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| | Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra |
 | | Bismarck was brimming with civic pride the evening of January 19, 1914, when the Belle Mehus City Auditorium first opened its doors. |
 | | Bismarck audiences saw The Mikado, Peg O'My Heart, Blindness of Virtue ("a play every father, mother and young girl should know"), Follow Me, and other stage productions just before and during World War I. Griffith's now-classic film, Birth of a Nation, was shown in the Auditorium on January 12, 1916. |
 | | Leading contributors were General Motors, with the influence of former Bismarcker and GM Vice Chairman, Harry Pearce and David Davis, a life-long supporter of the arts and the brother of former N.D. Governor John E. Davis. |
| www.bismarckmandansymphony.org /concert.htm (967 words) |
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