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7/28/2017: The shock of exploding bombs on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941 brought the U.S. into the conflagrations of World War II. The subsequent fall of Asia’s rubber plantations “cut America’s rubber lifeline and brought the word’s most motorized nation face-to-face with catastrophe as its rubber reserve dwindled.”

7/31/2017: For sixty years, Elbowoods, North Dakota was a hub along the Missouri River on the Fort Berthold Reservation. The town was located on a bend in the river and in the wooded bottoms, hence its name. The townsite started to develop in 1889, and on this date in 1893, its post office was established.

8/3/2017: In 1897 it seems that bums and hobos might have been known for more than just hopping trains and sleeping under bridges, at least in Grand Forks!

8/7/2017: When Alexander Papelpu obtained his homestead patent in Stark County on June 26, 1914 his future looked bright and promising. Having received his citizenship only six months before, he now decided it was time to return to his home country of Russia. Here he would take care of some business affairs and wed his sweetheart who awaited him there. They would then return to his homestead. But his return would be an epic journey of war, deprivation and diplomacy.

10/23/2017: On this date in 1914, the Pioneer Express of Pembina, North Dakota reported that livestock imports from Canada had increased substantially over the first nine months of the year. In January, just over 1,000 cattle had been imported. This number grew to over 7,000 in September. The number of imported hogs also grew, from just over 100 to over 3,000. The newspaper asserted that this was a grave concern to farmers in the state.

10/25/2017: On this date in 1937, Sister Boniface Timmins was laid to rest. Sister Boniface had served as the Superior of St. Alexius Hospital for 42 years, nurturing the hospital as it grew. She took charge of the institution in 1892. Under her leadership, it went from a simple medical facility to a prestigious modern operation, including a nursing school that she organized in 1915. Hundreds of people from all walks of life attended her funeral. Civic, business, and church leaders were joined by ordinary people who came to express their gratitude for her compassion for the sick and the poor.

10/30/2017: The rivalry between UND and NDSU for football preeminence in North Dakota began long ago, in 1894. At first, UND and NDSU merely contended for bragging rights, but a new element arose after 40 years of gridiron competition. It was on this date in 1937 that UND hosted NDSU in for homecoming, with the winner getting a brand-new prize – a shiny “Nickel Trophy” shaped like a gigantic Buffalo Nickel.

11/3/2017: Jennifer Grosz was born May 5, 1973, in Bismarck, North Dakota. For the first few years of her life she lived many places, including Ansbach, Germany, Kentucky, and Dickinson before finally moving back to Bismarck where she attended school until she was 13. At that age, she suffered a tragic accident that left her disabled. Nothing seemed unusual on this date in 1986, but for Jennifer, it marked the end of her life as typical teenager.

11/13/2017: Returning soldiers face challenges when they leave the service. This has long been a concern. In 1776, the Continental Congress authorized pensions for disabled veterans, and in 1827 a hospital called the Naval Asylum was the first effort to provide continuing medical care. President Lincoln, in his Second Inaugural Address, called upon the nation to “care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” World War I spawned the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1918, recognizing that the veterans of World War I faced substantial challenges. Any honorably discharged disabled veteran was eligible for vocational rehabilitation training.

11/17/2017: President Abraham Lincoln signed the Northern Pacific’s company charter in 1864, making it the second continental railroad. The goal was to connect the Great Lakes with the Pacific Ocean. It was an engineering challenge.