By Daniel Arens

Will it work? Sometimes, all you have to do is will it, and it works, especially if you are sitting on a work bench.

One new bench in town is dedicated to our musings and ponderings about life, success and the legacy we leave behind us. It is also dedicated to a man whose own life reflects these principles put into action.

Charles “Chuck” Stroup passed away on May 18, 2024, at the age of 77. From financial planning to meditations on spirituality, and perhaps most of all for an idea that became one of the signature events of North Dakota history, he left behind a legacy that enriches, inspires and challenges us all to consider our impacts on the world around us.

On June 18, the Charles Stroup Memorial Will It Work Bench was delivered outside of Union State Bank. Stroup worked at Union State Bank throughout his life after leaving service in U.S. Army, while also active with numerous organizations both locally and statewide. But equally important was his passion for creativity and for the arts.

“Chuck grew up and was born into a banking family, but I think if he had had his druthers, he might have tried to make a career in theater,” Harvey Huber, Chuck’s brother-in-law, said.

The bench bears the inscription: “For dreaming, scheming, and contemplating the meaning,” a phrase that encapsulates how one of Stroup’s sons views the nature of his father’s life.

“The Muse can find us at any moment, and I thought, ‘What if there could be a place in Hazen where you could just sit?’” Noah Stroup said when reflecting on his father. “My father became more contemplative and spiritual later in his life. My hope is that this bench will continue to encourage people along the rails of creativity, enthusiasm, interest and passion.”

Noah said he particularly enjoys the wordplay of the bench’s name. He recognized the name could be interpreted in different ways: You can ask the question, “Will it work?” and think about the possibilities of getting your project or challenge to work.

But you can also think of the bench as a work bench, which is itself the “Will It” work bench, where people can sit and think and find the passion and determination to will whatever it is they are thinking about into existence.

“I think he would have appreciate the multiple levels of meaning that it has,” Noah said of his dad.

“The bench is an invitation to join him,” Huber said. “You can sit on that bench and contemplate about life.”

Noah said the bench is make of teak wood, a wood commonly used to make sailboats. Chuck Stroup was an avid sailor, and his son said it felt appropriate to weave that part of his life into the memorial.

Noah said it also made sense to have the bench outside the bank in downtown Hazen rather than out at the cemetery at the edge of town.

“We thought putting something closer to the community would be more in line with what he thought about, and we want to give back to the community, get involved and encourage people to become involved,” he said.

The bench reflects both his working career and his passion for financial planning and economic development, while also incorporating his reflective and creative ideas.

“I think one of the primary reasons why Governor Ed Schaefer asked him to run the Department of Economic Development & Finance during his governorship was because Chuck’s superpower was to think outside of the box,” Christie Huber Obenauer, Union State Bank CEO and Chuck Stroup’s niece, said. “‘Will it work’ is the question to pose of a venture capitalist looking to invest in North Dakota. ‘Will it work’ is the question to throw out to a group ideating on how to solve a problem. ‘Will it work’ is what we ask to balance risk with reward. That’s the way Chuck’s brain worked, and it’s the reason why the sentence is engraved on the lower half of the bench, ‘For dreaming, scheming, and contemplating the meaning.’”

“What I remember of him was just how much of a creative person he was,” Noah said. “He would always think outside the box and find connections that were not always obvious between things. I wanted a tribute to the man who most famous, or infamous, thing is simply an idea.”

Noah’s reference is to “Zip to Zap”, an alternative college spring break idea that Chuck Stroup came up with while attending college at NDSU. The idea caught fire, resulting in 2,000-3,000 college students descending on the small Mercer County town in a raucous party in May 1969 that resulted in the North Dakota Army National Guard being sent in to disperse the crowd.

“What would it be like to have the thing you are most widely known for be an idea you had,” Noah said. He said he is not even sure himself whether his father actually attended the event that arose in response to his own thoughts, but it became a hallmark of his life’s legacy.

“His wish was really for people to live a life of being interested and asking questions,” Noah said. “If he taught me anything, that was probably it. He would meet anyone, and he would just start asking questions. And he would always follow up, asking how does something work, how is something built.”

Noah said the bench project emerged gradually as the family considered what they wanted to do, hearing from Chuck Stroup’s friends in Hazen who wanted there to be something in honor of him in town. He added that he reached out to former Hazen Mayor Jerry Obenauer in June 2025 to ensure the project had the mayor’s blessing to move forward.

“Later in his life, my dad contemplated a lot about what happens after we pass away and what we dedicate our lives to,” Noah said. “And also to wondering if there are people who are going to come and carry this torch forward of making Hazen this arts-centered community.”

Noah added he hopes that people will take time to sit at the Chuck Stroup Will It Work Bench and think about life, searching for meaning and finding purpose, and discovering new connections in the community by doing so.

“Chuck did his part to add his luster to the community of Hazen,” Huber said. “The bench is a very fitting way to extend his legacy.”

“Pop a squat and think your thoughts,” Huber Obenauer said. “That’s what the bench is for.”


Cutline [photo credit of Daniel Arens]:

Noah Stroup, son of the late Charles “Chuck” Stroup, sits and thinks about his own father’s legacy on the new “Charles Stroup Will It Work Bench” outside Union State Bank’s main entrance in downtown Hazen. Noah and his mom Shari spearheaded the project to honor and recognize the Hazen giant by providing a place where people can reflect on his legacy while also meditating about their own ideas, discovering creativity and meaning simply through the process of thinking.