Dusting Off the Archives
News from Verndale's Past
75 Years Ago, December 13, 1945
•The Verndale Pirates lost their first game of the season on Tuesday night at Wadena by a score of 33-28. Friday night of this week, both the A and B teams travel to Bertha and on Tuesday night of next week, both teams travel to Staples. The alumni versus the high school team game will be held on December 21.
•The news was heard yesterday over the radio: Lt. Margaret Rundell of Ashland, Wis., is one of the nurses caring for General George Patton in a hospital at Heidelberg, Germany. General Patton was seriously injured when his sedan collided with an army truck near Mannheim last Sunday. Lt. Rundell is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Don. C. Rundell, who resides northeast of Verndale, and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Rundell of Ashland.
• Sgt. Bernice Goeden has been honorably discharged from the Army in which she served three years, fifteen months overseas. She has been awarded a Bronze Star for the New Guinea campaign along with the Good Conduct, Victory, and American Defense Medals. She has served in New Guinea, Biak, and Manila. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P.M. Goeden.
40 Years Ago, December 11, 1980
•The annual Christmas Concert entails a great deal more work than merely practicing by the musical groups. Members of the Senior High Art Class are busily preparing props and murals to add to the atmosphere and color of the program. Jay Weiher applied paper mache to a form that, when completed, will represent a sheep. Kevin Manlon and Bryan Callahan worked on the body of a bird with Russ Andrews shaped a wing.
•An 18-pound northern bent his spear all out of shape said Gary Van Dam, who proudly displayed the lunker he landed on Monday morning. It measured 40 3/4 inches long and the girth measurement was 18 inches.
•In anguish, the Verndale girls lost their game to New York Mills, a traditionally tough game for the Verndale Pirates. Last Friday was the highest point-scoring game for the Pirates against the Eagles in recent years. The Pirates scored 32 points and the Eagles 79.
15 Years Ago, December 15, 2005
•After being deployed for more than a year, soldiers of the Minnesota National Guard, Company A, 1st Battalion, 194th Armor returned home. Hundreds of people attended a brief ceremony at the Wadena Deer Creek High School gymnasium. A caravan of people followed the buses which stretched from Wadena to Staples. The first soldier walked through the door and raised his hand. There was thunderous applause and an immediate standing ovation.
•The Congdon Family of rural Bertha left a legacy to people across west-central Minnesota for their generosity. Siblings Edward, Amy, Cynthia, and Alfred Congdon, who are all now deceased, lived on a family dairy farm west of Bertha. The Congdon Family Endowment was established in their memory. Tri-County Hospital received $600,000 from the Congdon family estate. Proceeds from this endowment will provide support for the mission of Tri-County Hospital which is to improve the health of the communities it serves.
•Three Verndale Future Farmers of America students, Becky Friffith, Josh Harris and Paloni Sheldon, spent a day at the Central Lakes College in Brainerd at an educational workshop. Subject areas studied were fish, mammals, insects, and birds.
Comments