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7/17/2017: In the spring of 1898, President McKinley put out a call for volunteers for a war with Spain. North Dakotans had always answered their country’s call. The people of the Dakotas fought on both sides in the Civil War and the Indian Wars, and they were willing once again to don uniforms and pick up rifles. But there was a problem.

7/18/2017: With the First World War raging in Europe, much of the land had been devastated, and food was scarce. Herbert Hoover, as national food administrator, submitted guidelines for housewives to follow to ensure an adequate supply of food at home and abroad. Those who signed a pledge to cooperate received a “home card,” the first of many small publications concerning food supplies and rationing. They were instructed to buy less, serve smaller portions, and preach the Gospel of the clean plate. Full garbage pails in America meant empty dinner pails in Europe and America. They were also instructed to watch for the food wasters in the community.

7/20/2017: On this date in 1911, three masked men held up a Northern Pacific train between Tower City and Buffalo. Armed with revolvers, they collected $500 from the passengers and went to the locomotive. They ordered the engineer to stop the train so they could get off, but he refused. One of the robbers shot the engineer, but he still refused. After being shot again, the engineer finally complied and brought the train to a halt. The robbers jumped off and ran a short distance to a waiting getaway car.

7/26/2017: On this date in 1917, the news from the front … once again … was grim. With the collapse of the Russian Army and the capture of their artillery due to a quick German advance, conditions on the Eastern Front were in disarray.

7/27/2017: Ever since the American Revolution, our country has relied on the citizen soldier. This reliance continues today with the National Guard.

8/2/2017: Duane Howard was born in Devils Lake on this date in 1933. He married his childhood sweetheart, Orpha Hanson in 1956. They made their home on the Howard Ranch in Minnewaukan until the rising waters of Devils Lake forced the couple to relocate to Sheyenne, North Dakota.

8/11/2017: Summer for some includes tennis. The ‘thwwwwack’ of a racket has echoed in North Dakota since the mid-1880s, when ‘lawn tennis’ infiltrated the region.

8/17/2017: While newspapers across the state heralded the announcement that American soldiers were now poised to enter the war, they also carried grim reminders that North Dakotans who had joined the Canadian Armed Forces early on were already fighting and dying in the trenches in France.

10/18/2017: In the early 1880s, many settlers who considered land prices in the Red River Valley to be unreasonably high pushed farther west where the land was free. One such seeker was John L. Solberg, who selected some land near Devils Lake. He’s credited with being the earliest homesteader in what would become Normania township. He arrived in the spring of 1883.

10/27/2017: Warnings about scams are common today. No sooner does one scheme become ineffective than a new one pops up. Today people are much less likely to fall for an email from a Nigerian prince offering millions of dollars, but they still might click on a bogus link to update their information with their bank, giving away all their personal information in the process. Sometimes an old con falls out of favor when it receives too much publicity, only to come back again when people have forgotten all about it.