Looking Back - 2004 - Ground broken on new Windom funeral home

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One year ago

Clete Lipetzky began work as the interim principal at Worthington Middle School, stepping in as former principal Jeff Britten moved to fill the role of District 518 curriculum coordinator.

Just weeks after arresting seven people in two separate methamphetamine busts, the Pipestone County Sheriff’s Office and the Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force executed search warrants in two more drug investigations in Pipestone.

Bruce Viessman, Worthington, was hired as vice president of finance for Sanford Health Network of Sioux Falls, S.D. Viessman had spent the previous 20 years as chief financial officer at Worthington Regional Hospital.

The Worthington Stingrays swim team, the smallest club to participate, finished 14th out of 19 teams at the YMCA state swim meet at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Five years ago

Worthington High School students performed “South Pacific” at Memorial Auditorium. The production was co-directed by Kris Besel and Kathy Briggs.

Joel and Shannon LaCanne, owners of Anderson-Schmidt-LaCanne Funeral Home Inc., broke ground on a new facility in north Windom last fall and anticipated an open house at the 7,400 square-foot structure by mid-May.

While Ground Round’s parent company, Massachusetts-based American Hospitality Concepts Inc., announced that Ground Round Inc. ceased as a corporation and all corporate restaurants were closed, franchise operations such as Worthington’s would remain open.

Worthington was selected as a site for the U.S. Windsurfing Association’s National Race Tour, with the Worthington races to be hosted in conjunction with the annual Worthington Windsurfing Regatta and Unvarnished Music Festival from June 11-13.

10 years ago

Worthington High School communication teacher and debate adviser Kris Besel received the National Forensic League Diamond Key Award at the National Forensic Tournament. The award acknowledged Besel’s debate teams, which earned 15,000 points over her 14 years as adviser. Besel received a certificate and a diamond clock as part of the recognition.

Worthington hosted 200 Lions for the Lions District 5M-3 convention. Terri Hughes of Westbrook received the Melvin Jones Fellow Award for her exemplary duty as a Lions member.

Blue Line Travel Center, owned by Larry Potter, opened its 120-seat restaurant for service.

25 years ago

Ruby Moore, a resident of the Sogge Home in Windom, celebrated her 100th birthday.

Robby Paine, 16, an 11th-grader at Sioux Valley-Round Lake school, was named the Daily Globe’s carrier of the month. Robby was the son of Orville and Betty Paine.

A retirement tea was held in the hospital cafeteria for Dorothy Sitton, R.N. Sitton was an employee at Worthington Regional Hospital for 31 years.

A straw poll vote told the Sibley city council to keep the municipal power plant. A crowd of more than 500 at a public hearing Monday night voted 316 to 23 in favor of maintaining the city’s electric and steam plant.

Stephen Bloom began work as the public health sanitarian for the Rock-Nobles health district. Bloom was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Bloom, formerly of Okabena.

50 years ago

Worthington’s high school varsity debate team earned a second-place tie on contest wins in the Minnesota state debate tournament at Macalester College and was awarded the official fifth place by a final determination of judges’ points and speakers’ points. Worthington’s coach was David Kanelis; debating on the affirmative were Kathy King and Barbara Hegg, while Kathy Fiola and David Minge debated on the negative. Luverne High School, whose team took second place in regional competition the previous week, finished 19th in state competition.

Grand Patriarch Andy De Freese of Reading was honored at a reception given for him by members of the local Odd Fellows Encampment and Ladies Encampment Auxiliary in the I.O.O.F. Temple in Worthington.

Pipestone High School, with its production of “The Monkey’s Paw,” won a superior rating and first place at the district one-act play contest in Luverne.

75 years ago

Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Taylor of Adrian celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, with festivities including an 8 o’clock mass at St. Adrian’s church. Relatives of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were entertained at a dinner at noon, with a three-tiered wedding cake decorated in gold and white as a centerpiece. The couple’s six sons and daughters were present for the occasion; they had 26 grandchildren.

The Worthington Globe’s front page featured a photo of the oldest frame house in Nobles County. The structure was built in 1871 and was located on the northwest quarter of section 18, Indian Lake Township, on the Nordquist homestead. The builders were E. Nordquist, Hans Nystrom, Olof Nystrom, C. J. Wickstrom and Eric Mahlberg — pioneers in the Indian Lake vicinity. The lumber was hauled by ox team from Windom, the round trip taking four days. Hans Nystrom, 88 years old in April, was the only one of the builders still alive.

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