Olivia Burmeister

On this date in 1911, The Bismarck Tribune reported an incident involving a 4-year-old boy in Jamestown. The child, Johnny, was playing with other small boys when he slipped and fell into an abandoned well. A passerby saw Johnny and rushed to help, managing to pull him out. Despite falling around 20 feet, Johnny was uninjured aside from some cuts and bruises.

"It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the wind!" Many a North Dakotan has lamented the state’s well-known whirlwinds—and for good reason. North Dakota is relatively flat, with few natural formations to block the wind. So, it’s no surprise that the weather has been a topic of interest in newspapers since the region became a state.

Winter in North Dakota can be challenging, but it also brings great experiences and traditions. Dakota Datebook joins the celebration of winter as we recognize Vinterfest.

Robbery abounds! Though North Dakota may not be the first state thought of when considering the Wild West, the state and its people are no strangers to criminal activity. On this date in 1904, T.J. Fordham was found guilty of highway robbery.

On this date in 1879, in a Bismarck Tribune ad, the Custer Hotel boasted first class accommodations for reasonable prices. The hotel targeted river men, railroad men, miners, and army people, based on a convenient location.

On this date in 1910, the Bismarck Tribune reported on the expansion of the Bismarck Bottling Works, a popular bottling company. The company’s sodas had grown in popularity, allowing the company to open another factory in Mandan by early Spring. This was not, however, the first Bismarck bottling company.

Students often hope a blizzard or power outage will grant them an extended weekend – anything to get out of a test or assignment. For students in Fargo, Lakota, and Bottineau, it was fire that kept them from school in 1916, 1917 and 1918.

Are you familiar with liquid air? As described by the Oakes Times in 1911, liquid air could freeze a man’s finger in less than a minute, convert steam into snow-like ice, cause steel to burn a dazzling color, and it could even be used as a local anesthetic by surgeons. Liquid air is the liquid state of air obtained by compressing purified air and cooling it to less than the boiling point of nitrogen and oxygen. It has many fascinating uses.

Wildfires are not new to North Dakota. With the vast expanses of grass, fires can spread easily. On this date in 1900, the Washburn Leader lamented the numerous fires that swept through the western part of the state in recent months. The concern centered around the destruction of farmland and crops, but the flames also struck businesses like the Little Missouri Horse Company barns in March of 1900.

Starkweather gophers beware! Around this time in 1915, the businessmen and farmers of Starkweather North Dakota declared war on their rodent neighbors. Meeting at the Schweitzer hardware store, the group put together a plan to initiate “a vigorous campaign against gophers.”