Sarah Walker

4/29/2015: On this date in 1910, census enumerators in North Dakota were hard at work, counting the population of every township, village, city, and unincorporated area before the May 15 deadline. In Minot, citizens were excited to see the official report on their population numbers, which were projected to be between 8,000 and 9,000 people.

4/28/2015: everyone was counted, in order to demonstrate their growth and prosperity in numbers.

4/14/2015: In the early 1900s, many new counties and towns were forming throughout the state and country, which also meant more post offices, which were often named after the town they served, though sometimes they were given different names – perhaps after the first postmaster.

4/9/2015: Sinclair Lewis published the book Elmer Gantry in 1927. The book is about a traveling evangelist who preferred whiskey, women and wealth to saving souls. It was a controversial book, banned in some areas around the country, such as Boston, where sales of Elmer Gantry could be prosecuted under a law prohibiting 'indecent and obscene books.'"

4/8/2015: Arthur Clark Huidekoper was a rancher and cowboy of great renown around the turn of the century in North Dakota. From Pennsylvania originally, he was enticed out to the western portion of North Dakota, where he set up a ranch and business alongside contemporary, famed rancher Marquis de Mores.

4/3/2015: In 1935, Major Edward Bowes began airing a radio show with that would make history. The Major Bowes' Amateur Hour was a popular talent contest. In its first year, more than thirty thousand acts auditioned. One of the successful acts was the "Hoboken Four." The act was made up of Fred Tamburro, Jimmy Petro, Patty Prince, and Frank Sinatra. The act won that year, and went on a vaudeville tour. Frank Sinatra later left to make it on his own.

3/30/2015: On this date in 1909, Joe Wustner of Ryder proved it wasn't impossible to turn water into oil. Actually, oil had been in Wustner's 28-foot water well for more than two years before people started to pay attention. Wustner knew it was there, so he only used the water for livestock, and he burned the oil in his lamp. However, in early 1909, more oil began to leach into the water, and soon even the horses refused it.

3/25/2015: William H. Brown was very involved with land matters in the development of North Dakota. Among other jobs, Brown established The William H. Brown Land Company, one of the largest such companies west of the Missouri River. He also platted and founded several townsites, including Flasher, Haynes, and, in 1904, Mott.

3/20/2015: The North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, originally in operation under the name State Scientific School, has its beginnings around 1903. Today, it is one of the oldest public two-year colleges in the United States.

3/13/2015: On this date in 1909, residents of Grand Forks lamented the loss of the Bijou Theater. A fire had occurred the night before, just after the box office opened to sell tickets for the evening performances. The Bijou, owned and operated by Mrs. R. Feldkirchner, had a lot of patronage, so it was lucky that it occurred before the building became crowded. The fire stemmed from the explosion of a heater in the basement dressing rooms. The flames shot upward, burning through the stage.