Column - 1958: JHS band honored as 'Band of the Week'

Talk about it

The following is a collection of stories and other items that were included in Alexandria newspapers over the years.

100 YEARS AGO

October 1908

Several hundred people gathered at the Great Northern Depot for a glimpse of President Taft from the platform of his campaign train. Because Senator Nelson took up most of the time allotted for the stop, the president spoke for only a few minutes before the entourage left the station… About 100 folks from Glenwood, including two bands, arrived at the depot minutes before the train’s departure. An accident in Forada involving their train and a team of horses owned by Henry Dau caused their delay… Jalmer Townsend and Arthur Brundage tied their team in a church shed before the recent storm. The shed was blown away and the team, which also was missing, was later found hung up on a wire fence.

50 YEARS AGO

October 1958

Following two days of test patterns, viewers finally get to see the real picture! KCMT-TV went on the air on Wednesday, just in time for the sixth game of the World Series… Erling Rolfsrud’s 10th book, Family on Maple Street, rolled off the press this week… Several hundred people attended the dedication and open house of the new $200,000 Knute Nelson Memorial Home for the Aged. Ex-governor J.A.O. Preus eulogized Knute Nelson as “the smartest politician Minnesota has ever had”… The Alexandria High School Band is honored this week as the Band of the Week on WCCO’s Prep Parade… A two-door, five-passenger station wagon has been added to the 1959 Rambler American line and can be seen at Geske Nash Sales this week.

25 YEARS AGO

October 1983

Citing concerns that good teachers are leaving their professions because they are underpaid, District 206’s teachers are asking for a two-year increase of 47 percent and benefits… The newly organized Chapter El, P.E.O is the 136th chapter in Minnesota, and has elected Jan Lervick as its president… Ed Norlund has transferred ownership of Douglas County Ambulance Service to employee Pauline Eilers…A group of Alexandrians has been awarded a permit to begin construction on a new 3,000-watt FM radio station, with the license granted to Dick Aga, Kurt Kolstad and Don Erickson… Dick Haugen, manager of Arrowwood for seven years, is the recipient of the Radisson Corporation’s “Manager of the Year” Award… Dennis Demulling competed in the Mr. North Country Body Building Competition in Bloomington. The contest was the culmination of several years of rigorous training with local trainer Tom Ulsager.

10 YEARS AGO

October 1998

The Echo Press has been awarded first place in the National Newspaper’s Better Newspaper 1998 contest for Best Newspaper Website. The website contains about 90 percent of the content that can be found in the printed paper… The Federal Reserve Bank issued its crisp new $20 bills last week. The most obvious change is the off-center portrait… Alexandria police were called out to help “round up” a pregnant cow that broke loose from the Soderholm Livestock farm. It took a second squad of police and a veterinarian with a tranquilizer gun and some ingenuity to finally get it corralled.

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Marge Van Gorp of Alexandria is a regular contributing columnist to the Echo Press Opinion page.

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