Conflagration at Lowry!
From the Glenwood Herald, November 10, 1911

Pope County Tribune
October 10, 2011

LOWRY CITY COUNCIL
By Valerie Schmidt

Editor's Note: I have often thought about Wimpy's cafe in Glenwood and what happened to it -- still don't know. We frequently would go there as kids and often after going to the Glenwood Theatre and seeing the $0.12 movie. So, I was pleased to see the below notation in the Tribune this past issue.

Pope County Tribune
September 21, 1961 -

LOWRY CITY COUNCIL
By Valerie Schmidt

According to Jeremy Anderson of Design Tree there is still some unfinished business regarding the waste water treatment construction. As of September 6, Lowry City Council meeting a number of undone items were still a high priority on the punch list to be completed by Quam Construction. Among the items needing completion and or resolution was the township road, personal property damage done to a property in town, a garage door issue, curb repair work and additional spare parts. The old ponds also need to be decommissioned. It was noted during the discussion that the city will have a one year warranty on this project.

Pope County Tribune

LOWRY CITY COUNCIL
By Valerie Schmidt
8/08/2011

8/1/2011

Park Region Echo

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. - The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota State Patrol have closed Highway 55 on the east side of Lowry due to downed power lines caused by this morning’s severe weather.

Highway 55 will remain closed until further notice.

Downed trees and power lines are also causing traffic hazards on Highway 29 north of Glenwood.

Highway 28 in Glenwood near the Pope County Fairgrounds has water over the road. The area is signed.

Travel is not advised in the Lowry and Glenwood areas until conditions improve. Motorists are urged to avoid the area to allow MnDOT crews recover the roadways to a safe condition for travel.

7/18/2011

6/15/2011

Norunga will hold final church service June 19
By Zach Anderson
News Editor

Sometimes good things must come to an end, which is the case of Norunga Lutheran Church just west of Lowry. On June 19, after 140 years of existence, Norunga Lutheran Church will conduct its final service.

"I've been a member there all my life, which is 61 years," said Vernon Hedlin current congregation member. "My parents were members there, so it goes back a long time."

The membership has declined recently making the congregation unable to afford to hire a full-time pastor.

Once the church closes its doors, it will be up to each individual member of the congregation to choose where they will go.

It saddens Hedlin that the church is closing, "It's a rural congregation; you get to know everybody and you get to be a little bit like family."

The closing service will be at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 19 followed by a catered dinner (reservations only) at $10 per plate.

"It is a time for reminiscing and renewing old acquaintances," Hedlin said.

Norunga was started primarily by Swedish immigrants when the church was founded in 1871. "It was a circuit church," Hedlin said. "A bunch of churches around that shared a pastor."

With membership that ranged from around 120 people in its prime years that has dwindled to about 40 confirmed members with about 15 average at Sunday church services there wasn't a way to make it work financially.

"It just got to be a reality," Hedlin said. "There comes a point when you have to make a decision. We didn't see areas where the church could grow and found it difficult to gain new members."

They decided it was time to close the doors for good.

Pope County Tribune

Lowry Celebrates 125 years
6/20/11

Pope County Tribune
Lowry City Council
06/13/2011

Pope County Tribune
5/31/11

Lowry postmaster honored
by Zach Anderson

5/31/11

5/31/11

Memorial Day
By Steffanie Dahlseng
News Editor

5/2/11

Bruce Larson, Lowry Lions Club President, handed the Lowry Citizen of the Year Award to Frank Shermak. Frank Shermak was born and raised on a farm north of Lowry. He is the youngest of seven children. Shermak had three brothers and three sisters.

Interestingly, the Shermak family name was originally Chermak, but was changed because Frank’s father, Joseph, had a neighbor named Joseph Chermak, and they would receive each other’s mail and phone calls.

Shermak served in the Korean War. While part of the U.S. Army, he achieved the rank of Sergeant First Class. After that, Shermak went to Minneapolis and Savage, where he worked as a grain inspector for the Department of Agriculture. He then returned to Lowry after 35 years, where Shermak and his brother Charlie lived on Poplar Avenue in Lowry. When Charlie had a stroke Shermak took care of him, which included cooking for Charlie, dressing him and taking Charlie to church.

Shermak is a very active member of the Lowry Legion where he has been bar manager for many years. He is also a member of the Starbuck VFW. Shermak regularly attends Reno Catholic Church, where he sits in the same pew every Sunday. His regularity can also be noted at Lowry senior meals as he claims the same table spot on a daily basis.

Lowry City Council
By Valerie Schmidt
3/21/11

Members of the Lowry City Council faced a rather light agenda at their regular March meeting. Among the items on the agenda were to discuss a situation with the waste water treatment facility, the hiring of a police officer, and discuss the new water rate which goes into effect for the March billing.

Lowry City Council
01/17/2011

*Did the reorganization of the council which included stating the Lowry State Bank as official depository, Starbuck Times as the official newspaper, Virgil Coziahr as acting mayor, adopted 51¢ as the official IRS reimbursement; set council meetings as the first Tuesday of the month, and appointed Jan Nordmeyer as city attorney;

12/06/10

By Amy Chaffins
Starbuck Times

11/29/10

Alicia Klinkhammer, 19, and Andrew Denny, 22, were arrested after the search warrant was executed at about 9 a.m. Both were arrested on charges of first-degree controlled substance violations and on conspiracy to commit sales of narcotics, according to Pope County Sheriff Tom Larson. Methamphetamines and drug paraphernalia were found at the residence, Larson said Monday.

November 15, 2010

Work on the waste water treatment plant and collection lines is pretty well completed for this construction season. Most work remaining will be left until spring, with some basic cleanup taking place yet this fall.

The good news was that the secondary pond passed the balance test on November 4, and the temporary bypass would be removed the following week. According to Chad Goemeitz of Design Tree, some small areas would be seeded and larger areas would be left until spring. As of

November 4, most work left is clean up and the installation of a couple grinder stations.

When asked if the ponds would freeze this winter, Goemeitz responded the primary pond would not freeze but the secondary pond would likely freeze.

Another project left at the pond site is the capping of the two wells. Council member Virgil Coziahr asked if it would be possible to leave the one well as it could be of benefit to the fi re department. The best well pumped about 250-300 gallons a minute. The other well proved to be unproductive

and it was thought this well may already be partially capped. The firemen were to meet the following week and would get back to Design Tree regarding their decision on the well.

In other business:

•decided to replace the double doors at the Community Center with one door and a side light. Several quotes had been received and one more was expected. Council members authorized the firm with the lowest quote to do the work to be approved;

•discussed the storm drain situation. It has been recommended these lines be televised. Council members felt the work could not be done this fall and this would give them time to see what the problem is and to make a decision on how best to repair the situation come spring;

•clerk Lucy Olson reported she had sent out 13 letters reminding property owners of delinquent utility accounts. She noted seven had taken care of the matter prior to Thursday’s council meeting, but she had not heard from the remaining six. They had to be sent a letter indicating the matter will need to be taken care of prior to November 22;

•adopted the election resolution pertaining to board canvassing of the election results from Tuesday’s election;

•approved one building permit and approved an amendment to a second permit. The first permit is for Quinco Press and the amendment was to Jon Larson for a lean-to on a garage;

•learned work had been done to the city well and everything was now working properly.

The good news received at the regular meeting of the Lowry City Council was that the waste water treatment project is coming very close to completion. According to Jeremy Anderson of Design Tree the primary pond passed the water balance test and is now ready to be used. His next step is to check to see if the system cannot be switched to using the new pond system before the secondary pond has been tested. The secondary pond is now completed but needs to go through the same testing procedure as the primary pond.

Most of the tidying up work will be completed in the spring. There is some sporadic patchwork, dirt and grass seeding, replacement trees and shrubs that will be done come spring. Also the asphalt wear course will go on Poplar Avenue, and Cherry Street will be done in the spring of 2011.

A representative of the West Central Initiative Fund, Tom McSparron, was present at the meeting to update their activities and goals of their organization. The city has contributed to the WCIF over the past years. That amount has varied and recently $300. Last month the WCIF requested this amount again and council members felt it might be good to discuss what this money was used for and if it benefited residents of the area before making the contribution. After listening to McSparron’s presentation council members were satisfied that the money was being well spent and voted to participate again with a contribution of $300.

The council also considered a request from the Turkey Federation and Bob Chan’s grandchildren to plant two trees at the Community Center in memory of Bob. While discussing the trees it was noted another tree needed to be replaced. Council members approved the planting of these two new trees and a replacement tree and noted these trees would be planted come spring. (Editor's Note:  Thank you. Bob did a lot for the community and deserved the recognition)

Council members feel something must be done with the front doors on the community center as there is a gap at the bottom of the doors as they have rusted out through the years allowing cold air to enter. The main concern with this, along with losing heat, is that the water pipes to the kitchen are in the floor in front of the doors.

One suggestion was they could reduce the front entrance from two doors to one door. While discussing the concept someone suggested the city should also consider adding an enclosure built out from the doors to protect the doorway and also provide an unlocked area for the children to wait for the bus in the morning. While they were discussing door replacement it was noted they needed to keep in mind it was a public building and therefore they needed to keep it handicapped accessible. Action was taken to explore options and costs for this project and make a decision in what direction they will go at that point.

Tammy McIver told the council that her sanitary service line has collapsed and needs to be replaced. She indicated she had talked to a workman when the installation of the new main line was being installed to see if a separate connection could be installed since her line went into a shared line with the Gospel Hall.

The complication to this was that her request was not relayed to the engineer or the construction supervisor during construction. Anderson explained that the plans had been drawn up following a televising of the old sewer lines and the contract called for hooking up only the existing lines. If there were to be any additions they would need to be approved by Rural Development. He said he would do the necessary checking of plans and see if an additional connection was added at the time of installing the new line.

Everyone in Lowry who operates a sump pump must remember that the water must be pumped outside and not directly into the sanitary sewer lines. Anderson reported that following the 4-1/2 inches of rain after Labor Day there were repeated alarms at the lift station. During that time over 200,000 gallons of water were going through the lift station, which is about three times more than normal. Residents also need to be reminded that in Minnesota it is against the law to have their sump pumps pump into the city system and the city also has an ordinance prohibiting this activity. With so much clean water going into the ponds it makes it extremely difficult to treat the waste water accordingly.

In other business:

•Approved pay estimate five to Quam Construction and approved change order four which extends the project deadline by two weeks because of the excessive rainfall. The council also approved change order five which deals with the sanitation of drain tile in the bottom of the secondary pond. This was necessary to get the pond dried and ready for testing the pond liner; •Noted they were still working to correct an illegal water connection;

•Authorized contacting Johnson Jet-Line to clean out a plugged storm drain on Highway 114. It was noted the drain is open on the Maple Street side, but plugged on the Aurora Avenue side;

•Reviewed a list of delinquent utility accounts and noted they would review the list again in November;

•Approved two building permits. One was requested by David and Carla Lundblad to add a 13’ x 16’3" season porch to the southwest side of their home. The second request was for 12’ x 20’ storage shelter on Ron Gorder’s property.

Benefit at Hatchery to help locals running in NYC marathon

The Hatchery Bar and Gill in Lowry will be hosting a rock concert benefit for soon-to-be New York City marathon runners Ryan Schleif formerly of Lowry and Stacy Hedner formerly of Starbuck on Saturday Oct. 16.

The benefit will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. and include music, dancing and libations. Silverado will be the band. There will be a $10 charge at the door and a raffl e and silent auction inside. One of the prizes is Vikings tickets.

Schlief and Hedner are running the New York City marathon to raise money for Witness, an international human rights organization, started by musician Peter Gabriel, that uses video to bring light to human rights violations. Witness empowers people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change.

Schlief and Hedner grew up in Pope County. They have known each other since they were four years old. They both grew up attending the Church of the Sacred Heart in Glenwood. Schlief asked Hedner to do the marathon with him.

Hedner said she is using a run/walk method to prepare for the marathon. For example, for every nine minutes she runs, she will walk one minute. “We are eating like we are pregnant, and we are walking like we are going to deliver,” said Schlief.

Schleif works at Witness’s offices in Brooklyn, New York and often travels to countries like India, Cambodia and Indonesia. He is the son of Angie and Randy Schlief of Glenwood.

Hedner is the daughter of Mark and Rosie Hedner of Starbuck. She is currently a banking attorney in St. Paul “Everyone knows it is such a physical challenge, but I am really looking forward to the mental challenge of it,” said Hedner.

The New York City marathon is 26.2 miles or 461.45 football fields. It will take place on Nov 7.

September 13, 2010

Lowry council members had few items on their regular monthly agenda on Tuesday night. Among the items were an update on the wastewater treatment facility, meter update and adopting a proposed levy and budget for 2011.

Riley Kephart, representing Design Tree, told the council that they were on schedule until the recent heavy rains. Currently they are pumping about four inches of water from the secondary pond into the primary pond. Once that has been filled, they will be able to test it to be sure the

liner is not leaking. At this point it will be at least another two weeks before the liner can be installed in the secondary pond.

Several other items regarding reseeding, and restoration were discussed, but it was noted even these activities cannot be addressed until the area dries off considerably.

According to city clerk Lucy Olson the water meters have been either re-installed or new meters installed or yard hydrants removed where they were not metered. At this point it appears there is only one account left to be addressed and that is being addressed at the current time and hopefully

will be completed before winter sets in.

After working on the budget, council members were satisfied they did not need to increase the levy for 2011, and it will remain the same as for 2010.

Council members adopted a proposed levy. This amount can be reduced at their meeting in December, but they cannot increaseit. the levy proposed is:

General Fund $65,000

Fire Dept. $14,000

First Responders $1,500

Streets $15,000

Total $95,000

In other business:

•Approved a resolution to accept the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Certification for funds for the waste water treatment facility;

•Authorized the fourth payment to Quam Construction in the amount of $346,077.46;

•Approved a change in language in the water ordinance. The major change deals with yard hydrants that must be metered through the house or the city has the right to have them removed or locked. This ordinance will replace the ordinance currently on the books and a summary will be

published for two weeks;

•Accepted a check from Runestone Telecom in the amount of $860 with the money to be used toward the completion of the tennis courts;

•Authorized clerk Olson to ask a representative of the West Central Minnesota Initiative Fund to come to the October council meeting to discuss their plans and programs that may be beneficial to Lowry.

Most of the discussion at the regular meeting of the Lowry City Council was centered on the waste water treatment system which is under construction this summer. According to Jeremy Anderson of Design Tree Engineering, the project is about 50 percent completed. The week of July 6, contractors were expecting to finish work on Poplar Street. This leaves the three alley lines left to complete. Anderson is optimistic that if work continues as it has the project could be completed in town by the middle of August.

Work has also been going well at the pond site. The primary pond has been lined with sand and approximately one-third of the secondary pond has been completed. It was noted the fencing will need to be installed around the pond sites in order to insure deer cannot get into the area before any liner can be installed in the ponds.

There were some concerns expressed about the sand being used as bedding for the new pipe that has been installed. It was learned this has been trucked in separately from what has been stockpiled in town.

Before going further with the installation of pipe, the sewer lines are being air tested to insure no leaks or holes are in the lines before the final hook-ups are started and completed.

There has been some crop loss for the owner on the land south of Isabella Street. Anderson agreed to check with Rural Development to see about the reimbursement. He noted this should be an expense that should be reimbursed. Anderson also felt that there may need to be some tree replacements in a couple of areas.

During the excavation process a very large rock had been excavated at the ball park. Mayor Bruce Larson said that he had already found someone who wanted the rock and had given it to them. Quite a number of rocks were also excavated at the pond site. Some of these are very large granite rocks.

The city council has three positions on the ballot this fall. One for a two-year term as mayor and two council member positions for 4-year terms. Filing for council positions begins August 3 and ends on August 17. The August 10 council meeting will be delayed by one-half hour from 7:30 to 8 p.m. since it is the primary election and the council meeting cannot be held while the polls are open. Council members considered a request from a resident to grade gravel roads in order to fix the pot holes. That work will be done when weather cooperates. It was felt a little more rain would soften the gravel so it would grade better. It was agreed to check with Lundblad Brothers to see if there would be someone interested in purchasing these rocks and if they could give the city an estimate of what the rocks might be worth.

And then, there is the continuing saga of the water meters. There were some repairs done by the plumber during the last month. That leaves seven to be repaired in the city. Mayor Bruce Larson said he would talk to the one property owner who has one meter which is metering the commercial portion of water use, and a second meter needs to be installed to take care of the residential water use.

The good news is that the city is already seeing results as far as water use versus the actual water pumped by the city. This means that the water revenues have been increased due to these fixes.

In other business, the council:

• Received the financial report for year ending 2009 from the city auditor, Stuart Bonniwell;

• Approved pay estimate #2 for Quam Construction and also the second change order which dealt with the removal of unwanted material at the pond site;

• Learned the city had received a check from Minnesota Rural Water in the amount of $1,024.86. The interim financing for the construction work being done this summer was through Minnesota Rural Water and this reflects money earned on the unborrowed money of the loan;

• Noted that all residents received a letter asking for input on sounding the siren at 10 p.m. Only 18 responses were received at the city office, and of those, 13 responded they wanted the siren to sound year around at 10 p.m. This will be started soon;

• Heard Clerk Lucy Olson explain that 48 dogs have been licensed, either through renewal or new licensure. However, there are still eight dogs which have not been licensed and possibly another dog that has never been licensed in Lowry. She will send this dog owner a letter reminding them of the city ordinance. There was also some discussion about having the police department issue tickets to dog owners who do not get their dogs licensed;

• Heard that the primary election is set for August 10. Election judges have been scheduled for training for the primary and general election with the general election scheduled for November 2. This year the city has three vacancies: a 2-year term for mayor and two council members seats for 4 years.

• Set August 16th as a working meeting to work an ordinance language and also to work on the 2011 budget; and

• Discussed a garage behind the post office. According to council member Virgil Coziahr several are concerned the building is leaning and in danger of falling over. Clerk Olson responded that a representative from the Legion are planning to contact the owner of the property to see if the building could be removed.

Highway 55 is still closed to traffic between Hoffman and Kensington. Motorists are being detoured on Douglas Highway27 and Douglas County Road 1. Highway 55 between Hoffman and Glenwood closed May 10 when a reconstruction, resurfacing, and bridge and culvert replacement project began.

Central Specialties Inc. is the prime contractor for the $8.1 million improvement project, which is on schedule to be completed by Sept. 3, weather permitting. Upon completion, the project will make Highway 55 safer and improve pavement quality.

starbuck times
6/22/2010

By Chad Koenen

It's a little earlier than usual, but Lowry will be taking center stage this weekend for the Fourth Annual Lowry Days.

While the lineup has been condensed a bit from years past there will be no shortage of activities and entertainment for people of all ages.

The festivities will kick off on Friday evening with a pork chop feed, meat raffle, wrestling at the American Legion and a karaoke contest at the Hatchery.

On Saturday, Lowry Days will boast an action-filled schedule of events from sun up to sun down. Beginning at 7 a.m., the Lowry Lions Pancake Feed and a bake sale will get underway. A softball tournament will start at 9 a.m. and an antique car, tractor and truck show will get underway on Main Street beginning at 10 a.m.

Beginning at 12 p.m., area children will be able to take advantage of a Kid's Carnival and later watch the Fireman's Water Wars on Main Street that will begin at 3 p.m.

Lowry Days will come to an eventful conclusion when the old Thyme Music band will be the first of two bands that will take center stage. They will be performing from 4:30-6:30 p.m. and will later give way to Silverado who will be playing from 8 p.m.-12 a.m.

Other events on Saturday include a chicken feed, bingo, and a chicken poopin' contest.

Next year, Lowry will celebrate its 125th anniversary and Lowry Days will expand to a full weekend of events-including the grand parade. The Fifth Annual Lowry Days is set for June 24-26, 2011.

• 5 p.m. Pork Chop Feed at Legion

• 6:30 p.m. Meat raffle at Legion

• 8 p.m. Wrestling at Legion

• 9 p.m. Karaoke contest at Hatchery

• 7-10 a.m. Lowry Lions Pancake Feed at Community Center

• 7-10 a.m. Bake Sale at Ben Wade Covenant Church

• 9 a.m. Softball tournament

• 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Food stand-Discovery Days at Community Center

• 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Antique Car, Tractor, Truck Show Main Street

• 12-4 p.m. Kids’ Carnival

• 3 p.m. Fireman’s Water Wars

• 4 p.m. Chicken Poopin’

• 4:30-7 p.m. Chicken Feed

• 6-8 p.m. Bingo at American Legion

• 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Food stand

6/14/2010

The first item addressed by the Lowry City Council at their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 1, was the appointment of a council member to replace Brad Munson, who submitted his letter of resignation at the April council meeting. At that meeting one person had expressed interest in filling that position. The action was tabled at that meeting to appoint someone to fill the position as the council wanted to see if there were others who were interested.

However, no one else expressed serious interest in the position. One other person had indicated they would be willing to fill the position until the end of the year if no one else could be found, but it was not their intention to file for the coming election. Tuesday night council members made it official that Iris Scott will be the new council person. She took the oath of office and began her term Tuesday night.

Since she was appointed to the position by the council, she will fill out the remainder of Munson's term and then file for election this fall. Munson had also been appointed by the council to fill out an unexpired term of another individual.

Residents will be happy to learn that much of the wastewater treatment construction is well under way and is pretty much on schedule. According to Jeremy Anderson of Design Tree all the directional and jack borings have been completed. There are still some areas where pipe needs to be installed and the lift station also needs to be installed. After this has been completed, individual hook-ups to the system will begin. Anderson said Quam was about 30% done with the project as of June.

Beginning the first part of July he anticipated they would be getting the liner in place in the pond. Contruc-tion work at the pond site has also been going well.

Anderson reported there had been two change orders to date, and both had been approved by Rural Development. "I'm sure we'll run into a few of them as we go along," Anderson told the council. In any construction project, change orders are anticipated and expected and this is partially the reason a contingency is built into the project.

Someone had asked the council why the ten o'clock whistle was no longer blown. Last summer there had been several complaints from individuals who must get up early to go to work and therefore are in bed long before ten o'clock. These individuals complained they would get to sleep and the siren would then awaken them making it difficul to go back to sleep.

Since the new siren is much louder and can be heard at a further distance, council members decided to try not blowing it at 10 p.m. However, some individuals feel with school shortly out for the summer, this curfew reminder is now needed again.

One suggestion was to blow the siren at 10 p.m. only through the summer and return to the 6 and noon schedule when school had started. After some discussion, council members asked the city clerk to include this in the newsletter to residents to see what the preference was. Lucy Olson responded that not all residents read the newsletter and there were times she wondered if it was worth the effort to get together the newsletter, but indicated she would include this so that residents can express their opinions or ideas to the council members.

In other business:

*Learned that of the 16 targeted meters to be repaired or fixed, that so far nine had been completed;

*Also learned after reviewing the current water ordinance that some language needs to be updated, or revised. This will be done at another meeting;

*Learned their request for grant funds from Center-point Energy had been denied, with Centerpoint indicating the city had received a grant in 2009, and they were attempting to award grants to communities who had not recently received grant funding from them;

*Approved a building permit for a storage building on a vacant lot on Poplar Street;

*And, heard an update on the tennis court. Some of the chain link fence has been installed and it is anticipated that another one or two work evenings by the local 4-H club will see the work completed shortly. There had also been some complaints about the depth of the pea rock in the playground. This will be checked into and appropriate action taken.

06/14/2010

A tribute to Barbie dolls
Local residents displayed Barbie doll collections

Valerie Schmidt and Doris Wersinger put their large collection of Barbie dolls on display at the Lowry Community Center earlier this spring. The collectors have over 150 Barbie dolls.

By Chad Koenen
Starbuck Times

There are few feats that Barbie hasn’t conquered.

She has driven a race car, been a cheerleader for just about every college and professional sports team imaginable, competed in the Olympics, ran for President of the United States, and has even been married on a few occasions. With her feats and accomplishments limited only by the imagination of a preteenchild, Valerie Schmidt and Doris Wersinger are hoping to bring their more-than 150 doll collection of Barbie, Ken and the whole gang to neighborhoods throughout the area.

While she was never allowed to have a Barbie as a child, Schmidt is now making up for a lifetime of Barbie doll collecting by scouring through thrift stores, garage sales, and retail stores to search for dolls to add to her collection.

"My mother wouldn’t let me have a Barbie doll; she thought they looked ugly," she said.

While just a portion of her collection easily filled a large table in the Lowry Community Center hallway during a recent doll show, Schmidt won’t just buy any old Barbie doll—there must be a certain level of collectability or personal like for a doll before she purchases the doll. Just 15 years after starting her collection, some of Schmidt’s Barbies include a 42 inch walking Barbie doll, one of the first Barbie dolls and a later replica of the original doll, and a variety of hard-to-find and common Barbies.

Though she has always liked Barbies, Wersinger’s extensive collection has taken a different twist.

An experienced knitter, Wersinger has put her own historic touch on the Barbie dolls by creating one-of-akind outfi ts for her dolls. The clothing is meant to replicate the outfits worn by some of the world’s most historic figures.

Her first creation was the Gibson girl who is a 1900s golf girl, and since that time she has created

historical clothing for everyone from George and Martha Washington, Pocahontas, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks. Everything she creates for the figures are authentic, straight down to the clothes, hairstyle and undergarments they wear. The outfits are truly one-of-a-kind and combine

Wersinger’s passion for dolls with her lifetime love of knitting.

After bringing joy to their lives for so many years, Schmidt and Wersinger are hoping to share their

love of Barbie dolls with others in the area. For the second time in just a few months, both Schmidt and Wersinger held a doll show in Pope County. The doll show was held at the Lowry Community Center on April 5 and follows a show that the two collectors held at the Minnewaska Lutheran Home late last year.

Wersinger said she got the idea to hold a doll show at the MLH Commons when she was a resident

at the home. The doll show brought out quite a crowd of both residents and people from the public who were eager to see the large collection of Barbie dolls and historical creations that Wersinger created. While they have yet to get paid monetarily for either of their two doll shows, Wersinger

said the sight and comments of some of the visitors at the MLH show, including three ladies who attended who typically didn’t venture much from their room meant more than any money that could have been collected.

"There were three ladies who seldom left their room and that was payment enough," she said.

Over the next few months Schmidt and Wersinger plan on holding other doll shows in the area. If the reception from their fi rst two shows are any indication, the large collection of Barbie dolls will bring a few more smiles, laughs and memories of little girls at heart across the region.

“Riding For a Cause,” the 14th Annual Motorcycle Ride Supporting Glacial Ridge Hospice, is scheduled for Saturday, June 19.

That day, in Glenwood’s City Park, lunch and registration will be held at 11 a.m.; the Hospice Ride is set to depart at 1 p.m., and the Night Ride around Lake Minnewaska will begin at 9 p.m.

On Sunday, June 20, a community breakfast, sponsored by Schwieters Chevrolet and served by Glenwood Rotary, runs from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. During that event, a community church service will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the park.

For more information, or to preregister, call 634-2221, e-mail terri.anderson@glacialridge.org (in the subject line, use the word “Ride”), or visit www.pcmotorcycleweekend.org for details.

5/17/10

Besides water issues, the members of the Lowry City Council addressed the resignation of a council member and addressed the need to have gravel spread on a street to fill the potholes as well as addressing the appearance of a building and a vehicle parked on Main Street sitting on jacks.

Council member Brad Munson had submitted his letter of resignation to the council. His resignation is effective immediately. Munson said in his letter of resignation that traveling with his work made it impossible for him to be a responsible council member.

The council accepted his resignation and then took action to create a vacancy on the council. One person has already expressed interest in the opening, but Mayor Bruce Larson did not want to take action at Tuesday's meeting until more people were aware there was an opening and also because another council member was unable to attend due to illness. Mayor Larson said the vacancy would be filled at the June council meeting.

Munson was also an appointed individual to the council and his term would have expired at the end of the year. The person who will be appointed to continue out his term will also have the opportunity to run for the position in the election if they so desire.

Jeremy Anderson of Design Tree was present at the Tuesday evening council meeting to update the council on the progress of construction work on the waste water treatment facility. As of Tuesday, May 4, six crews were in Lowry working on the placement of sewer lines. Anderson felt that most of this construction would likely take a couple of months.

While there is work going on within the city limits of Lowry, work has also began at the pond site. Anderson estimated it would take them about three weeks to do the excavation portion of the ponds, and then they would line the ponds with sand and then the liner.

Once the directional boring has been completed in town, then Quam Construction will start connecting the system and connect each service. They will begin work on Poplar and Isabella streets next week.

So far the city is waiting to hear regarding the arsenic issue. The needed information had been submitted to the PPLS, and the Department of Health has the needed information. Anderson again estimated that since the problem is arsenic it should give the city an additional 30 points on the list as far as getting funded for a new well.

During the last of April city council members met for a working meeting to discuss the water meter situation in town. Design Tree had made a number of recommendations to correct the situation the city was dealing with. Last fall a contractor had been hired to check out all water meters in town for accuracy and to see if there were some areas where water was being used but not metered. Those issues along with some faulty installed meters had been identified is that inspection.

The city has now proceeded to hire a master plumber to begin correcting a couple of the issues identified in the report. It is their goal to get most of these issues taken care of by September. The report identified several outside hydrants that were not metered. In several instances, it is the recommendation that these hydrants be dug up.

Donna Vosberg brought pictures of a building that is directly behind the Legion that appears to be a hazard. The council informed her they had had this discussion at the April meeting, but after checking with the city's attorney it was felt the city would be involving itself in a very lengthy and costly adventure in attempting to condemn the building since it is on private property.

In regard to a vehicle parked on Main Street sitting on jacks, it was the recommendation of the council to notify the city police department and have them care of the situation.

In other news

• Authorized Lundblad Brothers to haul class 5 gravel to an area on North Cherry street that is plagued with potholes;

• Learned that the Board of Equalization will be meeting at the Pope County Courthouse on May 17 at 10 a.m.

• Approved a change in the bingo gambling license for the American Legion. That date had originally been set for September, but now will be held at the end of June.

Pope County Tribune

Water issues topped the agenda of the Lowry City Council at their monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 6.

Jeremy Anderson of Design Tree updated the council on the pre-construction conference which was held on March 18. He said no big surprises had come from this which was good. Quam had given them the list of all sub contractors for the project. Anderson noted that most of the sub-contractors were local. Work is scheduled to begin the week of May 24, and they will start south of Isabella and work toward Drury then to Poplar and begin to work east.

At this time Anderson said he was waiting for a schedule of the pond construction but felt he would be getting a date fairly soon.

The city also needed to approve someone to test certain aspects of the construction of the pond site. According to Anderson this is a fairly new requirement of Rural Development. Since his firm does not have anyone on board to do this testing, they submitted this out to two firms. The lowest one bid the work at $31,600. Anderson assured the council that this is an expense that will be covered by the loans and grants, this was bid at an hourly rate, and Anderson was confident that the amount could be less than what Brawn Intertech bid. Council members authorized Anderson to proceed with this firm.

In other business for the wastewater treatment project council members authorized signing the agreement for the wastewater treatment grant in the amount of $2,665,000.

The next issue was arsenic in the water. John Grothe had been to Lowry recently and six wells outside of the city limits had been tested. Several of the wells tested were no better than what the city is currently dealing with. However, one well not far out of the city showed zero nitrates and zero arsenic.

Anderson said the next step is to get on the project priority list at the Department of Health. All the paperwork needed to be submitted to the Department of Health, Anderson said he and his firm could do. Once they have an opportunity to review the paperwork, the Department of Health would assign the project points.

Once Lowry is on the list, they can then look at further funding based on what will be determined as needs. Anderson said the city would not have long to wait as the official list is published in June. He told the city they used the same formula as Rural Development, so they would be eligible for loans and grants.

It now appears the city will need to drill a new well and construct a new well house at the site, then pipe the water to Lowry.

The water meter situation was the next item the council addressed. Design Tree submitted their report with recommendations on how to address the issues and concerns that were found during the water testing. While not all issues will be addressed immediately, council members feel that a number of the issues must be addressed. They set a work meeting for April 19  at 7:30 p.m. to start addressing the issues in the report.

In other business, the council:

• Took action to now waive the monetary limits on municipal liability as established in MN statute 466.04;

• Authorized clerk Lucy Olson to submit a grant application to Charter Point Energy on behalf of the police, first responders, and fire departments;

• Authorized the hiring of a temporary person to do yard waste pickup until the person hired can start on a regular basis. It was noted yard waste would not be picked up on a regular basis in the interim;

• Discussed condemnation of a building behind the post office and Legion, but decided not to pursue it at this time since the building is on private property and not city property;

• Authorized a building permit to Jon Larson to construct a lean-to on his two car garage with work beginning after the waste water treatment work has been completed;

• Heard a tennis court update from Mayor Bruce Larson. Larson stated that the corner and gate posts had been installed  Monday evening by members of the 4-H Club. He said two walk-in gates need to be purchased, and that on May 10 the 4-H would be planting flowers and they would later start installing the chain link fencing around the tennis court;

• Learned from clerk Olson the city of Lowry would lose $5,053 this year in local government aid; and

• Authorized the clerk to send letters to dog owners who have not had their dog licensed. Some owners will be assessed the cost of several years, for each year the dog has been unlicensed.

Pope County Tribune

Lowry First Responders recently received a $1,000 grant from Prairie Lakes Coop as part of the company’s Community Grant Program.

Prairie Lakes Coop selected Lowry First Responders to receive a $1,000 grant towards their objective of replacing pagers.

Applying schools and local community organizations have to indicate their plans for the grant money, supply general information about the schools/organizations, project, and purpose of the request, along with specific financial needs and projected outcomes.

Applications can be found online at www.prairielakescoop.com.

“Pagers are an essential tool to the Lowry First Responders. This is how they are notified of an emergency. We are proud to be able to provide funding directly to local organizations which enhance the quality of life for farmers and rural communities,” said Brad Manderschied, Prairie Lakes Coop General Manager.

Members of the Lowry First Responders are: Karin Anderson, June Coziahr, Virgil Caziahr, Ann Drewes, Brenda Hvezda, Dennis Jones, Lisa Olson, Bob Paulzine, Jake Paulzine, Mary Paulzine, Jeannie Person, Deb Peikarski, Kristie Reuss, Teresa Sarff, Jeanette Stoen, Shawn Stoen, Dan Sutton, Denny Tolifson, Greg Tolifson, Adam Zins and Elizabeth Zins.

Prairie Lakes Coop awarded this $1,000 grant to the Lowry First Responders on behalf of its local member owners. Prairie Lakes Coop (prairielakescoop.com), a CHS Service Center, provides products and services in the agronomy, energy, and grain markets to meet the needs of its patrons. Prairie Lakes Coop has locations in the communities of Cyrus, Hoffman, Elrosa, Lowry, Long Prairie, Park Rapids, Glenwood and Starbuck creating relationships with customers in agronomy inputs, propane, fuel, and grain marketing.

The Pope County Museum is expanding and updating its Veterans Wall. The wall currently displays photographs of veterans from all service branches, but museum staff is asking the public to help make the exhibit as complete as possible.

All veterans in Pope County are asked to submit a photograph of themselves in military  uniform to be included on the Veterans Wall.

The museum will use a wallet-size image in the display, but can accept any size photo and enlarge or reduce it on site.

“We would like all Pope County veterans to be represented and honored,” said Ann Grandy, Assistant Curator, “but we need help. I won’t break into anyone’s house and go through their photo albums, so we rely on families to bring the pictures to us.”

The museum is also seeking photos of men and women who are currently serving. “We don’t want to limit our exhibit to one certain time period; we are looking for images of Pope County residents who have served from the Civil War through today,” said Grandy. “So, whether you grew up in Pope County or came here later in life, we want to include you.”

Families can also bring in photos of their ancestors from Pope County who served.

Donors are also encouraged to include information on when and where the veteran served. “We have biographical questionnaires to get you started,” said Grandy. “But any information you would like to share about your time in the service, or your life since then would be a welcome addition to our archives.”

Photos can be mailed, e-mailed, or delivered in person. Anyone dropping off a veteran photo can tour the museum for free. Contact the museum at 634-3292 or pcmuseum@wisper-wireless.com for more information or to see if you are already represented on the wall.

The museum is planning a grand reopening of the exhibit close to the Fourth of July, so please get your photos in as soon as possible, no later than April 30.

The Lowry City Council met Tuesday, March 2, and it was noted that most of the paperwork has been completed for the sewer project and five loads of pipe have already been unloaded for the project.

On March 18, a preconstruction meeting will be held and, according to Clerk Lucy Olson, the council members do not have to attend as long as she’s at the  meeting.

The council also signed the contracts with Quam’s Incorporated.

Currently, the city is awaiting answers from several residents outside the city limits for permission to test their water for arsenic. Once everyone has responded, a date and time will be set to have the water tested.

After reviewing the costs to blend the water from the back-up well with the main well, it was felt it would likely be cheaper to drill a new well at a site where there were lower levels of arsenic and pipe the water into town.

Clerk Olson warned the council that in getting the state budget balanced the governor may take away the Local Government Aid for this year and next year. She said that would be about $12,000 the City of Lowry would be losing and would need to find ways to make up.

In regard to summer hire, it was decided to contact the individual who did the work last summer to see if they would be interested. If not, then the council would need to advertise for the part-time position.

RoseAnn and Ray Lundblad recieve a plaque from Lowry Lions Club president, Harold Fisher. Photo by John R. Stone

Ray Lundblad, born near Lowry as one of 10 children, was honored last week as Lowry's Citizen of the Year.

Lundblad is perhaps best know for operating Lundblad and Sons excavating, a business he owned for 47 years before selling it to his two sons, Dennis and Kent, in 2005.

"Over the years he touched almost everyone in the community," said Harold Fisher, Lowry Lions Club president as he announced the winner at a dinner at the Lowry Community Center last Thursday.

Over the years he was also involved in Lowry Transfer with two of his brothers. He and brother Glenn developed Poplar Street in Lowry, a street on which they both still live and one now nearly filled with new homes.

Born in 1935, Lundblad has belonged to Ben Wade Covenant Church for most of his life.

He and his wife, RoseAnn, were married in 1960 and had three children, sons Dennis and Kent and daughter Patty, who is now Mrs. Randy Ihnen. They have seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

He served on the Lowry Fire Department for 20 years and was also involved in the Lowry Commercial Club. He joined the Lowry Lions Club two years ago.

Lundblad and his wife will be honored at an open house Saturday, March 17, from 1-3 p.m. at the Lowry Community Center.

Peg Meier, Star Tribune

April 8, 2004

Scholars who believe the Kensington Runestone is a 19th-century prank -- and not concrete evidence that Norsemen beat Columbus to America by 100-plus years -- say they have found the smoking gun to prove it.

The latest in the century-old Minnesota controversy came in documents written in 1885 by an 18-year-old Swedish tailor named Edward Larsson. He sometimes wrote in runes -- an ancient Scandinavian language that differs from the English alphabet. But Larsson's runes were not the usual runes used over the centuries.

The scholars contend that parts of his documents seem to be written in a secret runic alphabet used by tradesmen in Sweden in the late 1800s, rather like codes that tramps have used over time to leave secret messages for each other.

Swedish linguists happened upon Larsson's documents recently and found that his writing corresponds to pieces of the Kensington Runestone inscription. They say that the journeymen's code did not exist in medieval times, when the Kensington Runestone is purported to have been carved.

"My opinion is this once again nails down the case against the Kensington Runestone," said Michael Michlovic, professor of anthropology and chairman of the Department of Anthropology and Earth Science at Minnesota State University Moorhead.

"This new evidence is really devastating. It comes unexpectedly and from a collection of old letters that have nothing to do with the Kensington Runestone."

The Runestone's origin has been hotly debated in Minnesota and beyond since 1898. It was then that a Swedish-American farmer named Olof Ohman said he found a large stone tablet wrapped in the roots of a poplar tree. The tree was in his farm field at Kensington, near Alexandria, Minn. A runic inscription on the stone describes a massacre of 10 members of an exploration party of Swedes and Norwegians in central Minnesota in the year 1362.

For more than a century, nonbelievers in the inscription's authenticity have said Ohman or his friends carved it as a joke on scholars.

Meanwhile, advocates insist that the Runestone proves that Nordic explorers were in west-central Minnesota in 1362.

Believers in the stone's authenticity say the new evidence doesn't harm their case. Scott Wolter is a St. Paul geologist who has extensively studied the stone. The inscription has weathered for more than 200 years, his research shows, and therefore the stone could not have been carved by jokesters in the late 1800s. Wolter said the skeptics' reliance on the Larsson documents is "another example of people making snap decisions. They've made up their minds and went looking for evidence for it."

The missing link?

The Kensington Runestone was displayed at a museum in Stockholm, Sweden, last fall and examined there by scholars.

Meanwhile, Tryggve Skold of Finland, a retired professor of Scandinavian languages who had studied Larsson's papers, heard a radio interview about the Runestone. Intrigued, he compared Larsson's runes with those on the Kensington stone.

"The resemblance was striking," said Henrik Williams, a runic specialist in Sweden, in an e-mail making the rounds among Runestone skeptics.

Williams previously had been on the fence about whether the Runestone was really carved by Norsemen. The odd runes had puzzled him. In his assessment, he stated that earlier he repeatedly had ruled out the likelihood of finding a missing link to explain them. "Boy, was I wrong," he wrote, insisting the missing link surfaced in the Larsson papers.

Following the journeyman system of the time, Larsson had walked around Sweden to train with master tailors. He was a musician, and most of his papers were handwritten music scores, but he also left books, letters, farm documents and pictures. The runes are his copies of alphabets -- worksheets more than letters. His family donated the collection to a Swedish linguistics and folklore institute.

Quite a showpiece

To Williams, it is inconceivable that the runes on the rock in Minnesota could have survived in Sweden for 500 years with little variation; languages live and change over time. However, Williams said, it is very likely that some kind of secret runes were known in the late 1800s both to Larsson and to Ohman and other Swedish immigrants to Minnesota.

Williams wrote that he can't say for sure who carved the Kensington stone, but claimed it certainly wasn't created in the 1300s.

To Williams, Alexandria may no longer bill itself as "the birthplace of America," but the Runestone Museum in Alexandria "still possesses a remarkable showpiece. ... Although I personally have to admit a certain feeling of loss at the realization that the mystery of the Kensington Runestone is solved, I am also glad to have learned so much in the process and to have gotten to know so many nice people. I realize that not everyone will be convinced we have reached the solution, but in my mind this matter is resolved."

To Michael Michlovic at MSU Moorhead, the charm of the Runestone remains. He finds it incredible that Ohman, a largely self-taught immigrant, created a hoax that has lived for almost 106 years.

While he has no doubts the rock was carved in the 1800s, not the 1300s, Michlovic guesses that believers won't give up.

"Proof has been established before," he said. In 1977, it was revealed that a friend of Ohman's announced on his deathbed in the 1920s that the inscription was a hoax. "That didn't convince people," Michlovic said. And two years ago a book by the Smithsonian Institution forthrightly stated that the Runestone is "universally considered a hoax by scholars today."

Stay tuned, Michlovic said. There's bound to be more coming.

Even Fats Domino sang that he found his thrill on Blueberry Hill, all of them energizing sellout crowds in the hoppin' joint by Lake Minnewaska.

But all that remained Monday of the Lakeside Pavilion Ballroom in Glenwood, Minn., were some charred walls. The state fire marshal's office is investigating a fire that destroyed the near-century-old structure Saturday afternoon.

"I couldn't watch it," said longtime resident Treva Benton, 62. "I just started to cry, because everything that was associated with my teenage years was up in flames."

The blaze was discovered by workers who smelled smoke near the attic while preparing for a wedding reception, city administrator David Iverson said. Although cooking was taking place inside, John Steinbach, a fire marshal for Pope County, has dismissed that as a probable cause.

Glenwood Mayor John Stone said the fire probably started from some electrical circuits near the ceiling.

Stone said that in his town of nearly 3,000 people there is a "huge amount of sadness" about the ballroom, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998.

The 10,000-square-foot site had more than 30 weekend bookings scheduled for this year and nearly another 20 already planned for next year, Iverson said. Besides receptions and anniversaries, it also was the site of dances and holiday parties.

But the ballroom on Lake Minnewaska, about 130 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, is best remembered for its shows during the early days of rock 'n' roll and the dance bands of the 1950s and early '60s.

Benton recalls listening at night from her bedroom window to the sounds of orchestras such as Guy Lombardo's coming from the ballroom.

"The whole community would turn up. Some would pull their cars up, because the [ballroom's] windows were always open," Benton said. "Folks would have their boats scattered across the lake listening to the music."

She rattled off the popular dances with machine-gun precision: the schottische, the two-step, the waltz and the polka. And she recalled musical stars who shone there: Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Conway Twitty, Sammy Kaye and Harry James.

"They were wonderful. The sound was wonderful, the dance floor was impeccable," she said. "The fans drove from all over -- long distances -- to see big names in our little town."

The fire brought back a flood of memories for Joanna Tangen, 73, who worked as a ballroom waitress off and on for about 25 years.

She remembered when a 50-cent ticket could get you in on both Saturday and Sunday nights. At 16, she met the man who would be her husband during a Saturday night dance.

"We had a lot of fun there . . . always a lot of people for those big-name bands," she said. "Friday nights was ballroom dancing; Saturday nights had the old-time dances. Then the teen hops were on Tuesday nights. I should know. My kids went there all the time."

While the city has always been the ballroom's sole owner, Stone said, it has been leased to different operators over the years. They include Tuddy Kaldahl and Harold Brundin, who booked the biggest names and ran the place jointly for more than 30 years.

Although the stars stopped coming, and the dance bands were fewer and more local, the ballroom never went dormant in recent years except when the city closed it for three months for renovation.

The future seemed bright. In the past three years, Stone said, the city spent about $300,000 for new wiring, bathrooms, floors and air conditioning. In March, the Minnesota Historical Society gave the ballroom a $21,000 grant to help pay for new windows. They were installed in April.

And last month, city officials signed a lease with two Anoka businessmen to manage the ballroom and operate a restaurant in July. They also had plans to start dinner cruises for up to 70 people on the lake.

Stone said some events planned for the ballroom during Glenwood's popular annual Waterama festival next month will take place outside.

With no timetable, he said he hopes they can rebuild a new ballroom sooner rather than later.

Don Riggs of Roseville, a saxophonist and leader of the 10-piece Don Riggs Band, hopes so, too. His group played at the ballroom last weekend and were booked for October.

"They cheer and holler when you play a good tune," Riggs, 78, said of the crowds. "You don't [often] get that kind of response anymore."

Riggs also remembers when his trombone player went fishing in his black suit and tie last year during a break in one of their shows.

"We might be able to replace it," said Stone. "There's a huge community sentiment that feels we wouldn't have much of a town without it."

Benton agrees. She wants a place that resembles where she and her husband danced as youngsters.

"I would love to see a building back there," Benton said. "But I'm afraid it might not sound the same."

It's gone.   The Lakeside Ballroom, a landmark in Glenwood and West Central Minnesota for nearly a century, burned to the ground Saturday afternoon.   The ballroom was just about to host another wedding reception when ballroom manager, Bob Mattson, smelled smoke.   Mattson quickly located the source of the smoke, sent the dozen or so people getting ready for the wedding reception from the building, and called the fire department of which is is a member.   "I could tell what it was, I could hear it," said Mattson of the fire which he thought started between the ceiling and the roof of the west part of the ballroom area.   Mattson said the first part of the bridal party which was to have its reception at the ballroom showed up about the same time as Glenwood firefighters.   "I told the groom's father I was sorry, but it didn't look like we could have the reception," said Mattson.   

Glenwood firefighters, who were the first on the scene, cut a hole in the roof to get water on the blaze since they couldn't get water on the flames from below.   But the fire could not be contained. Wood which had been curing for nearly 100 years burned quickly. Gradually it burned through the roof sending flames 50 to 75 feet above the building.   The flames moved toward both ends of the building. Forty five minutes after the fire started the roof caved in. Two hours later the last part of the building, the bar area, was fully engulfed in flames.   

Glenwood firefighters were assisted by firefighters from Starbuck, Villard, Lowry, Forada, Sedan, Brooten and even the Alexandria fire Department, which sent its snorkle truck. First Responders from Villard and Lowry were also present.   Firemen sprayed water on the blaze for hours, using water from nearby fire hydrants and Lake Minnewaska as well.    

"The building had a huge fire load," said fire chief, Jim Suckstorff. Suckstorff had been at the state track meet watching his son compete earlier in the afternoon. David Orlowksi, assistant chief, was in charge of coordinating the fire fighting effort most of the blaze.   Suckstorff said that because it was an older building and not airtight, the fire was able to get plenty of oxygen to feed the flames.   

While there were no injuries there was one close call when a portion of the facade of the building fell on firefighter Chris Hill. Hill was knocked to the ground and several other firefighters rushed forward to lift the piece off him. He was not injured and remained on duty to continue fighting the fire.   

Firefighters told the Tribune that since the fire was in the roof, a sprinkler system probably would not have saved the building.   

The city of Glenwood had spent nearly $300,000 over the past three years refurbishing the ballroom. The most recent improvement was new windows that were installed this winter in the ballroom area facing the lake and new flooring installed near the windows at a cost of over $45,000.   The city had signed a lease May 13 to rent the ballroom to two men who planned to improve the kitchen facilities and operate a restaurant in addition to normal dances and other activities.   

The Lakeside Ballroom has been a city fixture since 1909 when when J. H. "Mac" McCauley offered to build a dance pavilion on land owned by the city. He told the city that if he could operate the pavilion for 10 years he would turn it over to the city.   The building of the ballroom was intended to focus attention to the city as a place for tourism.   

The ballroom replaced a pervious pavilion which the city had built in 1885.   The original pavilion built by McCauley was 60 by 90 feet. It had a 10 foot by 18 foot stage extension that projected over the shore. There was also later a separate building which was known as a lounge and ice cream parlor. A bath house was also built for people to change clothing for swimming.   The pavilion was constructed with the lower four feet and the upper two feet enclosed by wood and the six foot opening in between covered with large screens and canvas. The 1909 building constructed by McCauley cost $3,000. A grand opening of the facility was held May 28, 1909.   

In addition to the pavilion, McCauley operated a large water slide at the site and maintained the public beach. The city beach remained at the ballroom site until 1947. He also had a boat rental and bait business.   

Oliver B. "Tuddy" Kaldahl started renting the ballroom from McCauley after starting working at the ballroom by helping McCauley clean the facility. By 1923 Kaldahl took over operation of the ballroom, beginning an association that ran for over 50 years.   Dancing and music grew more and more popular in the 1930s and as the ballroom became more successful, Kaldahl was able to attract bigger names.   Lawrence Welk performed at the Lakeside at least three times in 1936 and 1937 as well as groups like the Andrews Sisters.    

The roster of bands which appeared at the Lakeside over the years is like a "Who's Who" of musical entertainers of the time.   They included Louis Armstrong, the Andrews Sisters, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Tex Beneke, Jack Crawford, Guy DeLeo, Oscar Danielson, the Dorsey Brothers, the Dukes of Dixieland, the Everly Brothers, Sammy Kay, Stan Kenton, Guy Lomardo, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tiny Little, Al Menke, Red Nickles and the Five Pennies, Al Olson, Don Redman, Eli Rice, Don Strickland, Conway Twitty and Lawrence Welk.   

The Lakeside had no heating system and operated as a summer facility only until the late 1930s. By then the big band era was in full swing so the Kaldahls had wooden shutters installed to replace the canvas and heat was provided large wood stoves.   In 1940 Harold Brundin joined Kaldahl as a partner.   

Harry Given, longtime manager of the Prom Ballroom in St. Paul said that Kaldahl and Brundin were recognized nationally by their peers as running one of the finest rural ballrooms in the state.   "The ballroom was kept immaculate and the managers ran a first-rate operation," said Given in documentation used to qualify the ballroom for the National Registry of Historic Places in 1998.   

"It was often more important for a band to play a rural date than to play in the big cities," said Given. "For a one-nighter, the band would pick a rural ballroom like the Lakeside because people would drive 60 to 100 miles to attend. Playing the Lakeside was a very important part of their itinerary.   "For every two nights in a city, they'd play five or six nights in a rural location," said Given. "Some of the braver rural ballroom operators would take the big name bands as well as the local bands."   

Jules Herman, a trumpeter and band leader said, "Big name bands would play one-nighters as they traveled from coast to coast. They'd play a sequence like Iowa, then the Prom (in St. Paul) the next night and maybe the Lakeside the next night, and possible the Arkota in Sioux Falls the next night then jump to Lincoln, Neb. and play the the Pla Mor.   "It (the Lakeside) was a good spot for a one-nighter because you could pack the place," said Herman.   

In 1947 the the Lakeside Pavilion became the Lakeside Ballroom. Along with the name change came a new maple dance floor which cost $3,000.   Duane Peterson took over the Lakeside operation from Kaldahl and Brundin in the 1970s and Arne Moe took over after Peterson's death.   In 2001 the city took over operation of the ballroom as it made improvements to the facility. Bathrooms were replaced, air conditioning added to the lounge area, coolers were moved, water service improved, a storage area at the south end of the building was rebuilt, windows replaced in the lounge area and more.   A course of action for the city will probably start Tuesday when the city holds its regular commission meeting.