Dakota Datebook

A shaggy dog tale was told about a sighting of Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy at Wahpeton long ago. Any evidence? Doggoned right there is!

October is Archives Month, when archives around the country celebrate the records in their holdings and recognize the archivists who assess, collect, organize, preserve, and provide access to information of lasting value. The North Dakota State Archives is part of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

In the early 1990s Bro Halff saw an exhibit of Karl Bodmer’s watercolors from the 1830s. Bodmer was a Swiss painter who accompanied German Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied to the American west. Bodmer documented what they saw during their yearlong expedition along the Missouri River. Bro Halff was inspired to travel to North Dakota to follow in Bodmer’s footsteps.

South Minneapolis native Alexander Heine, born in 1885, worked for the Milwaukee Railroad. But the railroad wasn’t his first love. Alexander became enchanted by the magic of powered flight and caught the flying bug at an early age. He ventured to California, where he attended the Curtiss School in San Diego. When he returned to Minnesota, he couldn’t afford to buy an airplane, so he built one.

On this date in 1900, Clarence Bates was born in Albany, New York. Bates enlisted in the Navy during World War I and served as a wireless radio operator. In the 1920s, Clarence decided to learn to fly and took pilot training at Hamilton Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After Bates got his pilot’s license, he got a job flying the mail route to Chicago, Fargo, and Winnipeg, with a plane equipped wit...

Adams County was created in 1907 with land that was broken off from Hettinger County. It is located in southwestern North Dakota and encompasses 987 square miles. The county was named for John Quincy Adams, a Milwaukee Railroad official who was a distant relative of President John Quincy Adams.

Direct global disaster costs reach about $200 billion annually, but the overall economic impact goes as high as $2 trillion as the economy suffers disruption. Wealthier countries suffer the most when it comes to economic costs, but developing countries suffer more in terms of human suffering.

We're saddened to share the news that longtime Dakota Datebook writer Jim Davis has passed away. To honor his many contributions to this program, we're re-airing a favorite Datebook: Traveling Jenny — the tale of a super cow in the Killdeer Mountains.

In August 1939, a group of concerned scientists drafted a letter warning of the potential development of powerful bombs of a type never seen before. They urged the United States to begin acquiring stockpiles of uranium ore and to support Enrico Fermi’s research into nuclear chain reactions. The letter was signed by Albert Einstein and delivered in person to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1889, men met at the Constitutional Convention in North Dakota to work on framing the state’s foundational document. They met from July 4, 1889, until August 17. There were various topics of interest under discussion, and while they debated, the public watched and voiced their own opinions and concerns—such as in the case of the establishment and location of public buildings, including governme...

Railroad tracks finally began creeping west from Duluth, Minnesota, in 1870. On a cold New Year’s Eve in 1871, the railroad finally reached the Red River at Moorhead. Construction on a railroad bridge across the river continued through the winter. The residents of Fargo eagerly watched a locomotive sitting on the tracks, waiting for the completion of the bridge. On June 6, 1872, a group of women b...

At one time, the stagecoach was a tempting target for outlaws. They could stop a coach far from the prying eyes of the law, stealing the cargo and robbing the passengers. As trains began moving across the country, they replaced the stagecoach for long-distance transportation. They also became the new target for outlaws. Train robbery was common in the United States and is associated with outlaw ga...

World War I broke out on July 28, 1914. At first, airplanes were used only for reconnaissance, but it didn’t take long for the shooting to break out in the air. On August 25, two French aviators shot at and damaged a German plane, which managed to escape. In September, a Russian pilot destroyed an enemy airplane, but instead of shooting it down, he rammed it with his own plane. The crews of both p...

On this date in 1908, newspapers reported on the arrest and seasonal enterprise of a serial thief pursuing his third hitch in the state penitentiary. Mr. Malloy, alias Kennedy and Murphy, allegedly stole men’s overcoats in autumn in order to secure food and shelter for the winter. The Grand Forks Evening Times said, “Malloy who stole the overcoat and who has been sent to the Penitentiary three tim...

For years, many residents in Dakota Territory wanted to split it into two halves, but it wasn’t until the Enabling Act, passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Grover Cleveland in February of 1889, that Dakota Territory was allowed to split into the separate states of North and South Dakota.

Iowa schoolteacher Walter L. Carter came to Dakota in 1888 with the Patterson brothers. They organized the Wahpeton National Bank with $50,000 in capital. On this date in 1889, the bank opened for business.

The Vietnam War was a divisive issue in the United States, sparking protests across the country. North Dakota was no exception. On this day in 1969, a peaceful anti-war demonstration was held in Fargo.

North Dakotans were not overly enthusiastic about America’s entry into World War I, but they were resigned to the reality of it. At the time of the declaration of war, the economy was functioning at full capacity. Diverting the necessary supplies to the war effort required decreasing what was available for civilians. Like the rest of the country, North Dakotans were expected to conserve everything...

In 1905, North Dakota automobile speed limits were 8 miles per hour in town and 25 on open roads. By 1911, the highway speed limit was raised to 30.

The political climate in 1968 was one of turmoil and division in the United States. There were major protests against the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King was assassinated in April of that year, followed by the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the leading Democratic candidate for president and the brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy. The Civil Rights Movement had seen major progress,...

Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and their intrepid Corps of Discovery were integral to the expansion of a new country. The expedition set out to begin mapping the immense territory that Thomas Jefferson had purchased. They chronicled the vast wilderness and the rich resources it contained. Lewis and Clark are a bedrock of American history, but they were not the first Europeans to explore the Grea...

As the railroad moved out onto the Great Plains, settlers followed. Small gatherings began to form wherever the railroad workers set up their camps. These rudimentary communities usually started as a collection of tents, with frame buildings gradually taking shape as the neighborhoods became permanent. When the Northern Pacific Railroad crossed the Red River, what would later become a city had a v...

The 1950s are remembered fondly by most U.S. history textbooks. Known as the Eisenhower era, the post-war years were considered a new height of prosperity, with median family purchasing power increasing as much as 30%.

In 1904, seven men met in Chicago and laid the foundation for the International Workers of the World. Attendees included radicals and trade unionists from across the United States.

President Abraham Lincoln began considering emancipation for slaves in states that were in rebellion, which would exempt border states that remained in the Union, like Kentucky. This would be the first step on the road to abolition while keeping the border states loyal to the Union.