Dakota Datebook

Winter in North Dakota can be challenging, but it also brings great experiences and traditions. Dakota Datebook joins the celebration of winter as we recognize Vinterfest.

The 1930s were a tough time for North Dakota. The Depression, combined with the Dust Bowl, caused misery at every level. Banks had loaned large sums to farmers, and with heavy debt, low commodity prices, and crop failures, many farms were foreclosed, leading to bank failures. With Republicans blamed for the tough times, the 1934 elections gave Democrats a chance to make gains at the expense of their vulnerable opponents. Across the country, Democrats geared up for spirited campaigns, hoping to make gains in Congress.

North Dakota is no stranger to severe weather, and winter often provides plenty of opportunities for it. In early February of 1922, one of the heaviest snowfalls of the season moved south from Winnipeg, affecting North Dakota and other states.

You may not have been paying much attention to potatoes, but underground, summer after summer, in a field near you, North Dakota’s potato farmers have been contributing mightily to the regional economy.

January is a crucial month for gardeners. By the end of the month, seed catalogs are dog-eared, orders are penciled in, and colorful dreams and schemes begin to solidify.

Winter in North Dakota can be a challenge, but it also offers great experiences and traditions. Dakota Datebook joins the celebration of winter as we recognize Vinterfest!

On this date in 1998, The Fargo Forum ran a photo of Miss North Dakota 1997, Roxana Saberi, showing a student at Fargo’s Nativity Catholic School how to wear a kimono. Roxana was giving a presentation about appreciating cultural differences and similarities. Promoting cultural appreciation during her year-long reign as Miss North Dakota was very important to the Fargo native.

On this date in 1904, a Fargo newspaper published a sympathetic story about a young woman arrested at a bawdy house in Wahpeton. She went by the professional name Leo Williams and was described as a woman of unusual beauty. Charges of grand larceny had been brought by Cora Oman, the notorious madam who ran a house in Moorhead. Leo offered no resistance when arrested, but she stated she was innocent and that the entire case was motivated by spite.

There is much unknown about the life of Sacagawea before Meriwether Lewis and William Clark arrived in her village on their way to the Pacific Ocean. Their Corps of Discovery was mapping the vast expanse of land the United States had recently purchased from France. They took her husband on as a translator, and Sacagawea accompanied them. She became an important member of the expedition, teaching the Corps how to gather plants for food, make leather clothes and moccasins, and helping them obtain horses to cross the Rocky Mountains.

When North Dakota ratified its constitution in 1889, it included a provision for a forestry school. However, it took time to establish the school. In 1894, state residents voted to locate the North Dakota School of Forestry in Bottineau. Progress was slow, and by 1906, no school had yet been built. The residents of Bottineau took matters into their own hands, raising $8,000—worth over $250,000 today—and donating 15 acres of land. The North Dakota School of Forestry opened in January 1907 with 30 students.