Column - 1999: Feast of the Runestone to kick off Ole Oppe Fest

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

May 1909

The Alexandria High School Board ordered the building committee to furnish a room on the third floor for the recently approved cooking classes… The Legislature increased the per diem rate of District Court jurors from $2 to $3 a day… H. LeRoy Company has full leather-trimmed, 1-1/2-inch spring buggies with full leather auto seats for the low price of $60… H.A. Benson went to Kensington before last week’s storm and got snowbound for several days… Geiser Manufacturing has promised George Cassell that his new threshing rig would give complete satisfaction. It wouldn’t thresh flax, and he sued. Now, four years and two trials later, he has won his case.

50 YEARS AGO

May 1959

The Alexandria Clippers, playing as an independent team for the first time in 10 years, open the season against Willmar Air Force, a team from the signal corps base nearby… All four Central High School valedictorians this year had straight-A averages, namely, Clifford Becker, Bonita Brandenburg, David Carlson and Patricia Gault… Weather caused the James Olson family of six to be temporarily homeless when heavy rains caused the concrete block siding to buckle in. In places, the mud was two feet deep. So far this month, 4.85 inches has fallen; the average is 1.59… Our Lady of Mercy Hospital received a cardioscope, a machine that monitors a patient’s heartbeat during surgery. Ford Foundation provided the funds.

25 YEARS AGO

May 1984

Alf Thompson purchased the Evansville home in which he was born, stipulating that it be given to the Douglas County Historical Society for a future research center for west Douglas County… Curb and gutter work has begun on the Carlos-L’Homme Dieu bridge… A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at The Senator. Only nine of the 38 units are unsold; 14 are already occupied… Rene Norton was accepted to work at a summer project in East Africa that emphasizes education, medical assistance and telling the Gospel… Fergus Falls West Central Commuter will begin air shuttle service in mid-June with four daily round trips from Alexandria to the Minneapolis airport… Construction will begin next summer on a major remodeling project at Washington Elementary School at a cost of $420,000.

10 YEARS AGO

May 1999

Minnesota legislators approved a tax rebate from $200 to $5,000 dependent upon income and filing status… Julie Joyce, a native of Alexandria, has released her first CD about love and loss entitled “There’s a Heart Breaking Tonight”… The Cardinal Girls Softball team won the 8AA North Sub-station championship with a pair of wins over Brainerd and Moorhead, and will face Elk River in the 8AA championship race… Minnesota Job Skills awarded Alexandria Technical College a $115,000 grant to train 105 employees at two Hoffman Packaging Company plants in Hoffman. The Center for Automation and Motion Control also received a grant for $98,000… A 10-course “Feast of the Runestone” will kick off the festivities at the Ole Oppe Fest on Saturday… Debra Zastrow heads the team that prepares Meals on Wheels at the Alexandria Senior Center.

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

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