From Our Files

• Aug. 5, 1948

At an impressive ceremony before a large crowd, the official cornerstone laying of the new St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on Central Avenue was held. Construction had begun on May 5, and walls were approximately eight feet high at the time of the ceremony.

Clarence Busche, local superintendent for Peoples Natural Gas, was awarded a pin and certificate for 10 years of service with the company. Over 80 employees from the Midwest were honored.

Carl Rahn, local foods store owner, purchased the Coon Grocery Store at Lake Park. Lyle Storey, of Mankato, Minn., was managing that store.

The Hartley Future Farmers Chapter planned an educational tour to Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo., as well as several destinations in Iowa. The trip was being made by the junior and senior boys enrolled in the Farm Management class.

• Aug. 2, 1973

The O’Brien County Board of Supervisors awarded a contract to Uittenbogaard Construction Co., of Sheldon, for construction of a new maintenance shop in Hartley. Their bid was $46,513. The building was to be built on a site south of the O.K. Sheep Ranch in southeast Hartley.

Dr. Richard L. Hiner, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Research Service, was presented the Signal Service Award of the American Meat Science Association. He was honored because of his outstanding, career-long contributions to meat science. Hiner grew up in Moneta, where he attended the Moneta Consolidated School.

Walter Kruse, of Sheldon, was elected president of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Association of O’Brien County, headquartered in Hartley. Kruse was chosen to succeed the late R.L. Simm.

• Aug. 6, 1998

St. Joseph Catholic Church celebrated the 100th anniversary of the parish in the Diocese of Sioux City. Coadjutor Bishop Daniel DiNardo presided at the Celebration of the Eucharist. Father David Hemann and three former pastors, Fathers Cecil Friedmann, Joe Nooney and Elmer Thom, and Hartley resident Father William Wingert, were concelebrating priests. The centennial celebration continued at the Hartley Community Center, where a program and dinner were held.

Jill Steinmetz, daughter of Scott and Pat Steinmetz, was crowned Summer Fest Queen. A total of eight Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn middle school and high school students competed in the first-time event.

The Hartley Fire Department conducted a practice burn of a storage building in southwest Hartley. The blaze created a great deal of heat and smoke. The building had once been a county shed and was also used for other purposes.

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