Jack Dura

Life on the prairie can be adventurous and harrowing. Two newspaper anecdotes about a Raleigh, North Dakota rancher might seem straight out of the 1880s rather than the 1960s, except for the helicopter.

Thanksgiving is this week. Today we take a glimpse at the holiday from long ago.

Bismarck experienced several strange events during this week in 1933, including a burning cross, ferocious winds, and drive-by gunshots at a cafe.

Two North Dakota political giants died hours apart, decades after their parallel rises to power during a remarkable period in state history.

At 11:15 a.m. on this date in 1934, “a lone bandit” robbed the Merchants Bank in Rugby. He made off with $429. In the bank at the time were its president, cashier and a farmer, who happened to walk in mid-holdup. The robber quickly fled in a vehicle stolen the day before from a veterinarian in Minot. The robber also held up a gas station attendant in Granville and stole 10 gallons of gas. The Associated Press called the crime the first bank robbery in Rugby’s history.

One of the first people reported hospitalized during the terrible flu pandemic that struck North Dakota in 1918 was also one of the most well-known. “Wild Bill” Langer was the state attorney general during the early years of his tumultuous political career.

Prairie fires were a harsh reality of life in Dakota Territory. The blazes were often fast-moving and deadly. On this date in 1886, residents of the Bottineau area were dealing with the aftermath of a recent three-day prairie fire that burned about 500 square miles. A local history book recounts the fire as “probably the greatest forest and range fire in the history of the area.”

Bismarck and Mandan residents had a lot to look forward to at the Mandan Fair in 1912. The fair was an important enough event to prompt Bismarck’s public schools to close for Bismarck Day. A ferry operator cut the fee for crossing the Missouri in half during the fair, and special trains were put into service.

The 1930s were a turbulent time in North Dakota’s state government. Political chaos meant several offices were a revolving door, including governor and tax commissioner.

Anne Frank’s diary became available in public libraries with the publication of an English-language version around this date in 1952. A Bismarck Tribune librarian columnist described the book as “a poignant diary kept by a young Jewish girl hiding out from the Gestapo….”