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12/8/2005: The First National Bank of Wilton was held-up by three armed men on this date in 1931. The heist was the sixth attempted bank robbery of the year for the area, but, the Wilton News added, “Robberies this year have not been profitable for the bank bandits.”

12/22/2005: Today’s story comes to us from Scott Nelson, an artist and history enthusiast from Solen. The story is based on an interview Nelson conducted with WWII veteran Del Skjod of Mandan.

12/24/2005: In 1930, there was great speculation of whether letters to Santa Claus might induce the jolly fellow to make a personal visit to ND.

12/25/2005: Letters to Santa show Christmas was a bit less commercial back in 1930.

12/25/2005: At this time in 1916, North Dakota was experiencing a severe teacher shortage. To address the problem, voters had just approved a constitutional amendment to create Dickinson Normal School, which would offer a two-year program to train more elementary and secondary school teachers. Leading up the election, the Bismarck Daily Tribune published an article that colorfully illustrated why the need for teachers was so great.

7/24/2005: Bernt Lloyd Wills was born on this date in 1909 in Drake, ND.

1/5/2006: 200 years ago this week, an important diplomatic exchange took place between the President of the United States and a number of tribal leaders Lewis & Clark encountered on their journey westward. The explorers had convinced representatives from several Indian Nations to go to Washington to speak with Thomas Jefferson — their new “father.” Yesterday we heard some excerpts from Jefferson’s speech to the Indian delegation, whom he greeted as “my friends and children.”

1/8/2006: This date in 1919 was a cold and snowy day on Long Island, in Oyster Bay, NY. In spite of the cold, an estimated 4,000 people stood outside Christ Episcopal Church during the funeral of the America’s 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt.

1/11/2006: Yesterday’s story was on the anniversary of a remarkable event in North Dakota history. The setting was the six-year old town of Hatton, which had a general store, a post office, a church (St. John’s Lutheran), two grain elevators…and six saloons.

1/19/2006: On this day in 1909 Olive Stokes and Tom Mix were married in an impromptu ceremony in the kitchen of a rambling ranch-house on the outskirts of Medora. Olive and Tom were sojourners, not residents of Medora. Like other well-known visitors to the Badlands, their time there would be brief, yet unforgettable…and life-changing.