Column – 1999: Bitzan named Careerist of the Year

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

February 1909

The federal government has allotted an additional $20,000 to the original money for the construction of the federal building on 7th and Main Street… The Douglas County Law and Order League is offering a $125 bounty for the conviction of any person selling liquor without a license… Born on March 5, 1881, now at the age of 28 the village of Alexandria will shed its swaddling clothes and become a city. It will adorn itself in the habits of full-grown manhood because it has grown into a municipality… Carl Anderson’s recent buying trip to the eastern markets enabled him to buy steel couches for 55 cents on the dollar. While supplies last, a folding steel couch is $3.30 and a steel davenport is $3.85.

50 YEARS AGO

February 1959

Two of four engines of the KC97 began to smoke as it was about to refuel a SAC bomber about 20 miles from Alexandria. Flight Commander Lieutenant Linch ordered the fuel jettisoned and radioed the airport he was coming in for a landing. Thousands of local residents came to inspect the huge air force tanker during its down time… If time permits, Governor Orville Freeman will be the special guest at the senior citizens’ party at Lincoln School. The governor is in town to defend his budget and tax plan… Plans for improvements at Carlos State Park costing $28,500 will include the construction of two barracks, a wash house and latrine. An overflow park will be established on Horseshoe Lake near Farwell.

25 YEARS AGO

February 1984

A 20-year-old male from Denmark was fined $330 for traveling 132 miles an hour on I-94. In court he said that because of the fog, he was unaware that a trooper was behind him. His Mercedes Benz has a top speed of 145 miles an hour and he is used to driving on the Autobahn in Europe, where there is no speed limit… Tom Lehman carded 295, tying with nine other golfers in the Los Angeles Open, and picked up his first PGA check of $1,129… Alexandria AVTI Norsemen men’s basketball team won the state championship trophy with a 67-64 match against Granite Falls… Local recyclers turned in a total of 2.58 million aluminum cans at the recycling center operated as a community service by H. Boyd Nelson.

10 YEARS AGO

February 1999

Sheriff deputies responded to a call about a burglary-in-progress. With assistance from the Alexandria police, two perpetrators were caught in the act of robbing the Garfield Locker… Tara Bitzan, Lifestyle editor and special projects co-coordinator of the Echo Press, has been named the 1999 Careerist of the Year by the BPW… Wally Tischer and Tim Aarsvold of Tischer Development have plans to purchase and convert the Viking and Lakes Motels into about 100 student housing units. The partnership also owns Geneva Beach Resort and Marina which houses 25 students in the winter months… Improvements to be made at the Runestone Community Center will allow skaters two additional months to skate indoors. The project includes replacing refrigeration and adding a heating system in the two ice rink areas.

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

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