Column - 2000: Harold Jennisen wins recount by seven votes

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

November 1910

When William “Pussycat” Johnson, special agent of the Indian Bureau, closed all the saloons in Cass County, the Indians frequented the nearby cities. Consequently, Johnson closed all bars in Hibbing, Bemidji, Brainerd, Detroit, Grand Forks, Walker and all towns within the Treaty of 1853. All in all, the doors of 300 saloons are locked… Palace Barber Shop, owned by G.J. Levin, is the place to get a good haircut and a smooth shave, a hand of electric massage, and a hot or cold bath. It is located at the first door west of Aberle’s Harness Shop… The organization of the Douglas County Fair Association will be the main topic at the next meeting of the Community Council.

50 YEARS AGO

November 1960

An all-electric Gold Medallion home has been constructed by REA at Crestwood Hills on the shores of Lake L’Homme Dieu… Kenneth Light, who has been hospitalized since October 10, is grateful for the friends and neighbors who came with corn-pickers and plows to finish the fall field work… In the Cause for Comment column, Mrs. Kenneth Tessmer was recognized as the “kind and helpful lady” who placed her coat beneath David Lindquist when he was injured last week… Eight-hundred people jammed the Jefferson auditorium for the second annual “Pop” concert, sponsored by the Band Mothers organization… In the first 15 days this month, 10 had temperatures in the 40s, one reached 56 degrees and there has just been a trace of snow.

25 YEARS AGO

November 1985

The Douglas County Historical Society’s Heritage column told the life and times of the Great Northern Depot. It was pictured as it appeared in its 1907 beginning, and in its present look as Depot Express restaurant… The Brandon City Hall and Auditorium, built in the mid-1930s by the WPA, has been placed on the Register of Historic Places… Vietnam veteran Dave Diedrich has spearheaded a local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) to help him and others heal the wounds of an unwanted war… Groundbreaking ceremonies were performed at AVTI for the east D-Wing that will house a machine shop, farm equipment service shop and automobile diagnostic shop… A $350,000 Douglas County Courthouse expansion got under way as bulldozers cleared the ground for a new entryway.

10 YEARS AGO

November 2000

Following a recount of votes cast in District 1, County Commissioner Harold Jennisen won by seven votes… The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sent letters to thousands of tenants that they may not have paid enough rent in 1998… Pete’s County Market donated 75,000 Campbell’s soup labels to District 206 schools… Dr. Val Farmer, MeritCare psychologist and Echo Press columnist, recently released a new book, Honey, I Shrunk the Farm… Rainbow Rider has been named “Transport System of the Year” by MnDot and the Public Transit Association… Blue Cross and Blue Shield presented Richard Sammons with the “Against the Odds” award at their Ageless Hero banquet. Sammons, now 71, attended college at age 58 after losing his eyesight. He conducts a technology-training program at Lifetime Learning Institute in Alexandria.

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

Tags: marge van gorp, opinion, columns, vangorp