Dusting Off The Archives
News from Verndale's Past
75 Years Ago, May 17, 1945
• School closed May 11 with a very well attended picnic at the school house Thursday. Twelve children received certificates of award for perfect attendance for five periods out of six. They were: LaVonne, Claudette, Wayne and Willis Bounds; Margaret Kern, Madge, Robert and Flossie Morton; Geraldine and Lovina Nelson, Harriet Turner and Lou Etta Olson.
• Clint (Jack) Sowder completed a transaction last week for the purchase of the First Crow Wing Lake Resort property from Fred Hendrikson. The property consists of three cottages and 90 acres of land. Mr. Sowder has resigned from his work at the Waterhouse Implement Co., effective May 30, and will undoubtedly spend the balance of the summer working at his resort.
• Due to the fact that it was impossible to secure the speaker for commencement exercises on May 31, Superintendent Peterson has changed the date to Friday, June 1 at 8 p.m. Baccalaureate services for the 1945 Verndale High school graduating class will be held Sunday evening, May 27 at 8 p.m., in the high school auditorium. Rev. Forrest Sharkey of Staples will be the speaker.
40 Years Ago, May 15, 1980
• Sam, a police-trained dog belonging to Cedric Haugen, Verndale Police Department patrolman, and member of the K-9 Corps, was called to assist members of the Wadena Police Department in apprehending two suspects who had fled into a wooded area last Wednesday morning. Patrolman Vry Etter of the Wadena Police Department responded to a call advising them that two subjects were observed tampering with a pick-up truck. They were observed leaving the scene and entering the wooded area. When it was determined they were still in that area, Sam and Cedric were called to assist in locating the suspects. Police took the two adult males from Osakis into custody and also found a toolbox alleged to have been taken from another truck in Wadena.
• Heavy equipment has been brought in by Bob Reul who is constructing a mobile home park in the northeast corner of Verndale. Special permission was obtained to move the equipment in so that the first mobile home parking pads may be completed before the end of the month.
• Congratulating Beverly McCormick, this year’s OLE Award winer from the Verndale School, are last year’s Verndale Teacher of the Year Martha Vang and this year’s honoree Hazel Vasecka, all of whom attended the MEA Teacher of the Year recognition banquet at Little Falls last Wednesday evening. Beverly was one of 12 Outstanding Laypersons in Education present from this area to be honored.
15 Years Ago, May 19, 2005
• The Lady Raiders competed in Hawley against some quality runners. The Raiders came home with a first place medal when Molly Moenkedick ran the 800 in 2:31. Moenkedick improved her 1600 time running a 5:33 and finished third. In the 400, Katie Sero placed fifth with her best time on the open 400 running 1:05. The team ran a good race in the 4 x 400. They dropped their time to 4:27 for their best time of the year. Katie Sero, Demi Stokes, Sarah Banjai and Molly Moenkedick placed fourth.
• Mike Stanek is home on a 15-day leave from Iraq. He is with the Wadena unit that was deployed in October and has been in Iraq since January. He came to school on May 10 to share his experience with grades 4, 5 and 6 as a gunner in his unit which means he is “top” man in his Humvee. He sent a flag to Mrs. Carr’s sixth grade class by request of Trent Carr. When Trent was home on leave in February the flag was hung in Mrs. Carr’s room.
• Verndale Kid’s Care and Mrs. Johnson’s sixth grade reading class have become Reading Buddies. The sixth graders read to the preschoolers every other week. Through an Otter Tail-Wadena Community Action Council headstart youth mentor grant, Kid’s Care presented the sixth grade with $100 towards their class trip. The preschool children received a book.