Looking Back: 1962 - Foot of snow hits region

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One year ago

The seventh annual Bioscience Conference took place in Worthington. Featured speakers included Robert Thurston, G. Steven Burrill, Jack Schultz and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

The “Amazing” Worthington City Band offered a band-produced cookbook for sale. Proceeds from “Sounds Delicious” benefited the band and helped defray some expenses related to the group’s upcoming trip to Crailsheim, Germany.

Windom’s Prairie Arts Continuum presented “The Wizard of Oz.”

The Nobles County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to continue efforts to combine its health and family services departments into a single Nobles County Health and Human Services Agency.

Major changes were on the way for Worthington’s annual city-wide spring trash pick-up, with many items now costing $10 to be taken, and the quantity of trash eligible for pick-up to be limited. Tags costing $10 each were required for humidifiers, dehumidifiers, appliances, mattresses, large pieces of furniture, large rolls of floor coverings and electronics.

Ice was getting closer to being “out” on Lake Okabena, and temperatures in the mid-50s were expected this week.

Five years ago

A controversial rental housing ordinance for the City of Jackson was adopted, with only one dissenting vote. The ordinance was intended to set up basic standards for rental housing in Jackson, requiring landlords to register their property with the city and perform inspections of their rental units.

The price of a first-class stamp was to increase to 41 cents in a month, and Worthington Postmaster Howard Kors said new designations would be made between letters, flats and parcels.

Several Worthington High School speech team members advanced to state competition after qualifying in Section 2AA competition. They were Connor Tripp, Brittany Workman, Brian Juber, Melissa Clark, Branden Roth and Kim Hibma.

Long-time Worthington businessman Karl Schafer, who with his wife Irma owned Schafer’s Organic Health Food Center in downtown Worthington, died this week at age 86.

District 518 and other area schools closed Wednesday afternoon when an early spring snowstorm plopped wet heavy snow throughout the region. At Worthington’s wastewater facility, 6.5 inches of snow were recorded.

10 years ago

All six of the Nobles County 4-H clubs celebrated the 100th anniversary of 4-H by presenting “Share the Fun” Saturday night in Rushmore.

The Raedeke Gallery had a new home at Lee’s Frame and Craft Shoppe on Worthington’s 10th Street.

Windom native Maria Schneider and her 17-piece jazz orchestra performed at the Windom Business, Arts and Recreation Center.

Artist-in-residence Soli Hughes shared the history of rock and roll, and other musical history and information, with Worthington Middle School students this week.

JC Penney celebrated its 100th anniversary while the local JC Penney outlet marked its 75th year in business.

Eight Worthington High School students advanced to state speech competition: Jordan Skog, Liz Ricker, Blaine Anderson, Abigail Roos, Nadine Wolf, Bryan Brignac, Rick Lonneman and Shanna Granstra.

25 years ago

Advertised specials at the Worthington Hy-Vee store this week included a 40-ounce box of Bisquick for $1.77, a box of Betty Crocker blueberry muffin mix for $1.44, a 64-ounce jug of Plain Label liquid laundry detergent for $1.49, a 160-count box of Wash-A-Bye baby wipes for $2.44, and a 21.5 ounce box of Pillsbury brownie mix for $1.19.

A Worthington couple who have been foster parents for more than 22 years received the Foster Parents of the Year award from the Minnesota Social Services Association. Harold and LaVerna Nelsen were the first foster parents from Worthington to ever receive the award, said Ron Hawkinson of the Nobles County Family Services Agency. The Nelsens were one of 22 families in the county who served as foster parents.

Joseph Simeroth of Mountain Lake was among the ex-POWs honored by National Former POW Recognition Day, in conjunction with the 45th anniversary of the fall of Bataan, a battle in which Simeroth fought. Simeroth survived the Bataan Death March, as well as horrific conditions at the Cabanatuan prison camp on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. He said military officials and doctors were at first skeptical of his, and other POWs’, tales of their treatment because “they couldn’t believe anyone could survive under those conditions.”

The Currie fire department doused a house trailer fire on Thursday morning that took about 8,000 gallons of water to extinguish. The house trailer was located three miles west and one mile south of Currie.

50 years ago

Advertised specials this week at Farrington’s Super Valu in Worthington included a package of Hormel’s Brown ‘n Serve sausage for 39 cents, a two-pound can of drip or regular coffee for 99 cents, a 10-pound bag of North Dakota red potatoes for 19 cents, and a dozen Grade “A” large eggs for 25 cents.

On April 11, winter returned to the region with a vengeance, as area residents went to bed Wednesday night and awoke to see 12 inches of snow deposited on their front steps. A fast-moving storm roared out of Canada and gave the Worthington area a good pasting. In addition to the blinding snow, the storm caused numerous power failures and interruptions. More than a half-dozen communities (including Worthington) called off school when visibility dropped to zero at times and snow built up on streets and highways.

A $900,000 slaughter plant was to be built at Luverne. The plant, to be operated by the same group of businessmen who run the Sioux City Dressed Pork plant, was to process 440 steers daily and would employ initially about 75 men, with “good prospects for expansion in the future.”

Mr. and Mrs. Larry Voehl and their three children escaped from a fire which consumed their house (three miles north of Worthington) completely. The family was asleep in their upstairs rooms with the bedroom doors closed when the fire, which had already burned through most of the first floor, was discovered shortly after 5 a.m.

75 years ago

About 50 applicants for membership in the CCC were examined at the district court room in Worthington by a corps of examiners under the direction of Lieutenant R. E. Patnaude of Ft. Snelling. All of the counties of the Worthington area were represented in the day’s enrollment.

A cocker spaniel, Chief, owned by Kirby Hady, was found Saturday, after being missing eight days, in an abandoned grain pit west of St. John & Son’s elevator. The pit was part of an old elevator which burned many years ago. In the pit with Chief was a rat terrier, the ownership of which has not been learned.

Sebo Gueken, aged resident of Rushmore, suffered severe bruises, but otherwise escaped without serious injury, when he fell down the cellar steps at his home. He had been sorting potatoes during the day and neglected to latch the door. Ill luck seems to have dogged the household of the aged and blind man the past week, with his housekeeper, Mrs. Jennie Gersinga, having fallen and broken her hip the previous Monday. She was in a Worthington hospital.

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