Bismarck

It’s a tale as old as time. The teenagers of Bismarck were bored. Besides watching movies or cruising Main Street, the kids wanted something fun to do after school and on the weekends. On this date in 1992, the front page of the Bismarck Tribune ran a story about an ambitious group of teens called Upbeat that wanted to do what no one else in Bismarck had managed to do: open a successful teen center.

For decades, North Dakota lawmakers used massive bill books at their desks to read and track legislation. Bill books were heavy and cumbersome and required constant updates for amendments. The process was tedious and involved a blizzard of paper and a lot of time.

Today we continue strolling down memory lane, recalling past concerts in North Dakota. Perhaps you’ll remember some!

This week in 1886, readers of the previous day's Bismarck Weekly Tribune were treated to a glorious tall tale.

Tempers flared during the 1933 legislative session in Bismarck, when the leader of a ballot measure to repeal alcohol prohibition in the state sparred with state lawmakers.

In September of 1931, a community acting group organized in the city of Bismarck. Sixty people became members at the first meeting, where the group adopted a constitution and elected officers. It cost 50 cents per year to be a member. Their goal was to “provide drama as a means of recreation both for participants and audience.” Members determined that admission fees would be kept low, only enough to cover costs.

Gunshots rang, gavels fell, and lessons were learned in the case of Bismarck Police officers Floyd Rouse and Marion House. The incident that brought the young officers from the patrol car to the court room occurred in early December 1947 near Minot. What should have been a routine traffic stop turned into a near death experience.

North Dakota’s coal mines were dangerous places a century ago, when blasts and equipment accidents could be fatal. The industry had swelled in North Dakota in the 1910s. In 1920, the state had 116 mines, most of them underground. They produced nearly 879,000 tons of coal, worth more than $2.1 million. That would be more than $33 million in today’s dollars.

In 1955, the city of Bismarck was in the middle of a scandalous trial. On this date the district attorney accepted a $300 bond, filed through the governor’s office for the removal of Sheriff Myron Thistlethwaite, a necessary step in the process for removing a public office holder.

Happy Thanksgiving! Today’s story is a sampling of how the holiday was observed in North Dakota more than 100 years ago.