Administrative/Biographical History
John Orlo Hjelle was born November 15, 1913, in Mercer, North Dakota, the son of Ole Simon Hjelle and Ella Theoline Myhra. Hjelle married Alice Marie Driver of Bismarck in 1943. They had four children: Ann Marie, Kathryn Lynn, Barbara Gail, and Kristin Sue. He received a B.A. in 1936 from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Hjelle worked in various positions at the Bismarck Tribune from 1936 to 1945. He was then employed by Senator Milton Young as an administrative assistant for about three years. In September 1948, Hjelle became editor of the Bismarck Tribune, a position he held for 31 years before retiring in 1979. He was active in various organizations such as the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Rotary Club, Masonic Temple, Izaak Walton League, Sigma Delta Chi, and was vice president of the Mo Valley Area Council for the Boy Scouts of America. Hjelle died April 16, 1982, in Bismarck.
