2999 search Results for: datebook
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1917 Red River Dog Derby, Part 2
If you were listening to Datebook on January 26, you heard about the Red River Dog Derby organized for the Outdoor Sports Carnival in Minnesota. Eleven dog teams were running from WInnipeg along the old Pembina trail through North Dakota and into Minnesota, to take their finish at Como Park during the carnival. However, cold […]
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Council on Environmental Quality
As his first act of 1970, Richard Nixon created the Council on Environmental Quality. He said the 1970s had to be the time when America reclaimed its air and water purity to improve the environment. He said, “It is now or never.” On this date in 1970 he named the first three members of the […]
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Wanted: Helpmate
In 1908, the North Dakota we know and love today was different. There were no cars, no phones, no computers. There were lanterns and letters home. There was hard work. Sometimes, there was just a claim, a farm, and a man. And so , there was also loneliness on the vast, open prairie, so far […]
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Drone on the Range
Cattle rustling is a staple of western movies and TV shows. Movie heroes like John Wayne and Roy Rogers routinely had to cope with rustlers. They often engaged in furious chases on horseback and lots of gunfire. But cattle rustling is not fictional. It has a long and troubled history in North Dakota. Over the […]
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1917 Red River Dog Derby, Part 1
In January of 1917, plans for the annual Outdoor Sports Carnival in Minnesota were underway. There were many sporting events of interest, including a national ski tournament, world’s championship speed-skating races, curling, and fireworks. However, a new event was being organized, one that would make history: one of the longest dog team races ever held […]
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A Capitol Trolly
Anyone passing through Bismarck today is able to go to the 17th floor of the capitol building, the observation deck, and view the landscape of the city from above. Tiny people, cars, trees, and buildings can be seen in every direction. There weren’t 17 floors in the original Capitol, but at the time it was […]
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Short Session Prevails Among Lawmakers
On this date in 1918, members of the North Dakota Legislature began to hope that a short session was possible. If that was the case, they could all go home early. There was concern, however, that contentious issues advocated by the Nonpartisan League could extend the session. Some accused the NPL of “having something up […]
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Ford’s Theater
As Abraham Lincoln watched the theatre stage, John Wilkes Booth crept from the shadows behind, drew his derringer pistol, and fired. Mortally wounded, the president slumped forward, never to regain consciousness. Over the next century, controversy surrounded the site of Lincoln’s assassination. Some wanted Ford’s Theater to stand as a tribute to Lincoln’s life […]
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The Beekeepers
According to environmentalist Elizabeth Grossman, one out of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators. Pollinators are crucial for a successful harvest. Perhaps the most important of these is the honey bee. Unfortunately, the world is facing a puzzling decrease in the bee population. Beekeepers in the United States and Europe have […]
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Niels E. Hansen
Niels E. Hansen was born in Denmark in 1866 and grew up in South Dakota. He became a plant scientist and worked at South Dakota State University in Brookings. Around 1897, he began to travel, searching for hardy plants that might do well in South Dakota. He brought back many varieties, including smooth brome grass […]
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North Dakota’s Thirteenth Legislative Session
North Dakota’s thirteenth legislative session began in January of 1913. Many of those seats in the House and Senate were held by legislators still remembered today. For example, Col. John Fraine, longtime member of the North Dakota National Guard, whose name lives on in the Fraine Barracks; Bert Ash, a well-known drum major for the […]
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Wilton vs. Milton
Names are very important. They establish a sense of pride, of who we are. So when it was reported that on this day, in 1908, the Postmaster of the town of Wilton received a curious request—a petition, to be precise—from the town of Milton, via postal authorities at Washington, asking that Wilton might change its […]
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Count Berthold von Imhoff
Count Berthold von Imhoff was born in Mannheim, Germany on this date in 1868. He demonstrated artistic talent early, painting landscapes at the age of seven. By fourteen, he was serving an apprenticeship. He was awarded the Art Academy Award of Berlin for a painting he completed when he was only sixteen. Imhoff immigrated to […]
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Holger Cahill
On this day in 1887, Sveinn Kristjan Bjarnarsson was born in Skogarstrond, Iceland. For those familiar with the art world, he is far better known as Holger Cahill. Life was not easy for Sveinn and his family. After a move from their native country of Iceland to Western Canada, they later settled in the upper […]
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Toboggan Craze in Grand Forks
Wintertime brings cold and ice and snow, but North Dakotans have endured the worst of it, often embracing the best of winter’s weather. One of the best ways to enjoy the frigid air has been sledding, and today’s Datebook chronicles the toboggan craze of 1886, which swept the Northern plains like a swiftly-swirling blizzard. It […]
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Lynn Frazier for President
Lynn Frazier is well-known in North Dakota political history, elected as the NPL candidate for governor in 1916 and winning reelection in 1918 and 1920. Early in 1920 there even reports from NPL organizers and newspapers about Frazier running for president. He failed to qualify for his party’s nomination in neighboring South Dakota, but on […]
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Where the Big Crow Walked Back and Forth
Life was not easy in the early days of the Dakota Territory. Settlers had to contend with too much rain or not enough. They had to deal with heat in the summer and cold in the winter. And they had to face the constant threat of Indian attacks. Certain names struck fear in the hearts […]
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Jens Dixon’s School
Danish settlements were founded across North Dakota, but the largest and best-known were in the northwest portion of the state. By 1910, this region held one-quarter of all Danes in North Dakota. Their presence remains highly visible even today. Names like Denmark Township leave little doubt as to its original occupants, and the Danish windmill […]
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Epiphany
January 6 is known by different names. In France, it is called Three Kings Day. In England, it is called Twelfth Night, for the twelfth night after Christmas. It is also known as Epiphany. The day commemorates the arrival of the three wise men in Bethlehem, when they delivered gifts to the Christ Child. Epiphany […]
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Don’t You Know There’s a War On?
The first week of 1942 brought news of how the war was going to affect the homefront. The Japanese controlled the Far East rubber supply, so tires were the first item rationed. The government announced that the rationing would go into effect on this date in 1942. The newly established Office of Price Administration announced […]