen.”

Retrospective accounts of the event chronicle the existence of a bonfire on Main Street on Friday night and some student damages to local businesses, though nothing escalated to the level of a riot that evening. Attendees became more intoxicated as the night went on, but things eventually quieted down.

On Saturday morning, the National Guard moved in, rousing attendees and kicking them out of Zap. Jaeger recalled that students relocated to Beulah, and then Hazen, being ousted both times by the Guard, before ending up at Riverside Park in Bismarck.

Fifty years later, Zip to Zap attendees once again made the pilgrimage to Zap to commemorate the event’s anniversary. At the time, Stroup said he knew he wanted to attend the anniversary celebration and celebrate a small piece of North Dakota history that he’d made.

“At our age, we don’t know where we’ll be in 10 years,” Stroup told the Tribune in 2019 ahead of Zip to Zap’s 50th anniversary.

Economics to education

Stroup is remembered by many as instrumental to the creation of Zip to Zap -- former Gov. Schafer said he recalled multiple instances during his tenure leading the state where he and Stroup discussed the event -- but that his service with state institutions has also impacted North Dakota’s trajectory in recent decades.

Schafer appointed Stroup as director of the Department of Economic Development and Finance, then a Cabinet-level role, in December 1992. Stroup came to the position from an executive position at Union State Bank in Hazen, and Schafer recalled Stroup expressed some hesitation about accepting the role.

“He wasn't real keen on coming to the administration,” Schafer said. “He’d have to leave the family bank and all that. So he finally agreed -- he said, ‘OK, I'll do one term. That's all I can do, and I’m gonna get it turned around and get you on your feet and then go back to the bank.’”

But Schafer said Stroup ended up being instrumental in shaping North Dakota’s economy as the turn of the century approached. Stroup was focused on returning local control to municipal governments, Schafer said, and when the state reduced its use of a top-down approach, North Dakota residents were more able to invest in themselves, spurring a wave of growth.

Bruce Christianson, of Minot, served on the State Board of Higher Education when Stroup was president and said he also saw a drive for results within Stroup that was formative in policy discussions. He said Stroup’s approach was “no beating around the bush and taking care of business” -- which came in handy when charting the next few decades for the state University System.

Christianson, a Zip to Zap attendee, didn’t know Stroup when Zip to Zap took place, but said he didn’t observe parallels between Stroup’s involvement with the event and his time leading the board. Still, he said he’s seen many attendees go on to become influential figures with ties to an event that’s still being discussed more than five decades later.

“There were some of us that did become leaders on the college campuses, and continued in being a leader throughout our careers,” he said. “Of course, Chuck was one of those. Absolutely. He’s just really a leader forever.”

Schafer, however, did see some similarities. He said in many instances, Stroup was the first to jump in and support decisions made by the governor’s office -- even if he didn’t agree with them. Schafer added that Stroup struck a good balance in his “willingness to express himself but accept the final decision and move forward” that encouraged productivity.

“Whether it was Zip to Zap or economic development in Grand Forks, North Dakota, he said, ‘Look, this is what we have to get done. This is what needs to happen; how are we going to do it? How are we going to generate that momentum to make it happen?’” Schafer said.

Memorial services were pending Wednesday. BarbotFuneral Home in Beulah is handling arrangements.