Search results for

4/29/2006: During World War I, a number of Minot soldiers wrote to Minot High School students about their experiences in the field.

5/6/2006: North Dakota dairy farmers used to hand-deliver cream to cream stations in thigh-high metal cream cans.

5/9/2006: A list of forty-three names appeared on the front page of the Fargo Forum on this date in 1917. Those named were persons arrested the previous morning in Minot during North Dakota’s largest criminal raid in history.

5/24/2006: An unfortunate confrontation between a farmer and a rural schoolteacher was reported by the Fargo Forum on this day in 1902. The confrontation was the climax to months of disagreement between the two men, and resulted in the tragic death of the well-known schoolteacher. The fatal encounter occurred in Bottineau County, near Willow City, North Dakota, on the property of the farmer, Phelan Finnigan.

5/29/2006: Great Plains dwellers have been moving great big things from one place to another for a long time--things like teepees, claim shanties, railroad depots, barns, and even grain elevators. At times whole towns were moved to new locations when anticipated rail lines failed to materialize. In recent years, many a historic home has been moved out of harms way—be it rising water, the wheels of “progress,” or the wrecking ball.

6/2/2006: A rousing man chase both began and came to an end on this day in 1911. The chase was a result of a disagreement between a farmer and his housekeeper, both from Shelly, Minnesota. Although the incident began in Minnesota, it ended in North Dakota where the chase was put down by authorities near Buxton. It was deemed “one of the most exciting man chases which ever occurred in this section of the state…” by the Fargo Forum newspaper.

6/3/2006: A bizarre incident was reported to have happened on this day by the Fargo Forum in 1914.

6/6/2006: America entered the European theater of WWII at Normandy, France, on D-Day, 62 years ago today. Among those who parachuted in behind enemy lines that morning was 18-year-old Gust Thompson, who looked like a young Tony Curtis. Gust grew up in Selz, the son of a Greek immigrant named Harry, and a German-Russian named Martha. The family had so much trouble with Harry’s Greek surname, Tsoutias (choo-chus), they ended up changing it to Thompson.

6/13/2006: Three of the smallest counties in North Dakota are found in a neat horizontal row in the east-central part of the state, sandwiched between Cass and Barnes counties on the south, and Grand Forks and Nelson counties on the North. From east to west, starting at the Red River, they are Traill, Steele, and Griggs counties. The threesome is easy to spot on a television weather map. Prior to June of 1883, the same area contained just two counties—Traill and Griggs.

1/13/2006: The Lake Region Pioneer Daughters have published a booklet called The Cowboy Soldier, which contains letters written by Michael Vetter to his brother in Pittsburgh. Vetter was a soldier in the 7th Cavalry stationed at Fort Totten. Today, we bring you excerpts of three letters written in January of 1876, which were translated from German.