Dusting Off the Archives
News from Verndale's Past
75 Years Ago, August 23, 1945
•Sgt. Eugene Leonus Conrad, 25, of the United States Marine Corps who suffered a shrapnel wound in his back while in action at Okinawa on May 23, died from his wounds on the same day, according to a message just received by his father, Cleo L. Conrad. Previously, Mr. Conrad was in receipt of a message from Marine headquarters in Washington, D.C. in which he was notified his son had been wounded.
•Dr. A.F. Schuft had a new S.S. White “Master Unit” installed in his dental office this past week. This new unit is compact and has all the essential equipment that he needs to work with within his reach. This new addition to Dr. Schuft’s office, along with his x-ray equipment that he added some time ago, gave Verndale the most modern equipment in a dental office in the county.
•Miss Jerry Jacobs and Roland Anderson won a trip to the Junior Livestock Show this week with their 4-H exhibits at the fair. Jerry won her trip on her lamb and Roland won with his Leghorn and Wyandotte chickens. Roland also won first place with his Black Angus steer. Douglas Anderson of Thomastown, son of Mr. and Mrs. Albin Anderson, also won a trip with his Chester White pigs.
40 Years Ago, August 21, 1980
• Seventeen-year-old Christopher Hebestreit, whose name interpreted in English is Hebe (to raise or heave) and Streit (quarrel, conflict or dispute) in no way describes the mild mannered, soft-spoken exchange student who will be attending Verndale High School this year. Chris, who hails from Frankfurt, Germany, and his American brother, Devon Dougherty, are pictured looking through some old German religious books and a Bible dating back to 1900 and 1905 brought to this country by ancestors of Devon’s stepfather, Ernie Grewe.
• Smoke poured out of the top of a silo after the cap had apparently blown off last Thursday morning at the Dennis White farm about eight miles northeast of Verndale in Wing River Township. White had gone to the area to burn some twine when he saw flames consuming the fiberglass chute. The silo was filled with haylage from this year’s first cutting. Wadena firemen watered down the contents.
• Team members, Jaycees, fans and friends of baseball gathered one evening last week to take up sod from the perimeter of the outfield to use to cover the infield which had previously been raised and leveled off with several loads of dirt.
15 Years Ago, August 25, 2005
•The Honor Ride passed through Verndale on Saturday, August 20. Many people turned out to greet the riders and honor the soldiers and families of the Wadena National Guard, 1-194 AR. People rode or walked and several stops were scheduled along the route.
• The Icy Hot team pictured is a Verndale team that played co-rec softball league in Staples. Pictured are: Tara Erckenbrack, Megan Van Roekel, Jackie Kern, Sue Bergquist, Cari Ehrmantraut, Brad Erckenbrack, Jim Bergquist, Tim Seaton, Don Heldman, Duane Korfe. Not pictured: Chris Bounds, Jeremy Schwartz, Mike and Judi Carr and Kristine Booth. The team finished the season with a 9-6 record. The name came about as a joke with the age of most of the players needing a product like Icy Hot. The team would like to say thank you to their sponsors: G&L Service, Gary Bounds Drywall and Carr’s Convenience. The team enjoyed the season tremendously.
•Bill Ness, Verndale, showed the process of making a mountain dulcimer at the 2005 Wadena Rendezvous and Folklife Festival. He has enjoyed this unique hobby since 1986. He also does violin and guitar repair. Bill and his wife, Laurie, performed traditional gospel and American music throughout the weekend at the festival.