Remember When 3-21-2018

(Above) 1993 pre-season shoveling - Shoveling was required training in 1993 for members of the Clear Lake High School girls track team.  The girls removed the bulk of the early spring snowfall from the track and counted on Mother Nature to take care of the rest.

25 Years Ago

March 1993

A Clear Lake man remained in critical condition Tuesday in a Mason City hospital following his immersion for over 55-minutes in Clear Lake’s freezing water.  The man was riding a snowmobile Sunday night, on the ice-covered lake when he came across the open water near City Beach where aerators are used. He and the vehicle submerged at approximately 10:45 p.m.  Over the course of time, the cooperation of many agencies lead to a cold-water rescue instead of a body recovery, according to Jackson Wilcox, public information officer for the Clear Lake Fire Department. Heavy snowfall and the slushy condition of the lake surface hampered the dispatch.

The Clear Lake Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Leadership Council has announced the award of a $1,200 grant to the Legendary Surf Ballroom, Inc. The grant will be used for marketing efforts associated with the “In the Mood” spring craft show.  This will be the first year for the festival.

Ventura High School students will present Thornton Wilder’s drama “Our Town.”  The stage manager, Kim Lauen, will introduce the audience to Emily Webb, played by Lisa Johnson, and George Gibbs, played by J.D. Shaffer, and their families who are played by Troy Roenfanz, Deanna Sellers, Brendon Gruis, Tracy Gray, Matt Frazier and Danika Swenson.

Wet, heavy snow blanketed Clear Lake last week with a spring snowfall.

Dr. James Rosenberg, D.V.M., has announced the opening of Timberlane Animal Hospital. It is located at 240 Highway 18 West, Clear Lake.  The business will offer full service for small, large and exotic animals.

Doris Meyer, of the Country Garden Patch, located south of Ventura, has completed a design/management program sponsored by the Society of Iowa Florists and Growers that now qualified her as an Iowa Certified Florist.

Kirk Severtson, of Clear Lake, is a finalist for one of 20 Presidential Scholarships at St. Olaf College.  Severtson, the son of John and Jana Severtson, of Clear Lake, is a senior at Clear Lake High School.

Midwest Soya International, Inc., of Clear Lake, has been named the winner of the 1993 “Ag Industry Award” in Crop Reporting District number two by the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board.  Kim Pleggenkuhle, manager of Midwest Soya, has supported the Cerro Gordo Soybean Association’s promotional activities and has worked to develop and promote competitive export markets and new uses for soybeans.

The North Star Conference, of which Ventura is a member, was one of the last few conferences to vote on whether to switch from six-player girls basketball to five-player.  The conference voted unanimously Thursday, March 18, to switch to five-on-five for seventh through 12th grades for next season.

The Ventura boys and girls basketball teams each had four players named to All-North Star Conference teams.  Seniors Matt Dillavou and Troy Roenfanz were selected to the Second Team, while seniors Ryann Overgaard and Bret Paulson earned Honorable Mention recognition.  Kim Meyer, a senior, was named to the Second Team for the girls, while classmate Kim Lauen was tabbed as a Third Team.  Heather Nordman, a junior, and Sarah Hinrichs, a sophomore, received Honorable Mention.

Eric Austin, of Clear Lake, was the singles and overall winner of the annual city bowling tournament held at Melodee Lanes, in Clear Lake.

50 Years Ago

March 1968

Clear Lake School Board members accepted the resignation of four school instructors and one custodian at the meeting Monday night.  The teachers resigning and planning to further their education were John Thompson, high school guidance counselor; Miss Donna Sloan, vocational homemaking teacher; and Miss Helen Shudlick, junior high English teacher.  Thomas Ham, high school English teacher also resigned.  Kenneth Miller, custodian at Central School, resigned to take another job.

Gordon Mobley, Charles City, Iowa, is the owner of a new women’s dress shop at 305 Main Ave., Clear Lake.  The business is called, “The Villa.”

Clear Lake’s basketball forces stand on the threshold of the State Class AA tournament, but the hulking form of Cedar Falls blocks the doorway.  The formidable obstacle will be met on Wednesday night in the Mason City High School gym.  The probably starting line-up for Clear Lake will be: Ken Grabinski, Steve Grabinski, Wolfgang Meier, Bob Budolfson and Paul Hankenson.

Playing at the Lake Theatre is Walt Disney’s, “Monkeys, Go Home!”  Also playing in metro color is “The Dirty Dozen,” the Nazis never bargained for The Dirty Dozen.

60 Years Ago

March 1958

Don Huey was re-elected chief of the Clear Lake Fire Department Thursday evening at the fire station.

Dick Atkins, Dale Sergeant and Gary Miller attended the basketball tournament in Des Moines.

Iowa Highway Patrol will start using radar in speed enforcement this spring.

Colored slides and movies of the Pasadena Rose Bowl parade were shown at the Eden Farm Club by O.W. Ong.

Peterson’s “Free Chick” day is April 7.

St. Catharine’s Circle of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church served 323 creamed chicken dinners at the church Sunday afternoon.

1957 retail sales passed $8 million in Clear Lake according to retail tax paid to Iowa Tax Commission.

100 Years Ago

March 1918

Fred Paulson had one of the hind wheels taken off his car Monday in crossing the railroad tracks.

Miss Ella Brown left Saturday for Chicago on a buying trip for Oluf T. Hansen Co.

Two inches of snow fell during the nights.

The Clear Lake street car line will do a rushing business if the warm weather continues.  People are coming over in droves from Clear Lake to shop in Mason City.

Meatless days saved 140,000,000 in beef in four months.

Somewhere in France, 15 more Iowa young men have joined Merle Hay in eternal sleep, and have made the supreme sacrifice for their country.