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News from the week of September 20, 2000 Headlight Herald - Serving Tracy, Minnesota, since 1880

Family fortune

100 years ago, David H. Evans was one of Tracy's leading citizens. Evans family members were among the town's social elite. After being gone 73 years, one of the Evans granddaughters returned to Tracy.

Few people in Tracy remember the name David H. Evans.

The palatial Evans home no longer overlooks Central Park. The Evans hardware store, the grain elevator, and even the bank he helped establish are only memories. Not a single Evans name graces the pages of the Tracy telephone directory.

Yet three and four generations ago— in the 1890s and the early 20th Century—D. H. Evans may have been Tracy's most prominent citizen.

One of Tracy's pioneer business owners, by 1912 Evans owned about 3,000 acres of farmland, in addition to varied commercial holdings in Tracy. A mover and shaker in several statewide business organizations, Evans was both a congressional and state gubernatorial candidate for the Democratic Party.


Harvest is underway

The fall harvest is underway.

Many Tri-county farmers have begun combining soybeans, picking and choosing which of their bean fields are most mature.

Bob Byrnes, Lyon County Extension Educator, said yields have varied from the upper 40 bushels an acre range on down.

Some farmers have also started to harvest corn. Byrnes said corn dried rapidly this year, mostly due to warm, high winds the weekends following Labor Day. Many corn fields dried prematurely as a result of the warm winds and very low soil moisture.


Cheers! 126-year-old solid oak bar edges into Maxine's, bullet hole & all

A 126-year-old solid oak bar is the latest addition to the soon-to-open Maxine's Cuisine, Catering & Cordials in Tracy.

The 20-foot-long bar became the talk of the town last week, as it was unloaded on Third Street, and painstakingly squeezed through the front door of the former 21st Century Bank building.

“It went in with an inch to spare,” said a relieved Greg Frederickson, who is remodeling Sioux quartzite building with his wife, Marilyn.

The bar, which also has an 18-foot wide storage counter, was moved from a 19th century saloon in Currie. The three most recent occupants of the saloon were Bob & Kate's, End-O-Line, and Cindy's. The Fredericksons bought the bar fixture from Larry Cote.

Besides being as heavy as a truckload of anvils, the vintage bar comes with lots of character. A bullet hole is visible in a back column. Frederickson said he's been told the hole dates from the late 1800s.


Street paving now expected for Monday

The paving of Tracy streets affected by this summer's sewer construction project will get underway a week later than expected.

A week ago, it was announced that paving was to begin Monday, Sept. 1. Now the paving is scheduled to begin Monday, sept. 25.

City Administrator Audrey Koopman explained that the general contractor mistakenly thought a subcontractor would be paving on September 18. The blacktopping date was actually September 25.


Stephanie Carter, Joe Brockway are school's ExCEL nominees

Stephanie Carter and Joe Brockway were nominated for the ExCEL award at Tracy Area High School this week.

The award program is sponsored by the Minesota State High School League, Minnesota's Private Colleges and WCCO Radio. The program recognizes students who are active in fine arts and /or athletic activities, who show leadership qualities and who are model citizens in the community.

ExCEL letters stand for Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership. Nominees must be juniors in high school and making satisfactory progress toward graduation requirements. Local school officials nominate the students.


Rural water groups, Worthington, seek new water pumping source

Representatives of several southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa rural water systems, Jackson, Nobles, and Murray Counties, and Worthington Public Utilities have been meeting to discuss water supply concerns in southwest Minnesota.

The rural water systems include Red Rock Rural Water of Jeffers, Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water of Lake Benton, Rock Country Rural Water of Luverne, Osceola Rural Water of May City, Iowa, and Clay Regional Water of Spencer, Iowa.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources representatives have also been participating in the discussions. The group has met four times since April.

The group was formed to study ways to improve water supplies to rural residents in Jackson, Nobles, and Murray Counties not now served by a rural water system, as well as the City of Worthington.