Merry Helm

12/12/2016: On this date in 1913, a Grand Forks story reported on the last living member of the infamous Wild Bunch passing through town. Frank Walness, 39, told the reporter he had just gotten out of a Utah prison after serving 21 years; he said he left home when he was only 16 and began a career of crime with Butch Cassidy.

11/9/2016: Today is the birthday of Esther Burnett Horne, who was featured in “Essie’s Story: The Life and Legacy of a Shoshone Teacher.” Essie was born in 1909, and the book, which she co-authored with Sally McBeth, was published in 1998, a year before Essie died.

9/23/2016: Stefan Popiel was born in 1907 and grew up in Poland. He was the nephew of an early chess master, Ignatz von Popiel, and he took a liking to chess at an early age; he played in his first tournament at age 12. He went on to became the best chess player in the region and is now regarded as one of the important masters of pre-World War II Europe.

9/13/2016: Two stories of the lost being found took place on this date in 1923. Our first story takes place in McLean County in a little town called Dogden, which was founded in 1906 along the Soo Line Railroad. The village got its name from a nearby landmark, Dogden Butte, which was favored by dens of wolves.

9/9/2016: In response to a number of baseball teams being cut from the major leagues, a new league formed in 1902 involving North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Manitoba, Iowa and Ontario.

8/19/2016: In the early years of white settlement in North Dakota, there was a severe shortage of building materials, which is why many people made their homes from prairie sod. In some areas of the state, however, a good grade of clay was discovered, and within a few years, at least 18 brick factories sprung up. Among them was the Hebron Fire and Pressbrick Factory, founded in 1904.

8/1/2016: On this date in 2003, a new history book was just out called “Sheheke, Mandan Indian Diplomat: The Story of White Coyote, Thomas Jefferson, and Lewis and Clark.” It was written by North Dakota historian Tracy Potter.

7/26/2016: Today is the birthday of one of our most important frontier artists. George Catlin was born in Pennsylvania in 1796 when George Washington was in his second term.

7/20/2016: Today we look at the early part of famed aviator Carl Ben Eielson’s story. He was born on this date in 1897 in Hatton, North Dakota.

7/6/2016: It was during this week in 1956 that the International High School Music Camp began. It’s located between the U.S. and Canada in the International Peace Garden near Dunseith, North Dakota. Dr. Merton Utgaard was the camp’s founder.