Dusting off the Archives

News from Verndale's past

40 Years Ago, August 28, 1985

• The audience sat entranced as Ken Waisanen performed classical numbers from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin to ragtime by Ubbe Blake for friends of the family and neighbors a week ago Sunday evening. Some of the numbers were a sneak preview from the recital he will be giving when he returns to St. Olaf. College in a few weeks. A neighbor, Mike Tarrell, sat fascinated as he held a ring-side seat at the performance held in the Waisanen home. Ken’s piano and instrumental teacher, Ted Masog, accompanied Ken on the French horn as a finale, playing a hymn at the request of his mother Doris, at which all were invited to join in singing. Over 70 attended the recital, entirely memorized by Ken.

• Bryan Jacobson and Chris Schill, co-captains, are among the six seniors who will be forming the nucleus of this year’s football team. This will be the first year of nine-man football for Verndale because of declining enrollment. The new Heartland Six League consists of schools from Rothsay, Backus, Akeley, Pillager, Nevis, Motley and Hill City. Other seniors are Chris Youngbauer, Dan Carlson, Roger Denny and Terry Ackerman.

• Pausing during practice were the five returning lettered players on the Pirates volleyball team: Sophomore Jan Edin: Juniors Kim Trosen, Jennifer Ninneman and Cindy Crowe and Senior Peggy Hokanson. The team has two new coaches this year, Lyle Haraldson and Sharon Haberman.

• Doors at the school will be open again on Tuesday, September 3 for the beginning of the 1985-86 school year. Enrollment in K-12 grades is expected to hold steady. Last year it was 442, an increase of about 20 over the previous year. Last year’s ending enrollment was at 445. The bell will ring summoning students to class at 8:30 a.m. each day and students will be dismissed at 3:20 each afternoon. A number of structural changes have occurred in classrooms to accommodate the splitting of the larger elementary classes.

15 Years Ago, August 26, 2010

• Kelsie Trosen, 20, of Verndale will represent Wadena County’s dairy industry in competition for a sought after position next week. Daughter of Allen and Karen Trosen, she is among 12 finalists to compete for the title of the 57th Princess Kay of the Milky Way. The new Princess Kay will be crowned on August 25 at the State Fair Band Shell, the night before the state fair begins.

• John Schmitz of Hewitt needs a lifesaving liver transplant, but the costs are overwhelming. Friends and Family are planning a garage sale on Saturday, August 28 to help with the expenses. Schmitz, 36, was diagnosed with hepatitis 20 years ago, and doctors believe he contracted it from working with cattle on his family’s farm without wearing gloves. The hepatitis led to many other health problems, including a diagnosis of colitis two years later. In May, he learned he now suffers from cirrhosis and primary sclerosing colitis which causes inflammation and scarring of the liver’s bile ducts. Doctors say a liver transplant is essential to his survival. A liver transplant costs approximately $500,000. Even with their healthcare coverage, Schmitz faces significant medical expenses.

• The England Prairie Pioneer Club has about 150 members from central Minnesota and some from North Dakota. The club was founded in 1979 with the idea from three farm families to start a club to preserve and restore old machinery that was found in the area. It would give youngsters an idea of the hard work their forefathers did and give them a chance to relive the past. The first celebration was in 1980 on a private farm. The club purchased land from Chester and Hazel Cain in 1981 and was able to host the England Prairie Pioneer Days near the border of Wadena County. This year the club will feature Case tractors. The buttons this year are special too. They are honoring long-time member Phyllis Hassa. She is the pancake lady.

• National Banknotes began in 1863 as a temporary remedy to the extreme economic conditions caused by the civil war, according to Rhonda Underwood who works for Lyn Knight, a National Banknote and U.S. Currency expert with 44 years in the numismatics field which is the study or collection of currency. This temporary solution lasted until 1929 for large size notes, such as the Verndale note, and 1935 for small size notes. A National Banknote was a promise to pay the bearer in demand the amount stated on the face of the note. Today, only the Federal Reserve Banks are authorized to issue banknotes.

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