Schmeckpeper hits second hole-in-one

Sept. 10, 1964 – A severe windstorm did heavy damage to trees in the area when it whirled through town and country very early on a Wednesday morning. Power outages were common, including one which left the city of Glenwood without electricity for some time.

Diane Peterson of Brooten had been chosen to serve as the stewardess on Hubert Humphrey’s campaign plane. Senator Humphrey was paired with Lyndon Johnson on the national ballot for president/vice president.

Four central Minnesota sheriffs asked Gov. Karl Rolvaag to provide National Guard help to monitor the highways so that livestock shipments could get through, following protests by the National Farmers Organization and others. The sheriffs of Stevens, Kandiyohi, Pope and Chippewa counties had requested the assistance.

Young T.J. Schmeckpeper was pictured in the Tribune following his second hole-in-one — his second hole-in-one on the same hole at the Minnewaska Golf Club that he had aced three years earlier. Schmeckpeper was a student at Georgetown University.

Sept. 12, 1974 – The Tribune reported that about 150 area farmers and other residents remained unconvinced that a 400-kvDC power line through the county was a good idea. The county planning commission had also one more time delayed its action on the matter.

A primary election voter total of only 856 was the lowest in the history of Pope County with only 171 votes cast in the city of Glenwood. There were, however, no county contests, which no doubt contributed to the low turnout.

The Glenwood Education Association and the Glenwood Board of Education agreed to a salary pact. The signing had taken 15 bargaining sessions. The beginning pay for a teacher moved from $7,375 to $8,335, with teachers throughout the district receiving similar increments. The new scale would cost the district just over $120,000 in additional wages, a 15 percent increase over the previous year. 

Sept. 13, 1984 – The Pope County Board of Commissioners set a special meeting to consider the tax levy for 1985. Despite a $7,000 cut in governmental aid and a corresponding increase in the amount the county could levy, to $170,000, commissioners said they were determined to “hold the line.” There were no surprises in primary election results in the county. Democrats and Republicans turned out in fairly even numbers to vote for the endorsed candidates of their political parties. Nearly 1,450 voters turned out to cast their ballots.

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Lowry was about to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the congregation.

4-H record keeping might not be very glamorous, but Jim Onerhiem, county extension worker with 4-H, said they were essential to 4-H efforts. Pictured in the Tribune while they judged such records were Val Bryce, Susan Kuseske, Marilyn Hulbert and Phyllis Erickson. 

Sept. 12, 1994 – Minnesota’s primary election day was set for Tuesday, Sept. 13. The purpose of the election was to allow voters, who chose to affiliate with a major political party, to select the nominees of the party to run in November’s general election. Voters had to cast their votes in the candidates of one party only or the ballot would be rejected. There was to be no primary election for county or city offices in Pope County.

Hundreds of people turned out to tour the new 250-cow dairy barn at Dorrich Dairy south of Glenwood. Richard Vold and his family hosted the open house and tour and showed the latest methods in operating a dairy. The barn was nearing completion and was to be put into use in October.

The Tribune reported that Glenwood exchange telephone dialers should get ready to dial 612 more often. Beginning Sept. 17, people making long-distance calls, even with the area code 612, had to dial the 612 area code prefix. The purpose of the change, according to US West, was to make more telephone numbers available for consumers.

Sept. 6, 2004 – Enrollment at Minnewaska Area Schools had dropped again, leaving a district already facing financial hardships with less state-paid money. Falling numbers came as no big surprise to teachers, staff and administration as declining enrollment had been an issue for the district for the last few years. They had, however, hoped the numbers would be bigger.

Report cards were in for the “No Child Left Behind” legislation, and Villard Elementary Academy had been honored as one of the top schools in the state. VEA was named one of 71 schools (including elementary, middle and high schools) in the state which not only met federal accountability standards but maintained exceptional academic performance with five out of five stars in reading and math. 

Sept. 8, 2014 – Senior king and queen candidates, attendants and escorts from grades 9-11, first-grade royalty and a piano accompanist have all been selected for Minnewaska Area High School’s 2014 Homecoming Coronation. The program will be held at the MAHS auditorium on Monday, Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m. Pictured in the Tribune, King candidate Bret Ingebretson, Queen candidate Ariel Ostrander and King candidate Luke Nielsen, freshman attendant Madelynn Reichmann, sophomore attendant Raelynn Wildman, senior queen candidates Mariah Gerard, Kaitlyn Lundebrek, Mycheala Heidecker, Jada Hoffman, Becca Goettsch and Jordyn Roggenkamp, accompanist Cole Mercier, sophomore escort Carter Westberg, junior attendant Emily Haus, junior escort Peter Frischmon, king candidates Jon Nygaard, Will Anderson, Jackson Hendrickson, Michael Maus and Matt Paulson and freshman escort Jake Hoffman. Not pictured: first-grade royalty Lauryn Ankeny and Jonathan Hagen. 

Torrential rain that was part of a heavy thunderstorm system that moved through Glenwood and most of Pope County at about 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, dropped nearly 4 inches of rain on the city in about an hour and a half. The heavy rains caused flooding once again in the Pope County Fairgrounds and 4th Street NW area of the city and closed Highway 28 for the afternoon hours. City crews were on site about the time the rain stopped, pumping the storm water on 4th Street into Lake Minnewaska.

One of the outstanding student athletes from the first years at Minnewaska Area High School was Brian Malyon, a hard-working, naturally gifted athlete with speed, strength and tremendous leaping ability who excelled in football, basketball and track and field. His varsity athletic career began at Glenwood High School in 1989 when he earned his first letter as a freshman in track and field. A year later he earned letters not only in track and field, but in football and basketball as well during the final year of the Blue and Gold. During Malyon’s senior campaign in 1992 he led the area with 43 receptions as the Lakers won the West Central Conference Championship. He was named to the WCC All-Conference team and chosen to represent MAHS on the West Central Tribune All-Area team. This year, Malyon was to be inducted into the 2014 Minnewaska Area Schools Athletic Hall of Fame.