Sarah Walker

4/22/2014: Before 1910, New England's Catholic settlers were served by Father John Dignan of Dickinson and missionary Abbot Vincent Wehrle, who would occasionally travel to the area. Father Regensberger, the first resident priest, also established a frame church, and preached in German and English both, to satisfy the needs of his congregants.

4/9/2014: What makes a nurse? From the historic nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale to the fictional and terrifying Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, nurses have played an important role in society. With the lives of their patients in their hands, acting as a health front line, nurses can bring out a gamut of emotions in their charges.

On this date in 1904, a notice in the Fargo Forum and Daily Republican stated that “Miss Sarah S. Barton…has entered the Dakota Business College for special work in bookkeeping and penmanship during the summer months. These summer sessions offer excellent opportunities for reviews, and ambitious teachers might advantageously follow her example.” The college touted this as an excellent opportunity for a young teacher tired of teaching in public schools to change careers.

3/31/2014: It’s no secret that the thirties were a difficult time. As people watched their crops fail and their lives became struggles, there was a general outcry for improved conditions. FDR was inaugurated as President on March 3, 1933; by the end of the month, on this date, he signed into law an emergency employment act. A few days later, under this act, the Emergency Conservation Work agency was established. Its goal was to relieve unemployment and to aid in restoring the natural resources of the land. This eventually became the Civilian Conservation Corp.

3/28/2014: On March 2nd, 1861, the United States Congress first created Dakota Territory. It included the lands of present-day North Dakota, South Dakota, and most of Montana and Wyoming. After a while, the Montana and Wyoming portions were carved away, leaving the land that would become North and South Dakota.

3/21/2014: As the expanse of the prairies became cultivated and settled, the need for healthcare became apparent. By 1885 in Bismarck, some Benedictine sisters from Minnesota opened St. Alexius, the city’s first hospital. In 1915, the hospital moved to its present-day location in Bismarck. By 1902, more healthcare options arose in Bismarck as early settling doctors Quain and Ramstad established a clinic. Five years later, combining with the aid of a missionary of the Bismarck Evangelical association, they established a second hospital. The Bismarck Hospital's first unit was officially opened for patients in 1909. Eventually, it would become Medcenter One and, today, Sanford.

3/11/2014: During the winter of 1920-21, about fifty cases of smallpox were reported and treated in the city of Bismarck. Most of them were mild, and many patients came from outside of the city, according to a report in the Bismarck Tribune. In fact, it was reported that Dr. C. E. Stackhouse, the city health officer, felt that smallpox had "about run its course" for the winter.

2/28/2014: In August of 1879, Tower City was founded as a Northern Pacific Railroad station in Tower Township, Cass County. The post office had been established on May 5 of that year, and the village was incorporated in 1881.

2/26/2014: On this date in 1909, the Tagus Weekly reported on a new bill that had become law: a hotel inspection bill. Travelers today can easily find reviews of various hotels on Twitter, Facebook and websites. Even the ancient Romans had hotel reviews – they would scrawl a running commentary of life on their cities' walls, including comments on businesses and inns. For example, a graffiti found in Pompeii shared, "When ham is cooked and served to a guest here, before he touches the ham he licks the pot or the dish."

2/25/2014: If you look at an old-enough photograph of the main blocks of any town in North Dakota, you will notice a common thread – the roads were not paved.