If his entrance to the world is any indication, the newest resident of Grenora is going to like things fast.

Sunday night, Brandie Dore, expecting her fifth child, went into labor. This wasn't her first rodeo, and she thought she had things under control. Calmly, she and her husband Tom loaded their other children into the family van to make the 45 mile trip to Williston and the hospital. But when Tom turned the key...nothing. At the least opportune possible moment, the van's battery had gone dead.

At the same time, it started to become clear things might be a little urgent than originally thought. Brandie was progressing much faster than expected.

Tom ran to another vehicle to try to jump the van, but the second car was dead, too.

His wife in labor, his car not working, Tom started to panic. Finally he got his pickup started and jump started the ailing van, but time was of the essence. They didn't wait to charge the battery far enough, and while it was running, they were not able to use the lights or the radio. A quick assessment of Brandie's condition determined there was not time to wait. Instead they made their way down the ever-darkening road with their hazard lights on. Fourteen miles down the road, Brandie's water broke.

With a new-found sense of urgency, she told Tom they weren't going to make it - he needed to pull into the 29-Mile bar, which loomed about one mile ahead, and call 911 on his cell phone.

It was Crystal Schaubel, working dispatch in the Williston Law Enforcement Center, who took that call.

Tom remembers he didn't want to hang up, telling Schaubel. "I'm not delivering this baby!"

At 9:28 p.m., she put out an emergency page to the Grenora Ambulance.

"I think I was more excited than they were," Schaubel told her co-workers later.

Bambi Keyes heard the page from her rural home, and chose to head straight to the bar, rather than go all the way into town to meet up with the rest of the ambulance crew. Keyes was the first one to arrive on the scene.

"She was in the van, sitting in the front seat trying not to push," Keyes said.

For Brandie, Keyes' arrival made all the difference in a stressful situation.

"Until Bambi got there, I was really worried," Brandie said. "But when she got there, I knew everyone else wouldn't be far behind. I felt really OK."

Keyes did her best to comfort Brandie - and the rest of the family - while they waited for the ambulance from Grenora.

"Get ready, that's all I could think of," Keyes said.

Linda Hanson was the next to arrive, following about five minutes behind Keyes. The two tried to prepare Brandie for a ride in the ambulance, and to help her hang on.

Down the road in Grenora, the rest of the ambulance crew were trying to rush to the scene when they discovered their ambulance was down a headlight. So a change of rigs was necessary before they could get underway.

The first of several quick changes of the night was made, and a few minutes later, Jane Schenstad, Pam Gunlikson, Corrie Enander and Heather Bjerkhoel arrived in the ambulance.

The team managed to get Brandie out of the van and onto the stretcher, but just as they were about to load her into the back of the ambulance to rush to the hospital, Schenstad said the plan changed again.

"She said in a very loud voice, 'Listen to me. The baby is crowning,'" Schenstad recalled.

Instead of heading into town, she knew she and the others would be putting their training to work right there in the parking lot of the 29-Mile Bar.

"We got her in, shut the door, and boom, we had a baby," Schenstad said.

An 8 pound, 2 ounce baby boy arrived at 9:52 p.m.

Schenstad was the "catcher," Gunlikson suctioned, and they clamped the cord. Working with their OB kit in the ambulance, the women cleaned the baby up, and wrapped him in towels and blankets.

As soon as baby and mom were ready, Heather Bjerkhoel drove the van - now charged, after all of the commotion - to the hospital with the rest of the Dore children in it. Linda Hanson drove the ambulance.

Brandie, Tom and baby arrived at Mercy Medical Center a short time later, where they were met by hospital crews prepared to care for a traumatized baby. But according to the ambulance crew, Dr. Glenn Wiens noted the baby looked well cared for.

"Dr. Wiens said he was very happy that the baby was dry and not cold," Corrie Enander said, noting babies born outside the hospital often become ill because they were too cold after birth.

"He was happy and healthy, no problems," Brandie said. She and baby checked into the hospital and were out a day later just like they would have been if they had made it to the hospital, she said.

While his arrival was certainly an interesting one, baby's name also holds special significance.

Throughout the pregnancy, Brandie and Tom thought they were having another baby girl.

"Three in a row, so odds were," Brandie said, referring to the three toddlers sitting around her.

The couple had a name picked out for their little girl - Victoria Lane. When a baby boy came along, plans didn't have to change too much. The couple settled on Victor Lane without much discussion.

"He ended up with the name when I realized he had been the parking lot of Vick's Place," Tom laughed. "I figured it must have been some kind of sign."

The 29-Mile Bar, or Vick's Place, is owned by Trevor and Vicky Swenson of Zahl.

Once things calmed down and Tom had time to recant the tale to friends and family, a memorable detail stuck with him.

At one point while they were waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Tom had gone into the 29-Mile Bar to look for someone who could help take care of the other children by driving them into town.

He walked in and said his wife was in labor, so someone handed him a cup of ice chips. Through the chaos that ensued later, Tom held onto that cup. When he arrived at the hospital, he was still clutching that cup of ice. It wasn't until later that he realized when people at the hospital found out they had the baby at a bar, it probably looked as though he had even managed to bring his drink with him.

"I'll be telling that story for a while," Tom said with a smile.

Tom isn't the only one telling the story, either.

Four-year-old Ashden Dore is quick to share the story of her new sibling, too.

"We got a new brother," she said Sunday. "He was supposed to come from the hospital, but he came from the bar instead."

Ashden and her sisters, 2 1/2-year-old Olivia and 1-year-old Erika are eager to help with their new brother, while 13-year-old Samuel is just pleased to not be the only boy in the family any longer.

For the crew of the Grenora Ambulance, this delivery was a unique experience.

Jane Schenstad has been with the Grenora Ambulance for 22 years, and this was a first for her.

"The last baby delivered by the Grenora Ambulance was 25 years ago," she noted.

While it may not be their every day call, the ladies' do point out they were ready.

"It was something we trained on," Corrie Enander said.

"I felt we were prepared," Pam Gunlikson added. "From the very beginning, Jane trained us to expect the unexpected, but I never dreamed."

Even with the training, Brandie's handling of the situation also made a huge difference for the crew.

"It helps when mom knows," Enander said. "She was the best patient we could have asked for."

Schenstad agreed.

"She was the perfect mom."

The feeling was mutual. For Brandie, the birth of her son will be memorable for more than just its location. It will also be remembered for the care she received.

"It was a little dramatic," Brandie said. "But It's one of the better experiences I've had with having a baby."

Brandie noted the ladies were caring and personal, and the entire process was "too quick" to be really very painful.

"I never heard a whimper from (Brandie). Nothing," Enander noted.