Dusting off the Archives
Verndale Po
News from Verndale's History
75 Years Ago, May 9, 1946
•Two new residences are going up in Verndale. Mr. and Mrs. D.J. Waterhouse have their home just north of the Catholic church nearly finished, and Henry Weiher, who is moving to Verndale, has the foundation laid for his home just south of the Ed Orr residence.
•The Verndale Fire Department was called to the C.E. Anderson residence Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. Mrs. Anderson was rendering lard when it boiled over on the gas range. The fire was quickly extinguished, but considerable damage from smoke and water resulted.
•The annual school election for Verndale will be held Tuesday evening, May 21. Board members whose terms expire at this time are Harlan Conley and Wm. J. Desrocher. Mrs. Conley has filed for re-election.
40 Years Ago, May 7, 1981
•A fire of undetermined origin raged through a swamp an eighth of a mile east of Aldrich early Sunday morning. A waitress in Aldrich, en-route home, saw the blaze and returned to Aldrich to sound the alarm which rousted Verndale firemen from their beds at 2:30 a.m. Firemen were at the site, along with DNR firefighters, until 5:30 a.m. Approximately 40 to 50 acres were burned.
•The first high school annual went to Paul Schumacher, social [studies] teacher here for the past 11 years, in whose honor the issue was dedicated. Making the following presentation was Nancy Fisher, a member of the annual staff: “We the yearbook staff of 1981 present this yearbook to a man who has given us more than an education with his time and energy. He has made Social [studies] more than just times, places and dates. Through his classes, the junior class play and the Student Council, he has shown real concern for the students at VHS. We hope that many more students have the opportunity to work with him. Thank you, Mr. Schumacher.”
•Three Verndale thinclads placed first in individual events in the Park Region Conference Invitational held last Thursday. Sebeka was first with 92 points, New York Mills and Henning each scored 91, Verndale had 80, followed by Parkers Prairie with 45, Menahga with 43, Battle Lake with 34, Pequot Lakes with 11 and Bertha-Hewitt with nine. Jay Weiher, Jeff Paulsen and Todd Pilgrim were the victors in shot put, discus and pole vault, respectively.
15 Years Ago, May 11, 2006
•Verndale’s new police chief, Bill Gilroy, took over the post from Interim Chief Mike Helle on Monday, May 1, after the city council meeting at city hall. Helle has been serving in Verndale on a temporary basis since Chief Jon Cline resigned in January to take a new position in Aitkin County. Helle is the police chief for the town of Hewitt. Gilroy was born and raised in Aldrich and graduated from Staples High School.
• Pre-prom alcohol awareness was presented to the sophomore through senior classes by Bob Schultz, Police Chief Lane Waldahl, Sheriff Deputy Mike Carr, Verndale Police Chief Bill Gilroy and Deputy Randy Athmann. Students used goggles that blurred vision to about .01 to .20 blood level alcohol and tried to throw a ball, drive a toy car through a maze, stand with a foot elevated and walk a straight line. Pictured were: Athmann, John Kempe, Bobbie Rogge and Alyssa Scharver.
•Senior High Girls Ensemble received a superior rating at the state contest on Saturday, May 6. They were: Stephanie Daily, Amber VanHeel, Jessica Waver, Christy Schmitz, Brenda Roth, Reba Greer, Dedra Denny and Maria Moenkedick.
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