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2/23/2017: Doug Carlston was a lawyer, but in his spare time he created computer games. In 1980, he made Galactic Empire and Galactic Trading, and wanted to market his creations. He teamed up with his brother Gary, and the two created a software company called Broderbund Games. Within the first three years, they were making millions. In 1981, their sister Cathy joined the team, serving as vice president of educational market planning. Her involvement was instrumental in marketing the games to schools. In the following years, Broderbund developed a variety of educational products.

2/27/2017: By 1906, the days of the Wild West were over. Barbed wire closed off much of the open range. Cowboys no longer guided vast herds of cattle up the well-known trails. But there were still echoes of the past. On this date in 1906, the Bismarck Daily Tribune published a clarification about the “North Dakota Herd and Estray Law.”

3/2/2017: LeRoy Milton Nayes was born on this date in Fingal North Dakota in 1923.

3/6/2017: On this date in 1917 charges were dropped against Fred Bartholomew, the proprietor of the Hotel Frederick in Grand Forks. He had been arrested on February 5th for breaking the Sabbath for keeping his lobby newspaper and cigar stand open on Sunday, which was forbidden under North Dakota Blue Laws.

3/7/2017: During a visit to Europe in 1881, famed Civil War nurse Clara Barton learned of the Red Cross. When she returned home, she was instrumental in establishing Red Cross in America. Barton led the American Red Cross for twenty-three years. It supported American troops in the Spanish-American War and assisted in both domestic and overseas relief efforts. The Red Cross mission includes supporting members of the American Armed Forces and providing relief in disasters.

3/8/2017: Today we learn of several lady bowlers who made their mark in the sport. First is Amy Lybeck, who was born on this date in 1916 in Heimdal, and grew up with her eight siblings on her parents’ farm near Maddock.

3/9/2017: Colonel John Ely was a mover and shaker in the days of Dakota Territory. He was born in 1836 in Missouri and wore many hats over the years. He grew wheat, raised cattle, traded mules and even served four years in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. However, he apparently thought “Lincoln was the best friend the South ever had,” and favored the outcome of the war.

4/4/2017: Dakota Territory saw many of its early politicians come and go quickly, including John Blair Smith Todd.

4/13/2017: The town of Selz in Pierce County, North Dakota isn’t the only Selz in state history. Emmons County had a Selz, too, with a post office established in postmaster Anton Vetter’s home on this date in 1896. The community was founded in the summer of 1885, and was about five miles from Hague, North Dakota. It was a German-Russian settlement, named after Selz in South Russia, which German immigrants founded in 1808.

8/14/2017: It may seem strange that an art piece exhibiting the struggle of Colombians was first shown in North Dakota, but in the summer of 2005 this was the case.