• Jan. 30, 1947

The home on the Mrs. Bertha Hirt farm, occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Earl Peters and son, was completely destroyed by fire. Mrs. Peters reported the blaze as soon as she noticed it, but a high wind fanned it quickly into an uncontrollable inferno. Hartley firemen did the best they could with the limited amount of water available but it was insufficient to control the spreading flames.

Advanced sale of tickets pointed to the biggest firemen’s ball in Hartley’s history, but Old Man Winter came and with him snow, snow and more snow. As a result many would-be celebrants stayed snugly at home.

John Deere Day held at the Capitol Theatre under the auspices of the Ruby Implement Co. was well-attended. The program was also presented to the agricultural and manual training classes at the high school.

• Jan. 27, 1972

High winds kicked up snow and resulted in near-zero visibility. As a result, the Hartley buses could not safely make their runs to return the children to their homes, so those not picked up by parents and grandparents were housed with relatives and friends in town. There was some anxiety since telephones in the rural areas in many cases were not working. In the memories of local residents it was the first time in many years that students were stranded. A rash of accidents occurred both in town and in the country.

Hartley High School’s one-act contest play, “The Farce of the Worthy Master Pierre Patelin,” earned a Division I rating in district competition. Next on the schedule for the cast and crew which contributed greatly to the play’s success was the state contest. Derryl Barr was the director.

• Jan. 30, 1997

“Birds of a feather” was an appropriate theme for a monetary donation by the Hartley American Legion to Community Memorial Health Center. The check for $506 was applied toward the purchase of the bird aviary at Mann Wing. The funds were raised through the Legion’s feather party in November.

As Quentin Taylor started down the basement steps, he was surprised by something that came fluttering up toward him. It was a yellow and black butterfly. The Taylors suspected the butterfly came inside with some flowers they had taken to the basement in the fall.

First Federal Savings Bank, Security State Bank and United Community Bank each contributed $5,000 in seed money for the Homestead Cooperative of Hartley. The advisory committee still needed to raise $10,000 in order for plans for the senior housing cooperative to move forward.

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