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Carole Butcher

  • On June 25 and 26, 1876, the Battle of Little Big Horn took place along the Little Big Horn River in Montana Territory. Known to the Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, it is widely remembered as Custer’s Last Stand. The 7th Cavalry Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer faced the combined forces of several tribes including Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho. The only survivor of regiment on Last Stand Hill was Captain Keogh’s horse Commanche, but 7th Cavalry troops in other portions of the battlefield did survive.
  • Carl Ben Eielson is a famed North Dakotan, known for being a pioneer of polar aviation. On November 9th,1929, Eielson and his mechanic Earl Borland disappeared on a flight to Siberia. They were on a rescue mission to an ice-bound ship. By November 16th, the ship reported that the plane had not arrived.
  • The wild turkey is a popular North Dakota game bird. It may be surprising to learn that they are not native to the state. Once they arrived, they found everything they needed to thrive. They found trees for roosting and grasses and shrubs for nesting. North Dakota’s plants attract insects for hungry chicks, and in winter there’s food provided by waste agricultural grain and by garden leftovers. In short, turkeys have everything they need.
  • A century ago, half of all American homes had a piano. It was often the most expensive piece of furniture. It was more than a musical instrument. It represented financial stability – a symbol of prosperity.
  • Europe was at war in 1916. In North Dakota, Germans from Russia agonized over the foreign events. Their ancestors were from Germany, and they or their parents were born in Russia. And even though they now lived in America, their loyalty was widely questioned.
  • In 1937 when Fred Morrison was seventeen years old, he and his girlfriend began tossing the lid of a popcorn container to each other. Even after Fred and Lucile got married, they continued playing with the popcorn lids. Then they discovered that metal cake pans flew better and began tossing those.
  • For the first 125 years of the United States, voters did not elect their U.S. senators. As adopted in 1788, the Constitution stated that senators would be elected instead by the state legislatures. Allowing the legislatures to elect senators was intended to reassure states’ rights advocates that there was a check on the power of the national government. Avoiding a popular election was also seen as a way to provide balance in Congress, offsetting the populism of the House of Representatives.
  • Ordained in Montreal, Father John Malo was sent to Dakota Territory in 1879 to work with the indigenous people. He settled in the area near the Turtle Mountains. Not having a church building, he said mass in settlers’ homes and led open-air Masses. He also constructed a rough chapel, a small log building with a dirt floor and three wooden benches that served as pews. A simple wooden table served as the altar. Father Malo was one of the earliest white settlers in the area that would include the town of St. John.
  • When the United States entered World War I, former President Teddy Roosevelt paid a visit to President Woodrow Wilson. He proposed raising a volunteer unit to join the war. He had done so years earlier during the Spanish American War, when he famously led the Rough Riders on a charge up San Juan Hill. Now, he was looking to give it another go, and join the war in France.
  • By federal law, anyone who misuses public land can be prosecuted. This includes grazing livestock on public land and erecting fences that prevent access for the general public. The first federal law to protect public land was passed in 1885.