From Our Files
1998: Hartley Threshing Bee renamed
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• July 29, 1948
Plans for the 1948 O’Brien County Fair and Future Farmers Livestock Show were virtually complete. The festivities were to last two days instead of three, but organizers promised they would be two days filled with attractions for the many visitors to Hartley.
Local baseball teams lost close games on the diamond. The junior Legion team lost to Primghar, 5-4, and to Melvin, 1-0. Hartley’s town team, the Red Caps, battled Rossie on even terms for 11 innings, but Rossie picked up four runs in the 12th frame to take a 7-3 decision. The fast semi-pro club from Pocahontas handed the Red Caps a 4-0 defeat.
Four prominent men of O’Brien County, including Kenneth Nurse, of Hartley, were selected by the soil conservation commissioners to act as judges for local entries in the Sioux City Program of Permanent Agriculture.
• July 26, 1973
Visitors from The Netherlands were houseguests of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Harms. Mr. and Mrs. John DeVries, of Bourtage, Province of Grongen, were met at the O’Hare Airport in Chicago by John Harms, of Fulton, Ill., who brought the visitors to Hartley. Mrs. DeVries was a sister of Henry and John Harms. It was the first time they had been together in 48 years.
Dean Meyer was named superintendent of utilities for Hartley. He had been utilities superintendent at Paullina for 11 years. Wilbur Wacker, who had been Hartley’s utilities superintendent on an interim basis, accepted the position of head lineman.
The Hartley Kiwanis Club entertained the Rock Rapids club at an interclub fly-in at the Hartley airport. Following the dinner, Hartley Kiwanians were treated to rides by the Rock Rapids members, who brought three planes.
• July 30, 1998
Eleven students from Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School returned from a 13-day trip to Spain where they put their Spanish language classroom learning to everyday use. The first half of their trip included homestays with families, where they had to speak Spanish the whole time. They also visited Cordoba, Seville and Madrid. It was the largest group that instructor Mary Steinbeck had taken on that kind of trip.
What had been known as the Hartley Threshing Bee was renamed the Hartley Summer Fest, but the lineup of activities was still impressive. Graduating classes of the 1970s were especially welcomed back to Hartley. Special events scheduled were demonstrations by the Freedom Fallers Sky Divers and entertainment by Christopher Jon, Gary and the Profs, the Country Western Dancers and the Cowboy Poet.
From Our Files” is compiled by Sentinel-News sports editor/staff writer Mike Petersen.
