Writer, photographer and historian Bill Shemorry passed away on this date in 2004. He was 89 and was described as “one of a kind.” He was a newspaperman in Williston for more than 70 years and was witness to a great deal of the city’s history.

Concert pianist Gregory Slag received a doctorate in music at The Juilliard School and played at the famous international Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Pianist Paul Heisler got his master’s degree at Yale and played a concert for royalty in Jordan. Besides being world-renowned pianists, these two men had one other important thing in common. They both learned how to play the piano from Mandan piano teacher Josephine Mushik.

While the population of North Dakota has always been too small to support a major league baseball team, the state has a long and rich history when it comes to the sport.

On this date in 1907, many North Dakotans experienced a storm that brought both heavy snow and heavy rain. Bismarck set a new record for precipitation, a record that still stands to this day. Elsewhere, the storm had other effects.

Today many farms are industrial in scale, using chemicals to help improve yields. By the time fruits, vegetables, or grains have made it to the shelves, these chemicals are trace enough to offer little risk. However, in larger quantities, these chemicals can be toxic. The city of Minot grappled with these effects when a fire started in a chemical warehouse on April 4th, 1987. The event made national news and the New York and LA Times reported about it on this date.

On this date in 1971 the last episode of Hogan’s Heroes aired. It was a television comedy set in a German prisoner of war camp during World War 2. The series started in 1965 and ran for 6 years with a total of 168 episodes.

April Fool's Day was a fun time in Page, North Dakota, on this date in 1906, and a prank that day led to the creation of a humorous social organization. Several men including the mayor, a constable and an attorney placed “an innocent, sweet-tempered little donkey” in the lobby of the European Hotel, which was on the upper story of two buildings on the Thompson Block.

This Datebook is darker than usual, but history is not always a happy story. So, a warning: The topic of this Dakota Datebook could be distressing for some listeners. On September 13, 1993, a woman named Sarah was raped in her condominium in Boulder, Colorado. The complex was called Tantra Lake. She managed to call 911 that night and get a full sexual assault examination. Sadly, it would take 11 years to find her assailant and in that time, he would go on to rape four other women at the Tantra Lake complex between 1993 and 1998. He became known as the “Tantra Rapist.”

The year was 1918, and the United States was heavily involved in the Great War -- World War One. To feed soldiers overseas, federal and state governments set limitations on the amount of certain foods Americans could eat at home. For example, North Dakotans had meatless Tuesdays. However, on this date, North Dakota’s food administrator Dr. E. F. Ladd changed that by announcing that all restrictions on meat would be lifted for 30 days.

In 1901 a townsite named Goodrich was platted north of the new Northern Pacific Rail Road track in Sheridan County. That same year, the townsite of Dudley was platted right across from Goodrich on the south side of the tracks. After a few years of rivalry the two towns combined and continued on as Goodrich. The town grew and prospered, at one point with a population over 500 people. However, by 1990, the town had shrunk to just under 200 people.