Remember When Sept. 27, 2020

10 years ago (2010)
•The rich aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans wafts through the halls and work areas of Rock County Opportunities Inc. in Luverne.
RCO, which provides employment for adults with disabilities, is now packaging its own brand of coffee.
“Buffalo Joe Coffee Beans” will soon be available for purchase at the Coffey Haus in Luverne and at other retail outlets.
In February, RCO Director Beth Bartels put out a plea to the community to share ideas for the coffee’s name and logo, and Greg Hoogeveen submitted the winning “Buffalo Joe” brand name idea.
With a name and a smiling cartoon buffalo logo on the package, Bartels said it’s exciting to launch the coffee projects as another source of income for RCO clients.
 
25 years ago (1995)
•Rock County Commissioners put an end to plans by the Luverne Hockey Association to improve the Blue Mound Ice Arena with a grant and matching local funds.
At a time when commissioners are struggling to set a palatable levy for taxpayers, they voted 3-2 to deny the association’s request for county aid in the improvement project.
The association had hoped to apply for a $50,000 state grant to make energy and safety improvements at the Blue Mound Ice Arena. To apply for the grant, however, the association needed to find $50,000 of local matching funds to be committed toward the project.
The plan, as presented to the board Tuesday, was to request $20,000 from Luverne, $20,000 from Rock County and the association would raise $10,000 privately.
 
50 years ago (1970)
•Luverne football players will be filmed in action on “candid camera” soon.
Purchase of a video camera, for use in making video tapes out of doors, was authorized Monday night by the Luverne school board. Showing of the tapes will be over closed circuit TV.
The item was not on the meeting agenda, but it was passed quickly, after the board had heard the proposal from Don Spease and Ed Sedlacek, representing the Cardinal Club, calling for more adequate filming of football games.
 
75 years ago (1945)
•The McDowell Sky Ranch, Rock county’s first airport, is now in use, and formal opening of the field will be held within the near future. The “Sky Ranch” is located five miles north and five and one-half miles west of Luverne.
W. Earl McDowell, sole owner and operator of the flying field, announced that he had secured service of Miss Dorothy Avery of Denver, Colo. as flight instructor and that anyone interested in learning to fly should call or see him.
At the present time, construction work on the hanger is being completed, and he has an Aeronca Chief plane in which flying lessons are being given. A Sioux Falls army air base instructor is giving flying lessons on Sunday until the full-time instructor arrives.
 
100 years ago (1920)
•Rock county is credited with a population of 10,965, according to reports of the 1920 census received Tuesday from Washington. This is a gain of 743 for the ten-year period, the 1910 census giving the population as 10,222.
The same report shows the population of the city of Luverne to be 2,782, a gain of only 242 in the ten-year period, the 1910 census figures being 2,540.
The report gave detailed figures only for the incorporated places in the county and showed increases in all villages except Hardwick, where a decrease of 75 is noted. Beaver Creek shows an increase of 22, Hills 28, Magnolia 30, and that part of Jasper in Rock county, 4. …
The returns for the city of Luverne created no small amount of surprise, not withstanding the general belief that the figures when received would prove disappointing. There was a vast amount of dissatisfaction expressed last January while the census was being taken, for there were numerous reports that in the South Ward, at least, the enumeration was very incomplete. But notwith-standing this, it was confidently believed that the figures would show that Luverne had passed the 3,000 mark by a fair margin.