125 YEARS AGO: 1897
A man who plants a melon patch near to the public highway can hardly be regarded as a promoter of public morals.
A friend asks: What’s best to seed an old lake bed this spring? From present indications, fish eggs will be the most appropriate seed and likely to produce the best crop.
William Runke of Boon Lake has bought a third farm. He now has one for each of the boys.
Seeding has commenced on higher ground and with favorable weather, will be generally underway in mid-April.
100 YEARS AGO: 1922
Civil War veterans and Spanish-American War veterans were guests of Hutchinson Post 96. The American Legion served a banquet and smoker. The occasion was another of the series of popular Councils of Warriors promoted by the Legion Post.
Work on the foundation for an oil station, which will be built by A.A. Fallon, was started and the concrete work will be commenced as soon as the excavation is complete.
Now let’s all boost together, for a bigger, better Hutchinson; let’s get away from this strife and contention, which has been threatening to cause a split. Hutchinson has always had the reputation of being a go-ahead little city, where the people pulled together for the common good. Let’s get back in the old stride and boost and build for Hutchinson such as we have dreamed of.
75 YEARS AGO: 1947
Selective Service, or the draft, as it was called by most of us, has expired after having something to say about the lives of 7,706 men in McLeod County alone. The law expired at midnight and registrants can empty their billfolds, unless they want to keep their registration cards as souvenirs.
Influenza, which has struck residents of the community during the preceding month in various forms, reached its climax in Hutchinson. Described by public health officer Dr. Charles Sheppard as more nearly approximating the “old-time grip” than the more modern flu. The exact number of cases has not been figured. Though a contagious ailment, persons affected are not required to report the contraction of the disease, hence no records are available, Dr. Sheppard noted.
50 YEARS AGO: 1972
At a meeting in Hutchinson, people in the area will hear about plans to establish a state park as a recreation trail along the Minneapolis Industrial Railway Line through Hutchinson if proceedings to abandon the line go through. The Chicago Northwestern Railroad Co., which owns the line, is seeking to abandon it. The action, which has been opposed by a group formed by the communities of Prinsburg, Cosmos and Winsted, is before the Interstate Commerce Commission for a ruling.
25 YEARS AGO: 1997
Al Koglin, county park superintendent, gave his annual report and said that 1996 was a profitable year for the county park system. The report was given during the McLeod County Board’s first evening meeting of the year at the Silver Lake Auditorium.
State Highway 22 between Biscay and Glencoe remained closed March 31 due to the nearby flooded Crow River. According to Sandy East, a Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesperson in Willmar, water began flowing in the area of Lake Avenue, about a mile south of Biscay. Traffic has been detoured south on Highway 15 and then east on Highway 212.
Cruise the World Wide Web at the Hutchinson Public Library. The new technology will be unveiled during “Connect at the Library,” the theme of National Library Week.
It was certainly a fulfilling wrestling season for Hutchinson High School senior Jason Fratzke. After placing second at the state wrestling meet, Fratzke went 8-2 at the National High School Championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, placing fourth to earn All-American honors.
Sixth-grader Patrick McLoughlin competed with about 40 other Minnesota spellers in grades five through eight in the state bee at St. John’s University in Collegeville. McLoughlin’s goal was to last three rounds. He did that by correctly spelling the words: anxiety, supernumerary and residue. Round four gave the sixth-grader a punch he couldn’t handle. The word was “croustade.” It’s a French food, he said, and he’d never heard of or seen the word.
