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10/19/2017: By the first week of October in 1917, all of the North Dakota National Guard and approximately forty-five percent of those who were drafted had left the state for Camp Dodge, Iowa or Camp Greene, North Carolina. A third segment of the conscripted men had yet to receive their date of departure. Citizens and non-citizens, and all racial segments of North Dakota’s male population 21 to 30 years of age, had been required to register on June 5th. A number of Native Americans were included, and there were two Chinese from Stutsman County two more from Grand Forks County.

10/26/2017: On this date in 1923, Walter Sharbo was born in Williston. He became a fighter pilot during World War 2, flying a P-47 Thunderbolt. Walter served with the famous 56th Fighter Group, also known as Zemke’s Wolf Pack, so-named for Commander Hubert Zemke. Zemke’s Wolf Pack was part of the 8th Air Force and flew air cover for bombers attacking German occupied Europe.

10/31/2017: It's Halloween, a date to remember the eerie, spooky, or unexplainable. One such story was recalled by James M. Foley in 1915. Around 1889, just before North Dakota became a state, Foley was visiting one of A. C. Huidekoper's horse ranches with its manager, George Woodman. This section of land was eight miles from the Little Missouri in Deep Creek, about 40 miles south of Medora.

11/7/2017: If anyone visits North Dakota, it becomes apparent that many of the communities have a strong focus on church life. One shining example are church suppers, held every year, usually in the fall.

11/16/2017: Nothing can be more frustrating for a police department than a cold case. Here in North Dakota, there have been three incidents of unsolved cases involving missing people since 1989. Two of those who disappeared are Sandra Jacobson and her son John.

11/22/2017: In 1920 on this date, women of the Bismarck area were "doing their part," as the Bismarck Tribune requested, to advertise a new women's rest room.

11/24/2017: The most important animal in North America in the 1700s was not the mighty grizzly-bear, nor was it the stampeding buffalo. Instead, the most-important animal in colonial America was the lowly beaver.

12/4/2017: Almost 200 years ago in the 1800s, multiple groups of Christians came together in Dublin, Ireland to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. They didn’t want ministers or orders of service, but only the word of the Bible. From this gathering, the Plymouth Brethren was born, not an official denomination, but a network of like-minded Christian churches.

12/5/2017: When the United States entered the war, a grand promise was made: America would “darken the skies of Germany” with a vast air armada. In 1917 the War Department asked Congress for $640 million with the assurance that the planes would arrive at the front by May 1918. Congress approved the appropriation, the largest single amount ever granted, and President Wilson signed it into law in July 1917.

12/11/2017: The War Department was ill prepared to handle the massive numbers of men and supplies required to fight the war in Europe. After leaving North Dakota, the troops saw minimal training at Camp Greene. Although they drilled eight hours a day, most combat exercises involved wooden rifles. Target practice consisted of only a few rounds of ammunition. Once the units were moved to Camp Mills in New York, almost all training stopped due to the extreme cold and lack of equipment. On this date in 1917, the 164th North Dakota and the 116 Engineers, now at Camp Merritt, New Jersey, were awaiting orders for overseas deployment – whether ready or not. Finally the orders came to transfer the sixteen miles to Hoboken to board ships and begin the journey to the front.