125 YEARS AGO: 1895
From the Fairmont Sentinel: After two trials Game Warden Bird succeeded in convicting Albert Hohenstern and Jim Boyd of illegal chicken shooting at Lakefield. Both parties are paying the penalty for their lawlessness behind the bolt and bars at Sheriff Hill’s iron hashery.
Two well-developed cases of boozemania were the cause of a fight in a back alley. The rest of the sequence was the arrest of both drunks and a fine and costs, which totaled $17.30.
Eighty new creameries have been started in Minnesota in 1895.
100 YEARS AGO: 1920
The balance left over from the mammoth McLeod County Homecoming Celebration Aug. 19, 1919, in Hutchinson amounting to $1,923.93 with accrued interest of $50 has at last been divided between the seven participating towns of Hutchinson, Glencoe, Brownton, Silver Lake, Lester Prairie, Winsted and Plato. And thus closes the final chapter of the largest and most successful homecoming celebration held in honor of the returning Army and Navy boys in this section of Minnesota.
75 YEARS AGO: 1945
The Great Northern Railroad is building a spur near the depot to the rear of the milk drying plant at the Hutchinson Cooperative Creamery. The spur is financed jointly between the railroad and the creamery with the creamery standing the the greater part of the construction cost. Shipments during the peak season from the milk drying plant are more than a car a week and with the railroad facilities, it will greatly simplify loading.
50 YEARS AGO: 1970
It was public works project night for the Hutchinson City Council. The council heard federal and state officials give a report about Crow River flooding, discussed financing for street, water and sewer projects; awarded the contract for street work subject bonds to be sold; and set the assessment hearing date for the water and sewer project.
25 YEARS AGO: 1995
With a lot of hard work, a farm can last for more than 100 years. During a time when family farms seem to be dying all around, Merrill and Delores Gehrke of rural Brownton and Harold and Lois Severson of rural Lester Prairie have managed to help keep their farms in the family for more than 100 years. The couples were recognized as Century Farms at the McLeod County Fair.
Jesse Krebs captured the title at the Women’s Club Championships at Crow River Country Club. Deetta McLain was the senior champion.
Hutchinson-area mailboxes have been the target of vandals. The most recent string of damaged mailboxes included a Goebel Street resident who reported someone took his $50 mailbox. A Circle Drive resident reported his mailbox had been blown apart. A Carolina Street resident reported someone had crunched a trio of boxes valued at $300 with a large chunk of concrete and an employee of Aveyron Homes reported that four mailboxes along Century Avenue and valued at $100 appeared to have been hit with a baseball bat.
Collaborative bargaining for 1995-97 contracts with Hutchinson teachers continues. Collaborative bargaining is new to district negotiations with the Hutchinson Education Association. The idea is that the district and HEA come together as one group, no two sides. “It’s been working well,” said Bill Cauchy, spokesperson for the HEA. “Collaborative bargaining has really improved the people relations between all the members on the committee.” Cauchy is hoping the change in negotiation style will help the district settle earlier, but time will tell.
Like much of the rest of the McLeod County budget, the social services budget will be trimmed down from last year. The social services budget will go to about $5.7 million, a drop of about $400,000. The 1996 social service levy is projected to be $2.5 million reduced from this year’s $2.6 million.
Speak up for a child. That’s what Guardian Ad Litem asks of McLeod County residents. Ad Litem is a program made up of volunteers who work as advocates for children in the juvenile and family court systems. The program is looking for more men and women to volunteer. “Guardians Ad Litem are people who are assigned by the court to children involved in neglect, abuse, delinquency, custody and visitation issues,” said Sigrid Ruhland, coordinator of the program in McLeod, Carver, Scott, Sibley and Le Sueuer counties. “Guardians are a voice for children in court and often they are the only voice,” she said. “Children don’t have attorneys, while their parents do.”
