10 YEARS AGO: NEWS FROM THE ISSUE OF DEC. 18, 2008
No one was seriously hurt when a pickup truck went off the road and into the Crow River late Saturday. Litchfield Fire and Rescue responded to the accident just before midnight Saturday after a report of a Ford F150 pickup had gone off an embankment and was lying upside down in the river. The 20-year-old driver of the vehicle was standing on the shore when rescue personnel arrived. A passenger had gone to a nearby residence.
“Here we are paying $2 million for a road and it falls apart in two weeks,” was the comment of County Administrator Paul Virnig as county commissioners discussed problems that have developed in work on CSAH 18 in the southeast part of the county. A second layer of bitiminous recently applied to the road started breaking up, resulting in the tense meeting between the board and officials of the contractor involved, Knife River Construction. County Highway Engineer Ron Mortensen said there was a “marked difference in quality” between the second layer of bituminous and the first. Officials of Knife River disputed that contention, claiming it had met all contract obligations. The original contract on the CSAH 18 job was for $2.25 million and Knife River has asked for an additional $250,000 for repairs to which the county strongly objects.
20 YEARS AGO: NEWS FROM THE ISSUE OF DEC. 31, 1998
For the past 34 years Rod Magnuson has been the face of management at Litchfield’s busy SuperAmerica station. Today, Thursday, will be Rod’s last day on the job. He has served as manager of the station since May of 1964. “I wasn’t sure I could handle the job at first, but it has worked out pretty well through the years,” he said as he pondered his retirement. A native of the Kimball area, Rod grew up on a farm south of there. When he started at SA, attendants still pumped gas and washed windows. It was a dramatic change, he noted, when self-serve went into effect. A father of three and a grandfather of four, Rod plans to stay in Litchfield in retirement. “I also plan to keep playing golf — just say that I’m not a golfer, but I play golf.
Swedes, as they approach the millennium, have the same outlook on life as many in Litchfield do. That was gleaned Saturday in an interview with a group of six Swedish citizens visiting here from their homeland to help a Litchfield relative celebrate her 95th birthday. Mrs. Emma Manning was 95 Saturday and was guest of honor at a gathering at First Lutheran Church. She still maintains her own household and isn’t often fooled but admits she was taken by surprise at the delegation of Swedes who appeared on her doorstep Monday and Tuesday. Her father, John Johnson, was born in Sweden and when he emigrated left two sisters and a brother behind. It was their descendants who made the overseas trip to honor Emma. The visiting Swedes, Greta, Monica, Stig-Arne, Inggrit, and Irene, formed an interesting and articulate group as they sat around a table at Emmaus Home for an interview Saturday
50 YEARS AGO: NEWS FROM THE ISSUE OF DEC. 19, 1968
Roy Lindeen and Jim Asmus found $500 in the city dump Thursday morning. They were out there early garbed in raincoats and galoshes poking around in the dreary damp weather. In truth, they were sort of expecting to find $500. It represented the Wednesday receipts for the Sandgren Shoe store. If they had not found the money, it would have been a sad Christmas for the pair. At the close of business Wednesday Roy was gone. Jim was gathering up debris and wrappings for the garbage truck at closing time. The money had been tucked in a cash bag and set on a counter. In the helter and skelter of end-of-the-business-day cleanup the cash bag got caught up in the debris and wound up in the garbage truck. Roy’s Thursday morning question of “where is the cash bag” brought a sudden look of panic on Jim’s face. “My gawd,” he said, “it must have got mixed up with all the paper and went out with it.” A quick check with garbage truck driver, “Smoky” Schmidt, pinpointed the area where Wednesday’s garbage had been dumped, and Roy and Jim poked around for about 15 minutes before coming up with the cash for a happy ending.
George Runke, 56, of rural Cosmos, died Friday morning at Meeker Memorial of injuries suffered Dec. 5 when he was attacked by a bull in the Runke barnyard. He incurred 10 fractured ribs and a broken collarbone when the bull threw him and then knocked him down again. Mr. Runke seemed to be improving at press time last week, but a steady decline followed.
The flu bug is making its rounds in Litchfield and seems to have special preference for LHS senior high students. Eighty-five students were missing at the senior high on Monday, and on Tuesday Principal C. E. McCamy reported 125 students were absent.
69 YEARS AGO: NEWS FROM THE ISSUE OF DEC. 15, 1949
Litchfield has always been a city with lots of firsts, and Saturday added another one as “Santa” performed a wedding ceremony. S.Claus, better known as Rev. Albert Tuck, was busy Saturday with the program at the high school and visits downtown and then was called upon to doff his Santa suit, put on his ministerial garb and perform a wedding. Shortly after, he was back in red visiting the shut-ins and dropping in on downtown businesses.
Santa may have missed a few, but he tried hard to visit all shut-ins Saturday. Among them was six-year-old little Ruth Mary Casey daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. J. Casey. She was very ill with pneumonia but was on the road to recovery when Santa dropped in on her at the the Litchfield hospital.
The Acton Farm Bureau enjoyed its Christmas party on December 7 at the Reuben Lund home. The musical program in charge of Mrs. Baldwin consisted of saxophone solos by Beverly Butke, vocal solos and duets by Mary Rita Kelgan and Dianne Rooney, several songs by Stanley Nelson, as well as group singing and carols. For entertainment, Santa Claus (Mrs. Oestreich) delivered Christmas gifts to each one, and ice cream and cake were served by the committee chairpeople, Albert Lindstrom, Burton Thorp, W.L.Baldwin and Rueben Lund.
115 YEARS AGO: NEWS FROM THE ISSUE OF DEC.17, 1903
One would suppose that the hobos had gone south with birds, but this is not the case. According to Office O’Laughlin, the village lockup houses from three to four and sometimes five every night. All are eastbound. All are without funds. The bulk are from Dakota. The season for employment in the field was not a good one with the frequent rains. Hence, work was not continuous and funds were eaten up. The winter weather is in contrast to the summer when any old straw stack provides a place for a good night’s rest.
A pretty wedding was solemnized at Trinity Church Tuesday evening when the vows were said which united Miss Grace E. Brooks to Jeff Schelde. Mr. Schelde is a contractor who has made Litchfield his home. The opera house, the revised waterworks plant, the new creamery and the Carngie Library are all his work.
Thirty-five loads of wood occupied the wood market Thursday and by 4 p.m. all had disappeared. It is evident that sleighing here is fine.
