From Our Files

• Jan. 5, 1950

Huntting Elevator Co., of Hartley, opened the Huntting Feed and Seed Store at May City. It was located in the former Bill Winter feed store and managed by William Grapenthin.

The afternoon dedication service for St. Paul Lutheran Church's new building was broadcast over station KAYL, Storm Lake. Leo Gordon Rasmussen, special events director of KAYL, made the tape recording. Since not too many people possessed FM frequency radios, Nott Electric Service installed such a radio in the church basement where interested persons gathered to hear the broadcast.

As a result of favorable weather, the municipal skating rink on the athletic field was in the best condition of the season. The warming house was moved to the side of the rink, and a stove and lights were installed.

• Jan. 9, 1975

Spencer Foods announced plans to reopen the company's breaking plant in Hartley on Jan 20, despite not having a contract with the union representing the workers. The plant closed in September when negotiations between management and the union failed to reach a settlement.

A fee of $1.50 per month was being added to the light bill of all Hartley residential customers for garbage collection. Fees for business places varied according to the amount of garbage put out. Expenses related to the three-county landfill made the fees a matter of necessity in order to cover them.

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Rieck, who farmed near Ocheyedan, were the parents of the first baby born in 1975 at the Community Memorial Hospital. Carrie Sue was born on Sunday, Jan. 5, weighing 5 pounds 15-1/2 ounces.

• Jan. 13, 2000

The grocery store in Hartley owned by Dan and Anne Miller was sold to the Musch family, of Lennox, S.D. The Hartley store was renamed Fiesta Foods, with Greg and Cathy Sweet-Musch as the new operators. Greg's father, Virgil Musch, had been in the grocery business for 32 years.

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn girls' basketball coach Mark Butt joined an elite group of coaches in Iowa when he recorded the 500th victory of his career. The win came against Central Lyon. Butt's career as a girls' coach started at Marathon. After moving to Hartley, Butt's teams won 12 conference titles and advanced to play in the state tournament a total of eight times.

The average value of an acre of farmland in O'Brien County dropped 3.8 percent in 1999, to $2,318. Values in neighboring counties were $2,003 in Clay County and $1,983 in Osceola County.

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