Dusting Off the Archives
News from Verndale's Past
75 Years Ago, December 5, 1946
•At a special meeting of the Verndale Village council on Tuesday evening, the council purchased a new Hale pump, hoses, ladders, hooks and all other necessary equipment from a representative of the Hale Pump Company of Minneapolis, The new pump and equipment which costs $3907 is the best that can be bought and will furnish Verndale with the best fire fighting apparatus the village has ever had, The pump which will handle 500 gallons a minute at a pressure of 120 pounds is mounted on a separate tank.
• At the regular meeting of the Village Council on Monday evening, J. J. Waterhouse, the present mayor of the village handed in his resignation effective January 1, 1947. As Mr. Waterhouse has an unexpired term of one year left to serve, the Village Council must appoint someone else to serve out the unexpired term, which will be January 1, 1947.
•Verndale citizens were aroused at 6:15 a.m., Monday morning to witness the biggest fire loss the Village of Verndale has ever endured when the Waterhouse Implement Company building and Lester Marquardt’s blacksmith shop burned to the ground. The Total loss and damage of the fire are estimated at $150,000. How the fire started, no one knows, as when the building was first entered it was so filled with smoke and the fire was so well underway it couldn’t be determined in what part of the building the fire originated.
40 Years Ago, December 10, 1981
•Donovan Cary of Bertha, District 5M-9 chairman, accepted a $100 check from the Verndale Lions Club President Richard Brown on behalf of the International Foundation Fund which provides relief throughout the world in the field of education, rehabilitation, eye and hearing clinics, etc. The presentation was made at the December meeting of the local organization held Thursday, December 3 in the meeting room at Dorie’s Diner.
•Todd Pilgrim, son of Larry and Patty Pilgrim, has been named by radio sportscaster to the All-State Sportscasters team in Minnesota, as a defensive back. He was chosen from the ranks of all Class B, C and 9-man football teams in the state. Todd was the leading grounds-gainer for the Verndale Pirates this season, contributing a great deal to their being named Park Region Conference Champions.
•Showing slides of beautiful stained glass windows in European cathedrals as part of the German Cultural Booth at the Christmas Fest was dieter Meister of rural Verndale. The tape he had prepared to run with the display had been stolen when this photo was taken. Mark Bratlie of Staples, who is the contractor for the new stained glass windows in the Verndale Methodist Church’s new addition, gave demonstrations throughout the festival of his work.
15 Years Ago, December 7, 2006
•On November 20 the 2006-07 wrestling season got underway. The squad started off with 19 participants, but have added members over the past two weeks. The squad has two seniors, Cody Allen and Kevin Voeltz, who will not be seen in action due to shoulder surgery, but who will continue to serve a co-captain.
•Chester Anderson, a rural Verndale dairy farmer, was honored on November 27 for donating blood 100 times. Chester first rolled up his sleeve to donate blood in May of 1966 while he was in the Army, and has kept up the practice ever since. He credits his parents for giving him the desire to donate, as they gave blood, as do his siblings, Chester has kept all the donation cards he has collected over the years.
•Aaron Moenkedick, Verndale, a freshman majoring in industrial education, is participating in the First Year Residential Experience Program at State University for the 2006-2007 school year.
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