• Dec. 27, 1945

The third school bus that was to be used on Route 3 south of Hartley arrived and was scheduled to be placed in operation when school opened after the holidays. The bus was a Superior body mounted on a Chevrolet chassis purchased from Burns Chevrolet Co. Bill Powers was the bus driver.

All those servicemen who had been wishing for a white Christmas certainly got their wish in a big way. While there was no official register in Hartley, it was generally agreed over a foot of snow fell with drifts piling three feet deep.

Fourteen states, including Iowa, and every county and principal city in the states through which the Rock Island Lines operated were assisted in meeting their Victory Loan quotas by an allocation of $45,775,000 in government securities by the railroad.

• Dec. 24, 1970

The Hartley Fire Department obtained a water truck. The 1962 Chevrolet 2-1/2 ton truck (like new) was furnished by the Iowa State Forestry Service, which received it from U.S. Government surplus. The truck was completely equipped with a portable pump and tank which were purchased with funds donated to the department by generous area residents.

The Christmas spirit was revealed in the halls of Hartley High School. The art class and club took a little paint and a lot of imagination and came up with some window paintings for the Christmas season. Work was started immediately after Thanksgiving vacation. Patterns were first drawn by the students and then the painting and fun began. The students worked hard for the personal accomplishment as well as the grade. It was the first year the school had an art class.

• Dec. 28, 1995

Beef Specialists of Iowa held its second “Trees of Joy” at the Christian Children’s Home at Peterson and at Mann Memorial Wing in Hartley. BSI employees contributed over 100 gifts to bring Christmas cheer to the children and residents.

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn elementary students again participated in their annual food drive. Student council members gave some of the donated items to a family they adopted and the rest were taken to local food pantries.

Terri Naber, a student at H-M-S High School, was among 100 Iowa students named as finalists in the Iowa State Bar Association’s Know Your Constitution contest.

Four Central Avenue businesses were burglarized over the Christmas weekend. An undetermined amount of money was taken from Genal’s Café, Red’s Café and Pastries, Hartley Auto and Schimmer Furniture.

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