Column - 1912: People told to stop leaving pennies in boxes

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

100 YEARS AGO

MARCH 1912

Forada Cooperative Manufacturing and Warehouse Company has approved the plans for the construction of a 30’x50’ building with space for seven grain bins, a feed mill, office and an engine room… Folks along rural mail routes are asked to stop the practice of leaving pennies in the mail boxes in exchange for postage. Cold weather makes it difficult for the carrier to pick up coins in this cold climate. Last year across the nation, 300 million pennies were left in mailboxes for stamps… The St. Paul Dispatch will finance a corn-growing contest for school children. Each must plant 1/8 acre of Carman #3 seeds and keep records of time spent, all costs and yields… The Minneapolis Tribune will sponsor a tomato growing contest for students.

50 YEARS AGO

MARCH 1962

Jerry Rud was serving aboard the destroyer USS Noa that retrieved the “Friendship 7” spacecraft that carried Marine Lt. Col John Glenn Jr. on his three-orbit flight around Earth. The crewmen brought the shuttle aboard and assisted the astronaut in leaving it… Larry B. Johnson of Carlos is serving on the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, now conducting its “Shakedown” cruise. The vessel has the most recent advances in electronic and structural design… Bonnie Lindemeyer from Evansville and Judith Strom from Brandon are the winners of the Betty Crocker Search for the Homemaker of Tomorrow… The Royals took top honors in the sixth-grade intramural basketball league. Team members were Larry Benson, Greg Sonstegard, James Hedine, Greg Hanson and Bruce Anderson.

25 YEARS AGO

MARCH 1987

Dr. George Cassell, currently with the Lewiston, Idaho school district, has signed a 15-month probationary contract as superintendent of District 206… Nine-year-old James Kirby’s curiosity about acid rain led him to a science project in which he studied snow samples for acidity levels with the use of litmus paper. The results were interesting – although disturbing. Science is his favorite subject and he wants to be a mission specialist on the space shuttle… Tom Hendricks of Alexandria and Chad Croonquist of Brandon were named to the WCCO Radio Prep Parade All-State Basketball Team… The House Agriculture Committee passed a bill to provide one-half pint of free milk to elementary and secondary students… About 100 Canadian geese found the route to Alexandria this week.

10 YEARS AGO

MARCH 2002

Family Dollar Store has opened in Alexandria. It is the 33rd location in Minnesota and the 4,296th in the nation for the North Carolina based company… Jan Zarbok is the new owner of the former “The Other Place” restaurant on 3rd Avenue West, now named Jan’s Place… Kevin Hockert of the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce presented the Douglas County Chapter of the American Red Cross with a check for $2,100, money raised from a basketball game that featured the professional Denver Harlem Ambassadors… Garfield third-graders learned the ins and outs of the postal service during a nine-week annual program. The students learn responsibility and teamwork and the importance of meeting the expectations of others. This was the 11th year for the program.

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

Tags: opinion