Sarah Walker

9/3/2015: The history of North Dakota includes characters of plucky fortitude as well as individuals of notoriety...and sometimes, these people's lives intersect.

8/10/2015: The Good Roads Movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s sought to establish a good system of roads across the country. Originally, the movement was boosted more by bicyclists rather than motorists. However, as the car caught on, auto enthusiasts also saw the need for good roads. So did communities. The improvement in roads marked a fundamental change.

7/17/2015: Phil Harris was a popular actor for many years on radio, television, and the silver screen. He served as a sidekick to Jack Benny, starred in several movies, and even became the voice of animated characters, such as Baloo in Disney’s "Jungle Book," and Thomas O'Malley (the alley cat) in “The Aristocats.” He and his wife Alice Faye co-hosted The Fitch Bandwagon, a comedy-variety radio program that followed the Jack Benny show on Sunday nights from 1946 to 1954. He was also known for his music, and was even an orchestra leader.

6/29/2015: On this date in 1911, Minot was planning for a spectacular Fourth of July, with fireworks, free vaudeville acts, a baseball game, a grand mask carnival on Main Street, a "sham battle" between Company D of Minot and Company E of Williston, and more.

6/25/2015: When Al Jolson's voice soared through theaters in "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, and movies began their transition from silence to “talkies,” the theater-going experience changed forever.

6/22/2015: John Elgin Elsberry was an early dairy pioneer who lived in the Minot area for many years. He and his wife had moved to North Dakota in 1901; they came from Missouri, with two daughters. A son was born during their first winter in the state.

6/19/2015: In 1904, Charles J. Glidden, a retired, wealthy telephone businessman and automobile enthusiast, took part in an automobile run from New York to St. Louis, sponsored by the American Automobile Association. Wishing such tours to become an annual event, Glidden donated a $2,000 silver trophy. In doing so, he became a part of automobile history.

5/21/2015: In 1920, the Minot Parks Board was laboring to establish tourism and park services throughout Minot. The effort was paying off, as the Ward County Independent boasted that "Minot, although a city of less than 15,000 people, is well in the lead in the state on account of the size and beautify of the park system and the service which it renders."

5/18/2015: In May of 1930, F. A. Maser, proprietor the Glen Ullin Pharmacy, placed an ad in the local newspaper stating that he had received a limited number of new cameras and rolls of film from Kodak, and that he would be giving these cameras away to any lucky girls or boys who turned twelve in that year. The cameras were free, to be given away in the month of May until the stock ran out. "Boys and Girls who want to get in on this treat of Mr. Maser and the Eastman Kodak company must act at once," the ad proclaimed.

5/15/2015: In September of 1920, the Disabled American Veterans of the World War, a veterans advocacy and assistance group still in existence today, was officially organized in the United States. Local chapters formed quickly throughout the country. By this date in 1922, Bismarck had joined the ranks. The Bismarck chapter chose their officers and set their next meeting to decide if any delegates should be sent to the state convention in Grand Forks in June.