Dakota Datebook

The morning after Christmas is usually reserved for sitting with a warm cup of coffee while perusing newspaper ads for major sales. However, on this day in 1994, many North Dakotans likely stopped leafing through the paper in shock to reread a story about a man from California.

After the original Capitol building burned down in 1930, a great deal of thought and effort went into constructing the new Capitol. Very different from the domed buildings most states were accustomed to, North Dakota wanted to rebuild something great and ultra-usable.

Elders who were children in the 1930s at Turtle Mountain remembered Midnight Mass as the main celebration of Christmas.

While Ben Eielson is North Dakota's most famous aviator, others came before him, though their names are less well known. On June 9, 1911, Fargo banks and stores closed as more than 12,000 people flocked to the fairgrounds to watch Robert St. Henry take to the air in his Glenn Curtiss biplane. St. Henry was working for Curtiss, the New York airplane designer based in Hammondsport.

On this date in 1934, the Minot Daily News reported on the appropriation request from the North Dakota School for the Deaf. The school was asking the Legislature for funds to complete a building that had been left unfinished for 26 years. Superintendent Burton W. Driggs requested $75,000 to finally complete the long-standing project.

As the year turns and the season grows colder and quiet under snow… We want to say thank you for all the unseen work that makes this region home.

It's a tale as old as time: two young men in love with the same girl. Tom Allen lived on the farm next to the Lockhart place and spent much of his spare time courting Laura Lockhart, even though he was quite a bit older. But Allen had two obstacles. He often got drunk, which did not appeal to Laura. And he had a rival: Brownie Emery. Emery was closer to Laura's age, she seemed more attracted to him, and, unlike Allen, he never arrived at the Lockhart home drunk.

In 1893, Clint Nickells, a Kansas City druggist, came to Wahpeton and rented a house with Mrs. Maude Graham and her three children. The pair intended to establish Dakota residency so they could divorce their spouses. Mr. Graham soon arrived from Minneapolis; he had hired detectives to trace his wife after learning of several large trunks she'd checked into the baggage car.

On this date in 1919, North Dakota finally brought the notorious Guyer gang to justice.

In November 1896, Reverend Schemerhorn arrived in Wahpeton, leaving his pastorate in New Jersey. After correspondence with eastern contacts who praised his work, local leaders secured his services. He came highly recommended by well-known Baptists and was offered the pastorate of the local Baptist church. The congregation was pleased with him.

On this date in 1911, the Wahpeton–Breckenridge community was still reeling from the events of the previous week. Word-of-mouth versions of the story circulated until the weekly newspapers came out.

It was 1902, and President Theodore Roosevelt was deep in the woods on a hunting trip when something felt off.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll hear Oliver Gourd, elder, educator and enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation, talk about the importance of generosity among the Dakota people.

The Pure Foods Movement was a grass roots effort that called attention to the presence of unhealthy additives in processed food. Prior to 1906, there was no governmental oversight of processed foods and pharmaceutical drugs.

On this date in 1906, Teddy Roosevelt became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese War.

There was a time when just about everyone in North Dakota knew the name and fame of Arnold Oss, the greatest athlete ever to grow up in Lidgerwood. From 1917 to 1921, Oss made sports headlines across North Dakota and Minnesota. He played football, basketball, baseball, ran track and was a star in them all.

Sledding is a pastime for many during the long North Dakota winters, especially once sufficient snow blankets the region. While residents did their best to occupy themselves with winter activities, Bismarck's children benefited from compassionate residents and an attentive city government to gain additional space to have fun.

Long before weather alerts or five-day forecasts, people watched the animals, listened to the winds, took note of the moon and stars, and told tales to predict the weather.

In the late 1800s, workers averaged ten to sixteen hours a day, six days a week. Workers in Great Britain and the United States began to push for a reduction in work hours.

On the morning of July 30, 1916, New York City was jarred awake by a huge explosion. Four people were killed, thousands of windows were blown out, and the Statue of Liberty was hit with debris.

Old Wild Rice is the “George Washington” of the Pembina Band of Chippewa. He was frequently mentioned in the Northwest Company fur trade journals of Charles Jean-Baptiste Chaboillez and his successor, Alexander Henry.

As Secretary of State for President James Monroe, John Quincy Adams advocated for the expansion of the United States. He was responsible for establishing the northern boundary of the country from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, and eventually to the Pacific Ocean. More than any other man, Adams was responsible for putting the Monroe Doctrine into action.

Once there was a man who came to Dakota seeking his fortune. He prospered and proposed marriage to a lady back east. But she hesitated to come to Wahpeton, terrified of tornadoes.

In 1941, poultry were making headlines across North Dakota and the country.

One of North Dakota's most striking beauties has to be frost, the glistening white that covers tree branches, power lines, street signs, even blades of grass. It would take a lifetime to paint even one acre of trees all white, but Jack Frost does it overnight.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll listen to Mark Bluestone, enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation, discuss the importance of feeding people.

On this date in 1896, the Jamestown paper reported Mrs. Swain had been taken home to New Rockford for burial. She and her lover were found dead in a Valley City hotel room. A note left at the scene said, "You will find sufficient funds in my pocketbook to bury us. Our last request is to bury us together without any fuss, and do not try to find out who we are. Parted in life but joined in death."

The Dorcas Society is a charitable organization named after Dorcas, a woman described in the Acts of the Apostles. Dorcas was a biblical figure widely known for her dressmaking abilities. The primary mission of the society was originally to provide clothing for the needy, although that grew to include other necessities, like food.

In the 1870s, there were about 1,700 farms in the territory that became North Dakota, with farms averaging 176 acres in size. By 1910, that number had grown to over 7,000 farms, averaging 382 acres. Wheat emerged as a major crop, and the future looked rosy for farmers.

In November of 1970, billboards began popping up along highways in Montana and South Dakota with bold letters stretching across the landscape: “Go North to Dakota!”

The Commercial Hotel, built before 1878, was among the first few buildings in Wahpeton, and its only hotel before the boomtown years. It was advertised as "first-class in every way," popular with those seeking business opportunities, land claims or a quick Dakota Territory divorce.

The 1910 polio epidemic began in the Northeast and spread across the country. It primarily affected children and caused widespread fear and confusion. There were no reliable treatments, and desperate parents sometimes turned to unproven methods to help their children.

November 19 marks the annual Lydia Pinkham Open Studios event in Lynn, Massachusetts, showcasing artists at the historic factory where Lydia's famous Vegetable Compound for Women was manufactured.

On this date in 1932, a two-day demonstration of Boy Scout activities was held at the Wahpeton Indian School for troops from Richland and Wilkin counties. Physician and author Charles Alexander Eastman, a Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota, served as an advisor in developing the national Boy Scout movement and its Native American Lore component.

North Dakota tops all other states in the production of several crops, including oats, flaxseed, canola, and peas, and ranks second in sunflowers and wheat. The state usually places between 15th and 20th in national corn production. While corn isn't one of North Dakota's top crops, it's still significant, its annual production is valued at about two billion dollars.

I'm going to share with you a story you probably won't believe, but it's true. Long before Red Bull or Monster, a farmer in North Dakota may have stumbled on the first real “energy drink.”

In 2008, Woodrow Wilson Keeble was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush for his actions in the Korean War.

Steamboats on the Missouri and Red Rivers once made travel much easier. Of course, the steamboats had to be taken out of the water for the winter but the rivers were still used for travel.

The measles cropped up in North Dakota in 1905. At first, it didn't attract much attention, and there were only small mentions of it. Newspapers reported that “W.S. Dow has been wrestling with the measles this week,” and “H.M. Blazer and family are sick with the measles.” These small incidents were precursors to the main event.

Armistice Day was the name of the holiday we now call Veterans Day until 1954, reflecting the date of the armistice with Germany that ended hostilities in World War I in 1918. The Bismarck Tribune published an extra edition announcing the historic end of the war and how quickly the news spread across North Dakota, with the banner headline: “PEACE.”

Drake, North Dakota, English teacher Bruce Severly did not expect controversy to erupt when he added Kurt Vonnegut's “Slaughterhouse-Five” to the reading list for his class. Most of the students were pleased with the addition, but one student complained about offensive language. That was enough for the school board to order the book removed from the classroom and to direct that all copies be destroyed.

North Dakota has a long history with baseball. It was a cheap and easily-organized form of entertainment for people living on isolated farms and ranches, giving them the chance to gather for a social event. Those early games tended to be a matter of local pride, with neighboring towns competing. When the railroad arrived, teams began traveling. One of the biggest rivalries was between Grand Forks and Fargo.