Save the Auditorium Committee exceeds goal

June 25, 1964 – Eight people were hospitalized after a tornado roared through the county, hitting especially hard around the Lake Pelican and Silver Beach areas. One resident said “I looked up and saw the funnel coming, and about a thousand feet in the air, there was a chair suspended upright. It gradually dropped and finally landed still in an upright position.”

The Glenwood City Commission OK’d a cable television system for Glenwood. Operated by Central Minnesota Television Co., the system was expected to be in operation in a period of less than a year’s time. 

A 10-year-old boy from St. Paul landed the big fish of the season when he pulled in a 7-pound walleye from Grove Lake. Resorts on Lake Reno and Maple Lake reported that many vacationers were bringing in their limits of walleyes while fishing on those two lakes. 

June 20, 1974 – A Starbuck girl was crowned Pope County Dairy Princess at the annual contest. She was Mary Thompson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth Thompson of Blue Mounds Township. Runners-up were Brenda Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Burton Johnson of Starbuck, and Irene Tharaldson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Odean Tharaldson, also of Starbuck. 

The grand opening of Glenwood’s Hardware Hank store was held with John and Lillian Caskey, owners, hosting the event. The store covered 100,000 square feet. The Caskey’s had already been in the hardware business in Glenwood for 12 years by that time. 

American Legion Auxiliary officers for the 1974-75 year included Doris Chapman, Joyce Bommersbach, Lenora Benner, Dorothy Halverson, Myrtle Sylvester, Gwen Shea, Florence Sandeen, Jane Jenum, Shirley Zemke, Harriet Overby, Millie Meyer and Ardis Stone. 

June 21, 1984 – Bud Hoven retired from the Glenwood Volunteer Fire Department after 29 years. He had joined the department in 1955 when asked by former chief, Knute Eide. He described the Glenwood department as being better equipped than most. 

A Stevens County woman was charged with a misdemeanor in connection with a recent election in New Prairie Township. She had apparently mailed campaign information without including its source, a violation of state law. 

Steve Shea was pictured in the Tribune with Waterama Admiral Don McNae as he bought the first Waterama button of the year. 

Glenwood’s Sacred Heart parish was about to honor the Rev. Ray Lang, who was retiring from active parish life. He had been in priesthood for 41 years. 

June 20, 1994 – The “Save the Auditorium Committee” had exceeded its goal. The committee, whose goal was to save the auditorium and west wing of Central High School in Glenwood, had announced that it had received over $53,000 in cash and had additional pledges for future donations. The committee had been meeting weekly to finalize its business plan and to settle on what uses would be anticipated for the structure. 

A $1,000 donation was made to the Quest program at Minnewaska Area High School by area Lions Clubs and the Minnewaska Showstoppers. Pictured in the Tribune were Wally Rajdl, president of Lowry Lions Club; Hub Kleinschmidt, president of the Glenwood Lions Club; Shirley Bailey, representing the school district’s community education department; Wayne Norby, MAHS principal; Harvey Pederson, president of the Starbuck Lions Club; and Richard Sivertson, representing Showstoppers. This donation to Quest was in addition to a $300 donation from the Lowry Lions Club. 

Minnewaska Area High School girls’ softball coach Steve Hoffman received “Region Coach of the Year” honors after taking the Laker girls to the state tournament. The award was voted on by area coaches. 

The Midsommernatts Festival, sponsored by the Mjøsen Lodge Sons of Norway, was celebrated in Glenwood City Park. Pictured in the Tribune were the newly crowned 1994 Sons of Norway queen and princess, Jamie Koob, the daughter of Steve and Dede Koob of Cyrus; queen, Jodie Field, the daughter of Mike and Priscilla Field of Brooten; and Tricia Pederson, the daughter of Becky Oeltjen of Glenwood and Richard Pederson of Starbuck. 

June 14, 2004 – Reid Nelson played aggressive tennis this season for the Minnewaska boys’ team. He was the only player from the team to advance to the state tournament on June 10 in singles play. Nelson knocked down all of his section opponents to take the title of section 6A champion during the last week of school.

Nathan Stoen, a Minnewaska student and athlete, was honored with the Athlete of Distinction award as he was nominated for the West Central Tribune’s Gengstler-Ranweiler award. The award, presented annually, was set up to honor top athletes in the 21-school district area. Stoen was one of the 35 nominees for 2004.

Pope Art in Terrace presented for the one-woman play, Dottie: A Story of Dorothy Parker. Dorothy Parker was a poet, author and screenwriter. She was notorious for her outrageous one-liners and dry wit. The play was a one-woman show written by Philip Blue Owl Hooser, performed by Carolyn Pool and directed by Suzy Messerole. The Director’s Theater of Minneapolis produced the show in 2001. 

June 16, 2014 – In 1979, Wasp, Inc. officially put down roots as part of the Glenwood community. It began by manufacturing ground support equipment for the aircraft industry. The company had grown to be a major local employer and served three primary markets: aircraft ground support equipment, package conveyor systems and trailers for the United States military. As Wasp, Inc. entered its 35th year in the community, the company held an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) meeting at the Minnewaska Area High School auditorium to review the year’s trends and celebrate the company’s growth. 

Glenwood City Commissioners voted unanimously to give Pope County a variance for a county-owned parking lot in front of the county’s Health and Human Services building along Minnesota Avenue. The variance also allows the county to sell the eastern portion (about 16,000 square feet) of the property along 3rd Street NE to a private entity. The approved variance allowed the county to provide 79 total parking spaces, down 33 parking spaces from the original agreement reached in 2010 when the county courthouse expansion took place.

Marthaler Chevrolet of Glenwood partnered with the Minnewaska Baseball Association in Glenwood. Marthaler Chevrolet of Glenwood joined forces with the national Chevrolet Youth Baseball program to provide new equipment, a monetary contribution, invitations to free instructional clinics, and an opportunity for community members to earn additional donations for their league via a “Test Drive” fundraiser.