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4/21/2006: The post office of Chaffee, North Dakota, was established on this day in 1894, two years after Chester Fritz was born there. The railroad had named a station on the site “Rita,” but in 1894, it was renamed to honor Eben Chaffee, who had promoted the site.

4/28/2006: The first Great Dakota Boom took place primarily during the 1880s, during which the population of what is now North Dakota increased roughly 1,000 percent. Around the state, towns sprang up almost overnight. If the railroad changed course, and a speculative town was bypassed, the building were mounted on sled-like skids and dragged to a town that was better placed.

5/2/2006: Today’s story most certainly took place during an era less sensitive to the mentally ill. On this date in 1932, the Fargo Forum ran a story under the headline: “Lunatic Found in Idaho Cave.”

5/11/2006: In an obvious reference to Thomas Wolfe’s autobiographical novel "You Can’t Go Home Again," Collier’s magazine published an introspective article written by North Dakota native Eric Sevareid, entitled “You Can Go Home Again,” 50 years ago today—May 11, 1956.

5/12/2006: Three bank bandits pulled off a sensational heist at the State Bank of Abercrombie on this date in 1924, escaping with a total of $18,000 in cash and Liberty bonds.

5/15/2006: On this day in 1909, people all across the state of North Dakota experienced a rare sensation for these parts—an earthquake.

5/18/2006: North Dakota’s first annual prison rodeo began on this day in 1974.

5/26/2006: The Jamestown Alert made an exciting announcement to the citizens of the city on this day in 1892. The plans for the city’s new opera house had arrived from the well-known Minneapolis architect, Harry C. Carter. In 1892, most of the larger cities harbored at least one opera house, including Minneapolis, Grand Forks, and Watertown, South Dakota. Jamestown’s residents looked forward to building their own house to stage musical, theatrical, and artistic productions in the city.

5/31/2006: Richard Sykes was a representative for a syndicate based out of Manchester, England looking to make land investments in the northwest United States. He arrived in Dakota Territory in December of 1881 and purchased 45,000 acres from the Northern Pacific Railway for about $1 an acre in Wells, Stutsman and LaMoure counties. His goal was to sell or rent improved land to farmers for a profit.

5/30/2006: A “peculiar accident” was reported by the Fargo Forum on this day in 1902 that involved one fortunate little boy and one speeding passenger train. The incident occurred two days before near Glasgow, Montana, and concerned the Chamberlain family of Forest River, North Dakota. The family was returning home by train from their annual winter stay in Seattle, Washington when the peculiar event occurred.