Excerpts from past Tracy newspapers Aug. 4, 1955 — The cornerstone of the new Lake Sarah Lutheran Church being built in Garvin was laid Sunday afternoon by the Rev. J.B. Rockne, pastor of the congregation. Families from the recently-combined Bethany Swedish Lutheran church and the Modum Norwegian church attended the ceremony which was held under the trees near the church because of the extremely warm weather. Contents of the corner stone include a Bible and Lutheran Hymnary; a Swedish Testament and a Norwegian Testament; a Norwegian Hymnbook and English Bible History and English catechism; the Augusburg confession; and the merger agreement of the Bethany and Modum congregations.
Obituaries: Peter Scott, Henry Christensen
Aug. 5, 1965 — Elmer F. Welter, clerk of the Milroy board of education since 1931, submitted his resignation at the recent re-organization meeting of the Milroy board. Expressing regret at the loss of Mr. Welter, the board accepted his resignation but postponed naming a replacement until a later meeting.
Obituaries: Ella Morgan, Mrs. William Vernon, Gene Dempsey, Philip Reynolds, Ed Solseth, Harry Wiese
July 31, 1975 — John (Jack) Gutzman was hired by the city council to be the new city clerk-administrator. He is a graduate of Benson High School and will take over his new duties Aug. 18.
Obituaries: Clarence Logue, Edward Wahl, Vincent Welu
Aug. 1, 1985 — A Tracy man’s dream of developing a revolutionary wind-powered generator may be nearing reality. “Basically, it is all ready to go,” remarks Dennis Hemmingsen. “Now all I have to do is find a site to run tests on it.” Hemmingsen’s 48-pole generator is driven by a threepropeller windmill with a 36foot diameter. Eventually the prototype will be mounted on a 40 to 80-foot tower and utilized for the generation of electricity. He estimates the unit will have the capacity to generate $4,000 to $5,000 worth of electricity in a year and have an expected useful life of about 30 years.
Obituaries: Elsie Larson, Margaret Nelson, Rose Kroeger, Edna Mattson, Elfa Coyle, Daniel Wollford, Regina Stynski
Aug. 2, 1995 — John Rokke of Warren has been hired as the new Tracy Area High School principal. He succeeds Ron Brand, who resigned this summer to take a position in the Norwood/Young America district. Rokke has been principal at the Warren/ Alvarado/Oslo High School since 1989. During his tenure he served as athletic director and head girls’ basketball coach.
Obituaries: Gordon Kaas, Vera Van Schaick, Leonard Marcotte, William Pearson
Aug. 3, 2005 — The Harry Potter fever that has affected millions appears to have struck local readers. Several names are already on a waiting list at Tracy Public Library for the sixth book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Librarian Sherill Peterson says she’s been anxious to read the book herself, but doesn’t dare take it home before everyone on the waiting list has had a chance to borrow the book.
Obituaries: Arnold Miller, Keye Foster, Vernon Martinson, Peggy Sue Hahn, Orval Karstens, Jr.
Aug. 5, 2015 — Tom Landwehr, the top person in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, has a better understanding of Lake Shetek State Park, thanks to a recent visit. The commissioner took a bike ride around the park, and then shared a campfire with local people at the park. The trip to Lake Shetek was part of a two-day tour that included visits to Blue Mound State Park near Luverne, Split Rock Creek State Park near Ihlen, Casey Jones Trail near Pipestone, and Camden State Park near Marshall.
