On this date in 1950,the Fargo Forum found it possible to fit what seemed like every emotion on a single page.

The first article recounted the heartbreaking tale of a young soldier marching away from home to take up arms in the Spanish American War. After years of unanswered letters, Halver Teigen was assumed to be dead, so one can imagine the shock his sister felt upon hearing news her brother was discovered in a California veteran’s hospital.

Nestled directly below, was the tale of a Minot man suffering from a headache so painful he resorted to kicking in a drugstore’s window to get aspirin. At the end of the night, this Minot man paid $65 for an aspirin; a $25 fine and $40 in damages to the drugstore owner.

And finally, it was reported on this day that a Kansas man had written to the Bismarck Tribune for assistance in proposing to the girl of his dreams. The Tribune tracked down the girl and extended the Kansas man’s offer of marriage. With little hesitation the girl replied, “You can tell him to go jump in a lake.”

The Fargo Forum. January 13, 1950.

By Ann Erling

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