25 Years Ago - 1985

Top students of 1985’s graduating class are Cindy, Snyder, valedictorian and daughter of Tony and Shirley Snyder and, Thomas Doroff, salutatorian and son of Jim and Vera Doroff.

This week the Staples World featured the Viet Nam War experiences of two vets, Larry Knosalla and Ken Klose. Both these men graduated from Staples High School. Both agreed the memories are painful.

Tuesday night the Staples Board of Education broke its deadlock on the choice of a new superintendent to replace the retiring Duane Lund. Jack Nelson was selected by unanimous vote.

Featured this week at

the Staples Theatre will be “Star Wars - Return Of The

Jedi.”

50 Years Ago - 1960

School days at Staples high school are rapidly drawing to a close for 114 seniors as the prepare for Cap and Gown Day, Friday, May 27, and commencement exercises on Wednesday, June 1. Patricia Ward and Bruce Carlson are covaledictorians. The salutatorian is Sharon Clabots.

Five seniors have been awarded scholarships. They are Bruce Carlson, Dennis Harkcom, Cynthia Eskelson, Judy Erskine and Leland Torgerson.

REMINISCENCES: It seems strange that little facts on subjects discussed in this column several months ago keep popping up while I’m doing research on new topics. Remember discussing Jakee’s swimming hole? If I keep finding these little bits of things, someday we’ll know how it came to be and why it was named that.

First of all, I always like to check 75 years ago. It’s amazing what you can find that’s pertinent to present day. While doing that I ran into a portion of a news item from the Staples World dated May 23, 1935. This is the excerpt, “Plans for making an up-to-date swimming hole for Staples youngsters are being contemplated by a committee of Red Cross and city council members. The site chosen is on the land belonging to the Terrace Golf Club, which has offered use of the ground.”

I haven’t finished the 1935 World news item yet, but did find this in Margaret Anderson’s “Northside Southside, Stories of Staples.” Under the month of September of 1935 she has entered, “…An average of 75 children a day used the municipal swimming beach on Crow Wing River this summer during the 24 days it was open…” You have to wonder if this could possibly be any place other than Jakees, right? Remember, we still don’t know for certain where the name came from. I will research this further.

I’d like to take this opportunity to say to any of you who have a question about Staples and you think I could help, contact me. Maybe I can find the answer or maybe not but I’ll certainly try. If you want to contact me I’m at 218 894- 3742, stevenmargo77@msn. com, or Margo Hoemberg, 501 2nd Street, SW, Staples, MN 56479.

Questions asked and information given end up teaching me more about Staples than one would think. For instance, I’d like some help finding out exactly the location of the old open burning dump that was in Staples (somewhere) when I was a child. Sometimes it seems like a figment of my imagination but all I remember was, “… over by Jones’.”