Looking Back - 1937: Worthington feels impact of Sioux Falls explosion

Talk about it

One year ago

Khloe Delphine Markus was the first baby born in 2011 at Worthington Regional Hospital. The daughter of Chad and Sophia Markus, Worthington, Khloe arrived at 5:29 p.m. Jan. 3, weighing 7 lbs. 3 oz.

Sterling Drug was on track for a March 1 opening at its new location at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 10th Street. The 8,000 square-foot building was kitty-corner from Sterling’s previous downtown facility, which was purchased and renovated by Iowa Lakes Orthopedics.

Blowing snow and widespread loss of visibility caused the National Weather Service to warn travelers to exercise caution in southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. Many area schools closed early, including those in Worthington, Adrian, Fulda, Luverne and Windom.

Five years ago

Barb Kuper opened Wine and Stein on Main in Luverne recently. Offerings included Grolsch beer from Holland, gluten-free beers and many wines.

Jack Lyle Cihak was the first baby born in 2007 at Worthington Regional Hospital. The son of J. B. and Fallon Cihak, Windom, Jack arrived at 8:20 a.m. Jan. 2, weighing 7 lbs., 12 oz.

A fire destroyed the home of Julie Hohensee, Bigelow. While a house dog died in the blaze, no humans were present or injured.

The Nobles County Family Service Agency announced plans to investigate 14 cases totaling $47,795 of potential fraud over the past year.

10 years ago

Lutheran Social Services closed its Worthington office after a 27-year history of service to the weary, despondent and afflicted in the community. Former Lutheran Social Services counselor Joe Hoehn planned to start his own center, Prairie Rose Counseling, in the former LSS office.

McKenna Faith Palm was the first baby born in 2002 at Worthington Regional Hospital. The daughter of Stacy DeVries and Michael Palm, McKenna arrived at 5:32 a.m. Jan. 2 and weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz.

The Worthington Police Department was investigating an accident in which a van backed into the front of a building on Worthington’s 10th Street.

Ice fishing was in full swing on area lakes — including Lake Okabena — with shacks, shanties and portable houses dotting the landscape.

25 years ago

Agnes Brandt, 1280 Maplewood Drive, Worthington, got a late Christmas present this week — $5,000. Brandt won the money in a fundraiser for St. Mary’s Catholic Church via a calendar project. Brandt said she had no special plans for spending the money.

Kristie Kae Meyer was the first baby born in 1987 at Worthington Regional Hospital. Kristie, the daughter of Robert and June Meyer of Sheldon, Iowa, arrived at 1:33 p.m. Jan. 1 and weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz. Although Kristie was the first baby born overall in the new year, the first boy arriving locally in 1987 was Joshua Sasse, son of Beth and Dan Sasse, Brewster.

A pickup truck owned by Verdeen Tiedeman, rural Pipestone, crashed through the ice on West Graham Lake. Tiedeman and his passengers escaped through the windows, receiving no injuries. The following day, a work crew from Hage Oil Co. in Lakefield tried to fish the pickup out of the icy waters but didn’t initially succeed.

Three members of the Nobles County Board of Commissioners took the oath of office Tuesday morning. They were Marv Tripp, Marvin Baumgard and Harry Russell. The other two 1987 commissioners were Orville Wee and Frank Gunnink.

50 years ago

Mrs. Stanley Clausen of Avoca gave birth to the first baby of 1962 at the Worthington hospital. Her son arrived at 9:34 a.m. Jan. 1, closely followed within the span of four hours by three other babies. The Clausen baby was the family’s first, and the prizes awarded by Worthington merchants would “go a long way toward furnishing needed equipment for the Clausen nursery.”

Worthington city police reported a total of 290 auto accidents having occurred in the city during 1961, four less than during 1960. But three fatalities were reported during the year as compared with one the previous 12 months.

Three persons died in Minnesota traffic accidents on the first day of the new year, with two dying in a head-on collision near Lake Benton — Mrs. Therese Virginia Swanson, 29, and Steven Melcher, 18, both of Lake Benton.

Preliminary estimates placed the value of building projects started or completed in Worthington during 1961 at more than $3,200,000. The biggest single project included in the total was the city’s new sewage disposal plant, valued at $1,512,000.

75 years ago

Worthington residents felt a “distinct tremor” when five tons of high explosives were set off by three mobsters near Sioux Falls, S.D. Though 65 miles distant from the explosion site, Worthington was definitely shaken by the resultant earth tremor. The last previous occasion when Worthington was jarred by a distant blast was about 1921, when a toe-cap charge in the Luverne quarry let loose one morning.

Tragedy which would have undoubtedly wiped out an entire family was averted Friday noon when Arnold Schulz, a farmer living five miles north of Worthington, noticed a stick of dynamite in a lump of coal which he was about to place in the heater at his home. Had he placed the coal into the fire, the resultant blast would have wiped out the Schulz family. In the house at the time were Mr. and Mrs. Schulz and their 19-year-old son Norris.

The son of Mr. and Mrs. William Kluever, as of yet unnamed, was born at 12:22 a.m. Jan. 1 at the “General hospital here” [Worthington], and hailed as the first baby born in Nobles County in the new year. He weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. and had one older brother. A close second was Harry George Courson, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Courson, born at 3 a.m. Jan. 1 at the Manson hospital.

Tags: looking back, lifestyle, columns, reminiscing