Carole Butcher

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.

The Wild West wasn’t as wild as portrayed in the movies, but there were plenty of desperados to go around. Although the more famous outlaws like Billy the Kid and Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch did not spend much time in Dakota Territory, there was no shortage of lesser-known criminals. Train robberies and stagecoach stick ups were not unknown in the territory. The Washburn Leader described one such situation by saying: “The Missouri and Knife River districts are overrun by a clique of horse thieves and murderers who have infested these localities for years.”

These days, a house call by a doctor is unheard of. In the early part of the last century, however, it was common for doctors to see patients in their homes. In North Dakota, that often meant traveling long distances at all hours of the day and night and braving dangerous weather. On this date in 1928, North Dakotans learned the full story of a courageous doctor who did not let distance or inclement weather stop him from making a house call.

Grain silos have been a staple of American agriculture since the 17th century. They were introduced by Dutch farmers who built round structures covered with fabric and topped with a thatched roof. The structure was called a hay barrack, designed to store dry hay. As farmers moved to areas with more severe winters – like North Dakota – they needed a better way to store fodder.

North Dakota’s economy, relying heavily on the unpredictable weather, has always been volatile. Cycles of drought and harsh winters can make it hard to earn a living.