Dakota Datebook

Even if a day starts under bright sunshine, winter on the Great Plains is unforgiving, and a snowstorm can close in rapidly. Such a day was March 15, 1920.

Norval Baptie was born on this date in 1879. He's enshrined in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and is in the Ice Skating Hall of Fame.

The Dakota Territory was created in 1861. It included what would become the states of North and South Dakota, as well as parts of what would become Wyoming and Montana. It consisted of the northernmost portion of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.

An old postcard of the Wahpeton Indian School shows a line of buildings and a cow minding her own business. She was Beauty Colantha Fresian Tidy No. 1083302, a retired dairy champion whose celebrity status entitled her to graze along Seventh Street in view of the public.

In the early years of the twentieth century, the Middle East was in turmoil. After World War I, European powers carved up the Ottoman Empire, creating new territories under colonial control. The upheaval led to the rise of nationalist groups and conflict, not only with foreign powers, but also with rival resistance factions and bandit gangs.

On this date in 1937, The Institute of Heraldry approved the design for the North Dakota Distinguished Service Medal.

In 1775, George Washington appointed Colonel Richard Gridley as his first chief engineer and gave him two assistants. Congress formally created the United States Army Corps of Engineers on this date in 1779. The Corps included several French officers and played an instrumental role in Revolutionary War battles, including Battle of Bunker Hill, Battles of Saratoga, and the final victory at Siege of Yorktown.

Alexander Griggs was a trader who used flatboats to transport goods to Canada. In the fall of 1870, he set out too late and became stuck at a French trading post when the river froze. He spent the winter in a cabin he built and began to realize he had found an excellent location for a new settlement.

March in North Dakota signals the coming of spring, the last gasps of winter and basketball. High school teams across the state battle through the regular season, with successful squads earning trips to district tournaments and hoping to secure a spot in the state tournament to compete for the title of best in the state.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt stepped into the White House on March 4, 1933, the country was gripped by the Great Depression. Bank failures and record unemployment were ravaging the nation. Roosevelt knew Americans wanted a confident president who could lead them through the storm, and he was determined to hit the ground running.