by Michelle Watson
25 Years Ago
March 1998
A Mason City woman was killed Saturday, March 14, in Clear Lake, from injuries she sustained in a two-vehicle accident on 4th Ave. S. near the Amoco gas station east of the Interstate 35 exchange.
Larissa Plagge is off on the biggest adventure of her young life – a one-year stay in Japan. The Clear Lake High School junior will spend the next year fully immersed in the Japanese culture. She is the daughter of Beverly and Curtis Plagge, of Clear Lake.
Clear Lakers who faithfully recycle should give themselves a pat on the back. City Councilman Ben Furleigh said that while attending a recent Landfill of North Iowa meeting he learned that Clear Lake has been a leader among North Iowa communities in terms of the amount of goods it recycles. In 1996, Clear Lake sent 476,000 pounds of recyclables to the Landfill of North Iowa. In 1997, the number jumped to 726,000 pounds – a 52 percent increase.
Clear Lake High School senior Sam Langholz was recently presented with a $50 check as the local winner in the Voice of Democracy Contest sponsored by V.F.W. Post 4868 Auxiliary.
Xi Mu Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi has revived the tradition of making chocolate Easter bunny suckers to sell. The cost is $1.25 each and they are available at Fareway in Clear Lake on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Customers may select solid chocolate or crispy chocolate suckers.
Todd Brager, Dan Servido and Chris Vaughn, all of Clear Lake, attended the New Car Show in Chicago, Ill., as part of the Automotive Technology program at North Iowa Area Community College. They are Tech Prep students at the Automotive Technology Hub based at Clear Lake High School.
Lake Lanes owner Dan Ahnemann congratulated Andy Anderson on his 300 game and 799 series.
Ventura’s Angie Avery and Jared Ringus each earned First Team All-North Star Conference honors for their play in the just completed basketball season. Emily Hiscocks and Margo Kressin earned Honorable Mention status. On the boys side, Brad Spilman and Scott Eichmeier were given Honorable Mention by league coaches.
Three Clear Lake seniors were recently recognized as All-North Central Conference performers. Erik Cochran was one of 10 conference athletes named to the First All-NCC Team. Nate Carney was honored on the Second Team’s roster and Terry Rauk was named to the Third Team.
Eleven Clear Lake youth grapplers will advance to the AAU State Wrestling championship. Those advancing include Tom Gruis, Andy Schmitt, Mason Trebil, Justin Verhalen, Cory Dwyer, Dustin Paulson, Dan Budd, Joey Hogg, Eric Becker, Michael Billings and Nick Weber.
Zac Roper, age 12, Miles Matheson, eight; and Ben Nieman, age nine, all received black belts in Tae Kwon Do following three days of testing. The students are members of the United Marshal Arts Academy.
Playing at the Lake Theatre is, “The Wedding Singer.” Coming soon is Leonardo DeCaprio in “The Man in the Iron Mask.”
B’s Coffee House, located on Main Ave., is offering an all you can eat Sunday breakfast buffet for $5.25. Happy Chef, junction of 1-35 and 106, is offering an All-U-Can-Eat Fish Fry on Friday nights.
50 Years Ago
March 1973
Clear Lake will be a ghost town Thursday as Clear Lake residents will be traveling to Des Moines to cheer the Lions onto the Boys’ State Basketball Championship. Mayor Floyd Nesbit declared it will be considered an official city holiday. The cagers left early Wednesday in order to be able to practice on the Veterans Auditorium court. They will be headquartered at the Savery Hotel.
Work is underway on a fifth-story addition to the Holiday Motor Lodge on Highway 18 E.
Steven Schick, Clear Lake, is a member of the Luther College Concert Band.
The annual Hi-Tri formal will be held April 14 in the Mediterranean Room of the Clea Lake Holiday Lodge. The cost is $7 per couple.
65 Years Ago
March 1958
Dodge City Marshall, Matt (Louie Schuler) Dillon offers to meet all-newcomers with his best sneer in his new stage appearance at the Lions Club TV Variety Show to be presented at the high school auditorium.
Linda Wilkins, a safety patrol member at Central School, has been awarded a certificate in the 11th annual School Safety Patrol contest sponsored by the AAA Motor Club of Iowa.
Darrell Morehouse, Clear Lake, established himself as one of the top hurdlers in the state by winning the Class A title in the 80-yard highs and second in the 60-yard lows at the State Indoor Track Meet at Iowa City.
90 Years Ago
March 1933
The lake which had been free of ice for about 10 days, froze over again Sunday night following the storm.
So far as we have heard, none of the former Clear Laker’s vacationing or living at Long Beach, Calif., were injured in the earthquake last Friday evening. Mr. and Mrs. Cal Branson were in a hotel at Long Beach, they were not injured physically, but were considerable disturbed mentally for a few hours.
Frank Baker has purchased what is knowns as the Ida Baker 40.
A.W. Verbeckmoes, representing Kenyon’s Dairy Products of Clear Lake, was in charge of the cheese display at Roe’s I.G.A. store in Garner. There were over 50 different kinds of cheese on display representing the products of the United States and seven foreign countries. In age, the cheeses varied from 24 hours old to seven years old.
