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1/23/2004: North Dakota has a very contradictory history when it comes to women. As the 19th century blended into the 20th, many thousands of women moved here to homestead and wrestle out a living for themselves. Despite their hardiness and proven strength, their road to getting the vote was a rocky one. It was on this day in 1917 that they finally achieved their goal.

1/31/2004: Johnny Klein was born in Strasburg, in 1918, the oldest of five kids in his German-Russian family. He studied music, and while finishing his Masters Degree in Music Education in St. Louis, his second-cousin, Lawrence Welk, came to town with the Welk Band. It was 1951, and Johnny was teaching at the time, but Lawrence tried to persuade him to become his drummer. Johnny was hesitant to give up his day job, but Welk convinced him they were headed for a golden future in California, and Johnny finally agreed.

3/6/2004: Today is the birthday of Charles Cavileer, who was born in 1818. He was a saddler by trade, and while living in St. Paul, he was also a druggist, a postal worker and the Territorial Librarian. Cavileer was also adventurous, and in 1851, he brought to Pembina the first permanent group of agricultural settlers to what is now North Dakota. Two years later, he became a U.S. Customs inspector and was then appointed postmaster by President Abraham Lincoln.

3/7/2004: There was a time when a portion of what are now North and South Dakota, including Pembina, was governed by Minnesota Territory, which organized in 1849. Postmaster Norman Kittson, a rather somber-looking man, served as Pembina County Senator, and fur trader Jolly Joe Rolette – also a somber-looking man – served as Representative.

3/28/2004: Most of the existing railways built in the Devils Lake Basin are commonly associated with the Great Northern and Soo Line railroads. But there are two that are a little different.

4/2/2004: Yesterday was the anniversary of a day when North Dakota closed one of the more scandalous chapters in its history.

4/11/2004: One year ago this weekend, NDSU took first place in the college division of NASA’s 10th annual “Great Moonbuggy Race” in Huntsville, Alabama. The challenge was for high school and college students to design and build human-powered vehicles that could overcome engineering problems faced by NASA’s actual lunar rover team.

4/19/2004: Today is the birthday of Laura Taylor Hughes, who was born in 1903 and was one of North Dakota’s most successful potters. She was a native of Rosemeade Township and learned the ceramics craft at Valley City Normal School under Glen Lukens.

4/22/2004: Today is Earth Day. Here in North Dakota, a wastewater project in Granville is being showcased. As with many towns, Granville’s sanitary system is getting old – the 50 year-old, clay, sewer tiles have deteriorated, the system is leaking, and the wastewater lagoon needs attention.

4/23/2004: Today is the birthday of Albert Hoiland, a settler and inventor who was born in 1860. By age 44, Hoiland had quit farming to go into the windmill business in Nome, North Dakota, selling pumps, pipes, tanks, feed grinders and other related items.