Minnewaska area sees first signs of winter

Nov. 26, 1964 – Thieves broke into the Ruhr-American building and got away with an estimated $7,000 in guns and sporting goods. Ruhr-American officials said that the thieves apparently knew what they were doing since they took only the most expensive items, including some rifles valued at over $200 each.

A St. Paul resident and Osakis native moved to Novel Callaghan. He was C. David Nelson who had recently graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law.

Glenwood’s First Baptist Church had a new pastor. He was the Rev. William Parker from Parkers Prairie, who was a graduate of Central Bible Seminary in Minneapolis and had served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He and his family had moved into the church’s parsonage.

Nov. 28, 1974 – Glenwood residents were assured of a white Thanksgiving when the first snow of the season fell. Lake Minnewaska had partially frozen over, but warm winds once more cleared the lake of any covering.

Dr. Frank S. Stone, a retired Glenwood dentist, died in Texas where he and his wife were vacationing. Dr. Stone was born in Northfield in 1897, served in the U.S. Marines during World War I, graduated from the University of Minnesota’s dental school in 1923 and had practiced dentistry in Glenwood from 1944 until his retirement in 1973. He had played on the Gopher football teams of the early 1920s.

Glenwood seniors named to the fall quarter A honor roll were Laurie Blair, Alan Bryce, Luanne Doughty, Karen Ewing, Julie Foner, Eileen Halvorson, Julie Hanson, Gary Keckeisen, Les LaCroix, Brian Long, Lila Mattson, Sheila Pederson, Peggy Schuhmacher, Mike Stackpool, Sandra Sutton, Liz Tauber, Mike Terhaar, Jackie Varner, Betty Wildman and Brenda Witikko.

Nov. 29, 1984 – Lake Minnewaska had taken a couple of shots at freezing over but was still open water following a 61-degree temperature on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

A delegation of Sedan residents and Bangor Township residents appeared before the Pope County Board of Commissioners to ask for the vacation of what had been thought to be a township road running through part of Sedan. Records showed that it was a county road, however, that had not been maintained since the 1940s. County engineer Dick Gasser said it was apparently an oversight that the road had not been vacated before.

Pope County farmer Larry Lent encountered one of the hazards of a busy harvest season when his combine caught fire as he worked in a field north of Sedan. The fire call was answered by the Glenwood Sedan and Brooten fire departments.

Nov. 28, 1994 –  The first measurable snow in Pope County had proved to be plentiful; nearly 8 inches of the white fluffy stuff landed on Sunday. The storm which brought the snow had been strong enough to warrant winter storm warnings for most of Minnesota.

A murder/suicide in Gilchrist Township on Thanksgiving Day due to an argument over a loud muffler was the first homicide in Pope County in over 10 years. A 47-year-old man from Annandale fired the fatal shot and then later took his own life.

Lakers’ boys’ basketball coach Greg Starns had his entire starting line-up from the previous years 11-12 team returning for the 1994-95 basketball season. The returning starters were junior Benji Starns, senior Luke Anderson, junior Matt Anderson, senior Ryan Erdman and center Matt Shea. The remaining varsity players for the team were seniors Mitch Johnsrud, Pat Rajdl, Will Cooley, Jim Poock, Jack Burns, Cory Holte, John Whittemore and Dan Wold, and juniors Ted Hanson, Josh Zavadil, Eddy Blok and Tom Olson.

A Christmas tree was put up on the Pope County Bank Plaza and decorated with lights. Pictured in the Tribune working on the tree were Chuck Bullock, chamber manager Jim Clayton, Marie Gartner and Gordon Wagner.

Nov. 22, 2004 – While driving through Morris, Glenwood residents could a glimpse of a familiar and very large face. Glenwood native Craig Cihlar was featured in Morris on a large billboard encouraging citizens to send their support through care packages to troops serving overseas. Cihlar, the son of Marlene and Bob Cihlar had been in Iraq serving as a National Guardsman since February of this year, stationed in Baghdad at Camp Anaconda. Cihlar’s mother, Marlene, said that he felt “we have a lot of rebuilding to do there.”

A total of $350,397.03 had been raised from 532 donors for the Lakeside Ballroom rebuilding fund as of Nov. 10, according to Barb Marquardt of the informal Lakeside Ballroom fundraising committee. Of that, $221,597.03 was in cash and $128,800 was in pledges. Donations have come from residents of 30 states and one foreign country. Of the states, Minnesota had the most donors to date with 435, while Colorado and California were tied with seven donors each, and Texas, Arizona and Wisconsin had six each. States with five donors included Montana, Indiana and Florida. Of the Minnesota donors, 163 had Glenwood addresses. 

Nov. 24, 2014 – On Nov. 20 the Minnewaska Area Elementary School gymnasium brimmed with pride and gratitude as students, staff and local veterans organizations pulled together to present a belated Veterans Day program in honor of area veterans. The original program, scheduled for Nov. 10 at Minnewaska Area High School, was canceled by heavy snow and treacherous driving conditions. The program began with the Posting of the Colors, followed by Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. The Pope County Men’s Chorus added their voices to the day, and patriotic songs were performed by elementary students grades K-4. Uniforms worn by retired Air Force veteran Tracy Merriman were worn by five fourth-grade students as she gave a presentation on each. Before the Retiring of the Colors, MAHS junior Collin Stumpf played Taps and Remembrance on trumpet.

Several Minnewaska Area High School musicians have had the chance this fall to delve deeper into the world of music performance through two honor band experiences. Alicia Pederson, clarinet, performed at both the Gustavus High School Honor Band Festival on Nov. 3 and the Augustana Band Festival on Nov. 15. Kallan Mercier, trombone, joined Pederson in performing at the Augustana Band Festival.

As suddenly frigid air hit the (relatively) warm waters of Lake Minnewaska on Nov. 14 at 8:30 a.m., ice began to form under the cover of billowing fog banks. The official ice-on date for the big lake was Nov. 14, a full 10 days later than the record set when Lake Minnewaska froze on Nov. 4, 1991.