Who hasn’t experienced the momentary, magical thrill of seeing a meteor flash across the night sky in the corner of your eye? It vanishes almost instantly yet its vapor trail lingers longer in your imagination.

In the summer of 1861, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase approached Congress. He could clearly see that the Civil War was going to be expensive. He said he needed $320 million over the next year. He thought he could come up with $300 million through existing taxes and the sale of public lands and he left it to Congress to find the remaining twenty million.

As young men entered military service in large numbers following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States faced the possibility of a labor shortage. North Dakota grappled with the labor shortage like the rest of the country did.

Vice presidents may not get the same attention as presidents, but they still make public appearances. The first vice president to visit North Dakota was Adlai Stevenson I.

The United States Postal Service is responsible for issuing postage stamps and that includes choosing the subjects. In 1957, the process was opened to the American public. The Postmaster General appoints members of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee. Members come from a broad span of public life, including art, science, education, history, sports, and politics.

As territories became states, communities vied for a piece of the statehood pie and North Dakota was no exception. As statehood neared, the various institutions of state government were divided among cities and enshrined in the state’s constitution.

Europe had been fighting a war for years before the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Walter Joseph Keefe of Fargo enlisted in Company B of the North Dakota National Guard on July 17, 1917. He was only seventeen and needed his parents’ permission to enlist.

North Dakota has been called a “farmer’s frontier,” with settlers bringing their families to claim land for farms and settle down. Husbands and wives worked side by side, and children were put to work at an early age. By their early teens, they were harnessing horses and walking behind the plow. Younger children were often responsible for chickens, feeding them and collecting eggs. They were also in charge of even younger siblings when both parents were working in the field. Everyone had a job.

On this date in 1971, the moon was in a Waxing Crescent phase. This is the first phase after the new moon and an optimal time to see the features of the lunar surface. The moon can be seen in the sky after the sun dips below the horizon at sunset. The moon is close to the sun in the sky and mostly dark except for its right edge which becomes brighter as the days get closer to the next phase which is a First Quarter with 50% illumination.

In today's episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll hear about the importance of the circle of life from Spirit Lake Dakota Elder Catherine Howard.