Remember When June 28, 2019

10 years ago (2009)
•Vietnam War Veteran Buck Underwood, Luverne, said the worst part of the war was coming home. Instead of cheers, he and others were welcomed with protests.
“There’s some stuff you can’t forget. It’s just something you just carry with you,” he said.
On Saturday, June 13, Underwood and seven other veterans from Rock County attended an honorary reception they deserved 45 years ago.
“It was very nice. I think we all came away with a little better feeling, a little more peace of mind,” he said. …
It was the first-ever honorary Vietnam-era celebration in Minnesota. The event took place at the Capitol Square in St. Paul.
The purpose was to “proudly celebrate these individuals and come together as a community in support and gratitude for their service and sacrifice.”
 
25 years ago (1994)
•Tim and Julie Burns are considering selling their home, which is nestled at the base of the Blue Mounds State Park. Because of its scenic location and stately frame, they are marketing the property as a potential bed and breakfast attraction.
The value of their home, based on these qualities, however, is threatened by a proposed zoning change that would allow further gravel excavation in their neighborhood.
The Burnses and about 30 other property owners showed up at a public hearing Monday night to speak in opposition to a conditional use permit application that would allow for mining and extraction of gravel in an area currently not allowed under the A-1 zoning.
 
50 years ago (1969)
•Charles Merrill will be the first to tell you he thought he knew it all back in 1919 … but 50 years later … he knows it wasn’t so.
The vulnerable Mr. Merrill, now 82, began selling shoes in Eagle Grove, Iowa, when he was 15 years old. This week he is commemorating his golden anniversary of merchan-dising on Luverne’s Main street.
When he began selling shoes in that Iowa town 67 years ago, women were wearing high button or high laced shoes. He chuckles remembering how difficult it was to delicately force the not-so-small feet of the ladies into the only available shoes of the day. …
Now, in his modern store, the ladies have a vast style and size range, up to size 12, although most women won’t admit to wearing it! …
Everyone thought Charley Merrill was “crazy” to stock “good” shoes when he opened Merrill’s Shoe Store in Luverne back in 1919. Times were not so good, he remembers, but Charley Merrill persisted, because “Quality has always been important to me … I’m sold on good shoes that properly fit … and I believed my customer was too … Of course, if a shoe doesn’t fit properly it doesn’t make much difference what you pay for it.”
 
75 years ago (1944)
•Having completed 28 missions over enemy-occupied Europe, part of the time as co-pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress, and later checking out as first pilot, 1st Lt. Kenneth M. Haugen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Haugen, of Jasper, admits he is not sorry that he is missing the big push.
Lt. Haugen knows what it is to feel the sting of battle, for he has come home from a mission many times with his plane full of holes made by enemy flak. He is proud, though, to state that “not one member of our crew ever received the Purple Heart.” The purple heart is awarded for wounds received in action.
 
100 years ago (1919)
•Preliminary steps for establishing another oil filling station in Luverne were taken the first of the week by J. A. Frick and H. R. Cheney, of Pipestone, when they closed a deal for the purchase of part of the Lawler property on South Cedar Street.
The ground secured is the south fifty feet of lots 1, 2, 3 and 4, block 8, which is the southwest part of the block, with a fifty-foot frontage on Cedar street and one hundred feet on Maple street.