75 Years Ago—1950
“Teen Pan Alley” was the new official name of the youth center in Concordia, with Myrna Persing submitting the entry chosen as the best title… Bill Cory, 1948 graduate of Concordia high school and student at the school of arts and sciences at Kansas university, received an appointment to West Point military academy… Arthur Pick, whose Jersey herd had held top honors in the Dairy Herd Improvement Association’s county roll since February, took the lead again in May with an average of 894 pounds of milk and 51.1 pounds of fat for the month. Pick’s cow Buttercup was high cow in the association, having produced 1,001 pounds of milk and 79.1 pounds of fat in May… Carl James, superintendent of Concordia schools, was awarded his doctor’s degree in education at the Kansas university commencement exercises in Lawrence… Miss Jo Ann Dehner, junior in nurses’ training at St. Luke’s hospital in Kansas City, won first award in her class. She had been valedictorian of her senior class in Concordia high school in 1948… at Culbertson Electric company’s open house for area housewives, Mrs. Vera Evans gave a demonstration to show the advantages of using electric ironers… Mrs. Earl Johnston, Mrs. Glenn Zeornes, Mrs. Marvin Johnson, Mrs. Ed Holding, Mrs. Ben Pearson and Mrs. Roy Fahlstrom attended the state American Legion Auxiliary convention in Salina… local 4-H club members who took the state 4-H tour were Myron Caltieux and Stanley Pearson, Clyde; Mary Fyfe, Aurora; Carolyn Campbell, Hollis; Jean Larson, Miltonvale; V. A. Nelson and Natalie Johnson, Jamestown; Bill Lowman, Rosa Ellen Larson, Concordia; Leon Weland, Glasco… Mrs. Walter Tholstrup gave a birthday party for her little daughter, Linda Lu, who was two years old… A. W. Horkman reported that the little grasshoppers that had threatened to take over his garden seemed to have disappeared following a very cold rain, but he reported that potato bugs were large, numerous and voracious… the Concordia swimming pool had been cleaned, repaired, painted and filled, and Bob Haggard was the manager with Bob Chaput and Bob Larson as lifeguards… sixty-five friends and relatives of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Lagasse honored them with a surprise party in celebration of their twenty-sixth wedding anniversary…
60 Years Ago—1965
A sluicing downpour of 1.07 inches in 15 minutes brought some troubles to Concordia, and Charles Blosser, who owned the land on which the Shady Lake was located, gave the city permission to lower the water level in the lake to relieve the troublesome situation… Burnell H. Ukens, mathematics and drafting instructor at Concordia Public high school, had been chosen as one of 50 high school math teachers to participate in the Summer institute in Mathematics at Knox College… among the 27 students to graduate magna cum laude from Kansas State university was Harriet Jean Meats of Concordia… Concordia’s semester-old community college was now officially a county community college in the statewide junior college system… William Brandon Wright, son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Wright of Concordia, received a Doctor of Medicine degree at Kansas university… Miss Susie Smith (clarinet) and Ron Smith (baritone saxophone) spent a week in Wichita as members of the Lions state band… John Kilian of Concordia received his lieutenant commission in ROTC at Kansas State University… Miss Mary Ann McConahey, 1964 Miss NCK of Concordia, led the parade of contestants in the Miss NCK Scholarship Pageant sponsored by the Concordia Jaycees. Contestants were Miss Carleen Carlson, Kackley; Miss Patricia Booth, Miss Alice Bisnette, Miss Peggy Brumfield, all of Concordia; Miss Janet Herbin, Jamestown; Miss Shirley Kaufman, Belleville; Miss Marilyn Richard, Aurora; Miss Karen Beswick, Palmer; Miss Marilyn Mick, Courtland; and Miss Judi Yonally, Minneapolis… Mrs. Kenneth Palmquist of Concordia received a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education from the University of Missouri, graduating “with distinction”…
50 Years Ago—1975
Taco Grande opened on Alco Plaza on East Sixth Street Trafficway in a newly-constructed building of Spanish stucco architecture, and was managed by Doug Herman… Greg Balthazar had a pet squirrel named Arnold… Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Campbell announced the birth of their daughter, named Kenda Jenele… a 25th wedding anniversary dance honoring three couples, Mr. and Mrs. Archie Willoughby, Mr. and Mrs. Leland Collette, and Mr. and Mrs. Jack Fisher, was held at the Moose Hall… Susan Koehn placed fourth in the discus in the Kansas Junior Olympics at Manhattan with a throw of 92-11… Mrs. Arthur Pick and Mrs. C. R. Larson displayed and discussed some of their old quilts, tatting, and crochet at Lincoln elementary school during story hour… Larry Shuler was among the students at North Central Kansas Area Vocational Technical school in Beloit who were selected for the 1975 “Who’s Who Among Students in American Vocational and Technical Schools”… David Charles Everitt, 1970 graduate of Concordia High School, received his BS degree in industrial engineering from Kansas State University and accepted an engineering position with Deere and Company of Moline, Ill. … Dr. Roger Petersen, graduate of CHS and son of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Petersen of Concordia, received his Doctor of Optometry degree at Southern College of Optometry, Memphis, Tenn. … according to Fred Myers, director of public grounds in Concordia, Dutch Elm disease was a continuing problem among the trees in Concordia… Kathy Gieswein was among the 45-member company of the Emporia Kansas State College Summer Theatre…
25 Years Ago—2000
Beryl Ward, Concordia, who was a writer for National Speed Sport News, along with her late husband, L. A. “Les” Ward, joined 15 other individuals who were inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa… Shaun Letourneau, 1999 graduate of Concordia High School, joined the United States Army under the Delayed Entry program… David Norlin, an instructor at Cloud County Community College for 21 years, had filed for election to the Kansas Senate 21st District… Scott and Kristy Studt cut the ribbon to mark the grand opening of Kristy’s Family Restaurant… Janice and Les Dethloff, Concordia, announced the birth of their daughter, Jessica Lynn… candidates for the title of North Central Kansas Rodeo Queen were Laura Hansen, Lorisa Hedstrom and Megan Marcotte… Roger and Mary Jean Colby of Concordia celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary… Lance Link tossed a no-hitter to lead Citizens National Bank to an 11-0 win over Jewell County in the Republican Valley K-18 Baseball League season opener… Trisity Dockins, Clyde, received the Girl Scout Medal of Honor Life Saving Award at the Girls Scouts of Central Kansas annual Awards Tea, having been instrumental in helping save the life of a gentleman while in Kansas City at the last year’s Girl Scout National Conversion…
10 Years Ago—2015
Not wanting to see another old school building abandoned, James and Becky Kindel breathed new life into the Lincoln Elementary School by creating the Valley Rental Center… Dallas and Lisa Hasenbank marked the first anniversary of their ownership of Geisler Roofing in Concordia with a Concordia Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting… Concordia High School senior Jace Coppoc won the 400-meter dash at the Class 4A state track and field championships at Cessna Stadium in Wichita… Concordia Unit 76 American Legion Auxiliary selected Karijanna Miller to attend the 73rd annual session of Girls State… Tristen Leiszler and Robin Daniels were named co-recipients of the Concordia High School Outstanding Senior Softball Player Award… Megan James, Concordia, was listed on the spring semester 2015 Honor Roll at McPherson College… a Concordia Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting marked the restoration of the National Orphan Train Complex’s wooden train car, The Legend…
5 Years Ago—2020
Concordia firefighters vacuumed the city pool while logging dive hours… USD 333 approved the purchase of a Daktronics PanaView football and track and field scoreboard to be placed at the Harold M. Clark Stadium… Concordia High School graduate Ivon Owen was a recipient of a Catbacker scholarship… NCK Rodeo queen candidates included Jessica Thurston, Glasco; Angel Hale, Jamestown; Emma Erickson, Scandia; and Hailey Robison, Courtland…
