125 YEARS AGO: 1898
War with Spain is inevitable. That is a prophecy, although I have never had much faith in those who forecast the future. The starving, dying, bleeding people of Cuba are waiting; the struggle for freedom is going on and will go on until Cuban liberty is obtained. The people of the United States have decreed the freedom of Cuba and they will not be thwarted.
Sam W. Stocking informs the Leader that he has fears his brother, Lem, was in the ill-fated Klondike Party that was caught in the terrible avalanche in the Chilicoot Pass. He is anxiously awaiting tidings from him. He left Seattle four weeks ago and a letter will be due in about six weeks from the time he started. About 100 were killed in the pass and among the names of those victims are mentioned in the letter Mr. Stocking has written to relatives here. It is to be hoped his fears are not well founded.
The Rev. C.F. Spahr of Biscay is missing and some are looking for him with an interest measured in the amount of the claims they have against him. He is said to have taken about $800 with him.
Capt. A. Reed of Glencoe has been awarded a Medal of Honor by Congress for distinguished gallantry of action at Chickamauga in 1863. He was not in the ranks when the battle began, being under arrest for breach of discipline, but he voluntarily went to the line of battle and fought bravely throughout the engagement. Subsequently at Mission Ridge, he lost his right arm, but refusing a discharge for disability, he served until the end of the war. The medal is meritorius, if not tardy, recognition of his bravery throughout a long conflict
100 YEARS AGO: 1923
Sunday mail service in Hutchinson is probably postponed indefinitely because of the lack of appropriations for paying extra help for the Sunday distribution. Sunday service has been discontinued in most post offices in the country, and it would be remarkable if Hutchinson should secure it now.
75 YEARS AGO: 1948
Kathryn Brummond, who for many years was society editor and news reporter for the Leader, received a $100 check from Robert Stearns of the Stearns Lumber Co., prize money for the article she submitted to Popular Home. This magazine is mailed out to prospective home builders throughout the country and has a national circulation. Mrs. Brummond’s story, “Housing in These United States,” will be used in an early issue of Popular Home. She turned to magazine writing when she left the Leader in 1946.
Nine lakes in the vicinity yielded a total of 205,780 pounds of carp for state crews this past winter in under-the-ice operations, reports Robert Magdanz, supervisor of the state crews in this part of Minnesota. This is more than 100 tons of carp and should make a sizable dent in the carp population of the lakes fished. Big Swan in Meeker County, furnished the best hauls, over 32 tons, while Lake Marion was next with 16 tons.
50 YEARS AGO: 1973
While Southeastern Minnesota was blasted with the worst April storm on record. Hutchinson-area residents only saw about a third of an inch of snow. In other parts of the state snow depths of well over a foot were reported, accompanied by gusts of wind over 60 mph.
25 YEARS AGO: 1998
Dick Lennes, Hutchinson Community Development Corporation executive director, came before the Hutchinson City Council with a request that the city help with the expansion of the industrial park. The EDA has arranged for a donation of seven acres of land at the corner of Second Avenue Southeast and Michigan Street from Ron McGraw, a local attorney, on the condition that the city forgive deferred assessments of about $52,200 and delinquent taxes of more than $4,800. In addition to the McGraw property, the EDA also has reached an agreement to purchase an adjoining two acres of land from Leonard Miller for $30,000.
According to Marietta Neumann, food shelf coordinator, by the end of March, the McLeod Emergency Food Shelf was about as busy and full as it will ever be during the year. March was FoodShare Month in Minnesota, so typically it’s the time when many of the food shelves across the state receive many donations and are fully stocked. Although the shelves look full, Neumann said that her food donations are down compared to 1997.
