Jayme L. Job

5/10/2013: John Louis Clarke was born on this date in 1881 in Highwood, Montana. Considered one of the “most under-appreciated artists” of our time, Clarke’s work would end up in galleries from Chicago to London, and even grace the walls of magnate John D. Rockefeller. Although he worked in several media, he became best known for his wood-carvings; few today realize, however, that he first learned wood-carving in Devils Lake, at the North Dakota School for the Deaf.

5/6/2013: The LZ 129 Hindenburg airship caught fire, exploded, and crumpled from the sky on this date in 1937. The German airship disaster made headlines around the world, not only due to the horrific nature of its destruction, but also because of the spectacular newsreel coverage and the mystery surrounding the cause of the fiery crash.

5/5/2013: Oil development in western North Dakota has drawn strong criticism and concern from environmental advocates worried such development could affect the land, water, and wildlife resources. Such concern, however, is far from new.

4/27/2013: One of the most horrific mass murders in North Dakota’s history occurred in April of 1920, at the farmstead of Jacob Wolf near Turtle Lake. Wolf, his wife, five children, and a 13-year-old farmhand were brutally murdered with a hatchet and shotgun.

4/22/2013: Scores of North Dakota residents along the Red River fought to save homes, farms, and businesses during the flood of April 1979. The Army Corps of Engineers reported that these flood-fighting efforts had prevented nearly $80 million in damage, saving countless homes.

4/13/2013: A foiled arson plot was reported by the Fargo Forum on this date in 1917. Investigators in Magnolia, North Dakota, released their findings that an attempt had been made to burn the 95-foot long railroad bridge just west of that town.

4/12/2013: North Dakota Agricultural College president Edwin Ladd launched North Dakota’s war effort on this date in 1917. After attending an agricultural conference in St. Louis, Ladd returned with director Thomas Cooper of the Experiment Station to address North Dakotans at Fargo. The conference, launched only days after the U.S. officially entered the Great War on April 6th, highlighted the necessity of an ‘Industrial Army’ able to supply the troops and the home-front, as well as the allied countries.

4/11/2013: Alvin Strutz began his appointment on the North Dakota Supreme Court on this date in 1959. Strutz had already made a name for himself as the state’s Attorney General, a one-time candidate for Governor, and a successful Bismarck lawyer. However, it was not an election that won Strutz the prestigious seat on North Dakota’s highest court, but an appointment by Governor John Davis.

4/10/2013: Surely April is a month of great duality in the state of North Dakota; after a long winter, residents are relieved to see the first signs of spring, but, unfortunately, these signs often include spring flooding. One of the worst floods on record occurred during the spring of 1897; the flood was so great, and the damage so terrible, that it was used as the “measure of other Red River floods” for decades after.

4/9/2013: The University of North Dakota in Grand Forks has survived much since it first opened its doors in 1884. In 1887, a tornado demolished most of the university. In 1919, the institution was among the hardest hit in the country a deadly flu epidemic, and in 1970, it was the site of some of North Dakota’s largest protests after Kent State shootings. Flooding has also been problematic, with the Red River inundating portions of the campus in 1997. Most recently, the university faced the controversy over the ‘Fighting Sioux’ mascot. Despite these obstacles, the greatest challenge to the university came in the form of budget cuts in 1895, stemming from the panic of 1893 – the most serious depression the country had seen to that time. Railroads went bankrupt, crops were poor, farm prices were low and tax revenue subsequently plummeted.