11/18/2009: In the study of North Dakota's history, we are often confronted by the deeds and actions of the ‘great men' of the state's past; the grit of Theodore Roosevelt, the headstrong courage of George Armstrong Custer, the acrimonious governorships of William Langer or the fatalistic determination of Sitting Bull. Certainly, North Dakota history would have been much less colorful without Roosevelt, Custer, Sitting Bull or Langer, but the nature of the state would have remained the same. A handful of men, no matter how famous, did not create the customs and heritage of North Dakota. No, it was the ordinary people history is more apt to forget; those whose hard work and determination built the North Dakota we know today.