The General Merchandise Store in Ghent in 1930.

From the Mascot Files: 100, 75, 50 or 25 Years Ago

100 Years Ago
(Jan. 11, 1921)

A slice of fun at
school pie social
The pie social at the Minneota school last Wednesday was quite a success. The proceeds from the pie social amounted to over 50 dollars, the sale was cried by auctioneer George Benson. After the sale, there was a general and generous eating of pie, after which some games were played.

Local man injured
when splitting wood
P.J. Frost of Minneota was splitting wood on his farm last week when he accidentally drove the axe he was using into his right foot. Frost was taken to the hospital where a doctor needed many stitches to close the wound. Neighbors finished cutting the wood for him.

Four locals set
sail for Belgium
Mr. and Mrs. Ed Focke, Peter Focke, and Henry Dermeut all left Minneota last Monday for Belgium. The four are expected to sail from New York next Saturday. The Fockes have in Minneota for eight years, and Mr. Dermeut for nine. They are expected to return next month.

75 Years Ago
(Jan. 11, 1946)

Buysse elected new
president of MBA
Leo Buysse was elected president of the Minneota Businessman's Association at a meeting held Tuesday evening at Carl's Cafe in Minneota. He was elevated from vice president and succeeds Ragnar Guttormsson as president. Harry W. Tillemans was elected vice president, succeeding Mr. Buysse, and Harry Smishek was elected secretary-treasurer, succeeding L. R. Denno. The financial report showed a large balance of cash on hand and all bills paid.

Trustee Dero sworn
in at council meeting
Trustee Maurice Dero, elected at the last meeting at the last election, was the only new official sworn in at the first meeting of the Village Council to be held this year at the City Hall on Monday evening. Members of the council accepted the Village Financial Statement presented by Recorder K.E. Jones. Mayor E.O. Hallgrimson appointed A.C. Hanson as Fire Marshall, and also named council members to be in charge of the following departments: Maurice Dero, waterworks; Al Kiley, liquor store; Elmer Swanson, parks; and KE. Jones, city hall.

Christmas Seal sales
tops last year's mark
Although all returns in the Christmas Seal campaign were not in, Mr. C.M. Hanson reported that people living in Minneota had already bought a total of $429.85. This year's total so far was already $111.05 ahead of the campaign last year, when $318.80 was sold.

50 Years Ago
(Jan. 7, 1970)

Father, daughter die
in Ghent car crash
A 37-year-old rural Minneota man, Aelgene Hoffman, and his 8-year-old daughter, Suzanne, died about 11 p.m. last Friday evening as a result of a two-car collision on Highway 68 about two miles southeast of Ghent. Hoffman farmed nine miles north of Minneota. Both he and his daughter were dead on arrival at Wiener Memorial Hospital in Marshall. Hoffman's wife, Darlene, and their son, Douglas, 10, were injured.

Minneota schools to
prepare disaster plans
Minneota schools are being directed to prepare detailed plans to go unto effect in the event that the district is threatened by a disaster. While the main emphasis of the program is on plans for dealing with nuclear attacks, it is also concerned with disasters resulting from fire, flood and other natural causes.

Vikings top Ivanhoe
to improve to 4-1
The Minneota boys basketball squad won their fourth game of the season with only one loss as they beat Ivanhoe 57-50 last week. Ken Byrne led the scoring for the Vikings with 18 points. Dennis Fox scored 12 points. The Vikings made 23 of 74 shots from the field.

25 Years Ago
(Jan. 10, 1996)

Council rescinds name
change for library
The Minneota City Council, at its regular meeting on Monday night, changed its mind on changing the name of the Minneota Library. At the last City Council meeting on Dec. 4, the Council had approved the changing of the name to "The J.H. and Freida Geiwitz Public Library. It was the general consensus that Council had not given itself enough time in making the decision at the previous meet.

Teachers and board
come to agreement
In a special meeting early Monday morning, the two-year contract agreement between local teachers and the school district was ratified. The teachers had already met and agreed to the language and financial package, and after some discussion, the school board also approved the contract with a unanimous vote. The 1995-96 contract will see a 2.89 percent increase, while the 1996-97 contract increases by 2.81 percent.

Vikings win tourney
for 4th year in row
The Minneota wrestling team won the championship of the eight-team Benson tournament for the fourth straight year last Saturday. All 13 Viking wrestlers placed in the top three. Minneota finished with 261.5 points. Marshall was second with 157.5 points and Benson was third with 147.5 points. Bruce Laleman won his fourth consecutive individual title at this tournament. Waylon Yeo, John Myhre, Josh Sanow and Travis Gillund were also champions.

Tractor Club forming
A new club is forming in the area and is dealing with a topic familiar to everyone - tractors. There is much interest in getting a tractor club started. An informational meeting was held last month and 11 people were in attendance. The plan is to get together two or three times a year and plow with antique tractors. The club is open to those 18 and older. Members do not need to own an antique tractor to join. The club is being formed by Mike Downing and Paul Fonteyn.

This Day in
Minnesota History
1816 - Stephen Miller is born in Carroll, Pennsylvania. After moving to Minnesota at age 42, he would become a general in the Civil War and serve as the state’s fourth governor from 1864 to 1865. He died in Worthington on Aug. 18, 1881.

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