Looking Back
News from Bertha's and Hewitt's Pasts
25 Years Ago
July 22, 1998
During the early evening hours of July 14, lightning hit the bell tower of the Faith United Church of Christ in Bertha. Firefighters were in the fire hall communicating with weather spotters and responded to the fire very quickly. Church Member Mel Sagehorn rushed to the scene and unlocked the church doors so the firefighters did not have to break in. Reverend Orville Sauter said that other than a hole that firefighters had to cut in the bell tower roof to get to the fire, “thankfully there really was no major structural damage.”
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The Bertha-Hewitt Marching Band completed a great summer with weekend parades in Bertha and Litchfield. The B-H Band placed first in Class A competition in Litchfield. Waconia placed first in class AA and Lutheran Vanguard from Wisconsin won first honors in Class AAA. The win in the Litchfield parade capped a season of first-place finishes in Little Falls, Paynesville, Long Prairie, Wadena and Alexandria.
50 Years Ago
July 22, 1948
The election of Dr. Milo J. Peterson as chairman of the University of Minnesota Department of Agricultural Education has been announced. Peterson, an associate professor, will head the department which trains about 150 students a year for high school agriculture teaching positions. Dr. Peterson will be remembered by Bertha residents as having had charge of the agricultural department at the Bertha School for three years beginning in 1934.
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Otto Domian, a former Bertha resident, has accepted a position at the College of Education at the University of Minnesota. He will be a lecturer and associate director of surveys in the Department of Education Administration. Dr. Domian is leaving the St. Louis Park School District as superintendent.