Diana Erickson and Marcia Boeve-Alfano were both hired to work at Luverne Middle-High School in the fall of 2000. At the end of the current school year, they both announced their retirements. Erickson taught middle school computer and high school business for 20 years while Boeve-Alfano was the activities office administrative assistant.

Eugene “Pucky” Sandager on Saturday used pieces from his own personal collection of vintage farm artifacts to help promote the History Center in Luverne.
For Saturday morning’s Buffalo Days Parade, he drove a 1942 B John Deere that was the first tractor his father, Sheldon, owned after returning to Hills from his service in the Navy during World War II.
The tractor’s original wheels were steel, but the senior Sandager replaced them with rubber, and he also replaced the tractor seat with what he felt was a more comfortable International seat.
Pucky Sandager used his dad’s “B” to pull a 1900 John Deere High Mountain iron-clad covered wagon. He recently acquired the wagon from a Montana rancher he’d bought cattle from for 15 years. “I noticed it sitting in a shop one day and asked if he’d sell it,” Sandager said.
He said the Montana wagons today are rare, because they were typically stored outdoors and didn’t survive the elements.
He said this one is 98-percent original; the hoops and fabric cover are the only replaced items.
The tractor and wagon are stored at Sandager’s farm near Hills, but he brought them out for Saturday’s parade to help the History Center promote its displays of Rock County agriculture.
Rock County Historical Society President Betty Mann “drove” the “Deere”-drawn covered wagon in the parade, pretending to horsewhip Sandager on the B John Deere tractor.
The History Center hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed on Sunday and Monday.
Also, the Rock County Historical Society buildings (school house, summer kitchen and the barns) will be open at the fair July 29-30.

LSS meals at Generations
Monday, June 14: Pork loin, candied yams, broccoli, bread, bar.
Tuesday, June 15: Ham, scalloped potatoes, peas, bread, dessert.
Wednesday, June 16: Taco salad, salsa, sour cream, corn chips, fresh fruit, dessert.
Half-Price Day sponsored by First Presbyterian Church.
 Thursday, June 17: Spaghetti, lettuce salad with dressing, fruit, dessert.
Friday, June 18: Baked fish, brown rice with mixed vegetables, mandarin oranges, cake.
LSS Dining offers well-balanced and affordable meals in a community atmosphere.
Call Lynette Hoiland at 283-9846 to arrange to pick up a dinner or for home-delivered meals.
Gift certificates are available at the meal site or online at www.lssmn.org/nutrition.

10 years ago (2011)
•A pair of Luverne High School girls extended their track seasons during Thursday’s Section 3A Track and Field Championships in Redwood Falls.
The top two finishers in individual events at the section level earn automatic invitations to participate in the state meet. Luverne senior Katlyn Sawtelle and junior Paige Nath met that criteria.
Sawtelle won a section title in one event and placed second in another.
Nath also placed second individually for an LHS team that compiled 58 points to place third as a squad in a 26-team field.
Sawtelle’s final appearance at the section meet featured her winning the pole vault crown (10-1) and placing second in the 100-meter hurdles (16.63)
Nath finished second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.46.
Both girls advance to the Minnesota State Class A Track and Field Championships set for Friday and Saturday at Hamline University in St. Paul.
 
25 years ago (1996)
•The city of Luverne received word Tuesday from Gov. Arne Carlson’s office that it has been awarded a $324,064 Small Cities Development grant.
Luverne received the money in the second round of awards from the state. The city applied for the funds in October to rehabilitate 25 owner-occupied homes.
The homes affected are in the area generally south of Main Street and bounded by Davidson on the west and Blue Mound Avenue on the east. To the south, residential properties along Mead Court to Highway 75 are also included.
An additional $99,000 from public and private sources will be used for the rehabilitation of these homes.
 
50 years ago (1971)
•Dave Lorenzen, former Luverne basketball star and Minnesota all-state choice in 1967, has been invited by the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to attend their rookie camp after he graduates this month from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
He has also been approached by the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association, and he hopes to have the opportunity to attend their tryout camp if things don’t work out in Chicago, he said.
Lorenzen, 6’7”, and weighing 220 pounds, is majoring in physical education. As a freshman at the University at Duluth, he was the leading scorer and named the most valuable freshman. He played on UMD’s varsity squad his sophomore, junior and senior years, and was selected captain for his senior year. As a junior, he was the team’s leading scorer, but injuries during the past season prevented his having as good a year as he had hoped to have.
In high school, he played under Dave Hutchins, now coach at Bemidji state. That year, Luverne had a 24-2 record and won the consolation title at the state tournament.
 
75 years ago (1946)
•Announcement was made this week of the sale of the Connell Drug Store to Curtis M. Laudon, Slayton. The transaction will take effect June 15, 44 years to the day since Mr.  Connell came here to take a “temporary job” as a drug clerk.
The new firm name of the drug store will be the Laudon Drug Store. The store will be closed from June 17 until July 1 in order to permit the new owner to re-arrange the stock and do as much remodeling as is possible at the present time. Extensive alterations are planned later when materials become more available. A long term lease has been taken on the drug store location.
 
100 years ago (1921)
•Beaver Creek will this year observe the Fourth of July with an old-fashioned celebration, in which all the people of Rock county are invited to join.
The decision to celebrate was reached at a meeting of the people of Beaver Creek held Monday evening, and a committee composed of Chas. Harris, chairman; J. H. Hall, Jas. Vopat, R. A. Perry and W. A. Davis was appointed at that time to take charge of the general arrangements for the celebration. This committee has since named several sub-committees to take charge of the different phases of the arrangements, and it is expected that all plans will be well underway within a few days.
The program will include numerous street sports and contests, a picnic dinner, open-air band concerts, two ball games, and dancing and motion picture shows both in the afternoon and evening.
It is expected to have the day’s activities start at 10 o’clock in the morning and to provide entertainment for both the young and the old for every minute from that time until late at night.
While the matter has not been definitely settled, it is expected that the forenoon program will provide for an address by an entertaining speaker.

The following appeared in The Rock County Star-Herald on Feb. 9, 1950.
 
Lunch Program Inaugurated at Hardwick School
 
Hot Dish, Sandwich, Dessert and Milk Now Are Served to Children
The traditional lunch bucket — as important to the pupil as pencils and books in years gone by — has vanished from the Hardwick public school scene.
The cold lunches, which for years were a part of the everyday life of the rural students, have been replaced with hot noon day lunches, a program recently inaugurated at the school.
Every noon, over 100 growing, hungry youngsters can be seen seated at tables enjoying good, wholesome warm food, prepared by Mrs. Richard Goettsch and her assistant, Mrs. Reuben Abraham. And the children’s mothers are happy, too. Now their boys and girls no longer have to carry their lunches, many of which were brought back home with evidence of only a nibble here and there.
At Hardwick, the “A” type lunch is served. This consists of one hot food, sandwich, dessert and milk, which is served to the youngsters at a cost of 20 cents per day. The district recently remodeled the basement into a lunch room and kitchen to provide the lunches for the children.
The hot lunch program combined with the bus service now in use for the second year since the consolidation of a number of rural districts with the Hardwick District No. 48 is proving advantageous for both children and taxpayers alike, residents of the community state. …
District officers report that the school is open to further expansion, and that they are willing to share their facilities with other neighboring districts so that they may enjoy the privileges of a larger school system.
Rural districts in the Hardwick area are being invited to join with Hardwick. However, increasing the size of the school will mean enlarging the school facilities, and the board is anxious to know what to expect in the way of future enrollments, as, one director said, “We don’t want to over-build or under-build, but build according to our needs.”
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

USD Vermillion announces dean’s list
The University of South Dakota, Vermillion, has released the Spring 2021 dean’s list for full-time student with a 3.5 GPA or higher and the president’s list for part-time students with a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Named to the dean’s list were the following students:
Luverne: Jack Baustian, Grace Bosch, Mackenzie Petersen, Madison  Reisdorfer.
Hills: Ashley Esselink, Megan Gehrke, Mary-Frances Ladd, Kailey Rozeboom.
Adrian: Avery Balster, Hannah Bullerman, Bailey Lonneman, Skylar Polzine.
Lismore: Dakota John, Mitchell Veld.
Amanda Sterling, Luverne, was named to the president’s list.
 
Ellingson receives degree from USF

Caleb Ellingson, Luverne, graduated with a Master of Business Administration in Management from the University of Sioux Falls following the Spring 2021 semester. 
LHS senior awarded Mediacom scholarship
Luverne High School senior Ainslee Robinson was awarded a $1,000 Mediacom scholarship that recognizes students’ leadership and academic accomplishments.
She’s among 60 graduating seniors out of nearly 1,200 applicants to receive $1,000 scholarships among its Midwest and Southwest regions.
 
Local students on dean’s list at Southeast Tech
Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls has released its dean’s list for the Spring 2021 semester.
Local students on the list are Brody DeBates, Carson Ehde, Sarah Essman and Jada Johnson. To be named to the list, students must be full-time degree-seeking students with a term GPA of 3.5 or higher.
 
LHS grad on dean’s list in Arizona
Jadyn Anderson, Luverne, has been named to the spring semester dean’s list at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts in Tempe, Arizona. To make the list, students must achieve a grade point average of 3.5 or higher for the semester while enrolled in 12 or more credit hours.
 
Students named to Lake Area president’s list
The Lake Area Community College in Watertown, South Dakota, has released the president’s honor list following the Spring 2021 semester. Honor students qualify with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Those with a 4.0 average are indicated with an asterisk following the name.
Honor students from Luverne are Haylee Overvaag*, William Stegenga*, and Carter Stemper. From Hills is Kyle Kueter.
 
Neuenburg makes president’s list
Madison Neuenburg, Adrian, has been named to the president’s list for the Spring 2021 semester at Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville, Iowa, with a 4.0 GPA.
 
Jelken graduates from Northwestern
Christopher Jelken, Luverne, graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration/ international business on Saturday, May 8, 2021, at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.
Christopher is the son of James and Paula Jelken of Luverne.
 
DSU releases honors list
Three area students were named to the president’s academic honors list for the Spring 2021 semester at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota. To be eligible, students must earn a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Named to the list were Johnathan Horn of Adrian, Sidney Fick of Beaver Creek and Zane Holmgren of Luverne.
 
Area students named to USF dean’s list
The University of Sioux Falls has released the Spring 2021 dean’s list.
The following students qualified for the list: Angela Martinyuk of Beaver Creek, Grace Bundesen of Hills, Cade Ver Steeg and Grace Steensma of Luverne, and Isabella Niemeyer and Mandie Petersen of Hardwick.
 
Area students graduate from Ridgewater
Ridgewater College, Willmar, has announced Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 graduates. Ceremonies were virtual.
Area graduates include Teresa Van Belle, Beaver Creek, high honors, and Kaylie Ossefoort, Luverne.
 
Wendland named to dean’s list at Luther
Courtney Wendland of Luverne was named to the dean’s list for the Spring 2020 semester at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. To be eligible, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
 
Rogers makes dean’s list at Iowa State
Nicholas Rogers of Hardwick, a junior majoring in genetics at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, was named to the Spring 2021 dean’s list. Students must earn a 3.5 GPA or higher to qualify.

Bryanna L. Cobler, 31, Luverne, formerly of Ellsworth, died unexpectedly at her home on Friday, June 4, 2021.
A memorial gathering of family and friends will be from 7-9 p.m. Friday, June 11, at Hartquist Funeral Home in Luverne.
Arrangements are provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, hartquistfuneral.com.
 (0610 DN)

Clarence Bauer, 81, Adrian, died Wednesday, June 2, 2021, at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.
A funeral service was Saturday, June 5, at the First Baptist Church in Adrian. Burial with full military honors provided by the Adrian American Legion was in the Adrian Cemetery.
Arrangements were provided by Dingmann Funeral Home of Adrian, dingmannandsons.com.
 (0610 DN)

Carolyn Galles Smiens, 75, Northfield, formerly of Adrian, died Wednesday, May 26, 2021.
A private committal service will be held at St. Adrian Cemetery, Adrian.
Arrangements are with Bierman Funeral Home & Crematory, Northfield. www.biermanfuneralhome.com
(0610 DN)