History is important to me, as is the ability to express why. It’s quite easy to find a topic and herd some words together into an article, although sometimes too much can be said. A humorous observation made about Ernest Hemingway’s writing fits well: “In 1936, Ernest Hemingway caught a carp and decided not to write about it.” Some things are best ignored.
I started thinking about some of the stories I didn’t ignore. Take for instance professional athletes from the area such as the boxer Charley Retzlaff from Leonard who fought Joe Louis at the Chicago Stadium in 1936. Retzlaff’s record at that time was good - 77 pro fights with a 70% KO figure. Louis was an up-and-comer who wanted to fight him and as the song goes “with a crashin’ blow from a huge right hand” made short work of Charley, in one minute and twenty-five seconds to be exact. The ironical ending to the story showed a bruised and battered Charley walking home in a blizzard after the man giving him a ride needed to turn around because the road was blocked.
Two baseball figures rated attention - Cy Pieh and Lynn “Line Drive” Nelson. Nelson, a Sheldon native, born at Sheldon, became a Chicago Cubs pitcher who also could hit, having an overall batting average of .281. He also boxed as a middleweight and took pointers from Charley Retzlaff. The spitball throwing Cy Pieh from Enderlin signed with the Yankees in 1913 and is mostly remembered from a game in 1915 when he entered the 9th inning as a relief pitcher. His team faced the Boston Red Sox whose pitcher happened to be Babe Ruth. In the 3rd inning of that game Ruth hit the first of his 714 career home runs.
Many stories originated from the vicinity of the Missouri River where steamboats became a popular way of hauling passengers and freight. These steam powered boats required fuel, and woodhawks started cutting and stockpiling wood to sell to the passing steamers. Two men set up camp north of Bismarck with the intent cutting cords of wood for boats arriving after the spring ice breakup.
They built a hut and furnished their meager pantry with supplies. Deep snow fell and blocked them in, the roof leaked and dripped on their pantry goods and soaked their gunpowder. With no way to get out and hunt, they became very hungry. One day a mouse ran across their crude table where one man’s quick hand grabbed it. “Are you going to eat that mouse?” his partner asked. No, he baited a hook and caught a catfish with it.
Prohibition prompted a few articles. There were a lot of thirsty citizens during prohibition periods, a condition solved in different ways. Open sales in Moorhead facilitated shipments into the state, either openly or hidden. My great-grandfather cooked his own, but after receiving a tip that the sheriff planned to come checking, hid the still in the cupola of his barn.
The Garrison Dam and the growing reservoir displaced people and destroyed farmland. We’ve never forgotten the time we sat down with a rancher who helped drive his family’s herd of cattle from the targeted area to a new location between Raleigh, ND and McIntosh, SD. They settled on the historic Wade Ranch after a ten-day trail drive.
I might never find another story that tops that of Dan Panko, otherwise known as “Rattlesnake Dan.” Unable to get his fellow legislators talked into passing a bounty on rattlesnakes, he ventured into the wild to find a den of them in dormancy, box them up, and dump them on the legislative floor. In the warmth of the chamber, their winter-stiffness softened and they began to writhe around. He got his bounty.
One of our giants of history showed signs of his humble roots. After the invasion of Normandy in World War II General Eisenhower moved his headquarters there. A grateful farmer lent him a milkcow whereupon his mess sergeant tried unsuccessfully to get some milk from it. He didn’t know how, so Ike sat down and filled the bucket and said, “You city slickers have a lot to learn.”
I couldn’t help reminiscing this week. It’s been fun and educational finding these stories and writing them up. Don’t worry, there are more out there.
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