Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Articles written by Merry Helm


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  • Dakota Datebook: May 04, 2020

    Merry Helm|May 4, 2020

    Upright Sleeper May 4, 2020 — We’ve all heard about talking in your sleep – and many of us do. And then there’s sleepwalking, which afflicted pilot Carl Ben Eielson the night before he’d set out on any new adventure. But today’s story is about something far more unusual. On this date in 1905, the Fargo Forum and Daily Republican published a story about a woman named Mary Dickerson, who was called Aunt Dickie by most people. She lived with Mrs. B. H. Smoot in north Fargo. There were few background details on Aunt Dickie, but the...

  • Dakota Datebook: April 27, 2020

    Merry Helm|Apr 27, 2020

    First Monarchs April 29, 2020 — On this day in 1931, the King and Queen of Siam were treated to a state dinner with President Hoover at the White House. They were the first absolute monarchs to ever visit the United States, and the first Asian monarchs to visit the White House. They entered the country from the north at Portal, N.D. Lungs in the Pulpit April 30, 2020 — The National Anti-Tuberculosis Association was founded in 1904; the North Dakota affiliate started up soon after and the tuberculosis sanatorium was built at Dunseith. This...

  • Dakota Datebook: Advice

    Merry Helm|Apr 20, 2020

    April 22, 2020 — In April 1910, the Hansboro News offered the following advice: Here are a few things a gasoline engine will and will not do. They will not run backwards; sometimes they won’t run forward either. If they won’t run either way try severing your connection with the anti-swearing society, get out in the woodshed and give full vent to your feeling – it will help lots. They will not run without gasoline; after you have carefully removed the spark plug, cleaned and replaced it, thoroughly overhauled the carburetor, tested your...

  • Dakota Datebook: Movie Fargo

    Merry Helm|Mar 16, 2020

    March 20, 2020 — On this weekend in 1996, the movie “Fargo” premiered at the Fargo Theatre. It went on to be nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards that year, and news agencies descended on Fargo to cover the history-making night. The scene outside the theater was as quirky as the movie itself, as news people from around the country were bedazzled by a tractor pulling a wagon full of people dressed in farmer-plaids and caps with earflaps. Inside, hundreds watched themselves on the big screen, as they became part of Oscar’s...

  • Dakota Datebook: Ole Saves Christmas

    Merry Helm|Dec 23, 2019

    December 25, 2019 — In her book, “Nothing to Do but Stay,” Carrie Young tells the story of her Uncle Ole, a Norwegian bachelor farmer living next to her family’s farm near Williston. Ole was never accused of being a go-getter. The oldest of seven children, he was content to live with his parents well into his 30s, hiring himself out as a farmhand on occasion. Children were scared of him, because when he laughed, his big round eyes would roll back into his head, which he shook back and forth. Ole was almost 40 when he took his first...

  • Dakota Datebook: Joe Milo and Willie Ross

    Merry Helm|Dec 9, 2019

    Joe Milo and Willie Ross Dec. 11, 2019 — On this day in 1914, a Bottineau prisoner was raising money so his body wouldn’t be used for science. At the time, Joe Milo was facing a death sentence for his part in a double murder at Lansford. Because he was penniless and had nobody who would pay to bury him, he knew that his body would probably end up on a stainless steel slab at the UND College of Medicine. Joe didn’t much like the idea of students dissecting him after he was dead, so he hung a contribution box on the door to his cell in the...

  • Dakota Datebook: Roy Rogers

    Merry Helm|Nov 11, 2019

    November 11, 2019 — On this date in 1950, the results of Bismarck’s Sears-Roebuck safety slogan contest were in. The winner was a 10-year-old from Ft. Lincoln, for his slogan, “Go Slow or You’ll Go – Fast.” His award was a gold-colored statue of Roy Rogers’ horse, Trigger. Young Larry “Roy” Amon took possession of his prize that night, when Roy Rogers, himself, gave it to him on stage. Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, were in Bismarck as part of a tour they were making with their cowboy band. Jack Case of the Bismarck Tribune...

  • Dakota Datebook: Dr. Paul Burton

    Merry Helm|Nov 4, 2019

    Nov. 4, 2019 is the anniversary of the death of Dr. Paul H. Burton. He came of age during the days of making house calls on horseback. Burton was born at Boscobel, Wisc., on July 16, 1876, and studied medicine at the University of Minnesota. During those years, he also practiced at Kenmare for several months. He graduated about 1901, practiced for a time in northern Minnesota, and then moved to Fargo, where he went into private practice. Dr. Burton’s medical internship was relatively unusual. He was appointed to the Stillwater Prison. Among...

  • Dakota Datebook: Ghost Story

    Merry Helm|Oct 28, 2019

    Oct. 31, 2019 — Today is Halloween, a good day for ghost stories, and North Dakota has no shortage of them. Legends have been floating around for years of the “Kindred Lights,” the “Grim Reaper” in a Baptist church near Fredonia, the “Fatal Stump” near Belfield, and the “Gas Chamber” on the deserted Oss farmstead near Hatton. A Minot legend contends that three different ghosts haunt a four-story house that was later turned into a gift shop. The first is of a man who drowned in the river that runs behind the house, and at 4:39...

  • Dakota Datebook: Caffeine and Fur Coats

    Merry Helm|Oct 7, 2019

    October 8, 2019 — In October 1913, the following ad was in the local papers: Wanted! Perfectly healthy men and women who will voluntarily submit to an experiment which may lead to temporary or permanent impairment of health, or possible death. This experiment to be conducted with the coffee drug, “caffeine.” Following that, in bold letters, it read: Would You Apply for the Job? The ad took up almost a half page in the Fargo Forum; it was advertising the health benefits of drinking the popular beverage, Postum, as opposed to coffee. Of...

  • Dakota Datebook "Angie Dickinson"

    Merry Helm|Sep 30, 2019

    Sept. 30, 2019 — Today is the birthday of legendary actress Angie Dickinson. Her given name was Angeline Brown, but the name for which she is better known came from her first husband, semi-pro football player Gene Dickinson. Angie was born in Kulm, in southeast North Dakota, where her father ran the Kulm Messenger. The family also lived in nearby Edgeley. Once a week, their father ran movies, and Angie developed an early fascination with stardom. It was her father’s drinking problem that inadvertently led to her acting career when...

  • Dakota Datebook: Bungled Train Robbery

    Merry Helm|Sep 23, 2019

    Sept. 27, 2019 — This date in 1897 was an inglorious day for a young group of would-be train robbers. The previous night at about midnight, westbound Train No. 1 was late in arriving in Fargo. The Bismarck Tribune reported: “The delay was due to the special request of a number of highwaymen and was unavoidable under the circumstances, as the highwaymen were temporarily masters of the situation. It was a surprising event, considering the locality, as it has always been supposed that the holdup line was a good deal farther west.” Engineer...

  • Dakota Datebook: Sept. 16, 2019

    Merry Helm|Sep 16, 2019

    The McClellan Saddle Sept. 17, 2019 — The saddle issued to the 7th Cavalry – the one to which Custer belonged – was developed by General George McClellan during the period of the Civil War. His design was unique in that the saddleback was open in the center, allowing for a sort of air conditioning between horse and rider. The design was also useful in winter— cavalry riders wore heavy woolen greatcoats that draped down over their legs and the horse’s sides. Warmth from the horse’s back transferred through the opening in the saddle...

  • Dakota Datebook: Long-haired Morgan

    Merry Helm|Sep 9, 2019

    Long-haired Morgan During this week in 1884, a post office was established at Morganville on the old Bismarck-Ft. Stevenson stage route. In actuality, Morganville was nothing more than a farm located on the west edge of what is now Beulah, in Mercer County. The owner and postmaster was an unusual man who went by various names: Frank C. Morgan, Morgan Spencer and Long-Haired Morgan. Nobody seemed to know where he came from, but that he was well educated was apparent. Perhaps with a romantic notion of the western frontier, he had chosen a...

  • Dakota Datebook: Fingal Enger

    Merry Helm|Aug 26, 2019

    Aug. 27, 2019— It was during harvesting in 1913 that Fingal Enger was caught in a downpour. He wouldn’t go inside until he was certain that all the wagons were in and every horse properly tended, and he ended up catching pneumonia. It was a hard thing for Enger to be slowed down by illness– the 6'4" farmer was legendary for his size and strength and had always done the work of two men. Enger was born in Norway in 1846. Early in 1872, he left Fargo with two other men to find land in the Goose River area. According to historian Erling...

  • Dakota Datebook: Where is Pembina?

    Merry Helm|Aug 5, 2019

    August 5, 2019 — In 1816, Congress passed a law that stated, “Licenses to trade with the Indians within the territorial limits of the United States shall not be granted to any but citizens of the United States unless by express direction of the President.” The law didn’t apply to the traders in the north and eastern sections of what is now North Dakota, because at that time, it belonged to Great Britain. Two years later, however, England signed a treaty with the United States that determined that all land south of the 49th parallel...

  • Dakota Datebook: Journey of the Highgate Mastodon

    Merry Helm|Jul 22, 2019

    Journey of the Highgate Mastodon July 23, 2019 — In the spring of 1890, William Regcraft found some bones while digging a ditch on his uncle’s farm, one mile from Highgate, Ontario. A hardware merchant named William Hillhouse bought the bones, and he and his uncle, John Jelly, also bought the right to continue excavating. What they found was almost an entire skeleton of an Ice-Age mastodon, relative of the modern elephant. Hillhouse and Jelly cleaned the bones and strengthened them with two layers of hot white glue. The one and only tusk,...

  • Dakota Datebook:Finding Fen-Phen

    Merry Helm|Jul 8, 2019

    July 8, 2019 — It was on this date in 1997 that CNN broke the news that the miracle combination of diet drugs known as fen-phen was causing leakage in users’ heart valves. What many don’t know is that the first person to figure it out was a cardiac sonographer at Fargo’s MeritCare named Pam Ruff. According to an article for Science News, Ruff noted two unusual echo-cardiograms in December 1994. Among the heart-structure images she created, she found leaky valves for two relatively young women– a disorder that was rare for anyone...

  • Dakota Datebook: Rodeo in Sanish

    Merry Helm|Jul 1, 2019

    July 4, 2019 — When the waters of Lake Sakakawea are down, the former townsite of Sanish sometimes resurfaces. Back in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, Sanish was the place to be for rodeo fans. A group of enthusiasts held a meeting at the Sanish Fire Hall in April 1947, and their brainchild – the Sanish Rodeo – quickly took shape. By July 3, the newly formed association had constructed a covered grandstand, corrals and chutes. The three-day premiere of the Sanish Rodeo was a hit, with around 8,000 people flocking to the rodeo grounds...

  • Dakota Datebook: Belhammer saves child

    Merry Helm|May 27, 2019

    May 31, 2019 — Gordon Keeney was aboard the steamboat Dakota when he witnessed a dramatic rescue attempt by a burly German immigrant. Seventy-six years later, Keeney’s written account was published in the Fargo Forum. In 1874, the Dakota was steaming north down the Red River with a maximum load of 175 Canadian, Scotch, British and Irish passengers. Because of the crowded conditions below, Keeney wrapped himself in his buffalo robe and spent his time in the open air of the hurricane deck. Sprawled on that deck, forward of the stern, were...

  • Dakota Datebook: Syttende Mai

    Merry Helm|May 13, 2019

    May 17, 2019 — Happy Syttende Mai! An old article in the Hansboro News explains that May 17 is the “anniversary of the rise of modern Norway among the nations as an independent, self-governing kingdom...” The year the article was written was 1914 – the year of Norway’s Jubilee – and it stated that the 100-year celebration was “of peculiar interest to about two and a quarter million people living in Norway and about two-thirds as many of their kinsmen in foreign countries, for the most part in the United States and Canada....

  • Dakota Datebook: Mr. Giveaway and Mother's Day

    Merry Helm|May 6, 2019

    Mr. Giveaway May 6, 2019 — McLean County is named for John A. McLean, the first mayor of Bismarck. Today we’re talking about one of his sons, Harry, who was born in Bismarck in 1883 and died May 1, 1961. Young Harry had guts and a whole lot of moxie. He started his career as a water boy for a railway construction company building a branch out of Mandan. He was a fast learner and immediately started climbing the ladder until finally going into business for himself. Working mostly in Canada, McLean specialized in doing things that...

  • Dakota Datebook: State Hospital Opens and Broste Rock Museum

    Merry Helm|Apr 29, 2019

    State Hospital Opens by Merry Helm May 1, 2019 — On this day in 1885, the North Dakota Hospital For The Insane at Jamestown was opened. Its corporate seal featured the three figures of Faith, Hope and Charity, with the caption: "But The Greatest Of These Is Charity." This hospital was a model institution for the times. One reporter wrote, “I have visited many ‘insane asylums’ (back east)... but nothing like (this),” he said. “...pleasant surprises never ceased, from the discovery that there was not a single horrifying prison-like...

  • Dakota Datebook: Old Maid Teachers? and Snakes, Preachers and Fire Festivals

    Merry Helm|Apr 22, 2019

    Old Maid Teachers? by Merry Helm April 24, 2019 — In April 1895, the “Minto Journal” proudly reported that the land office in Grand Forks had, in one week, recorded 69 people filing for land and 11 proving up, accounting for a total of 13,000 acres, almost all in Cavalier County. “There is no mistake about the meaning of this,” the article read. “It is clear that the last four excellent crops have given people confidence in this county. I heard one say, ‘We have no trouble in getting our bills settled promptly in Cavalier...

  • Dakota Datebook: Herbert Wilson, Fort Berthold Doctor

    Merry Helm|Apr 15, 2019

    April 15, 2019 — Doctor Herbert Wilson was born in Bethel, Vt., on this date in 1921. Wilson was a physician at Fort Berthold for 43 years. Of his self-dedication, Dr. Wilson says he was a product of his times. His college education was interrupted by World War II, which turned his life in a new direction. “I was in the Air Force,” he says, “on B24s as navigator, gunner, etc. After my tour of duty, I married a WAAF and had five years of GI bill that could be paying for my education. I decided on medical school as the most noble thing I...

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