Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Space Balls
by Tessa Sandstrom
May 20, 2019 —Two strange metal balls were found near Create in southeastern North Dakota. Both were similar, weighing about 20 lbs. with faded stripes, were very hot and were 15 inches in diameter. One, found by Corwin Brumond, had a hole 5 inches in diameter, and the other, found east of Oakes by Mike Michel, had a hole 6 inches in diameter. What were these strange things?
Today in 1971, the Oakes Times reported that they had fallen from the U.S. Experimental Satellite. It was later learned that two others had been found, one near Engevale and one near Litchville. According to Oakes native Irving Tedin, a space project manager in Huntsville, Ala., the mysterious balls came from the Agena spacecraft, a multi-purpose vehicle used as a docking vehicle in the Gemini program.
Cho Cho the Health Clown
by Tessa Sandstrom
May 21, 2019 — Today there are a growing number of trends and diets that are supposed to help Americans, especially children, get healthier. From avoiding carbs to eliminating trans fats, some people have tried everything. Or have they?
On this day in 1920, Bismarck was trying to promote health another way: with Cho Cho the Health Clown. For two performances each day for two days, Cho Cho would be at the Bismarck City Auditorium to “carry his message of health and good cheer.”
Cho Cho was sponsored by the Women’s Club, the County Home Demonstration Department and other organizations.
According to Elsie Stark, a Home Demonstration agent, “It is a fact that 15 percent of our children are suffering from malnutrition not so much from eating too little as from eating and drinking the wrong kind of foods. To remedy this, we must have the co-operation of both parents and child and they must be eager to make the necessary gain. Cho Cho, the health clown, and a pair of scales on which each child can be weighed once a month will go a long way toward bringing the desired result.”
Cho Cho was hired by the by the child health organization to promote health and its elementary rules:
1. A full bath oftener than once a week.
2. Brushing the teeth at least once every day.
3. Sleeping long hours with windows open.
4. Drinking as much milk as possible, but with no tea or coffee.
5. Eating some vegetables or fruit every day.
6. Drinking at least four glasses of water every day.
7. Playing part of every day out of doors.
8. A bowel movement every morning.
According to the Bismarck Tribune, very few methods have been successful in addressing child malnutrition, and it was thought that “Cho Cho … seems the happy solution of the difficulty, and Cho Cho and a pair of scales, on which each child can be weighed once a month, is a combination that will go a very long way toward bringing about the desired results … It supplies the child with an incentive to better his condition. It is building up the next generation of citizens by giving these children pills of wisdom and good advise concealed in a sugar coating of jest and merriment administered by the universal favorite of all children a real, sure ‘nough circus clown.”
Too Much Sunshine
by Merry Helm
May 22, 2019 — Back in 1909, Dr. S. Carlsen of Spring Grove, MN, wrote a paper titled, The Climate’s Influence on Emigrants From Northern Europe and Especially Norwegians in America. Dr. Carlsen felt that Norwegians were settling so far north in America – even into Canada – because those who settled as far south as southern Minnesota were “degenerating.” As proof of this, he pointed out the large number of Norsemen in the insane asylums at that time.
Carlsen felt that this degeneration was caused by our climate. To back up his theory, he quoted an Irish physician’s statements that northern Europeans couldn’t tolerate the climate in America, because there was too much sunshine. As further evidence, Carlsen argued that Norwegian second and third generations weren’t as strong or as healthy as their pioneer parents as evidenced by their weak physique and poor teeth. It was just too much sun.
“Dakota Datebook” is a radio series from Prairie Public in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota and with funding from the North Dakota Humanities Council. See all the Dakota Datebooks at prairiepublic.org, or subscribe to the “Dakota Datebook” podcast.
