110 YEARS AGO

From May 10, 1912

The Larson Bros. had secured the contract for building the new school building at Kensington.

The boat from Glenwood to Starbuck had commenced operations and with the completion of the new dock, regular service would begin.

New Speed Ordinance – The village council of the Village of Starbuck do ordain- Section I -No automobiles or motorcycles shall run at higher speed on the streets of the village than 8 miles an hour. Section II- It shall be the duty of the driver to make the widest possible curve in turning from one street to another.

100 YEARS AGO

From May 5, 1922 

Pastor H.O. Koefod announced in church that he would resign as pastor of Fron church. He had been the pastor of the Fron congregation since 1888.

Radio is the rage these days. True, it is largely a fad, but there is no question but that it has come to stay and will eventually become one of the most important factors in our modern civilization.

Parochial school started on Monday with Martin Ronnie as teacher. School would be held every other day in Districts 44 and 45 through the two months term.

The Farmer’s Store had installed a fine new refrigerator. It had six individual compartments with a lock on each and made a fine addition to this modernly equipped store.

90 YEARS AGO

From May 5, 1932 

Dr. A.F. Giesen leased the Minnewaska Clinic building from the board of directors at a special meeting. The lease would run for a year. He would take possession about June 1.

H.M. Johnshoy, former representative from Pope County, was endorsed for lieutenant governor by the leaders of the Democratic party gathered in St. Paul.

About 200 government seed loans were made in the county this spring and the contracts filed with the register of deeds.

Starbuck lost their first ball game to Benson 10 to 3. The following played on the Starbuck team: Opheim, Holte, Engen, Wesen, Aaberg, Noyes, R. Olmeim, M. Olmeim and Torgerson.

80 YEARS AGO

From May 7, 1942 

Clarence Hanson narrowly escaped losing the sight in his left eye while cleaning out the generator preparing for a refill of acetylene gas used for welding.

A tornado ripped through an area west of Starbuck, six to seven miles long and less than half a mile wide, wrecking barns and damaging other farm buildings.

The Starbuck band would play at Glenwood Thursday when the first group of May boys leave for the service.

70 YEARS AGO

From May 1, 1952

Earl Ohlgren, who had been manager of Lowry Creamery the past three years, recently resigned his position and would assume the management of a larger creamery at Dent, Minn.

The Home Economics class at the high school held a style show on Wednesday afternoon.

60 YEARS AGO

From May 3, 1962

In the State Music Contest held in Morris last weekend, the Starbuck High School band received their fourth trophy for an “A” rating in four years. The chorus received a “B” rating. Miss Katherine Lee, senior and first chair clarinetist in the band was the only “A” winner for Starbuck in the small groups division. She was accompanied by Miss Alice Kyvig.

The mercury zoomed to an uncomfortable 91 degrees Wednesday, melted the remaining soggy ice in Lake Minnewaska. Cooler weather set in on Friday when a low of 30 degrees again coated windshields with ice.

Norman Norland, a sophomore in the Starbuck High School, received a rating of excellent in the state speech contest which was held at Hamlin University in St. Paul on April 14. He gave a memorized oration entitled “America Means” by William Rasi Benet.

50 YEARS AGO

From May 4, 1972

The Rev. Donald Oldenburg had accepted a call to serve as associate pastor of Fron and Minnewaska churches. He would take up his new duties on August 1.

Jeff Sorenson, employee at the local bakery received severe burns about his face and neck when the oven exploded of unknown causes.

Debra Christofferson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Unker Christofferson, would participate in the State Teen-Ager Pageant at the Holiday Inn in Minneapolis.

Ed Chan of Lowry purchased the Mentor Bothum home and would take possession June 1.

40 YEARS AGO

From May 12, 1982

Two area residents, Gary Halvorson of Starbuck and Carol Leonard were injured in a motorcycle accident May 7 on County Road 113, one mile north of County Road 24 in Pope County. Halvorson was hospitalized in Starbuck, while Leonard was transferred to Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.

Vying for a seat on the Starbuck School Board were Roger S. Anderson, Erna Koloski, Barb Lamski, Robert Lunderby and Nancy Olson.

Rochelle Ranum, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Ranum, had been selected as a finalist in the 1982 Miss Minnesota National Pre-Teen Pageant to be held in Minneapolis Sept. 25.

James Syverson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sherman Syverson of Starbuck, had been named to the Directors List of Willmar Area Vocational Technical Institute.

30 YEARS AGO

From May 6, 1992

Tammy Hovendick was crowned the new Pope County Dairy Princess at the Pope County Dairy banquet. She was the daughter of Ron and Carol Hovendick of Starbuck. Heather Nissen and Angie Hacker were the 1992 princesses.

Students of the Month for May at Starbuck Elementary were Garrett Swenson, Cory Gullickson, Lance Wesen, Jesse Beaumia, Therese Freeman, Sharon Mitchell, Tracy Ronning, Mindy Martin, Britta Shea, Aimee Berg, Melissa Swartz, Mary Kerkvliet, Stephanie Wesen, Stephen Mitchell, Tim O’Neil and Daniel Giese.

Janelle Bright, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Bright of Morris had been chosen Teacher-of-the-Year at the Bertha-Hewitt School.

20 YEARS AGO

From May 1, 2002

Approximately 25 people attended Arbor Day ceremonies at the Starbuck Lakeshore Park. As part of the ceremony, Starbuck’s longtime city forester Milton Carlson was honored with a tree planting for his service to the community.

The Minnewaska District Hospital board continued to move “toward a new beginning” at its meeting, reviewing the steps that were expected to be taken in the next few months to integrate the hospital with the Starbuck Clinic. 

The following students would advance to the state History Day competition: Kaitlin Olson, Jessie Mitchell, Sami McLain, Tiffany Kocher, Marissa Henricksen, Mandi Riley, Paige Cooley, Chris Bot, Matt Bailey, Derrek Hyland, Mitch Johnson, Wendell Sletten and Holly Gosline.

10 YEARS AGO

From May 9, 2012

In honor of National Charter School Week (May 6-12), Glacial Hills Elementary was highlighted with some facts about how the school started and how it had grown over its five years of existence. The positive impact the school had had on the community had been evidenced through continuous support from families, businesses, senior citizens and community members.

Starbuck had been nominated as one of the ‘best small towns’ in the U.S. for the Rand McNally Atlas in its 2014 year edition. There were five categories for which a town could be entered: Friendliest, Most Beautiful, Most Fun, Most Patriotic, and Best For Food.