From Our Files

• July 17, 1947

Dennis Clausen, Sonny Reinke, Ernest Verdoes and James Wichman, carriers of the Sioux City Journal, enjoyed four days at a lake cottage. They were accompanied by Mr. Hammer of the Journal.

The wing of the Fairmont Creamery Co. which was destroyed by fire was replaced with a new fireproof section housing a large, modern cooler and an up-to-date candling room. Chicken picking operations were resumed at the plant for the first time since the fire.

The new home of Burns Chevrolet Co. was under construction on the north side of Highway 18. The building of cement block construction with a brick front was designed to house a large repair shop in addition to the display rooms.

• July 20, 1972

O’Brien County Fair queen candidates were Lori Menke and Cindy Polson, of Hartley; Faith Bjork, of Archer; Colleen Bird, of Calumet; Sherri Peters, of Paullina; Carla Meyer, of Primghar; Denise Blunck and Rita Schott, of Sheldon; and Debbie Jennings, of Sutherland.

Pastor Thomas Klinkenberg of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church accepted a call to Peace Lutheran Church in Flagstaff, Ariz. He had served the Hartley church since September of 1970. The Klinkenberg family planned to leave for Arizona by the end of the month.

The Hartley Public Library was sponsoring a children’s reading hour each Tuesday and Thursday morning. Attendance by children in grades K-4 was good. The sessions conducted by Mrs. Luella Reinke, head librarian, and Mrs. Merna Menke, assistant librarian, would end in late July with a picnic.

• July 24, 1997

The flag pole of the Hartley Post Office received a new coat of paint in a unique way. The worker from Washington state had a bucket of paint attached to each side of his body and using a series of ropes, shimmied down the pole as he painted. The sight caused several bystanders to take a second look.

Within minutes of the fire being lit, the former Huntting elevator on South Central Avenue was a towering inferno. Spectators first saw smoke at 8:30 p.m. and flames were visible from the top windows moments later. Several area fire departments assisted in the practice burn. Within two hours the elevator burned down and all that remained was the shell of the adjoining block office structure.

Sheldon Family Practice Associates was welcomed to their new clinic location in Hartley in the former Sweeney Chiropractic building on Highway 18.

“From Our Files” is compiled by Sentinel-News sports editor/staff writer Mike Petersen.