Dakota Datebook

If you ever see a meteor in the nighttime sky, you will likely be either speechless with wonder or poetic in awe. It is unlikely you would be indifferent. For 62-year-old William W. Barrett, words came easily as he described a summer Saturday-night meteor display in 1894.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll be listening to Leander Russ McDonald, an enrolled member of Spirit Lake Nation, in part one of "Storytelling and Humor."

It was early June 1863, when over 3000 soldiers under the command of General Henry Hastings Sibley marched into Dakota Territory to engage the Sioux Indians in a punitive campaign following the events of the 1862 Minnesota-Dakota Conflict.

It's not uncommon for a newspaper to highlight a local citizen turning 100 years old. But the centenarian featured in The Fargo Forum on this date in 1994 held a special place in the hearts of people across North Dakota. Mable Leet Guy was the mother of William L. Guy Jr., North Dakota's longest-serving governor.

Modern-day people don't know much about oxen, unless they refer to someone as a big ox or being strong as an ox. Some might know about Red River ox carts or maybe Babe the Blue Ox's statue in Bemidji.

William "Bill" Hamann was a mover and a shaker in the western North Dakota cattle industry. He was born near Richardton in 1904 and began working with livestock in the late 1920s.

By 1928, brothers William and Harvey Erlenmeyer, ages 16 and 18 respectively, had worked for nearly a decade on their small produce farm. It was referred to as a "truck garden" because the produce was transported by truck to nearby cities. Through their work in the garden, they earned enough profit to pay for their college education, with money left over to help cover living expenses and support their younger brother.

Grant was impressed with Dakota Territory when he ventured onto the Great Plains in 1883. During his stop in Fargo, Grant said, "I came out here to be impressed, but I see greater evidence of enterprise in your city and prosperity in your country than I anticipated, and all promise great things for the future. Although I have crossed the United States much and visited nearly every territory as well as state, this is the first time I have ever set foot on Dakota soil. I am glad to be on so solid and substantial a foundation."

The Missouri River, the longest river in North America, begins its journey at Three Forks, Montana. It travels 2,341 miles before joining the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis. For 390 of those miles, it winds through North Dakota. It is such a literal force of nature and such a major presence in the state that it has been called "one of the defining attributes of North Dakota's landscape."

Born in 1897, Carl Ben Eielson grew up in the small town of Hatton, North Dakota. In 1903 the Wright brothers invented and flew the first "flying machine." Eielson was fascinated with airplanes since childhood. In 1917, during World War I, Eielson enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Service. By the time he completed flight school, the war was over.

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.