Lucid Thomas

9/19/2017: Scandinavians have a long and rich history in North Dakota. It is no surprise then, that one of the oldest churches in Bismarck was started by a group of Swedish immigrants. The First Lutheran Church formed in Dakota Territory in 1883, and the territorial government granted the members a charter on October 18th. The congregation officially became the Swedish Evangelical Church.

9/15/2017: Due to the new popular hit musical Hamilton, the story of Aaron Burr shooting Alexander Hamilton has been refreshed in our collective memory. What is far less know, is that with 40 years of judicial service, there was an Alexander Burr … no connection whatever to the shooting … who was the second-longest serving judge in North Dakota.

9/6/2017: The 2001-2002 season was a rough one for the UND hockey team. It was the first time since 1994 that they played a losing season, and the first time in five years that they did not make the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s final five tournament. Many factors played into this, such as a large number of rookies. However, there was also the rough patch for two of the players – brothers Ryan and David Hale.

8/23/2017: Anthrax occurs worldwide, and a few anthrax cases are reported among livestock in North Dakota almost every year. The organism exists in the soil as a spore. Animals, domestic or wild, become infected by grazing on contaminated land or eating contaminated feed.

8/18/2017: On this date 20 years ago, the management of the Falkirk coal mine decided they needed better roads. Unfortunately, the road improvement project led to the death of an employee.

8/14/2017: It may seem strange that an art piece exhibiting the struggle of Colombians was first shown in North Dakota, but in the summer of 2005 this was the case.

7/25/2017: On this date in 2003, a small church in St. Lambert, Quebec, celebrated its 150th year. To mark the occasion, the congregation dedicated a plaque to the Collet family, which donated land for the church in 1850.

7/6/2017: Human beings have always been fascinated with flight. History is littered with unsuccessful attempts. It was not until 1903 that the Wright Brothers flew the first successful airplane. It did not take long for people to realize the abilities of airplanes and to perform tricks in the air.

6/20/2017: Thirty-five years ago, the people of Rutland, North Dakota were enjoying the weather, feeling the summer breeze, and gearing up to celebrate 1982, the 100th year after their ancestors settled the town.

6/9/2017: Neurosurgery is a medical specialty that focuses on surgical treatments for neurological disorders. The first recorded neurosurgical procedure was trepanning, which involved drilling a hole in the top of the skull to drain evil spirits. This crude procedure was the only form of neurosurgery until the 19th century, when scientists began to experiment with removing a portion of the skull to operate on the brain directly. However, these first procedures were very dangerous and had a survival rate of only 10%. Then came Harvey Cushing, the father of modern neurosurgery. Cushing developed techniques that increased the survival rate to over 90%.