Column – 1909: Construction of new hospital to cost $10,000

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

100 YEARS AGO

March 1909

Plans for the new hospital were made public. It will be a 42- by 72-foot, two-story building, with room for 32 patients. There will be four wards with four beds, as well as single and semi-private rooms. Cost of construction is estimated at $10,000… Mrs. E.F. Collins has purchased the millinery shop from the Gardner sisters… N.P. Larson has bought the confectionery store from Sandeen in Kensington… Domestic science has been added to the curriculum of the high school. The first year will emphasize sewing, the second will be cooking. Manual training had been added last fall.

50 YEARS AGO

March 1959

Oiva and Wesley Sirra, who farm 500 acres in Urness Township, were named outstanding conservation farmers in the district and were presented a plaque from Minneapolis Star Tribune… John Stariha, who started barbering at age 15, was pictured cutting the hair of County Engineer Phil Hanson, who was John’s first customer 50 years ago… Twelve-year-old John Emerson of Osakis is the new Douglas County spelling champion... The annual Runestone Electric Association meeting drew a crowd of 2,500… Milton Trenham, whose father was Alexandria’s first and only photographer for 50 years, recounted the story of the Hicks Family and the founding of the city… Minnesota sold 1,409,000 fishing licenses in 1957-58, leading all 49 states in sales.

25 YEARS AGO

March 1984

Daryl and Carol Johnson of Evansville were named Minnesota Jaycee Family of the Year… A proposal to convert the Viking Motel into an adult foster care facility was presented to the city council… For the third week in a row, motorists were stranded in Alexandria because of bad weather. This last weekend, the Alexandria Armory gave refuge to 23 Air Force personnel en route to Grand Forks. The men had been in Litchfield to pay tribute to a comrade killed in a plane crash in Spain two weeks ago… For all its 50 years in business, Iverson’s Shoe Store has carried Red Wing, Daniel Green, Buster Brown, Keds and Naturalizer shoes… First American Bank announces the retirement of its chairman and president, Martin Haar, effective March 31. He will be replaced by John Wosepka… Concordia College will present its first musical in Moorhead history with “Showboat,” in which Brandon resident Rand Elness portrays “Beaux.”

10 YEARS AGO

March 1999

Former Alexandria wrestling coach Ken Snyder was inducted into the NCAA Hall of Fame. He was twice winner of the National NCAA II Championship and earned All-American five times. In his three years as Cardinal coach, 14 wrestlers qualified for state, 10 of whom won medals… The Brandon-Evansville High School girls’ basketball team set two new state records and tied another to become State Class A champions in a 61-46 victory over Red Rock Central… Gary Baltes has organized a silent auction as a means to raise the necessary funds to join Don Shelby on an Andes Mountain climb. Funds raised will benefit the Ronald McDonald House… The Douglas County commissioners have agreed to work with the historical society to inventory and index historical records housed in the courthouse vault, many of them hand-written more than 140 years ago.

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

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