Dusting Off the Archives

News from Verndale's Past

40 Years Ago, July 16, 1986

• Lynette Hahn, Miss Verndale, showed the dress she’ll be wearing for the judging and coronation ceremony for the Queen of the Lakes Pageant held during Minneapolis’ Aquatennial next week. Lynn will be leaving early Saturday for the week-long schedule of events. She will be riding Verndale’s float in both the daytime parade on Saturday morning and the Torchlight Parade on Wednesday night.

• The first citywide rummage sale held Thursday, July 10, brought many exhibitors and bargain-hunters to town. There were 21 units set up in McNair Park while 24 set up displays at their homes. Dark skies threatened to cancel the event, but showers held off until after 1 p.m. Everyone expressed the desire for a repeat performance.

• The weekend of July 6 was a big one for those associated with Hope Chapel Alliance Church north of Verndale. It was homecoming for all past members of the congregation while observing its 60th anniversary. Both morning and afternoon services filled the church to capacity and during the interim, they enjoyed a bountiful dinner and reestablishing friendships of years gone by. Even Elsie Hess of the Staples Mary Rondorf Home, the only remaining charter member, was able to be present.

• Closely examining the handiwork of one of the many quilts on display at the Walsanen Heritage House on Sunday were Becky Stave, Ruth Jensen, a master quilt maker; and Ollie Lepper. The one they are looking at in the photo is called a Single Irish Chain. It was stitched by Luella Young in 1910. She was the great-grandmother of MaryLu McClure.

15 Years Ago, July 21, 2011

• Court reporting is not a very well known job, but it is extremely important for court cases. Current court reporter for Judge J. Carlson, in the Wadena County and Todd County courthouses, is Alexandria resident Mary Krawiecki. Having many years of experience, she was more than happy to explain not only her job, but court reporting in general. Court reporters are appointed by a judge and their main purpose is to create a verbatim, word for word, record of court cases.

• The Sorehead leading out the Strawhat and Sunbonnet Days parade has been an annual tradition in Verndale, and this year is no different. Voting is taking place right now for Sorehead 2011. This year’s candidates include: Jim Runyan, Mark Callahan and Cindy Schmitz.

• The Little Lady Pirates softball season came to an end on Tuesday as they took first place in their final tournament. The Pirates defeated the hometown Henning Hornets in the first game by a score of 10-7 and then went on to win over Parkers Prairie 16-6. The Pirates ended their day as they clobbered Deer Creek 17-0 to win the tournament. The Little Lady Pirates ended their season with an impressive 14-2 record.

• The Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale Legion baseball team opened sub-district tournament play last week with a pair of impressive victories. Park Rapids was the opening round opponent and the Raiders handed them a 9-1 defeat. Round two pitted the Raiders against Wadena with the Raiders putting on quite a display of offensive power in an 11-0 victory.

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