Barnes County: A Moment in Time
1921 100 Years Ago... Clarice Hager Canning Expert
Clark Hager of Green Township, is making a splendid record in canning. Miss Hager is thirteen years old and is enrolled in canning club work for the third year. Miss Hager’s products have received considerable attention because of the beautiful and practical packs and the high quality of products that she has put out. This year Miss Hager has entered the canning contest conducted by the Hazel Atlas Glass Company of Wheeling, West Virginia. This is a national contest conducted in the interest of club work. The United States is divided into four sections and Miss Hager is competing in the northern section. This contest will close November 1st. Barnes county people are expecting that Miss Hager will make a creditable record in this contest since she has already made quite a reputation along this line. Last year she won first prize in the club department on her group of canning exhibits shown at the county fair. At the Missouri Slope Fair, held at Mandan last September, she won several firsts on fruits, vegetables and meats in the first club department besides several firsts in the open class or women’s department. As county champion canner, last year she canned one hundred and twelve quarts including sixteen varieties of fruits, meats and vegetables. Miss Hager was awarded first prize in Sioux City, Iowa for the very best jar of canned goods on exhibition in which young folks of twelve midwestern states were competing. Miss Hager is very efficiently using this one period cold pack method.
General Henry Beal Seeks Flag
General Henry Beal has asked the Times-Record to assist him in location the big silk flag belonging to the Josiah S. Weiser Post No. 9 of the G. A. R. which has been lost for some time. The last time that General Beal can remember of seeing the flag was on last Decoration Day. The flag was presented to the post thirtyfive years ago, and is a very beautiful silk one. Anybody knowing the whereabouts of the flag, we are sure will communicate with Mr. Beal or the Times-Record.
1946 75 Years Ago... Mike Mikoda Now Mess Sergeant With U.S. Army In Japan
With the Eighth Army in Japan- Sgt Thomas H. Mikoda, 19 year old Valley City paratrooper with the 11th Airborne division, has been busy lately working at menu filling and meal planning. Mikoda is now mess sergeant in Headquarters Co. of the First battalion of the 511th Parachute infantry. Prior to this, Mikoda’s job was first cook in the same kitchen. A veteran of the Luzon campaign, Mikoda entered the army in October, 1944. He joined the 11th Airborne division in Luzon in May of the following year, and qualified as a trooper the same month. In addition to the Presidential Unit citation, Mikoda will wear on his chest, the Asiatic Pacific Theatre ribbon, with one battle star, the Philippine Liberation ribbon with one battle star, the Japanese Occupation ribbon, and the Victory Medal. Before entering the army, Mikoda attended the Valley City high school where he played basketball. After being discharged he plans to continue his education at college.
Pillsbury Boys’4-H Club Largest In Barnes County
Largest boys 4-H club in Barnes county is the newly-organized Pillsbury Pioneers club, which this week received its organization papers. There are 32 members in this club. Agriculture will be the year’s project. President of the group is Kenneth Stevenson; vice president, Glenn Flatt; secretary-treasurer, Lawrence Workman; reporter, Charles Ostrander. Leader is Lyle McKay of Pillsbury. Kenneth Burchill of Page is associate leader.
1971 50 Years Ago... Watch the First Step
“Watch the First Step, it’s a long one,” says C. Challey, FFA instructor, as construction work is underway for the addition to the Valley City High School. Berge Construction Co. began removing dirt Tuesday in preparation for the footings to be set. Demolition of old Ritchie II will begin Monday by contractor Ben Dockter, Mcclusky. Residents holding sentimental value for the 1902 building just might want to use their cameras this weekend.
With Our Servicemen
Sp 5 John A. Molstre, son of Rev. and Mrs. Harry Molstre, Valley City, returned to his home Thursday following completion of his tour of duty in Vietnam for the past 13 months. He plans to continue his study of graduate work for an advanced degree in psychology.
1996 25 Years Ago... VC’s Dan Michaels shares decision to return to radio Addressing Jefferson sixth graders Wednesday
A homegrown Valley City boy, Dan Michaels started his career at at the age of 15 at KOVC radio working Sunday nights from 6 p.m to midnight. When Michaels spoke at Jefferson School Wednesday, he told the sixth graders he would have started working there earlier but they wouldn’t hire him. His last day on the job as a sportscaster for KVLYTV is June 28 and he will return to his first love, radio, in August. Michaels said he needed to spend more time with his wife and that when in radio, he did more than just cover sportshe enjoyed the variety. He agreed to try the job as sportscaster for one year. He has done that and says although KVLY is disappointed he is leaving the station, they are not angry. He said he felt he had fulfilled his obligation to the station and told the students that “living up to your word,” is a very important thing. When asked who would replace Michaels, he said a nationwide search is going on right now for his replacement. Asked if he would ever take a job with ESPN, a sports network, he said he didn’t know how anyone could turn that down. It would be “creamy.” He said being an announcer is a tough job, quite serious work-a person really needs to be accurate, precise in his line of work. So during commercial breaks, he said the announcers tell jokes and pick on people, doing things such as pinching each other or throwing pencils.
Michaels said the biggest joker on the set is Charley Johnson. And when asked if Too-Tall Tom Symanski was as wild off-stage as on, Michaels said, “No. On camera, he’s a wing nut, but off camera, he’s a kind, nice, considerate and thoughtful fellow.” He said he really can spin a basketball on his finger. He performed this feat in a commercial made for KVLY. He said the intention of making that commercial was to show sports should be fun. Michaels was asked what some of his favorite teams were. He said his favorite football is the fourth time world champion Pittsburgh Steelers and his favorite basketball team is the Minnesota Timberwolves. He said he had a chance to interview Franco Harris of the Steelers once on his radio show several years ago. “It as one of my biggest thrills.” He told the students that he does indeed wear makeup. Once he forgot to take it off before he went to the gym to work out. He said when he appeared there with is makeup still on, he got some pretty strange looks.
VC guardsmen train in Desert (Fort Irwin, Calif)
Several Valley City men are currently getting paid to help play games in a sandbox, and they say it’s the best training they ever received. The men are National Guard troops. The games are war games, which are played with high technology at Ft. Irwin in the southern California desert. Those in charge call the combat zone, “the box,” and it is filled with sand. When the wind blows, as it did Friday, it is called the dust bowl-a cloud of windblown sand visible for miles. The eight men from the Valley City unit joined 94 other N.D. National Guardsmen at the National Training Center April 1 and plan to return this Friday. The Times-Record was one of three North Dakota newspapers selected to visit the troops over the weekend along with two civic leaders from Jamestown and National Guard brass.
Valley City was represented by Kevin Anderson, Dennis Hartman, Shawn Hewitt, Todd Hoelmer, Jon Jochimsen, Brad Kappel, Dennis Lowman, and Franz “Skip” Pedersen.
They were at Ft. Irwin to train in combat support, which is what they do every year, but this time they had more of it at a faster pace. For instance, Valley City Guardsmen said they laid five to six miles of wire obstacles and dug vehicle fighting positions. Normally they lay about a mile of wire obstacle. All of this wire laying and picket pounding gave the unit’s medics more to do than their usual annual training. Medic Brad Kappel said he treated many blisters and cuts. He said he has used more medical supplies this training than in the previous three. He added he liked the opportunity to work with other units and to see different types of equipment. The Guardsmen were even trained in repelling, which is not something they normally do in North Dakota.
Todd Hoelmer said this was the first time he had repelled in many years. They repelled down a 24 foot wall and later graduated to a 48-foot wall and a rope suspended from a bar 48 feet in the air. This simulates dropping out of a helicopter.
Kappel helps ensure the safety of the obstacle course where the repelling platforms are located. He said he can stop the activity if he sees anything unsafe. The units from Valley City, Jamestown and Carrington were augmenting the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment which is permanently stations at Ft. Irwin, training and fighting using enemy doctrine to challenge other U.S. forces that rotate through the NTC. Each year features 12 rotations lasting 28-days each. Occasionally the rotations require more troops, so they turn to National Guard units like these. Officials said it is rare for a North Dakota National Guard unit to go to NTC. Dennis Hartman said he is getting a lot of time driving heavy equipment. Normally a crane operator, Hartman drove a bulldozer at NTC which digs trenches to hide tanks. He said this makes him a better equipment operator for the National Guard. But these three weeks make him appreciate North Dakota more, he said, looking around at the sand, shrubs, rocks and hills filling the high desert. “Everything’s brown,” Hartman said, “it’s nasty.” Medic Kevin Anderson areas. He said, “everywhere you look (it’s the) same thing.”
Hartman said the afternoons get warm, but the nights get cold. He said the key to survival is “drink a lot of water and bring warm clothes as well.” The medics said they push two to five gallons of water a day. And Shawn Hewitt said the days can get long. A typical day at Ft. Irwin involved getting up at 5 or 5:30 a.m and working until about 7:30 p.m. While they get three meals a day, Hewitt said, they have too many T-rations.