Column - 2002: George Golinga went water skiing to celebrate his 80th birthday

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

AUGUST 1912

The Western Union telegraph office has moved from the Great Northern station to the telephone office above Peterson Drug Store. In the absence of the operator when the drug store is closed, the telephone operator will receive and send messages by phone to the nearest Western Union office… James Freit of Parkers Prairie filed for bankruptcy, claiming assets of $35 and liabilities of $1,096… The “50 Years Ago” column gave the daily happenings of the Civil and Indian Wars. August 22, 1862: Fort Ridgely, Minnesota was hard-pressed by Indians who had been attacking two days. After fighting the Indians for two days and finally driving them off, the entire population and garrison at New Ulm abandoned the settlement.

50 YEARS AGO

AUGUST 1962

Dr. Minsoo Pal, Korean churchman and patriot who once nearly became vice president of Korea, visited with his good friend, the Rev. Paul Dahlstrom of First Congregational Church in Alexandria… About 500 pupils, teachers and friends enjoyed reminiscing about their school days when the Holmes City School held its first reunion since the school was organized in 1870. John Lundblad, age 92, was the oldest member present… Captain Sidney Spilseth and his family sailed from New York aboard the SS United States to his new three-year assignment as exchange officer from the U.S. Air Force to the Royal Air Force Command Headquarters in England… “Jumpin” Jimmy Martin of the Bob Smith Auto Daredevil thriller scheduled to perform at the county fair was once a stunt man for Hopalong Cassidy and Johnny Mack Brown.

25 YEARS AGO

AUGUST 1987

District 206 School Board voted to seek a $4.5 million bond issue to build a new elementary school. The school would be built on 16 acres already owned by the district and will hold grade levels from kindergarten to sixth grade… Nash Perrine is “tops” in his field: He paints flagpoles, church steeples and TV towers. This week he had a good view of the city from the top of a 75-foot pole at Central School, a “small job” compared to his highest job on a 1,000-foot TV transmission tower… Work men from Northern Electric of Fargo are installing conduit pipes on 5th and Broadway to hold wiring for four semaphore stoplights that will be installed before winter… Mary “Kathryn” Bursch will leave KDAZ in Grand Forks for employment at KTOG-TV in Tampa.

10 YEARS AGO

AUGUST 2002

A new garden, given by Pastor Phillip Mettling to Faith Community Church, is a place to rest, pray, relax and enjoy God’s beauty. It was designed by Paul Wettling and Brett Eiderson and constructed by the 7th and 8th grade classes during Vacation Bible School… George Golinga of Carlos went water skiing with his grandkids on East Lake Carlos as a youthful way to celebrate his 80th birthday… Tom Dillon was given a guitar at age 12 and he formed a band named West Minist’r at age 16. In later years, the band was known as The Hawks. He has played back-up for Porter Waggoner, Dolly Parton and Hank Williams Jr., and now will be inducted into the Midwest Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

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

Tags: opinion, columns