Waterama button sales to go above the expected

August 8, 1963 – An investigation was begun into the death of a Soo Line trainman and the injury of others when a passenger train and a freight collided near Hoffman. The freight, a total of 159 cars, and the passenger train were both eastbound toward Glenwood when the collision occurred. 

A Glenwood man was burned when the stove in the brooder house he was using to raise pheasant chicks for the Glenwood Sportman’s Club exploded. Joe LaCroix’s condition had been critical but had been upgraded to fair though he was moved to the Veterans Hospital for further treatment. 

Reports from elevators around the county said that the small grain crop was on a par with the 1962 harvest. Reported low yield was about 30 bushels to the acre with the high yield at about 85 bushels. 

August 9, 1973 – The Pope County Extension Office reported no cases of Dutch elm disease in the county, though cases had been confirmed in Todd and Swift Counties. The extension office said that the first symptoms of the disease were the wilting and yellowing of leaves on a tree.

Karen Freeman was named a 4-H style revue winner following in the footsteps of her older sisters, Peggy and Brenda. This was Karen’s second annual trip to the state fair in this event. First attendant was Laurie Amundson; second attendant was Marie Jergenson. Denise Hermanson was the overall winner. 

Highlighting grandstand entertainment at the annual county fair were Sherwin Linton, the Plainsmen, the Cotton Kings and Lynne Burns. 

Jerry Chlian of Glenwood continued to dominate the street stock division at Viking Speedway in Alexandria. Other county racing participants were Harvey Wildman, Randy Fischer and Gary Reents. 

August 11, 1983 – People attending the annual Pope County Fair would visit the new livestock building on the fairgrounds. Arne Stoen, of Starbuck, and a member of the county fair board, said that the situation hadn’t been that good at the fairgrounds for years. 

No one was injured in a boating accident on Lake Minnewaska. A 1973 17 1/2-foot Larson Delta and a 1969 15-foot Glastron tri-hull collided on the lake at about 11 p.m. 

Waterama treasurer Wally Rajdl, reported that buttons sales would probably go well over the $12,000 mark but were expected to fall short of the 1978 record of nearly $14,000.

Jim Holtberg hit two milestones as he retired from Soo Line and from the Glenwood Fire Department. He had been with the railroad for 38 years and had served as a volunteer fireman for 37. He was met at the rail yards by a contingent of fire trucks on his last run. 

August 9, 1993 – The Pope County Free Fair was to open on Sunday, Aug. 15, and run through Wednesday, Aug. 18, at the fairgrounds. New events were to include a kids’ pedal tractor pull, treasure hunts, new musical entertainment and a four-day visit by Oscar, a 12-foot long Holstein steer which weighed over 4,300 pounds. 

The new Waterama queen, Angel Holte, was pictured on the front page of the Tribune with all nine members of her family: Steve and Debby, Cory, Andrew, Ryan, Tyler, Tirzah and Jordan. She was quoted as saying that she didn’t think being Waterama queen was “up her alley.” People had convinced her to run, though, and she won. She continued to help her family with their Christian outreach program, Key Ministries. 

Pope County farmers took to the fields in a big way the previous week as mostly dry weather made it possible to get to work on small grains and hay. While crops such as corn and soybeans were still considered to be well behind normal, some of the initial reports on small grains were decent. 

August 11, 2003 – Preliminary drawings of a new Lakeside Ballroom were expected to be completed in early September. The public was to then be invited to a special meeting to check out the design. 

Sedan Days were coming. The small community of Sedan had a full day’s worth of special events planned.

New PC platform computers were being installed throughout the Minnewaska Area School District. The district had decided to replace most of its Macintosh computers with Dell PCs. There would be 285 new computers installed.

August 5, 2013 – The Glenwood City Commission in July directed the city’s engineering firm, WSN, to do a feasibility study that would reveal the engineering costs of a flood mitigation plan that could include a channel from lake Minnewaska to an inland marina on the Pope County Fairgrounds property.

Since 1872, the Pope County Fair has been bringing the community together. With a mix of friendly competition, fun and informative displays, good food and diverse entertainment, the fair had something for everyone to enjoy. And the bonus free admission. 

It’s that time of year again to put your paddle in the water and race. Starbuck’s 6th annual Dragon Boat Festival is unique to the Starbuck area and will take place this year on Friday, Aug. 9 and Saturday, Aug. 10. Not only will there be dragon boat racing, but the festival activities will include great food, great music, kids’ activities, a parade of teams and much, much more for friends and family.