Dusting Off the Archives
News from Verndale's Past
75 Years Ago, October 18, 1945
•A Verndale 4-H girl, Jerry Mae Jacobs, won honors at the Junior Livestock Show at South St. Paul last week. Her Shropshire white lamb (Napoleon) placed fifth in a large class of medium weight lambs. Considering the competition at this show this was a very good placing. She is a member of the Verndale 4-H club and this is her first year with the sheep project.
•Sgt. Alfred Rach, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Rach, received his honorable discharge from the Army at Fort Lewis, Washington on September 14, 1945. Alfred has had considerable overseas service and was awarded the Purple Heart.
• L.E. Suddendorf purchased the building located between the harness shop and the telephone office recently from his sister, Mrs. Ida Davis. Mrs. Davis bought this building from Henry Seal with intentions of living there before deciding to move to Owatonna to live with her sister who was ill. Mr. Suddendorf has rented a room to Mrs. Laura Sigmund of Motley, who has already moved here.
40 Years Ago, October 16, 1980
•Judy Beaver, a former foreign exchange student who went to Turkey, will narrate and show slides of her life there as part of a Turkish family. Students will also be invited to participate in this portion of the program in addition to movies provided in the music room while parents attend to business.
•Sunday, October 12, was a memorable day for members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance congregation, many of whom witnessed the burning of the parsonage mortgage and the ordination of their pastor, Brian Harris. Board members who took part in the ceremony along with visiting church dignitaries were Leonard White, Don Dague, Roy Young, Rev. Melvin Hall, Clinton Fitzsimmons, William Jacobson, Rev. Leo Barreth, and Pastor Brian Harris.
•Footings were laid and the foundation poured last week for the new pump house to service the priority well. The completion date for construction for the project is November 15. However, since much of the equipment needed in the pumping station must be made special to meet individual requirements, the actual date for the operation of the new well isn’t expected until around the first of the year.
15 Years Ago, October 20, 2005
•A grand opening was held at R & M Verndale Grocery during the week of October 2-8. The Grand prize winner was Cedric Haugen, Verndale. His name was drawn for the RCA 20-inch color television. Congratulations to the following winners: $25 gift certificate—Sally Schaffhausen and Sandie Cottrell, Viking cooler—Marie Johnson and Jeff Hahn, Wonder Roast chicken—Susan Meier, Shirley Anderson, and Dan Schmitz, free new release movies—Scott Keskitalo, Phyllis Fisher and Shirley Rokes.
•Last week the Pirates played the Bears at Bertha-Hewitt and held them to a score of 31-8. The defense really held the line and the team worked well together. With only three penalties against the Pirates, many were impressed with the way the team played. Then the Pirates traveled to Hancock on Friday night and completely forgot how to play football. If there was room to make a mistake, an error was made. The penalty flags were flying and the crowd kept saying they couldn’t believe it was the same team. The Hancock Owls were proud to announce that this was the first win in 10 years against the Verndale Pirates.
•On a beautiful October afternoon, Jim and Vickie Thompson hosted their fourth annual backyard rodeo. The rodeo is not a classic or a typical one. The event promotes fun. There were minimal requirements for guests...bring a chair or a horse, a dish to share and relax.