10 years ago (2013)
•A new business is coming soon to the former Renfro Variety store on Main Street.
David and Stacy Riphagen, Luverne, purchased the building this fall and will reopen the doors next spring as “Dragonfly,” a custom furniture and interior design boutique.
The business will feature custom-designed furniture built to clients’ personal tastes and specifications.
For example, an armchair would start with a basic size and shape, but it will be customized by choices of leg style, fabric, color, skirting, etc.
Furniture orders are sent to an Ohio supplier, Norwalk, and the pieces are shipped back to Luverne. “Everything is American-made,” Stacy said.
She explained that dragonflies signify change, and that’s what inspired the store’s name. “My life is going through change,” she said. “I’m starting something new and chasing my dream.”
25 years ago (1998)
•At 65 years old, postal carrier Gene Mann has decided he’s delivered enough mail in his lifetime. His employers and co-workers celebrated his retirement with an open house party at the Post Office Friday afternoon.
After 32 years delivering mail through rain, snow, sleet and hail, Mann is more than ready to retire. “I won’t miss those cold, cold, bad snowy days,” he said with a shudder. “There were more than a few days of 50 to 60 below wind chill. Those were cold days.”
As his former mail patrons greeted him during his open house party, however, he realized how much he will miss the people he’s come to know on the route. “You don’t have a lot of time to visit, but you see a lot of families grow in that period of time,” he said.
50 years ago (1973)
•County commissioners wrapped up their two-day January meeting Wednesday with approval of pay hikes to a majority of county employees.
Increases of $50 per month were granted the assessor, clerk of court, treasurer, registrar of deeds, highway engineer, services officer, assistant highway engineer, highway department foreman and the auditor.
Pay raises of $25 per month were given to James Cook and Edward Kraayenhof of the highway department.
The non-supervisory and maintenance personnel at the highway department had been granted a $25 per month increase effective Jan. 1 during the last July commissioners meeting.
No wage increases were considered for the Sheriff’s office, county attorney, courthouse clerical workers or the probate judge. The 1971 legislature gave the probate judge a 10 per cent salary increase when she became a judicial officer in July.
75 years ago (1948)
•Luverne high school will be featured in a half-hour radio broadcast next Tuesday night, January 20, over station WNAX, Yankton, at 8:30 p.m.
At that time, the transcription made here early in December of the panel discussion, featuring Bette Brown, Betsy Schoonover, Stanley Esterly and Kenneth Vos as the main speakers, will be heard. Topic of their discussion is “War, Inevitable or Dispensable.” Other Luverne students who will be heard asking questions of the speakers will be Joyce Thorson, Robert Blakely, James Welch, Cherie Hopener, Alfred Anderson, Norman Ahrendt, Loren Spease and Robert Lindberg.
100 years ago (1923)
•By the decisive vote of 67 to 12, the people of Beaver Creek village declared in favor of the purchase of the telephone exchange of that place by the village at a special election held Tuesday.
The telephone system, which is known as The New Telephone Co., was offered to the village for $1,177.24, and the people voted on its purchase at this figure, with the above stated results.
The present system, which is owned by local parties, has been out of commission for one reason or another, since about the first of May.
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