The following appeared in The Rock County Star-Herald on March 17, 1949.
 
County Pioneer Growth of Certified Southern Type Brome Seed in State
Rock county has gained distinction as being one of the pioneer counties in raising certified Fischer and Lincoln brome grass, a plant of vital importance to soil conservation.
Soil Conservationist Jerry Simpson said this week that Luverne was the only place in the state where certified Fischer brome could be bought over the counter. The Luverne Farm Store had been selling certified Rock county grown Fischer brome, but was now sold out. They purchased their seed from Roger Pengra, Mound township farmer, who raised the first plot of Fischer brome in the state to be certified outside of nursery plantings.
Fischer and Lincoln brome are in great demand. As a matter of fact a Faribault seed firm is planning to sow 130 acres of it for seed this year—if it can get the seed. Dealers throughout the state have been able only to get about 1,000 pounds each from the seed sources throughout the country, and little, if any, of this certified.
Fischer and Lincoln are both “southern bromes.” They are more quickly established upon planting, start growing earlier in the spring, and yield about 20 per cent more seed in southern Minnesota. Brome is valuable as hay and feed, and for its root system which is of great importance in soil conservation work.
Planted with alfalfa, red clover or alsike clover, it has a feed value almost equal to legumes, and at the same time it increases the hay yield close to a ton per acre.
It has a vast root system, producing 5 to 6 tons of dry roots per acre on a two-year-old stand.  These roots add organic and building erosion, and the water intake and the water holding capacity of the soil is increased.
Livestock raisers like it because when planted half and half with some legume such as alfalfa, it makes a safe pasture for livestock, where pure alfalfa does not.
When sown on crop land, it can be cut as hay, and then pastured. It is ideal for use in building waterways, turn rows at the end of fields, for seeding weedy fence lines, and is the most drouth resistant grass available for pasture improvement. It requires considerable nitrogen, and for that reason, thrives best when planted with a legume such as clover or alfalfa.
Rock county has perhaps more acres sown to brome than any other county in the state. The first bag of certified Fischer and the first bag of certified Lincoln brome was brought into the county three years ago when the soil conservation supervisors managed to secure 100 pounds of seed. J. E. Sells, Beaver Creek township, planted a five acre tract of Fischer, and L. J. Hofelmann planted a five acre tract of Lincoln. Seed was produced the second year, and sold locally.
Mr. Pengra purchased his first seed in 1946, and planted it that fall. Last year, he harvested 2,800 pounds, and the seed qualified for state certification.
There were eight other seed plots in the county last year, which in all produced about 10,000 pounds, all sold locally. Farmers growing the seed were John Shurr, Kanaranzi township; James Dunn, J. E. Sells, and Crawford Bros., Beaver Creek township; and Paul Iverson Vienna township.
Thus through the efforts of the soil conservation district supervisors, who obtained the first seed, Rock county has a good start in raising new crop which is steadily increasing in importance in the vast program of soil conservation.
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rock County Star-Herald on Feb. 9, 1950.
 
Lunch Program Inaugurated at Hardwick School
 
Hot Dish, Sandwich, Dessert and Milk Now Are Served to Children
The traditional lunch bucket — as important to the pupil as pencils and books in years gone by — has vanished from the Hardwick public school scene.
The cold lunches, which for years were a part of the everyday life of the rural students, have been replaced with hot noon day lunches, a program recently inaugurated at the school.
Every noon, over 100 growing, hungry youngsters can be seen seated at tables enjoying good, wholesome warm food, prepared by Mrs. Richard Goettsch and her assistant, Mrs. Reuben Abraham. And the children’s mothers are happy, too. Now their boys and girls no longer have to carry their lunches, many of which were brought back home with evidence of only a nibble here and there.
At Hardwick, the “A” type lunch is served. This consists of one hot food, sandwich, dessert and milk, which is served to the youngsters at a cost of 20 cents per day. The district recently remodeled the basement into a lunch room and kitchen to provide the lunches for the children.
The hot lunch program combined with the bus service now in use for the second year since the consolidation of a number of rural districts with the Hardwick District No. 48 is proving advantageous for both children and taxpayers alike, residents of the community state. …
District officers report that the school is open to further expansion, and that they are willing to share their facilities with other neighboring districts so that they may enjoy the privileges of a larger school system.
Rural districts in the Hardwick area are being invited to join with Hardwick. However, increasing the size of the school will mean enlarging the school facilities, and the board is anxious to know what to expect in the way of future enrollments, as, one director said, “We don’t want to over-build or under-build, but build according to our needs.”
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rock County Star-Herald on Feb. 2, 1950.
 
County Receives Larger Allotment For 1950 Soil Conservation Practices
 
No Definite Information Available as Yet About 1950 Corn Acreage Cuts
The 1950 appropriations for agriculture conservation practices in Rock county will be $51,600, about $2,000 more than in 1949, Leonard Arp, Rock county PMA chairman, announced on Monday.
The funds will be available for payment to farmers who are carrying out conservation practices for the 1950 program, Mr. Arp said. An official announcement of practices which must be followed to qualify farmers for payments has not yet been received in his office, he added, but it is expected that the program will be very similar to that of 1949.
Largest appropriation to counties in this area will be Murray county’s $89,100. Nobles county will receive $75,800; Jackson will get $65,600; Cottonwood, $64,800; and Pipestone, $56,600.
Corn Acreage Data
No information has been received about corn acreage adjustments for Rock county so far. “However,” Mr. Arp stated, “we have been informed that there is to be a cut of 19.7 percent in acreage for the entire commercial corn area.” The state of Minnesota has not yet announced acreage allocations for the individual counties. Mr. Arp would not speculate about when these allocations could be expected to be made.
Mr. Arp set the three-year average of acres in the county planted in corn at “approximately 110,000.” He said that the figure could not be entirely accurate because some farmers still refuse to submit any information about their farms and in other cases it has been impossible to secure complete information about crops.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rock County Star-Herald on Jan. 26, 1950.
 
$15,000 Polio Fund Drive Starts
 
Nearly $22,000 Spent For Polio Care by Local Chapter the Past Year
Civic and social organizations have united to carry the March of Dimes campaign through its most crucial test, John Kurvink, county director, said this week.
Chairmen named to date for the various communities are as follows: Battle Plain, Walter Rolfs; Beaver Creek twp., Eldo Oehlerts; Denver, Leonard Arp; Kanaranzi, Eddie Hansen and Don Jackson; Luverne twp., Harry Beers; Magnolia, Lewis Boomgaarden; Martin and Hills, Ed Schellhouse; Mound, Ray Brandenburg; Rose Dell, Lloyal Fields; Springwater, Olaf Bakke; Vienna and Kenneth, Henry Nieuwboer; Beaver Creek, village, Don Sandstede; Steen, Lewis McEldowney; Magnolia, Herbert Cain; Hardwick, Alfred Staeffler.
The Luverne National guard unit was first to contribute toward the county’s $15,000 goal, giving $42.50 from its funds, and the members matching it with their own individual contributions, making a total donation of $85. Then, the American Legion Auxiliary last week voted to donate $50 from their treasury. Other organizations throughout the county are expected to follow suit.
First rural contribution directly to the county treasury was a $15 check from Ed De Groot, of Magnolia, Kurvink said.
A look at the Rock County Chapter’s balance sheet for the year 1949 gives a vivid picture of the scope of the organization’s activities on a local scale. Care of county polio patients amounted to $21,936.59, of which $19,798.14 was used for hospitalization, $1,948.50 for doctors’ fees, $130.00 for nursing and physiotherapists, and $59.95 for braces, special shoes, etc.
To defray these expenses, the local chapter drew on its $12,205.21 fund collected during the 1949 March of Dimes campaign in the county, and $13,400.00 advanced by the National Headquarters.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following articles appeared in The Rock County Herald during 1895.
 
Jan. 11, 1895
The HERALD takes great pleasure in announcing to its readers that it has again made arrangements by which it is enabled to furnish the Weekly New York Tribune to its patrons for 25 cents per year, or both for 58 cents, per year. This price is probably less than the cost of the white paper, and the offer is a bargain which no one who wants to “keep posted” and desires to have reliable information respecting political questions of current importance, can afford to miss.
 
Feb. 15, 1895
The Gospel Temperance union celebrated the first anniversary of its organization in an appropriate manner Wednesday afternoon and evening at Armory Hall Opera house. During the afternoon refreshments were served in the rooms in the second story of the Opera house, and a large number of people from all parts of the county enjoyed the feat. Wednesday evening a delightful programme was successfully rendered to an audience only measured by the capacity of the building. People were present from Adrian, Hardwick, Beaver Creek, Hills, Steen, Ash Creek, Magnolia and other points, and a happier crowd was never assembled in Luverne. The W. C. T. U. has the Gospel Temperance Union under its wing, and the HERALD asserts that anything is bound to succeed over which it casts its protecting influence.
 
March 1, 1895
Readers of the HERALD will remember that sometime last summer we published an item stating that a snake seven inches in length had been removed from the stomach of Ole Evenson, of Denver township. Mr. Evenson called at the HERALD office Tuesday and gave more complete particulars regarding the affair. He is under the impression that while on a trip through South Dakota some eight years ago he swallowed an egg or small snake while drinking water from some of the springs or sloughs. For seven years he suffered untold agony. He could feel that “animal” crawling around his insides and was unable to retain any food whatever which did not suit the fancy of his snakeship. Any food of a sour or salty nature would cause Mr. Evenson the most excruciating pain followed by violent vomiting until the contents of his stomach were entirely removed. Last summer he took a big dose of strychnine which did not agree with the snake, nor Mr. Evenson, either for that matter, but the snake was dislodged and when vomited up was still alive. Mr. Evenson now has the snake in a bottle pickled in alcohol. Since the removal of the snake Mr. Evenson has gained 23 pounds in weight and experiences no discomfort from any food he may eat. Physicians, however, tell Mr. Evenson that the snake perforated his stomach with small holes which may in time cause him serious trouble.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rock County Star-Herald on Jan. 19, 1950.
 
New Café To Open In Beaver Creek
 
“The Beaver Café” Will Hold Formal Opening Jan. 25
 
Geo. Schultz  and C. L. Gray, Sioux Falls Man, Owners, Announce Business Staff
Formal opening of the new Beaver Creek will be held next Wednesday, January 25th. Although the café will be opened prior to that for serving meals and lunches, it is not thought that all the “final touches” will be done until about Wednesday.
As a feature of the opening, according to George Schultz one of the owners of the café, free coffee and doughnuts for adults and free ice cream cones for youngsters will be served on opening day.
The café is located in the former barber shop building, directly across the street from the old Beaver Café which was lost by the fire that swept the Beaver Creek buildings in December.
In partnership with Mr. Schultz in the café will be C. L. Gray of Sioux Falls.
A woman whose name has long been synonymous with good food for Beaver Creek patrons will be in charge of the cooking, Mrs. James Vopat. Also employed in the café will be Miss Vernice Olson and Mrs. Robert Tower.
The building has been redecorated and remodeled for the new business. A new front has been installed on the building and every effort has been made to provide a bright, attractive, restaurant again for Beaver Creek.
Four new booths will be installed in the near future. The counter now seats nine persons. Equipment and fixtures were those purchased several years ago for use in the Chez Paree lunch room building.
Regular lunches and meals will be served and it is planned to keep the café open seven days a week, from 6 a.m. till 11:30 p.m. on week days with an earlier closing on Sundays.
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

“Generous hearted Rock countians came through in grand style for the annual Sister Kenny Fund Drive,” said Elmer Piepgras, Rock county drive chairman.
When the campaign for funds closed last Thursday, donations totaling $3,505.51 had been turned in. This is more than double the quota assigned to Rock county, $1,705.
“We certainly want to express our most sincere appreciation to all the good folks of Rock county,” said Piepgras.
“We know that they will have a glow of satisfaction in their hearts because this campaign was a success. They know that the money they gave went for a cause that will mean so much to alleviating pain, suffering and to saving life. They know that the time they gave to this campaign will pay greater dividends in health and happiness than anything else they could do.
“To all donors, to all campaign workers on behalf of the polio suffers, the ones who benefit by your kind generosity, we want to say thank you as sincerely as we can.”
Tabulation of the contributions showed the following amount by sections of the county.
Battle Plain Township - $193.00; Beaver Creek Township - $291.50; Clinton Township - $264.50; Denver Township - $184.25; Kanaranzi Township - $206; Luverne Township - $229; Magnolia Township - $175; Martin Township - $140.50; Mound Township - $172.50; Rosedell Township - $143.50; Springwater Township - $321.50; Vienna Township - $66.50; Beaver Creek - $48.20; Hardwick - $59.50; Hills - $84.25; Kenneth - $35.50; Luverne - $819.51; Magnolia - $70.80; Total $3,505.51.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Jan. 9, 1942.
 
9 P.M. Saturday Closing Advised
 
Civic And Commerce Executive Committee Holds First Meeting
Holding its first meeting in the Luverne National bank, the new executive board of the Luverne Civic and Commerce association recommended Monday evening that all retail businesses in this city close promptly at 9 p.m. on Saturday nights. The proposition was advanced as a defense conservation measure, in order to save fuel and power.
Three committee chairmen for the coming year were appointed at the meeting by President Elmer Piepgras. They are: R. A. Ronlund, retailers’ committee; Irid Bjerk, agriculture committee; and Sidney Hammer, finance and membership committee.
Five members of the Luverne association attended the annual meeting of the Rock Rapids Civic and Commerce association Tuesday evening, when they conferred with officials there relative to the Iowa group’s paid secretary set-up. A secretary for the local organization will be appointed in the near future. Those who went to Rock Rapids were President Piepgras, Charles Merrill, R. A. Ronlund, Dr. G. N. Getman and Fred Herman.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

The following appeared in The Rock County Star on April 3, 1941.
 
Raiding Officers Hit Chez Paree Night Club
Proprietor Will  Appear Before District Judge Next Tuesday
Robert Morris, operator of the Chez Paree night club here ,is under a $300 bond pending hearing in district court Tuesday on three charges alleging sale of alcoholic liquor without a license.
Morris appeared before Judge O. E. Ferguson Monday morning and waived preliminary examination in municipal court. Arrested Saturday he had been released Sunday on a $300 bond.
The charges had been brought by County Attorney Skewes and City Attorney Engan and the complaints had been signed by State Liquor Inspector R. F. Crogswell. Morris was arrested at 11 p.m. Saturday in a raid, in which state, federal, city and county officers participated, climaxing three weeks of investigation by an under-cover agent at the night club.
The charge of sale of liquor without a license is a gross misdemeanor and conviction carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail or a $1,000 fine. The county attorney indicated that a fourth charge will be filed in which Morris will be charged with possession for sale of a quantity of liquor. This charge is a misdemeanor and conviction carries a penalty maximum of a ninety-day jail term or $100 fine.
The raid was scheduled for 11 p.m. Watches of the members of the raiding party were synchronized earlier with the understanding that every man was to carry out the role assigned to him promptly at 11 p.m. Cogswell, the state agent, had been given the task of standing inside the front door ready to unlatch it at 11 to admit the members of the raiding party. Participating in the raid were: State Liquor Agents Hedlund and Cogswell, Federal Agent Nelson, Schneekloth, Paulsen, McKay, Ryan, Roberts and Moeller.
It was not necessary for Cogswell to make a move, however, as the door was opened promptly to the sheriff’s knock.
Moving swiftly, Officers Ryan Schneekloth, State Agent Hedlund and Federal Agent Nelson made a rush for the bar. They declared that nearly a dozen bottles of liquor were taken there.
The warrant was served by Sheriff Roberts who was assisted by Deputy Sheriff Moeller. Taking his post at the front door to prevent anyone from leaving was Chief of Police Paulsen.
As a matter of fact, members of the raiding party said, very few of the large crowd of patrons realized that a raid was in progress.
Cogswell did not reveal his identity as an officers during the progress of the raid, choosing to circulate thru the crowd. After the raid was nearly over Cogswell got a laugh out of the warning given him by a couple of young men.
“Buddy,” one chap told the state agent,” it looks like raid is going on, if I was you, I’d dump any liquor you got.”
Raiding officers said they recognized very few Luverne people among the night club’s patrons.
The under cover agent, who is said to have been frequenting the club for nearly three weeks, was at the Chez Paree Saturday night but did not take any part in the raid.
Richard Torrison represented Morris in municipal court.
 
         Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.