25 Years Ago - 1984

A fiery collision of two coal trains early Thursday morning three miles east of Motley left three men dead amid a twisted mass of steel and coal. The two

Burlington Northern coal trains collided about 1 a.m. on a foggy morning. The force of the collision drove some of the engines into the ground, while still others twisted into a grotesque pile. During the next 48 hours the bodies of three men (two engineers and one brakeman) were discovered in the wreckage. Killed were engineer James Little of Duluth and his brakeman, Arthur Mattila, Jr., 30 of Superior, Wisconsin. Also killed was engineer William Munnings of Superior, Wisconsin. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Excerpt from Looking Back (1934): "A beautiful home wedding was solemnized at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Mortenson of this city when their daughter Helen Blanche became the bride of Robert R. Case, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Case of this city."

50 Years Ago - 1959

The names of three more candidates for the July 4th celebration queen contest have been entered. They are: Marilyn Martin, sponsored by the Staples Theatre; Mary Ann Braith, sponsored by Hengel Photo Market; and Kathy Dent, sponsored by the Dairy Queen.

The newest business enterprise to be located in Staples is the Frostop Rootbeer Drive-In located on Highway 10. It is to be operated by Gordon Anglin who also operates the Dairy Queen and the Home Coal Co. The featured drink at this establishment is known as "Frostop Pre-carbonated Draft Root Beer."

This week the Staples Theatre will feature the film "GiGi" starring Leslie Caron. The Wadena Drive- In will feature "The Kettles In The Ozarks" starring Marjorie Main as "Ma" and Arthur Hunnicutt as "Pa."

About 30 friends of Ira Butler assembled at the El-Ray Café Thursday evening for a luncheon in recognition of his 34 years as a member of the Motley school board.

25 Years Ago - 1984

A 19-year-old Motley man drowned Monday, June 25, when he attempted to swim across Dower Lake. The body of Joseph William Moneta, Jr. was recovered from about 13 feet of water by divers at about 8 p.m., some three hours after he went down while attempting to swim from the fishing dock to the public swimming beach, a distance of approximately 400 yards.

A dream is about to become a reality for a young Staples man and his wife as they develop a family farm for a new use. Rather than raising corn and milking cows as his grandfather Edmund Grossman did on their Moran Township farm, Steve and Gayle Grossman are turning the 200 acres into a game farm and hunting club for its first season on September 1. The Little Moran Hunting Club has been Grossman's dream for at least the past five years.

This week the Staples Theatre will be featuring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in "Romancing the Stone."

Excerpt from Looking Back (1934): "The Northern Pacific stockyard in Staples, is the concentrating point for all drought cattle now being consigned to the Inspector of Animal Husbandry at South St. Paul. According to Karl Siefert, who is in charge of the local yards, an average of 40 carloads of stock are being received here daily."

The old city jail is slowly coming down. Unused and vacant for several years, the building is being demolished by Arthur Lanske for the salvage value of the old bricks and other material in the building.

Burlington Northern, in an effort to supervise its beginning train dispatchers more closely, has started assigning experienced dispatchers to over see their work, the railroad confirmed Friday. The move came after a collision last week that killed three crewmen near Motley, Minnesota. A newly trained dispatcher was suspended after the accident.

50 Years Ago - 1959

Former Staples High School students have won honors at their respective schools of higher education. Among them are: Raymond O. Garland, received his degree as a Doctor of Dental Surgery; Gerald Allan Pattison, received the degree of Bachelor of Physics; and Curtis Thompson Hill, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

The new 1959 Ford police car has brought smiles to every member of the Staples police force. It has special signs and lights meaning it is fully equipped to satisfy the demands made on a police car. Purchase of the car was authorized several weeks ago by the city council, which took action authorizing the purchase of a new car each year.

The first patient in the new wing of the Staples Municipal Hospital was none other than James Randgaard, prominent business man. The 95 percent completed new wing will have a new surgery suite and new kitchen facilities which have been greatly needed. The new capacity is now up to 40 beds.

REMINISCENCES: Who's going to get stuck with the blame? Somebody's going to go down. Somebody is going to pay for this. Who's going to be the fall guy? All these things came to mind immediately after reading the statement about beginning train dispatchers and the one that was suspended after the train crash.

I guess the change in policy requiring an experienced dispatcher to be present during training of the beginning dispatchers was meant to reassure. Do you mean to tell me they weren't doing that before the crash? Good grief, it's shocking I tell you.

After living in Staples and having coal, sparks and debris fall off passing trains and onto the waiting cars behind the crossing arms, I learned to park a car length behind the crossing arms while waiting for a train to go by - just to be safe. (Then you are only safe if the train doesn't derail.) It's a mystery to me that no one could have seen this coming.