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2/23/2013: On this date in 1948, students of the University of North Dakota music department took part in the Carney Song Contest.

3/15/2013: As cars became more in vogue, cities started to develop traffic laws. On this date in 1940, residents of Bismarck were patting themselves on the back for changes they made to regulate traffic.

3/17/2013: Today is St. Patrick’s Day, when everyone has a bit of the Irish.

3/18/2013: Devils Lake became host of North Dakota’s official Chautauqua gathering in the summer of 1893. Yearly thereafter, the Chautauqua hosted famous lecturers, singers, politicians and preachers. North Dakotans enjoyed watching stage productions and listening to dramatic readings and interpretations of plays; they applauded popular speakers expounding on social issues of the day.

4/4/2013: Residents along the Red River battled severe flood waters on this date in 1943, as muddy water poured into houses and businesses. Riverside residential areas of Fargo and Moorhead faced the worst of the crisis, with nearly three hundred families forced from their homes.

4/16/2013: Despite their similar names, Fargo and West Fargo have been separate cities for many years, and only in the past few decades have those towns grown enough that their boundaries touched. Until 1923, Fargo was also neighbors with the city of North Fargo, but their relationship wasn't as polite as it is with West Fargo today.

4/17/2013: The steadfast county sheriff was on the front lines of the war against alcohol during the years of Prohibition. A sheriff executed warrants on behalf of the attorney general and performed arrests for violating liquor trafficking laws. As an elected official, the sheriff was often given the duty of arresting the friendly neighbors that voted him into office. The conflict between duty and community wasn't easy for a sheriff, particularly in the case of Rolette county Sheriff Charles Sager.

4/18/2013: In bygone days in North Dakota, people were free to spit outdoors wherever they pleased, as long as they did not hit others; and indoors – if they used spittoons.

4/20/2013: Eleven thousand dollars is a lot to pay for one year in taxes, especially in 1953; but on this date, reports out of Tioga indicated that residents were not unhappy about it, since it came about due to the oil found on their land.

4/22/2013: Scores of North Dakota residents along the Red River fought to save homes, farms, and businesses during the flood of April 1979. The Army Corps of Engineers reported that these flood-fighting efforts had prevented nearly $80 million in damage, saving countless homes.