Search results for

7/9/2014: A July 4th1889 opening session ceremoniously kicked off the North Dakota Constitutional Convention, and the next four days were spent with the election of officers and organization of two committees – the Committee on Credentials and the Committee on Rules. Frederick B. Fancher was elected president and John Hamilton chief clerk. Upon formal organization, the immediate next step was a resolution to adopt the Constitution of the United States, which was accomplished on the Fifth Day of the Convention on July 8th.

7/18/2014: On this date in 1939, the people of North Dakota were planning for North Dakota's 50th anniversary of statehood. A large celebration would be held in Bismarck near the end of August, on the 21st through the 25th. Included in the plans were parades, remembrances of early settlers, and the production of commemorative wooden quarters. The Jubilee's novelty committee also designated an official headgear for the celebration.

7/28/2014: Twenty-five days into the Constitutional Convention for North Dakota, the Constitution was progressing rapidly. By this date in 1889, over one hundred and thirty resolutions or files had been introduced since July 12th. These covered a variety of topics from the Preamble to Women’s Suffrage, but originally there was no uniform constitution on which to base the resolutions. The subjects were introduced at random and were sent to one of twenty-three committees to be adopted, revised or discarded. The deadline for the introduction of resolutions was July 22nd unless approved by a unanimous consent of the Committee of the Whole.

8/6/2014: It wasn’t certain that the Grand Forks Stars baseball team was going to finish the season. The management was having difficulties and the team was struggling. The Stars officially disbanded, but the season was saved when the team was reorganized, as announced in the Grand Forks Herald on this date in 1915. The new team committed to finishing the season and to playing again the following year. A new manager was elected and new players were promised.

8/13/2014: Four men associated with Mandan have served as North Dakota governor. George Shafer was born there in 1888. He graduated from Williston High School in 1908, and went on to become the valedictorian of his class at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He then returned to Mandan and opened a law office.

8/19/2014: On this date in 1887, the Continental Hose Company sponsored a picnic in Oak Grove in Fargo. The Daily Argus reported that the event was very well attended. It was a mixed group.

8/21/2014: In the waning days of the convention, the last of the major concerns were addressed. Suffrage was partially adopted, with women voting in school-related elections only. The Australian ballot issue, which involved printed ballots and private voting, was sidestepped when E. A. Williams provided a substitute clause that required the legislature to pass legislation ensuring the secrecy of the ballot. The Prohibition question was not made part of the Constitution, but a fully developed section was created and attached in subscript stating that a Prohibition Clause would be voted upon separately.

8/22/2014: When Benjamin Harrison signed legislation turning Dakota Territory into the states of North and South Dakota on November 2, 1889, both entered the union as dry states.

8/25/2014: Buffalo Bill Cody, one of America’s first national celebrities, was as well known in his day as any movie star is today. Cody was initially famous as a buffalo hunter, Army scout, and frontier fighter. Ned Buntline wrote a series of dime novels loosely based on Cody’s life. A play written about Buffalo Bill was performed on Broadway. One evening he was in the audience, and the crowd went wild as Cody took the stage, playing himself. Theatergoers could not get enough, and it was only the beginning.

9/26/2014: Nels Wold was born in the town of Winger in Polk County, Minnesota on December 24, 1895. This son of Norwegian immigrants would later move to Minnewaukan, North Dakota, and he ended up enlisting in the Army.