Dakota Datebook

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, which took place from 1804 to 1806, was only the beginning of the exploration of the vast wilderness acquired through the Louisiana Purchase.

On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke nine momentous words: "Mr. Watson, come here. I need to see you." It was hardly an earthshaking statement, except for one fact. Bell had spoken the first words ever communicated by telephone. It wasn't much. Thomas Watson, Bell's assistant, was only in the next room. But Bell immediately saw the exciting possibilities. He began working right away to g...

Republican William McKinley was considered a strong presidential candidate in 1896. He had a long record of public service. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1861, rising to the rank of brevet major. He also served two successful terms as governor of Ohio. His politics appealed to Republicans, but he also attracted a broader range of voters. He was seen as a self-made man who radiated competence an...

On this date in 1928, sliced bread was introduced to consumers. Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the first machine for commercially slicing bread. The first commercial sale was made by a bakery in Chillicothe, Missouri. It was billed as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry.”

The late nineteenth century was the golden age of the exposition, often referred to as a “world’s fair.” Exhibits sponsored by foreign countries and displays of new modern conveniences were viewed with amazement.

Aviator Chester Jacobson was one of North Dakota’s earliest flyers who earned himself the reputation of a daredevil.

In 1946, a surplus World War II P-51 Mustang fighter plane was purchased by the Aeronautics Department of Montana State College for $1 and placed on display on the university campus in Bozeman, Montana. In 1965, the Mustang was sold and hauled away, eventually ending up in a junkyard in Billings, Montana.

James Smithson was an Englishman who never set foot in the United States. He bequeathed his estate to his nephew on one condition: if the nephew died without an heir, the money would go to the United States to found “the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

On this date in 1926, Gerald P. Nye was appointed to the United States Senate by Governor Arthur Sorlie to represent North Dakota following the death of Senator Edwin F. Ladd. Despite debate within the Senate over whether the governor had the legal authority to appoint Nye, the Senate chose to resolve the issue and honored the appointment. Later that year, Nye won election in his own right and qui...

The Fargo newspaper headlines this week in 1957 concentrated on the devastating tornado that had leveled a large swath of the city only days before. An effort called “Operation Cleanup” was making progress with the damage caused by the twister that drilled through neighborhoods, especially the Golden Ridge area of North Fargo.

On today's Dakota Datebook, we'll hear about the importance of interconnectedness from Dr. Teresa Delorme, educator and enrolled member of Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.

On this date in 1876, the Battle of the Little Bighorn commenced. It was over quickly. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and 7th Cavalry forces met an overwhelming force of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne warriors. Custer's outfit was annihilated: 268 dead, including six Crow and Arikara scouts; 55 severely wounded, six dying soon.

The world rejoiced at the end of World War I in 1918. It seemed as if life would return to normal. There was no way to know that the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl were right around the corner. Hard times lay ahead.

On this date in 1929, Joseph Blanding was still living in the family farmhouse at the south end of Wahpeton. He gave a talk to the Wilkin County Historical Society that was later published in the local paper. Joseph came to the area in 1872 at age nine, before Wahpeton was settled.

During World War I, despite American neutrality, military mobilization was already underway. North Dakotans answered the call when President Wilson mobilized the National Guard for duty along the Mexican border in response to turmoil from the Mexican Revolution and Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus, New Mexico, in March 1916. The Guardsmen garrisoned the border, freeing Regular Army troops to pursue...

If you were standing on the riverbank in Fargo in the summer of 1882, you could watch thousands of pine logs from Minnesota forests floating north on the Red River toward sawmills in Winnipeg.

There is no question that summer storms can bring damaging effects. On this date in 1923, newspapers reported on various storm systems that swept through portions of Canada and North Dakota, wreaking havoc as they went.

On May 17, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Custer bid farewell to his wife, Libby, and rode out of Fort Abraham Lincoln at the head of the 7th Cavalry. He never returned. North Dakotans took his loss personally. Custer was a popular figure, and the territory was stunned when news of his defeat became known.

Following his 1820 expedition to map the American West, Major Stephen H. Long named it the “Great American Desert.” Other early explorers, like Zebulon Pike, confirmed Long’s assessment that the Great Plains were unfit for cultivation. But the East was settled — some said overly settled — and Americans needed room to grow. The brave and the dreamers packed their bags and headed west, with visions...

On this date in 1899, the Wahpeton Globe noted, “The law enforcement league cleaned the gamblers and sure-thing men out of Fargo last week, and the soiled doves took flight, many of them lighting down on Wahpeton and Breckenridge. The wave of reform will soon blow over, and the old familiar faces will be seen in their accustomed places by those looking for them.”