Dusting off the Archives
News from Verndale's Past
75 Years Ago, March 4, 1948
• One of four Verndale school buses fell victim to the storm last Friday afternoon, causing some alarm for a time, or until it was learned the whereabouts of the bus driver and the safe delivery of all the boys and girls. It was about 2:10 p.m. when Bob Broker’s bus became stalled, and he summoned help from his brother Arnold and a team of horses, and also LeRoy Turner from that community. They all shoveled snow, etc., trying to get the bus on its way and finding these efforts with avail, hooked the team to the bus and pulled it to the John Cole farm where the eight school children were unloaded and picked up by Ole Holmen who delivered the children to their homes.
• The storm of last Friday and Saturday has made the appearance of horses in town quite common the past few days. Blocked roads and farmers wanting to get to town for groceries and their mail resulted in those having horses coming to town in sleds or cutters. Fred Borchers brought considerable attention from townfolks Tuesday with his fine team of blacks and a cutter. Fred also treated some of the adults and young folks of town to a ride with his outfit about town.
• Vince Bretz recently completed a deal for the purchase of the Al Jacobs residence, north of the Ted Weber residence across from the school, which he plans on moving to in April. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs plan on building a new residence.
40 Years Ago, March 10, 1983
• Over 100 district residents attended the public meeting held Monday evening so that board members could receive input regarding anticipated school budget cuts expected to reach another $100,000 to balance the budget. Board members are Dave Bessler, Rich Brown, Rodney Bounds, Theres Wutzke, Russel Birch and Chairman Bill Fisher.
• Winning blue ribbons in a junior high speech meet at Staples Monday evening, March 7, were Jennifer Ninneman and Cindy Crow. Jennifer’s offering was in Original Oratory while Cindy’s entry was in Prose. Other members of the team and their categories were: Cindy Olson-prose, Dena Davis, Kim Anderson and Wendy Heller-poetry, Aura Lee Unger-original oratory, Denice Anderson and Paula Schill-humorous. The coaches are Kimberly Falk and Roger Olson.
• Liz Runyan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Runyan of Verndale, has earned a letter for her participation with the Bemidji State University women’s basketball team during the 1982-83 season. Runyan played in 28 games for the Beavers. The senior forward scored 277 points to rank third in BSU scoring with a 9.9 average.
15 Years Ago, March 6, 2008
• The Verndale Theater and Drama Department is once again inviting you to attend this year’s spring production of “Don’t Try to Wake Him, Hand Me the Shovel” a comedy in two acts. With over 50 students involved this year, this program looks to be headed in the right direction and they cannot wait to showcase their talents to the entire community.
• The Minnesota State Patrol Troopers Association held an essay contest entitled, “Drugs and Alcohol, no good for me!” It was open to seventh graders throughout the state. Three winners were picked per State Patrol district. Teresa Moenkedick of Verndale was one of three winners in the Detroit Lakes district. Trooper Andy presented a check to Teresa in the amount of $150.
• The Verndale boys' basketball team finished up their regular season last week with two road games. The first game was on Monday night and ended with a loss to the Ashby Arrows. The final score was 92-37. The Pirates were led in scoring by Zack Meidinger with 22 points and Jay Runyan with 14, Brady Sideschlaw and Meidinger each grabbed six rebounds for the night.