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9/19/2005: Yesterday was the birthday of Tex Hall, who was born in 1956 on the family’s cattle ranch near Mandaree. He was one of eight children and is of Mandan and Arikara ancestry. His Native name, Ihbudah Hishi, means Red Tipped Arrow.

9/20/2005: Nine-year old Jeanette Rust disappeared west of Underwood, ND, on this day in 1942. It was a Sunday, and her family was picking up a load of firewood and then having a picnic. They were in the Missouri River bottomlands, and Jeanette and her five siblings went exploring in the woods.

9/21/2005: North Dakota has produced more astronauts per capita than any state in the Nation. One of them– Richard Hieb – was born on this date in 1955. He grew up in Jamestown, where he watched the first moon landing on his grandmother’s television at age 13. He was impressed, but saw no chance of someday going into space himself. He wore glasses, which meant he couldn’t become a fighter pilot, the number one source of astronauts in those days.

9/26/2005: That’s a song written by Pierre Falcon in 1816 to memorialize the Battle of Seven Oaks, in which the French-Chippewa Métis fought and killed 23 Selkirk settlers. The battle was a defining moment for the Métis, cementing them as a separate and unique culture.

10/4/2005: Gall was a Hunkpapa Lakota chief who Sitting Bull relied on for his skill as a warrior and leader. As a child, Gall was called Matohinshda, which means Bear-Shedding-His-Hair. One of the child’s earliest adventures took place when he was just three years old.

10/6/2005: Today is the birthday of Jim Johnston, who was born north of Watford City on this date in 1937. Jim was only two years old when his father, Andy, died. After that, Jim and his brothers went to live with their bachelor uncle, Ben Johnston, who also ranched near Watford City.

10/7/2005: Andrew Paulson met Hanna Broken in western Wisconsin, where they were married in 1869. Both were Norwegian immigrants, and for a time, Andrew supported Hanna as a logger. Three years later, however, they had lost everything in a bad business deal. In 1871, Andrew left Hanna in Chippewa Falls and headed west to Fort Abercrombie to find work – but the train traveled only as far as Benson, MN. From there, Andrew had to walk and cross swollen spring rivers by swimming. The Paulsons’ daughter, Jennie, told the story:

10/8/2005: On this day in 1915, The Gackle Republican ran a front-page story titled “Flirting with the Angels.”

10/10/2005: Yesterday was the birthday of Edward Settle Godfrey, who was born in Ohio in 1843. When he was just 18, he went against his parents’ wishes and joined the 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry — to their great relief, he fought in the Civil War just four months. But, it was long enough to get soldiering in his blood. He secretly applied for West Point and didn’t tell them until after he received the appointment. When he graduated in 1867, he was commissioned 2nd Lt. and attached to the 7th Cavalry, which was then based in Kansas.

10/13/2005: Fifty-seven years ago this fall, a famous celebrity was born on a ranch north of Medora. He was Whiz Bang – a feisty colt whose dam was a big buckskin and whose father was a paint stallion.