From the Mascot Files: 75, 50, and 25 years ago
75 Years Ago-August 18, 1944
Henry B. Van Hyfte
Cpl. Henry B. VanHyfte, son of Mr. and Mrs. Renil VanHyfte, who was killed in action somewhere in France on the 27th of July, was 23 years old at the time of his death.
Tornado
A tornado which hit the east end of Minneota early Tuesday morning did considerable damage in town, also demolished a barn at the August Buysse farm northeast of Minneota and another at the Walter Koepp farm on the west edge of town. The storm struck at 2:30 a.m. and was the second to hit this community in two weeks, a tornado having hit the locality south and west of here on August 3. St. Paul’s Icelandic Lutheran church and parsonage were hard hit, when the wind twisted the entry of the church, moving it to one side of the foundation, and breaking several windows, in the church and a large number of the front rooms of the parsonage. Other barns in town were wrecked and the service station along Highway 68 was toppled over.
Personals
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hamerlinck are the parents of a girl born on Tuesday, August 10. Mr. and Mrs. John Kloos are the parents of a boy born on Sunday, August 13. Pvt. and Mrs. Roland Byrne are the parents of a girl born on Tuesday, August 15. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Finnegan are the parents of a boy born Saturday, August 12, at the Marshall hospital. Mr. and Mrs. William Caron are the parents of a boy born on Friday, August 11. He will be named Lawrence William.
50 Years Ago-August 21, 1969
It’s all shined up
The local school district’s recently acquired 73-passenger bus was getting a ‘shine’ last Friday afternoon from Clarence Boogaard, a mechanic, in anticipation of the term which opens next week. This bus, along with 11 others of various passenger capacities, will be used to haul students to Minneota’s two schools, St. Edward’s parochial and Minneota public, during the coming school year.
4-Hers to model at State Fair
Three Lyon county girls will model their winning garments and gain experience in the field of fashion during the Minnesota State Fair 4-H Dress Revue. They are: Anne DeCock, age 17, from Ghent; Lynetta Johnson, 16, from Russell and Marcy Anderson, 13, of Tracy.
Seek Senior Citizen Center
Phillip Desilet of Cottonwood, representing the Governor’s Council on the Aging, was in Minneota last week seeking information on a senior citizen center for Minneota. A facility of this type would need a building and the services of a director to be hired locally.
No pheasant season in ‘69
There will be no open pheasant season in 1969. Severe winter conditions, coupled with lack of winter cover, resulted in poor survival of pheasant brood stock and was responsible for the 70-percent decrease noted this spring. The loss was as high as 95 percent in some of the northern and western parts of the state.
25 Years Ago-August 17, 1994
Here we go again
After the flooding that the Minneota area received last year, you would think that we would be “off the hook” for a few years. Not so, as Mother Nature once again “smiled” on the area with about six inches of “smiling” last Tuesday evening, August 9. The southwest branch of the Yellow Medicine river, which usually meanders serenely through Riverside Park, was once again out of it’s banks as the above picture shows, which was taken early last Wednesday morning.
Belgian-American days royalty
These young ladies will represent Ghent in the upcoming parades and appearances that surround Belgian-American Days. They are: Jamie Breyfogle, who is the Little Miss Ghent; Trisha Andries, who is the new Belgian-American Days Queen; and Cari Boerboom, who is the new Belgian-American Days Princess.
Young mom helps choking niece
Kim Abraham was glad to help her niece Marissa Fonteyn after she accidentally choked on a piece of candy. This story, and the realization that emergencies arise very quickly, is a call for all young parents, educators, and the general public to take life-saving courses.