Dakota Datebook

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was a popular public figure throughout the United States. He was young and handsome, with a beautiful wife. It was widely thought that he would run for president and, as a genuine Civil War hero, many believed he was a sure bet to win the election. Custer was especially popular in North Dakota since his cavalry was based at Fort Abraham Lincoln.

Paper money has been part of United States currency since the Continental Congress authorized a two-dollar note in June 1776. But those notes were not the paper money we know today. They were bills of credit used to fund the defense of a new country's struggle for independence. When the Constitution was ratified in 1788, it prohibited states from issuing bills of credit or using anything other than gold and silver as legal tender.

Have you ever found a green dollar bill just lying there on the street? Have you ever discovered a ten-dollar bill caught along a chain-link fence, where the wind had blown it, and picked up that paper money, slipped it into your pocket, thinking, "Finders keepers, losers weepers"?

Ragnvold Anderson Nestos was born in Voss, Norway, on April 12, 1877. His name highlights his Norwegian heritage. “Ragnvold” is a traditional Norwegian name. “Anderson” comes from his father's name, indicating he is the son of Anders. Nestos was sixteen years old and spoke no English when he came to the United States. He received his education at the Mayville Normal School and the University of Wisconsin. In 1904, he earned his law degree at the University of North Dakota and opened a practice in Minot.

“The Black Death” swept Europe in the mid-14th century and killed millions of people. Hundreds of years later, North Dakota also grappled with plague. The first cases were detected in dozens of ground squirrels shot at a golf club and on ranches in the Crosby area in 1941. The rodents carried dozens of fleas infected with plague bacteria.

William Gardner was a Turtle Mountain Chippewa from North Dakota, born in 1884. He attended Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania and excelled in academics and athletics. He was on the famed "Carlisle Indians" football and track teams with Jim Thorpe, future Olympic legend. From 1904 to 1908, Carlisle defeated top football teams including Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Pennsylvania State.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, which took place from 1804 to 1806, was only the beginning of the exploration of the vast wilderness acquired through the Louisiana Purchase.

On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke nine momentous words: "Mr. Watson, come here. I need to see you." It was hardly an earthshaking statement, except for one fact. Bell had spoken the first words ever communicated by telephone. It wasn't much. Thomas Watson, Bell's assistant, was only in the next room. But Bell immediately saw the exciting possibilities. He began working right away to get his invention noticed by the public. The telephone was awarded a medal at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Later that year, at an exhibition in Salem, Massachusetts, Bell spoke with Watson, who was in Boston.

Republican William McKinley was considered a strong presidential candidate in 1896. He had a long record of public service. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1861, rising to the rank of brevet major. He also served two successful terms as governor of Ohio. His politics appealed to Republicans, but he also attracted a broader range of voters. He was seen as a self-made man who radiated competence and reliability, qualities that appealed to voters during the turbulent 1890s.

On this date in 1928, sliced bread was introduced to consumers. Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the first machine for commercially slicing bread. The first commercial sale was made by a bakery in Chillicothe, Missouri. It was billed as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry.”

The late nineteenth century was the golden age of the exposition, often referred to as a “world's fair.” Exhibits sponsored by foreign countries and displays of new modern conveniences were viewed with amazement.

Aviator Chester Jacobson was one of North Dakota's earliest flyers who earned himself the reputation of a daredevil.

In 1946, a surplus World War II P-51 Mustang fighter plane was purchased by the Aeronautics Department of Montana State College for $1 and placed on display on the university campus in Bozeman, Montana. In 1965, the Mustang was sold and hauled away, eventually ending up in a junkyard in Billings, Montana.

James Smithson was an Englishman who never set foot in the United States. He bequeathed his estate to his nephew on one condition: if the nephew died without an heir, the money would go to the United States to found “the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

On this date in 1926, Gerald P. Nye was appointed to the United States Senate by Governor Arthur Sorlie to represent North Dakota following the death of Senator Edwin F. Ladd. Despite debate within the Senate over whether the governor had the legal authority to appoint Nye, the Senate chose to resolve the issue and honored the appointment. Later that year, Nye won election in his own right and quickly became one of North Dakota's leading political figures. His election was especially important for North Dakota farmers, who were facing serious economic difficulties during the 1920s.

The Fargo newspaper headlines this week in 1957 concentrated on the devastating tornado that had leveled a large swath of the city only days before. An effort called “Operation Cleanup” was making progress with the damage caused by the twister that drilled through neighborhoods, especially the Golden Ridge area of North Fargo.

On today's Dakota Datebook, we'll hear about the importance of interconnectedness from Dr. Teresa Delorme, educator and enrolled member of Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.

On this date in 1876, the Battle of the Little Bighorn commenced. It was over quickly. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and 7th Cavalry forces met an overwhelming force of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne warriors. Custer's outfit was annihilated: 268 dead, including six Crow and Arikara scouts; 55 severely wounded, six dying soon.

The world rejoiced at the end of World War I in 1918. It seemed as if life would return to normal. There was no way to know that the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl were right around the corner. Hard times lay ahead.

On this date in 1929, Joseph Blanding was still living in the family farmhouse at the south end of Wahpeton. He gave a talk to the Wilkin County Historical Society that was later published in the local paper. Joseph came to the area in 1872 at age nine, before Wahpeton was settled.

During World War I, despite American neutrality, military mobilization was already underway. North Dakotans answered the call when President Wilson mobilized the National Guard for duty along the Mexican border in response to turmoil from the Mexican Revolution and Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico, in March 1916. The Guardsmen garrisoned the border, freeing Regular Army troops to pursue Villa and his allies.

If you were standing on the riverbank in Fargo in the summer of 1882, you could watch thousands of pine logs from Minnesota forests floating north on the Red River toward sawmills in Winnipeg.

There is no question that summer storms can bring damaging effects. On this date in 1923, newspapers reported on various storm systems that swept through portions of Canada and North Dakota, wreaking havoc as they went.

On May 17, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Custer bid farewell to his wife, Libby, and rode out of Fort Abraham Lincoln at the head of the 7th Cavalry. He never returned. North Dakotans took his loss personally. Custer was a popular figure, and the territory was stunned when news of his defeat became known.

Following his 1820 expedition to map the American West, Major Stephen H. Long named it the “Great American Desert.” Other early explorers, like Zebulon Pike, confirmed Long's assessment that the Great Plains were unfit for cultivation. But the East was settled — some said overly settled — and Americans needed room to grow. The brave and the dreamers packed their bags and headed west, with visions of turning the Great American Desert into the Great American Breadbasket.

On this date in 1899, the Wahpeton Globe noted, “The law enforcement league cleaned the gamblers and sure-thing men out of Fargo last week, and the soiled doves took flight, many of them lighting down on Wahpeton and Breckenridge. The wave of reform will soon blow over, and the old familiar faces will be seen in their accustomed places by those looking for them.”

The Roaring Twenties were definitely roaring in 1922. The United States was marked by postwar recovery and economic growth. Mass production made consumer goods more available to Americans. Innovations like automobiles, radios, and airplanes led to the development of new industries. There was a sense of optimism about the future, and the sky seemed to be the limit. It wouldn't last long. But in 1922, no one knew the Roaring Twenties would crash into the Great Depression. Life was good.

Between 1825 and 1925, it is estimated that 750,000 people left Norway to emigrate to the United States. About 15 percent of those emigrants came from Trondelag. People from Trondelag are known as “Tronders.” Today, more than 450,000 Americans are descended from the original Tronder immigrants.

As settlers arrived on the Great Plains and towns began to spring up, music became an important source of entertainment. Neighbors living on isolated homesteads gathered for barn dances, and traveling musicians performed for contributions from the audience.

Printed in large quantities on cheap paper, dime novels were wildly popular. Costing just a dime, and sometimes only a nickel, they were aimed at a broad audience. The first recognized dime novel was published on this day in 1860.

Iceland is about 2,500 miles away from North Dakota. That seems very far away indeed. It is difficult to imagine that an event in far-off Iceland could have a direct effect on North Dakota, but in 1783, that is exactly what happened.

The challenges farmers faced during the “Dirty Thirties” took a U-turn with the outbreak of World War II. The rains returned, crops were good, and land was cheap. The American military's increased demand for crops and meat drove up prices for those commodities. While the state lagged behind in war-specific industrial production, North Dakota's contribution in the form of agricultural products should not be underestimated.

It took many years for Theodore Roosevelt National Park to become a reality. When Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919, proposals were immediately put forward to create a national monument in his honor.

By 1911, North Dakota was looking less like the Wild West and more like eastern civilization. Education was a big part of the state's progress. Even small communities had elementary schools, but high school was a more expensive undertaking. Education often ended after sixth grade. Many families sent their children to larger towns to earn a high school diploma. Reflecting the state's farming culture, the 1911 Legislature provided financial support for communities that approved high schools with an emphasis on agriculture.

The Fourteenth Amendment conferred citizenship on those born in the United States, but one group was left out: Native Americans. In 1884, a case challenging that position made its way to the Supreme Court. John Elk brought a case against a registrar in Omaha for refusing to register him to vote because he was not considered a citizen. In a 7–2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to Elk because, as an Indian, he was not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1865 by former Confederates to obstruct the extension of voting rights to Black Americans. Strong Reconstruction Acts were passed by Congress in 1867 and 1868. By 1870, the Klan had chapters in almost every Southern state. Members waged a campaign of intimidation against Black citizens and their white supporters. Klan participation gradually declined and was largely inactive by 1890.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll hear from Kevin Locke, enrolled member of the Standing Rock Nation, in part one of “Hinhan Kaga and The Milky Way.”

Every year, dozens of communities from across the country compete for the prestigious All-America City Award, presented by the National Civic League. George Gallup, founder of the Gallup Poll, once called it the “Nobel Prize for constructive citizenship.”

Bismarck is home to a house inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. The beige brick house built in 1963 and 1964 is of the Usonian design. These “modest” houses, represent Wright's ideals in construction, in part because they are “bound to nature, and responsive to the lives of their inhabitants.”

May is National Historic Preservation Month! Today, we'll hear about some of the historic places in North Dakota that are included in the state's Historic Sites Registry.

For years and years, the biggest tree in North Dakota grew along the Goose River in a pasture on the farm of Arthur Hanson.

Reeder, Wolfe, and Wasche came to Wahpeton during the boomtown years and became very wealthy. They envisioned the civilizing influence of a massive brick opera house on the corner of Dakota Avenue, the main street of the rowdy frontier town. Key to the venture were several railroad lines running daily to cities where acclaimed dramatic and musical acts were based. Entertainers and audiences could arrive and depart on tracks behind the building.