Dusting Off the Archives
- 18 minutes ago
- 3 min read
News from Verndale's Past
40 Years Ago, April 23, 1986
• Receiving trophies for having the fastest cars on the track at the annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby held recently in the school cafeteria were Wayne Koons and Craig Madsen. All boys competing in the derby built their own cars from a block of balsa wood which was presented to them in a kit at the annual Blue and Gold birthday banquet held in February. The cars cannot weigh more than five ounces or be more than seven inches in length. Judges were Lyle Schmidt and Dave Trosen.
• The St. Olaf Choir of Northfield will open a year-long celebration of its 75th anniversary with a tour of the Orient in May and June. Among the choir members is Ken Waisanen, a junior from Verndale who is majoring in music and mathematics. They will depart from Minneapolis on May 26 and return June 23 performing in Japan, Taiwan, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Hawaii.
• Liz Cecich, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Runyan of Route 1, Verndale, just finished the 1985-86 Bemidji State University basketball season with a 25-4 record. Liz was the assistant coach this year and was one game away from the national tournament. The team broke eight team records this year, including most wins in the season.
• Three members of the Miti-Quab archery league competed at state this year in Mankato. In the keenest competition at the match—the men’s freestyle–Dave Folkestad placed first with a score of 300 with 47 x’s; Judy Schultz of Verndale placed second in the women’s freestyle with a score of 285 competing against 11 other contestants, and Dave Olson, who entered for the first time this year, didn’t place.
15 Years Ago, April 14, 2011
• Blogger, musician and author are just a few of the many words that describe 1998 Verndale High School graduate and Verndale resident Christopher Schmitz. Agony of Apathy, which is a unique name in itself, is a band that Schmitz started along with his wife Kelly. While living in Wisconsin, Schmitz and his wife were a part of their church’s worship team. They did a few performances with them before they moved to North Dakota. In 2008, they decided to start their own Christian music group. In September of 2010, they moved back to the Verndale area and they found another drummer, Nick Denel from Staples, and started playing again.
• The Verndale girls basketball team recently held its end of the season awards banquet. Most Improved: Jordy Schluttner; Offensive Payer of the Year, Teresa Moenkedick; Defensive Player of the Year, Elizabeth Johnson; Long Range Bomber (most three pointers made), Lizzy Youngbauer; Leading Rebounder, Jordy Schluttner; Highest Field Goal and Free Throw Percentage, Teresa Moenkedick.
• Superior rated duets were sung by Ariana Sandberg and Abby Marinson, Dustin Motchenbacher and Ariana Sandberg, and Halbert and Hannah Barrett. Receiving an Excellent rating for their trio performance was Katlin Bounds, Emily Kruger and Jennifer Swenson. Receiving a Superior rating for their solos were: Hannah Barrett, Miranda Miller, Seo Yeon Lee, Meghan Sly, Sienna Sandberg, Dustin Matschenbacher, Halbert Barrett and Charles Westerberg. Kasey Heinzen also received an Excellent.
• Chung Evelyth is generously donating $200 to the “Dollars for Scholars” program for the second year in a row. It will be used as a scholarship for Verndale seniors who are planning to further their education. Born and raised in Korea, Chung was unable to attend a university as she wanted, so with this donation she wants to help area students with their future education plans.
