Looking Back: 1987 - Worthington prom hosted for 36th time

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One year ago

Former Minnesota West president Ron Wood was recommended for the post of interim president of Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, announced MNSCU Chancellor James H. McCormick. Wood had already said he would accept the appointment, if offered, with a July 1 start date.

Two students from southwest Minnesota schools took top honors at the state speech competition, and 13 others placed in the top eight. Sean Benz, a Worthington High School senior, won first-place in the extemporaneous reading category, while Morgan Potter of Windom High School won first place in the prose category.

Congressman Tim Walz stopped at The Meadows in Worthington to discuss the federal budget, health care and efforts to get Republicans and Democrats working together.

Original music by two Mexican composers was part of the program at the Cantare! Community Concert this week at Memorial Auditorium. About 150 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders sang, as well as select Worthington High School choristers, the Worthington Chamber Singers, and special guest VocalEssence, a professional choral ensemble from the Twin Cities.

AGCO officials and dignitaries broke ground with gold-colored shovels to celebrate a major expansion project at the AGCO facility in Jackson.

Five years ago

More than 200 people gathered at the Jackson National Guard Armory for the 2007 district Boy Scout Scout-o-Rama.

The Worthington High School team won the overall outstanding recognition award for the third year in a row at the recent Culinary Skills Challenge.

A Lao new year celebration with more than 300 people attending took place at the Brewster Legion Hall.

The Worthington High School concert choir, directed by Joseph Osowski, participated in the two-day “Choirs of Note” Festival at Marshall High School. Choral legend Dale Warland was a clinician.

The Fulda Community Players presented a rescheduled “Father Knows Best.” The production’s performances were delayed due to the serious illness of lead actor Dan Uttech.

10 years ago

District 518 had voted on and adopted $650,000 in budget reductions for 2002-03. Supporters said the compromise plan was in alignment with voters’ desire to make deep cuts in administration.

The Green Earth Players presented the musical “Oliver!” at the Luverne High School Little Theatre with a cast of 76.

Fire destroyed a garage and two vehicles late Tuesday evening at the Jerry and Char Breuker residence off Nobles County 35 near Rushmore.

Kathy Gallagher was the recipient of the 2002 Athena Award, presented to her at the annual Salute to Women banquet in Worthington.

The Nobles County commissioners voted unanimously to support the hiring of a 4-H program coordinator, which would be a University of Minnesota position.

25 years ago

Advertised specials this week at Hy-Vee in Worthington included 6-ounce cans of Adams lemonade at five for $1, a 12-ounce package of DownyFlake waffles for 49 cents, a 10-count tube of buttermilk biscuits for 15 cents, a four-roll pack of Charmin bathroom tissue for 79 cents, and a 10-count package of Hy-Vee hotdog buns for 33 cents.

The 36th annual prom took place at Worthington High School. Festivities began with a 6 p.m. banquet. At 8:10 p.m., local Kiwanis club members picked up the couples at designated homes and delivered them to the high school for the Grand March. Later on, the couples were taken to the Coliseum Ballroom for an evening of dancing and socializing. After midnight, the students were taken to the Country Club for sandwiches, followed by a movie and a party at Star City.

Three volunteer Boy Scout leaders from the Worthington area were honored with the Silver Beaver Award at the annual meeting of the Sioux Council, Boy Scouts of America. They were Vern Leistico and Mel Moret of Worthington and Phyllis Nielsen of Slayton.

Ben Vander Kooi Jr., a Luverne attorney, was appointed by Gov. Rudy Perpich as a special member of the Judicial Merit Advisory Commission.

50 years ago

Adrian track star Steve Rust set a new record in the 440-yard dash at the Tomahawk Relays in Cherokee, Iowa, running the distance in 54.2 seconds.

Seven Bigelow children had begun making trips to the Worthington Clinic this week to receive a series of 14 rabies shots. The seven, and one other child, were bitten by an apparently mad dog that ran onto the school grounds one noon recently and created an incident of terror as children scrambled, teachers scurried to get the students inside, and the dog lurched among them, biting at every opportunity. The dog died a few days ago and its head was sent to a laboratory for examination. The eighth child bitten did not have her skin broken so was not recommended for the rabies series.

Ard Mogen was the new manager of the Worthington Country Club.

Orv Meintz was to manage the Worthington Cubs for the second year in a row. Meintz accepted the position at a meeting of the Worthington baseball board.

Playing this weekend at the Gay Drive-In was “Experiment in Terror” with Glenn Ford and Lee Remick and Walt Disney’s “Moon Pilot.”

75 years ago

James Wemple of District 7, Reading, and Gertrude Altman of St. Anthony’s parochial school at Lismore were winners, respectively, of the oral and written tests in the annual Nobles County spelling contest, which were Saturday afternoon at the Worthington senior high school library. Both students became eligible for entry in the state spelling contest, scheduled for next August in connection with the Minnesota State Fair at St. Paul.

Dr. C. P. Dolan, city health officer, announced that Worthington would observe Clean-Up week the week of May 3. Residents of the city were asked during that week to collect all rubbish, ashes, tin cans, garbage and other refuse. Rubbish was to be collected free of charge by the city if placed in convenient receptacles such as barrels and boxes. Ashes, however, “must be disposed of at the expense of the owner.”

Twenty-one schools competed at the Worthington High School auditorium on April 24 in the annual music contest of District 14, Minnesota high school music league. Competition categories included mixed glee club, girls’ glee club, boys’ glee club, orchestra, string ensemble, brass groups, bands, woodwinds, boys’ quartette, girls’ quartette and mixed quartette. Heaviest competition among the classified groups was in the Class C girls’ glee club, which had 15 entries.

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