Dakota Datebook

Prior to the advent of steam, farms across the Great Plains were powered by flesh-and-blood horsepower. Horses and mules did the work. This form of horsepower came with many disadvantages. The average farm was 100 acres. A farmer walked countless miles to plow his fields behind a walking plow, and walked even more to plant and cultivate the crops. The animals had to be fed and cared for year-round, even when they weren’t working, adding additional expense.

On August 2, 1886, Congress passed the Oleomargarine Act, imposing a tax on the production and sale of oleomargarine, and implementing strict licensing fees for manufacturers and retailers. Oleomargarine, later called simply margarine, was initially viewed with suspicion for its effect on dairy sales. Because the dairy industry was an important part of the North Dakota economy, and the U.S. market in general, there was strong concern that cheap margarine would reduce or even replace butter sales.

On this date in 1966, the Wahpeton newspaper editor got a lesson in local history. Pioneer resident Mrs. Kachelhoffer paid a visit and politely provided information for his next "Sky Ride" column.

In 1981, Pope John Paul II announced that every Catholic seminary in the United States would undergo a formal evaluation by the Congregation for Catholic Education. Over the next nine years, Bishop John Marshall of Vermont visited all 501 American seminaries. On this date in 1990, The Fargo Forum reported on the glowing review for Cardinal Muench Seminary in Fargo.

Dr. Crucial came to Fargo, Dakota Territory, in 1877 to begin his medical practice. The remote frontier and booming town suited his energetic mind. He saved lives, delivered thousands of babies, and invented an artesian well device to provide clean drinking water.

Mabel Schuler was born in Wisconsin in 1886. She came to Wahpeton in 1895 to join her father, Gustav, a widower who was getting established in Dakota Territory. Gustav and his brother Eugene operated a farm-implement business and became prominent pioneer architects, attorneys, and construction entrepreneurs. Their homes still stand side-by-side on Sixth Street in what was once Wahpeton’s silk-stocking district, and the Schuler Brothers Building remains a fixture on Main Street downtown.

The colorful days of newspaper reportage often featured unfettered character descriptions, opinion, and editorial acrobatics. On this date in 1904, the Emmons County Record reported in amusing prose that “the law mill was a-grinding” on four men recently arrested in different cases. Lawmen were also connecting the dots between three or four stooges.

In today's Dakota Datebook, Lise Erdrich writes about a shocking crime, a high-profile trial, and the tensions of a fast-growing Wahpeton in 1883.

James Robinson was an eccentric North Dakota Supreme Court Justice who opposed vaccinations. He also peddled booze as a cure during the 1918 flu pandemic.

Founded on this date in 1854, the Republican Party quickly became a political force. Throughout the 1850s, Republicans and Democrats voiced strong disagreements about new states. Republicans believed the Dakota and Washington territories would support their policies. Democrats were counting on the Montana and New Mexico territories. Each party sought to admit only states that would support its policies.