Off The Beaten Path: Boomtown | Video

Cliff Naylor | 11/19/2012

Thousands of out-of-state workers looking for employment are pouring into the western North Dakota oil fields, creating a boomtown atmosphere in many cities and towns. Those energy laborers aren`t all from Texas, Idaho, Oklahoma or Montana, many are former state residents who are now able to come home because of the surplus of high paying jobs.

More and more of the oil field truck traffic heading in and out of Watford City these days displays North Dakota license plates

Chad Scofield and his wife Jessie Veeder are just two members of a native born labor force that`s returned to their roots.

"A lot of my classmates, a lot of the people I know are able to come back and live on their family farms or come back to a community they love because there`s great work here...I`d say half of my graduating class of 45 is back in the area and loving it."

Jessie`s husband Chad also left the state during tough economic times to seek good paying employment elsewhere, now he`s back in North Dakota working in the oil industry and running cattle on the family farm.

"This is someplace I`ve always wanted to be, it`s a great life and it`s something I`m really happy about."

Jessie is a musician and a songwriter. She`s releasing a CD featuring songs about life in a boomtown.

"It`s brought people with stories from all over the country, people with heartwarming stories, with triumphant stories, it`s a song writers dream out there."

The title track of the CD is "Nothings Forever."

"To me that`s an ode to the changes that are happening on the landscape, where I grew up."

In between ranching, work, and song writing, Jessie and Chad make time to savor the benefits of being back home.

"We couldn`t ask for a whole lot more right now, everything is pretty good."

If you would like to get a copy of Jessie Veeder`s Boomtown CD, you can order it at COMMENT ON THIS STORY

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