Dusting off the Archives
News from Verndale's Past
75 Years Ago, March 25, 1948
• Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Stinar of Wadena completed a deal last week for the purchase of the Verndale Hotel from Walter Hanson. Mr. and Mrs. Stinar have been busy, since buying the place, cleaning and repainting the interior of the hotel to get it in the best possible condition before opening. Just when the place will re-open for business, the Stinars do not know at this time but will make a public announcement through the columns of the Sun when they are ready.
• Lester J. Marquardt began work this week leveling off lots where his former blacksmith shop was located in preparation for the erection of a new 24x36 building this spring. It will be remembered that Mr. Marquardt’s blacksmith shop burned along with the Waterhouse Garage on December 2, 1946.
• Construction of the Wadena radio station is nearly finished and it is now going through its test programs. Elaborate plans for the official opening of the radio station are being made by the station management. KWAD will broadcast on the 920 kilocycle frequency and will have 1000 watts of power. It is expected the station will be on the air in the early part of April.
• A special meeting of the village council was held last Friday evening for the purpose of opening bids for a city well water system, a contract was let to the Layne-Minnesota Co. of Minneapolis. The contract for the well that the bid calls for is a gravel-packed well 30 inches in diameter and the best that can be built. The cost of the well will be between four and five thousand, depending on how deep the contractors must go to find an ample supply of water.
40 Years Ago, March 31, 1983
• Three out of Verndale’s five entries in the State PTA/PTSA Cultural Arts received recognition. Matt LeFebvre’s art entry and Ken Waisanen’s musical entry placed first and have already been forwarded to the National Contest in Chicago. Both are seniors. Jessica Yule, a first-grader, placed second in the art division. All three, with their parents, have been invited to attend the State Convention on April 16 to receive plaques and recognition for their entries.
• On Thursday, March 31, Dick Braun, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and State Senator Don Anderson (IR-Wadena) will fly from the capitol to Wadena to attend a meeting relating to Highway 10. The meeting will be held at the Four Seasons Restaurant, beginning with dinner. Dale Carr and Fred Miller will represent the Verndale City Council. Anyone interested in attending the dinner must make reservations with the Wadena Chamber of Commerce.
• Dr. James Schuft of Verndale was one of the 91 passengers and five crew members who narrowly escaped injury when the landing gear of a Frontier 737 apparently failed on landing at the Casper, WY airport on Wednesday, March 23. The plane, scheduled to land at 9:50 a.m., skidded 3700 feet down the runway, stopping 5000 feet from the runway’s end. Both engines ignited when the plane came to rest and passengers had to be evacuated from the plane by emergency shuttles while crash crews doused the flaming engines with chemical foam.
• Devon Dougherty, a 1982 Verndale High School graduate, has presented an acrylic painting of the Verndale School in the early 1900s, which he recently completed as an art project at Bemidji State College, to the historical society for display in the museum. Devon, interested in the history of Verndale, has been very helpful in researching material for the history book which is scheduled to be published this summer.
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