20 YEARS AGO: NEWS FROM THE ISSUE OF DEC. 6, 2001
If property owners are willing, the Greenleaf and Sioux lake area in Meeker County’s Ellsworth Township could be home to a 1,000-acre state park in the next 10 or 15 years. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Greenleaf Lake landowners are in preliminary talks about the possibility of a new state park in the area. At this time, the state park closest to Litchfield and Meeker County is Sibley State Park near New London. Mark Geyer, who lives in Victoria, owns 334 acres of lakeshore on Greenleaf and Sioux and is interested in selling the property to the state for a park. “I would like to keep it as close to what it is as possible so we can preserve this unique area for future generations,” Geyer said during a meeting between DNR representatives and landowners last week.
Litchfield High School technology teacher Gary Hein can’t wait to get back to his off-site classroom — the school’s third construction house — and his industrial technology students. Hein has been staying at home while he undergoes chemotherapy treatments for leukemia. He had been going to the construction class for a couple hours after chemotherapy treatments, but doctors advised him to stop until his immune system improved. In the meantime, Hein has been passing instructive notes to substitute teacher Christa Williamson. “The kids miss him so much,” Williamson said. “The metals class even made a get well card out of sheet metal. Not a day goes by when they don’t ask when he’s coming back.”
An advertisement in a local newspaper in November looking for dancers and waitresses at an adult dance bar in Cosmos raised some eyebrows, but some residents of the small town of Cosmos were downright shocked when the Juice Bar opened its doors. Owner Dale Peterson of Clarkfield said he opened the no-alcohol strip bar because he thought the town would be a good location. Eric Holien, chief of police in Cosmos for nearly two years, said he’s heard a lot of opposition to the establishment. “A lot of people complain and say that we should close it down or get it out of town,” Holien said. “We can’t do that. It’s a business just like anywhere else.”
A decades old recipe, known only to three members of the Bohning family of Forest City has become a holiday tradition for many other families throughout Meeker County and beyond. One might think the key ingredients to success of the Bohnings’ family friendly Riverside Store lie in the secret recipe for pickled herring. But the ingredients for a family holiday tradition go far beyond those used to create the tasty, home-brewed fish. The steps to Christmas smiles also include a healthy dose of old-fashioned candy, and a down-home approach to service. “We do things a little different from most other places these days,” said Bob Bohning, who along with his wife, Toby, purchased the Riverside Store two years ago. “It’s the herring and candy the people know, and the family kind of atmosphere we offer here that you can’t get in a big store.”
50 YEARS AGO: NEWS FROM THE ISSUE OF DEC. 8, 1971
The Litchfield City Council rescinded its action of Oct. 4 when a private garbage collection franchise was approved for the city. At the same time a three-member Solid Waste Disposal Commission was named to administer the garbage collection system, which will continue to operate as a city service. Named to the commission were Councilmen Roscoe Keller and Ron Johnson, and Dr. Fred Schnell. Keller has been the council’s foremost foe of private garbage collection, while Schnell was one of five sponsors of a petition signed 540 Litchfield citizens asking that the council either rescind its action or have a referendum on the question.
Meeker County Board approved the appointment of Tom Johnson of Dassel as the county’s first full-time park director, effective Feb. 1. Johnson will graduate from Mankato State College at the end of the winter quarter, and has worked for the Meeker County Park Commission the past two summers. His salary of $8,200 will be paid from state and federal funds, and his title will be County Parks Co-ordinator.
With the Christmas shopping season at its peak, Litchfield’s stores will be open until 9 p.m. Monday through Friday until Dec. 24, the day before Christmas.
75 YEARS AGO: NEWS FROM THE ISSUE OF DEC. 5, 1946
The two lots on the corner just north of the Litchfield Seed House will be sold by the city. These lots were recently vacated and plans were to use them for the Municipal plant enlargement program, but because of the new plant site, the lots will not be needed and will be sold.
Faith in American ideals and our method of life, an objective that will lead to better understanding with our international neighbors, and the patience to see that these things are maintained, were emphasized in the talk given here Saturday by George Grim, war correspondent, columnist and foreign observer, whose experiences as a Minneapolis Tribune staff member brought him into close contact with world affairs. Grim’s talk was part of the Meeker County Farm Bureau’s 29th annual meeting at the Litchfield Community Hall.
Litchfield’s Christmas decorations are now up and are the prettiest and most colorful that this city has had. The colored streamers add much to the trim and in spite of the fact that lights are out, a very Christmasy effect is attained. The lights have all been put up, so if the coal strike ends and the dimout regulations come to a halt, Litchfield will be aglow with colored lights on all the streamers.
100 YEARS AGO: NEWS FROM THE ISSUE OF DEC. 3, 1921
John Lien departed Thursday for his old home in Norway to visit his mother and a number of brothers and sisters whom he had not seen for 14 years. He will arrive there in time for the holidays.
John Brandt of Forest City has been spending the week in the southern part of the state in the interests of organization of a new creameries association.
Frank Jarl, who has been assistant buttermaker at the Litchfield creamery the past two years or more, has been appointed buttermaker of the Grove City creamery, to succeed Mr. Berg, who has been made manager of one of the newly organized creamery units. He will have a salary of $1,600 a year.
