• May 9, 1946

Ivan Maxson, former Hartley school principal who had been superintendent at Battle Creek for two years, was hired as superintendent of the Excelsior Township Consolidated School. His wife would also be on the faculty as a grade teacher.

One of the most beautiful ceremonies ever held in Hartley occurred in the Masonic Hall, when the Order of the Rainbow for girls was instituted and 35 girls were initiated. The girls were daughters of Masons or Stars, and their friends.

Louis E. Potter, a former Hartley resident and a registered pharmacist, purchased the drug store owned and operated by Frank H. Adams. Mr. Adams had been in the drug business for 31 years. He and his family planned to move to California.

Two Jigger Elsie, a Labrador retriever owned and shown by E.M. Knaack, won first place in the Retriever class during a show in Asheville, N.C. Although competing against professionals, Jigger refused to play up to the judges and sat down at every opportunity.

• May 6, 1971

A group of women representing the federated women’s clubs of Hartley met with the town council and outlined a number of proposals for community improvement. The suggestions were not only for the betterment of the community, but also provided an opportunity for the Hartley clubs to win some valuable cash prizes if the aims were accomplished.

Mitchell Watters, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Watters of rural Hartley, placed second at the Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Contest. His catch was a 1.9-pound smallmouth bass with an overall length of 15-1/2 inches.

The concert band at Hartley High School received a I rating at the state large group contest. Of the six bands in Class B, only Hartley and Aurelia received the top ratings.

• May 9, 1996

Students at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Elementary School enjoyed an afternoon of horse-drawn wagon rides thanks to the generosity of Dale Lux and Irv Riedemann, of Hartley, and LeRoy Thornton, of Archer. The rides were organized by the reading promotion committee to tie in with the yearlong theme, “Get ‘Farm-iliar’ with Books.”

Hartley Police Chief Doug Reese and Officer Mark Warburton completed the annual fingerprinting of second grade students at H-M-S. The I.E.F. Club sponsored the project in conjunction with the McGruff Program.

The Hartley city council allocated matching funds so that plans could be drawn up for a proposed expansion of the Hartley Public Library. The council designated a maximum of $1,800 that would be used along with $1,700 set aside by the library board to pay Architects Collaborative for completing the plans.

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