Mandan

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.

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….”

Rose Schneider was born in Nuremburg, Germany, on this date in 1929, and grew up during the chaotic times of World War II. After the war, young Rose served as a court reporter during the Nuremburg trials. She also went to school, training as a nurse. Rose met and fell in love with a young American Army Sergeant serving in Germany, LaMarr Myers.

On this date in 1914, the Grand Forks Evening Times carried an intriguing story under the headline "Girl would rather work as a servant than cross the ocean again!" It was about 18-year-old Elfrida Trinkler, who was reportedly a survivor of the great Titanic disaster two years before.

On this date in 1914, multiple newspapers reported that Ben Benson, also called Buffalo Head, visited Curator H. C. Fish at the State Historical Society of North Dakota to see a drawing of his father, Iron Eyes, which was on exhibit there.

Life was not easy at the Fort Clark fur trading post back in the 1830s. The fort was located on the Missouri river near present-day Washburn and it was a major economic center. The post manager, Francis Chardon, kept a journal, describing the cold weather, the fur trade, tribal activities, and the devastating smallpox epidemic. He also kept a regular tally of how many rats he had killed!

North Dakota has welcomed several royal visitors over the years. On this date in 1926, Queen Marie of Romania and her children -- Princess Ileana and Prince Nicholas -- made their way west by train through North Dakota, on a tour of the United States. Queen Marie was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

Perhaps the disease outbreak in North Dakota’s history was the smallpox epidemic that all but destroyed the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara peoples. In June of 1837, infected passengers aboard a steamboat spread the deadly virus up and down the Missouri River.

The final months of World War I collided with the terrible flu pandemic of 1918. The war facilitated the global spread of the virus, and many service…

On this date in 1986, The Bismarck Tribune announced that the biggest sign in the state was going to be moved and reconstructed. In 1934, Boy Scouts used…