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October 24: Years Ago…
Years Ago

‘Years Ago’ is a compilation of newsy tidbits as published in the Crawford County Independent & Kickapoo Scout on this week ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or sixty years ago.

TEN YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 22, 2009 – Apple’licious Pie Depot’s first annual pie-eating champs from the pie-eating contest held during Ridge Fest weekend were on Saturday Mark Roesseger from Milwaukee. Sunday’s winner was Roch Wick from Waukon, Iowa. The winners received an apple pizza, a pie, and a t-shirt naming them the champ… The North Crawford School District has a new computer system. The Skyward, with the Family Access feature, allows parents/guardians to log onto or computer system and check on their students in a variety of areas such as grades, attendance and assignments for each class. Messages can be sent directly from Family Access to the teachers. 

TWENTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 21, 1999 – The Seneca High School Homecoming Court: Brandon Grimsled and Tasha Trautsch were named the King and Queen. Other members of the Seneca Homecoming Court include: Seniors, Peggy Boland, Heather Biggin, Sonya Boland, Amy Palmer, Lindsay Sutton, Kelli Roberts, Valerie Wall, Rhonda Nagel, Melany Hall, Chad Sime, Mark Jones, Josh Chapman, Wade Varo, Matt Oppriecht, Ryan Fradette, Jon Bell, Brad Wright and Wyatt; Juniors, Kelly Stevenson and Gordie O’Brien; Sophomores, Shelly Sutton and Bruce Kihnke; and Freshmen, Jolee Roberts and Zach Stevenson… Teacher John Gibbs and high school student Jane Pfitsch were honored by the North Crawford School Board. Gibbs was named Employee of the Month and Pfitsch was named Student of the Month. 

THIRTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 26, 1989 – Denis and Janine Daniels of Woodland Glass Arts in rural Soldiers Grove have created 32 stained glass windows for Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Soldiers Grove. The dedication ceremony for the windows is Sunday, October 29 at the 9 a.m. service… Linda Severson of rural Ferryville won a fire-engine red, black trimmed, 1990 Pontiac Le Mans in the St. Pius X Fun Fest Raffle. Linda was working at the Fest’s CROP Walk, when the raffle committee called her home to give her the good news… Twin sisters from Gays Mills have completed a motor transport course at the U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. They are Kathleen A. and Kimberly K. Gardner, both Privates 1stClass in the Army National Guard.

FORTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 25, 1979 – Marilyn Messling of Soldiers Grove and Jane McLagan of Rochester, Minnesota met for the first time on October 15 after corresponding for 29 years as pen pals. They got together at Michael’s Lounge in Rochester for their first meeting… Virginia Werthwein is pictured with part of her collection of hair-related items. She is holding the hair wreath made by her great-grandmother. Virginia collects anything to do with the history of beauty shops, or hair work, including human hair woven into flowers, fruits, portraits, foliage, etc. as a remembrance of a person, not necessarily of a deceased person. They were often used as love tokens and were often made from baby hair.

FIFTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 23, 1969 – Velma Dull of Soldiers Grove, cook at North Crawford Junior High for the past 15 years, bakes 40 loaves of bread a day for the junior high schoolers. The school may be one of the few left in the country still serving its students home-made bread at mealtime… Three separate ‘card of thanks’ were printed in the paper this week expressing gratitude of cards and good wishes during stays in the hospital. Those sending thanks were Dennis Pratt, Avis Collins and Essie Longmire.   

SIXTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 22, 1959 – About 30 Gays Mills area women are participating with enthusiasm and aching muscles in a weekly physical education session. Under the voluntary leadership of Mrs. Peter Humlie, high school physical education teacher, the class goes through a brisk hour of exercises each Wednesday evening in the GMHS gymnasium… At a meeting of the Kickapoo Gun Club the newly leased range site on the Earl Lester farm was discussed according to secretary John Moses. Plans were made for a work session to build the required fence around the site.