Scott Nelson

On this date in 1918, William Henry Leder was born in Flasher, North Dakota, to Carl Benjamin and Helena Augusta Leder. Bill went to school in Mandan and, after graduating from Mandan High School, went on to the North Dakota State Teachers College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

John Delbert Allen was born in New York State in 1851 and grew up in Paw Paw, Michigan. He began experimenting with taxidermy at the age of 12.

On this date in 1918, Frederick Smith was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Eugene and Gladys Smith. He began his career in entertainment at the age of 12, ushering at three neighborhood theaters. After a stint in the US Naval Reserve, Fred became an associate of Al Sheehan’s Inc., a company that produced all types of stage shows.

Kendall Mork was born on this date in 1918 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At three-and-a-half years of age, Kendall was orphaned when both his parents succumbed to Tuberculosis. An aunt and uncle in Hatton, North Dakota took him. After graduating from High School, he went to the Agriculture College in Fargo, Luther College in Iowa, and then the University of Southern California for Aviation Engineering.

Duane Larson was born at Regent, North Dakota in 1916, and graduated from Regent High School. In 1941, Larson joined the US Army Air Corp and was initially assigned duty as a truck driver. After achieving high test scores, he moved into flight school, getting his wings at a base in Alabama and becoming a pilot with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.

Rodney Kephart was born in Spencer, Iowa, on this date in 1917. He and his family later moved to North Dakota.

Adolph Marcus Christianson the Third was born in February of 1944. Known as Marc, he was the grandson of North Dakota Supreme Court Justice, A. M. Christianson, known as the Lincoln of North Dakota; and the son of A. M. Christianson the Second, an Army flight instructor who later founded the Bismarck Zoo.

On this date in 1983 a B-52 Stratofortress bomber exploded at the Grand Forks Air Force Base with the loss of 5 personnel. Fortunately, it did not have nuclear weapons on board. That was not the case less than 3 years earlier when on September 15th, 1980, a B-52 on alert status caught fire. Fanned by strong winds, the fire became a giant flamethrower. The crew jumped clear and ran.

Standing a few miles east of Richardton, North Dakota, is a modest conical hill with a lot of history. It’s called Young Man’s Butte. Several legends exist to the origin of the name. One of the most plausible came from Rain-in-the-Face, a Lakota Sioux, born near the Cheyenne River in present day South Dakota in 1835.

Dan Panko was born on this date in Ukraine in 1895. He emigrated to America in 1906 with his family and they homesteaded in North Dakota. A railroad branch of the Soo Line ran near their homestead and young Dan would hop on the train as it went by, ride a few miles, hop off and run back home.