Dakota Datebook: Freida Bohnsack, rancher

April 10 is the birthday of rancher Freida Bohnsack. She came home to Sheldon in 1935, during the Great Depression, to take over a large, rundown – and heavily mortgaged – ranch that she inherited from her father.

Freida was smart and ambitious, with a master's degree from the University of Minnesota. Soon, she was repairing buildings, mending fences, stacking hay and doctoring livestock. Starting...