Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
First Two Senators
by Merry Helm
Nov. 21, 2018 — On this date in 1889, the N. D. State Legislature elected Gilbert Pierce and Lyman Casey as North Dakota’s first U.S. Senators. The McKenzie political gang was in power on one side, and on the other was the Farmer’s Alliance, whose slogan was “The Farmers Must Rule North Dakota.”
Pierce was the choice of the Northern Pacific Railroad and had been popular when he earlier served as territorial governor; his selection met with little opposition. Casey, a Carrington rancher, was a bit different. McKenzie considered him a compromise when he failed to get his friend, Nehemiah Ordway, elected. Although Casey was actually a member of the Farmers’ Alliance, the Grand Forks Herald wrote that he was a part of the “old gang element.”
Thanksgiving, 1945
by Jim Davis
Nov. 22, 2018 — The uncertainties of war make holidays difficult to celebrate and in the war years of 1942 to 1944, Thanksgiving on the home front harbored mixed feelings.
In a world torn by conflict, North Dakotans enjoyed relative peace, secure in the comfort of their homes, far from the horrors of the battlefields of Europe and the jungles of the Pacific. Unlike millions around the world, they enjoyed the blessings of freedom, but the spirit of the holidays was damped by the empty chairs around the table.
Although the rationing of sugar, meat and other foodstuffs limited the holiday fare, the tables were far from bare. Even so, many families postponed their celebrations, waiting for better years and the return of those from far away. Many others forestalled the contrast to more joyous times by departing from old traditions, skipping the turkey and trimmings, and minimizing the festivities. There were fewer family reunions, and the hotels and cafes were filled with people seeking to have their meals away from home.
By Thanksgiving 1945, the war had ended and the men and women were returning to their homes, which on this day created an unusual problem for the Doran sisters from Grand Forks. Home construction had all but halted during the war and the shift of the population from the farms to the urban areas due to the demands of war production left a huge housing shortage, which became apparent for this North Dakota family.
Because of the housing shortage, sisters Jo Bach, Mary Davies and Kay Kennelly combined their households as each successive husband left for the army. Jo’s husband left first, and Mary and her two children moved in when Mary’s husband was called up. Shortly after, Kay’s husband also sailed overseas. With the addition of Kay and her son, there were six family members in a small apartment.
On Thanksgiving Day, Capt. Kennelly returned, joyously reunited with his family, but an apartment filled with three women and three children was probably not what he had envisioned coming home to and, they wondered, what was going to happen when the other two husbands returned home? Eventually the post-war boom would resolve the housing problems and many more Thanksgivings would be celebrated.
In 1945 the war was over, America had survived another test and there was much to be thankful for.
Turkey Show
by Merry Helm
Nov. 23, 2018 — On this weekend in 1937, Towner held its fifth annual turkey show. Exhibitors from Velva, Drake, Granville, Denbigh, Bantry, Upham, Balfour, Eckman and Towner contributed to the largest entry of live birds in the show’s history.
The Mouse River Farmers Press reported, “Two kinds of turkey (were) served at the turkey banquet. Gobble turkey for many, and turkey of the sea for the others. The submarine variety didn’t seem to please. A few red faces. The Minot crowd (was) down again to see how a good turkey show is run. Among them Roy Aney with his usual flow of wit and fat man joviality. Cranberries were a part of the trimmings, but Roy served the raspberries."
“Dakota Datebook” is a radio series from Prairie Public in partnership with the State Historical Society of N.D. and with funding from the N. D. Humanities Council. See all the Dakota Datebooks at prairiepublic.org, or subscribe to the “Dakota Datebook” podcast.
