Dusting Off the Archives
News from Verndale's Past
75 Years Ago, June 14, 1945
• Loyal Anderson, GM 2c, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse M. Anderson of Verndale, was able to return home on leave two weeks ago unscathed from over two years aboard a ship in the fighting zones of the Pacific. Early Sunday morning he got banged up by a car on the main street of Deer Creek. Loyal was at Deer Creek visiting a cousin, Leslie Anderson. About one o’clock Monday morning when they were getting ready to come home, Loyal was walking around his car from the right side to get behind the wheel when he was hit by a car reported to be driven by a New York Mills party. The car didn’t stop, but the car or driver was recognized by someone and they were later located by officers. Loyal suffered a bad knee and ankle injury and was treated at the Wesley Hospital.
• The Milford Dague family suffered a heavy fire loss Sunday night when their farm home on the Clark Hasting’s farm at the southwest edge of town burned to the ground. Mrs. Fobes, mother of Mrs. Dague, was the only one home at the time. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Broker, their nearby neighbors to the east, first saw the fire about eleven o’clock and arrived in time to help Mrs. Fobes get out of the house. The Verndale Fire Department was called out, but the fire was too far advanced to get it under control. The origin of the fire is not known.
• Thursday, June 14 ( Flag Day) is Minnesota E Day. Every bond bought by individuals from June 14 to the end of the Seventh War Loan will count toward a great squadron of special B-29s for use over Japan with Minnesota’s compliments.
40 Years Ago, June 12, 1980
• Wearing and displaying the uniform he will wear this next month, is Joey Pilgrim of Verndale, who is shown packing Saturday for his month-long trip to Europe. He left Sunday for Minneapolis, spent the night with his brother, Tony and family, then enplaned with twelve other Minnesotans for Chicago. From there they went to River Forest, IL where they will be coached in Roman-Greco type wrestling for a week at Concordia College.
• A find of an unusual nature or not...that is the question? While rummaging though a rockpile in search of large flat ones to use in making a walkway, Devon Dougherty came across two black rocks that looked molten, leading him to believe they might have been part of a meteorite. Devon’s step-father Ernie Grewe said he has no recollection of when these were picked from his fields. Devon plans to send a chunk from one of these to the science museum for analysis. And if they are what he thinks, he plans to display one in our museum. The smaller one weighs just a fraction under nine pounds and the larger one nearly 25 pounds.
• The flagpole at McNair Park was bent last Wednesday noon when 50-60 mph winds from the southeast hit the area. The wind downed and uprooted trees and also whipped the roof off the largest portion of the bleachers at Anderson Park also causing two large holes to be punched in the concession stand while in flight. Electrical wires around town were also down.
15 Years Ago, June 16, 2005
• The legend of the Verndale Sorehead began twenty years ago with Bill Beven having the distinction of the first Sorehead in 1984. The voting for Sorehead that first year earned over 1700 votes, with 67 persons vying for the honor. There was a chainsaw statue sculpted which took a place of honor at “Sorehead Park” which was on the corner of Farwell and First Avenue at the time. Beven was a firefighter and was also involved in the community through service on the school board and the VFW. With Beven’s death in 1987, a second statue was commissioned. The Sorehead was a person who contributed to the community in whatever way possible. In 1987, it was established the Sorehead was representing the goodwill of Verndale.
• Philipp Scharff traveled to Blaine on Friday and dreamed of a Minnesota state title before his departure back to Germany. Finals for the triple jump started with Philipp in seventh place. He jumped 43’ 9.25”, landing himself in third place.
• Katie Johnson and Josh Harris from the Verndale High School qualified for induction into the 2004/2005 National Honor Roll.