Sarah Walker

October is Archives Month, an occasion to recognize the efforts to assess, collect, organize, preserve, and provide access to information of lasting value. The North Dakota State Archives is part of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Today, we recognize Georgia Carpenter, who came from out east in 1915 to become the second librarian for the North Dakota State Historical Society.

The year 1919 saw a lot of turbulence, in many ongoing matters, and especially politically in North Dakota. The North Dakota governor was Lynn Frazier, the Nonpartisan League was a major player in politics, and World War I had recently ended.

On this date in 1917, Williston had a bit to boast about within the walls of its county jail. The Williston Graphic reported: “It is not every county jail in the state that can boast of an artist (yes, a really truly [good] artist that paints color and pen and ink sketches that sell on their own merit), [but] Williston can.”

In 1899, revised laws in North Dakota stated that no two townships could have the same name. However, most townships didn’t act on the change. Pembina’s Pioneer Express opined, it was a law “in existence, but … in innocuous desuetude”—which was a fancy way of saying a harmless state of disuse.

In early August, 1908, citizens of Cranbrook, British Columbia, were fighting a fire that threatened their city when news came over the wire that the Fernie-Fort Steele Brewery in nearby Fernie was on fire. Then the lines of communication went dead. Several hours later, when Cranbrook’s fire scare had mainly passed, communication was reestablish—only to learn that the fire in Fernie had spread, destroying most of the town.

In early years of automobiles, they had to intermingle with pedestrians, horses, and bicycles. The rules of the road were few, and evolving from town-to-town. On this date in 1910, the Hope Pioneer newspaper reported on a recently-passed ordinance that sought to address the regulatory challenge.

At the end of July 1877, Steamboat Captain and Missouri River pilot, John Harris of Missouri, passed away in Bismarck. At his death, the author of his obituary acknowledged his fondness for drinking, commenting that the passed soul “was master of a very lucrative profession,” and that he “might have enjoyed a happy home …” and that he “Might have been able to breathe out his last moments surrounded by loving, sympathizing friends,” if he hadn’t given in to “intemperance.” The author ended this article by stating, “Truly, virtue brings its own reward.”

North Dakota holds a number of remnants of once-active radar and missile sites established during the Cold War. One of these sites was near Fortuna. The Fortuna Air Base was already active by 1951, but in the summer of 1961, local interest in the site abounded as construction of a radar tower began.

On this date in 1917, folks were gearing up for the North Dakota State Fair in Grand Forks, which would run from July 17-21. Many exciting events were in the lineup.

In May of 1894, a labor dispute known as the Pullman strike began in Illinois. Related riots reflected discontent with labor conditions on the railroad and would soon reverberate across the country, affecting a wide swath of states, including North Dakota.