10/12/2005:
“Nothing is so busy as an idle rumor.” That was the parting shot reported in the Bismarck Tribune about this time in 1948. Seems the reporters had recently been led on some wild goose chases.
The story read: “Newsmen had a busy time last Saturday morning chasing leads on a flying saucer story. The story as first told to a Tribune reporter was that a local man while out for a ride with his daughter last Friday night spotted a flying saucer. He stopped the car, and he and his daughter watched it come to earth. They walked over to the landing spot and brought the saucer home as a souvenir.
“But after running down all of the leads it developed that it wasn’t a flying saucer,” the story read, “it was a part of a weather bureau observation balloon and it didn’t happen last Friday night, it was more than a month and a half ago.
“This just about equals the ‘kidnapping’ (sic) we had here during the state conservation show,” the story continued. “At the time of the drawing for the Dream House, the small daughter of a prominent citizen was separated from her parents. Police were notified and the information was broadcast over the public address system. In a matter of minutes the youngster was located and returned to her father and mother.
“But the next day the Tribune was informed that the girl had been kidnapped (sic) and that it was being kept quiet while police conducted a search for her. Oh hum, never a dull moment.”
Another story in the news that day included one titled Rare Speciman (sic), which read, “A red-sided garter snake, considered to be ‘rather rare’ was recently found by Roy Bach, federal coordinator with the state game and fish department.
“Bach says that in his 15 years here, that this is about the sixth such speciman (sic) that he has found and one of the very few that he has found alive. The snake is about 14 inches long and is harmless. It gets its name from the red spots which dot its side.
“In North Dakota the natural range for the red sided garter is in the western and southwestern sections.”
Another wildlife-related story was titled Report Lack of Cooperation In Local Rat Control Drive, which read, “Court action may be necessary against business and residence owners who fail to cooperate with the city health department in its rat control program, Dr. P. L. Owens, city health officer, reported Monday. Approximately 50 percent of the Bismarck property owners whose buildings were inspected in the rat control survey taken last spring are not cooperating with the department in its drive to eliminate rats, Dr. Owens declared.
“He reported that of the 86 business premises inspected, 81 had a rodent problem while 71 of the 74 residential structures inspected required rodent corrections. Actually, however, only 41 business and 32 housing structures have been rat proofed... two business and five residence buildings were declared beyond salvage and were wrecked...
Buildings rat-proofed according to recommendations of the department and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife department resulted in actual elimination of rats entering the structures, he said.
Source: The Bismarck Tribune. Monday, Oct 11, 1948.
Dakota Datebook written by Merry Helm