World War I Heroes

By TESSA

SANDSTROM

July 19 — North Dakota’s history is filled with stories of brave soldiers and warriors. Throughout the spring and early summer of 1918, state newspapers were reporting stories of yet another — Charlie Rogers.

Rogers was a Sioux man from the Standing Rock Reservation. He entered into duty and served first in the 1st N.D. Regiment, then in the 18th U.S. Infantry. It did not take long for this soldier to prove his bravery. “War whooping Indian chases 20 Germans” reported a headline in the New Rockford Transcript on this day in 1918. “Indian goes over the top,” read another in the Sioux County Pioneer on June 27, 1918.

Although the stories were printed a few weeks apart, both stories came from the same source. Sergeant E.H. Tostevin, formerly of Mandan, wrote the North Dakota newspapers about Rogers’ bravery in a battle. The letter, dated May 20, 1918, read: “Rogers leaped over the parapet swinging his old rifle over his head. He let out a yell that he had saved for years…The Germans were pretty close before we mixed. Rogers, of course, had his gun loaded with five rounds, and his bayonet fixed. After swinging his gun around his head a couple of times, he brought it down to his shoulders and emptied his shells at the enemy, swung it again, yelled and jabbed and used the butt of his gun to smash the skull of another.”

Tostevin and U.S. and German soldiers looked on as Roger’s fought his way through the oncoming enemies, whose actions seemed to be no match for the young Sioux. “Rogers’ actions terrorized the Huns, and they beat it for their lives,” wrote Tostevin. “I never saw a man move so fast in my life and I guess the Germans hadn’t either.”

Rogers later became a sniper for the U.S. Army, no doubt terrorizing his enemies with stealth and a sharp shot.

Around the same time, the newspapers were reporting the brave actions of another young man, Joe Young Hawk, an Arikara man from Elbowoods. In a battle at the Soissons front, Young Hawk was captured by five Germans. According to the papers, these five Germans were no match for him. He killed three of his captors with his bare hands by breaking their backs over his knees. Young Hawk was shot through both legs in this bout, but was still able to capture his other two captors and take them back to U.S. lines. Major Welch of his division said this of Young Hawk: “I am terribly proud of him. He ought to have a medal, for really it took all kinds of nerve.”

Young Hawk did receive that medal on his return back to the United States, but his bravery was not without consequence. Upon his return, Young Hawk began receiving treatment on his legs. He had three operations and each time, more of one leg was amputated. He also suffered injuries from being gassed.

On June 23, 1923, Joe Young Hawk died from the wounds he suffered during his brave escape and capture of his captors.

Charlie Korsmo, Actor

By CATHY A.

LANGEMO

July 20 — Charles Randolph Korsmo was born in Fargo on this date in 1978 to John Korsmo and Deborah Ruf. After his parents divorced in 1989, “Charlie” was raised in Minneapolis by his mother.

A bright child, Korsmo was reading on a high-school level at age four and studying college-level math by age eight. After a trip to Universal Studios in California, he wanted to try acting. A dislike for school was partly the driving force that propelled him into show business, but he apparently also had the talent for acting.

After auditioning for local TV commercials, Korsmo was spotted by the casting director for “Men Don’t Leave” and earned a role in that movie. He went on to enjoy a few years in film, acting in comedies and dramas from 1989-1991. In addition to “Men Don’t Leave,” he found roles in “Dick Tracy” and “Heat Wave” in 1990 and “What About Bob?” in 1991. He was also in “Hook” and “The Doctor” that year.

Korsmo was nominated for his work in “Dick Tracy,” winning the Young Artist Awards’ Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture and the Saturn Award for “Dick Tracy.” He was also nominated by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films\as Best Performance by a Younger Actor in “Dick Tracy.”

He won the Young Artist Awards’ Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture and was also nominated as Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Motion Picture for his role in “Hook.”

After hosting a 1992 segment of the PBS documentary “The Creative Spirit,” Korsmo retired from the film world. He decided to resume a “normal life.” In 1996, he was attending and excelling academically at Breck, a Minneapolis prep school, while occasionally participating in class plays.

After a seven-year hiatus from film, he made a brief 1998 return in “Can’t Hardly Wait,” playing none other than a science-loving nerd.

Korsmo graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 2000 and, in 2001, accepted a job with the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. He also worked on a missile defense project and assisted the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Korsmo soon went back to college and earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Yale Law School in 2006. In the courtroom, he will be able to make use of the acting talents he learned while on the movie set.

ND Children’s Home

By JAYME JOB

July 21 — The North Dakota Children’s Home received its 500th child on this day in 1903. The organization was founded in response to the large number of children needing additional care in the state.

Superintendent Hall reported the hallmark to the Fargo Forum saying, “Today marks an era in he history of the work of this society in North Dakota, as I entered the five hundredth child on our register this morning.”

The Children’s Home accepted any children of the state for any amount of time, so long as room allowed. American, Canadian, English, Irish, Scottish, French, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German and Polish children formed their ranks, and the 500th child happened to be a recent immigrant from Lapland. The boy’s father, a victim of the Lapland famine, asked the home to care for his sons for a few months while he attempted to get settled in.

Wahpeton’s First Settler

By MERRY HELM

July 22 — Morgan T. Rich established the first settlement at Wahpeton on this date in 1869. This was not Rich’s first visit to the area. Earlier, in 1864, he had passed through the area on a trek from Fort Ridgeley in Minnesota, to what is now Helena, Montana. Gen. Sully and 4,000 cavalry and mounted infantry were the escorts on this earlier visit.

Rich remained in Montana until 1868. After a brief return to his home in Red Wing, Minnesota, he again headed for the Red River Valley in 1869. The St. Paul Pacific Railroad was by now reaching as far as Wright County in Minnesota, and looked to push further west toward the Red River Valley.

It was a lonely first few years for Rich at his new location in Wahpeton. In fact, he remained relatively alone. On those occasions when an immigrant would be passing through, he was more than happy to entertain. Word had it, that Rich’s garden was a model, and that in a very small way, he was a successful farmer.

Eventually, Rich’s enterprises expanded. With a charter from the commissioners way up in Pembina County, he was instrumental in providing wanderers a safe passage across the Boise des Sioux River. This early crossing area became known as Richville. Early records also called the area Chahinkapa, meaning “end of the woods.” This name, however, never came into general use.

Rich’s original plat of land became what is now Wahpeton. By then, other settlers had joined in to make improvements and start farming operations.

Interestingly, Valley City, in Barnes County, was originally called Wahpeton. However, before a post office could be established there, Richville changed its name to Wahpeton after the name of the Indian tribe from the area.

Richland County was eventually organized in 1878 as part of the Dakota Territory. And you guessed it folks, the county was named after its original settler, Morgan T. Rich.

“Dakota Datebook” is a radio series from Prairie Public in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota and with funding from Humanities North Dakota.