26 years ago

PRESCOTT JOURNAL

"Where the St. Croix

Meets the Mississippi"

April 24, 1997

Tragedy on the wing? Time running out on many native bird species If you’re privileged to hear the distinctive call of a Henslow’s sparrow – or per haps the more “traditional” vocal stylings of a bobolink or eastern meadowlark – lis

ten up. According to a sober ing new report from the National Wildlife Federation, Americans may not be hear ing or seeing these and other grassland nesting species in the not so distant future.

The plight of these and 25 other birds dependent on North America’s disappearing grasslands for survival is de

tailed in the April/May issue of National Wildlife, a bi monthly publication of the National Wildlife Federation.

Compelling evidence indi

cates that from Maine to Col orado, many of our grassland bird species are disappearing as fast as the prairie habitats they require for food and nesting sites. The unique list ing of grassland bird species “on the edge” compiled by NWF also includes other fa

miliar names, such as the northern harrier, ring necked pheasant, western mead

owlark, short eared owl, and Savannah sparrow.

How serious is the situa tion? Statistics in the article, “Twilight of the America’s Grasslands” tell a grim story…(to be concluded next week)” 40 Years Ago PRESCOTT JOURNAL April 22, 1982 The Prescott public boat launching ramp will be closed until further notice because of the high water and flooding at the site on Front Street. the swift current is becoming in

creasingly dangerous each day, particularly to persons with smaller boats April 15, 1982

Board cuts $10,000 from school budget There’ll be no more prac tice driving after school or on Saturdays, the Prescott School Board decided at a Thursday, April 8 meeting. Driving will take place during the present two hours within the school day, and during the summer.

Supt. B. L. Lepley pre sented the board four areas in which the school system can offer self funded summer pro grams, Instruction at summer programs is figured on the basis of Average Daily Mem bership (ADM’s), a guideline the state uses in figuring state aids. Lepley explained that, with the number of young sters Prescott would have in a program, the ADM would re sult in state aid return.

Prairie Island No Hazard to Prescott Say Northern State

Power The Prairie Island Nuclear generating plant poses no par

ticular risk to Prescott, which

is beyond the 10 mile zone and the city is not considered a danger zone, was the mes sage given to the Prescott City Council at the April 12 meeting by Bill Frederick, Northern States Power gov

ernmental liaison.

55 years ago PRESCOTT JOURNAL April 27, 1967 Pot Pourri: Oratory: the art of making deep noises from the chest sound like important mes sages to the brain.

New Books at the Prescott Library!

Several Books for the jun

ior high readers are at the Prescott City Library, includ ing: “The King’s Fifth” by Scott O’ Dell. A young map maker with the conquistadors discovers an understanding of true values.

Bond of the Fire,” (An thony) Von Eisen. Timeless story of a boy and his dog, set many thousand years ago.

“The Big Road,” Tom Clarke. A young hobo meets reality in the depression years.

“Mustang,” Marguerite Henry. Story of the wild de scendants to Spanish horses and how “Wild Horse Annie” Johnson fought from court

house to White House to save them from extinction.

“Calico Bush,” Rachel Field. A reprint of this most famous classic.

“The Trumpeteer of Krakow.” Eric Kelly. Another reprint of a famous classic.

“Big Blue Island,” (Wilson Gage) a city boy comes to live on an island in the Ten

nessee River.

Library hours; Wednesday 2:00 until 9:00; and Saturday from 10:00 util 6:00 p.m.

April 20, 1967

The sale of items deemed non essential would be banned on Sundays in coun ties of more than 100,000 and municipalities of more than 5,000 people, under legisla

tion under consideration at the State level.

70 years ago THE RIVER FALLS JOURNAL April 24, 1952 Harold Gorr, a Japanese prisoner for three and a half years prior to liberation and subject to the Bataan death march, was due to speak at the Brotherhood meeting of the Lutheran church on April 29 regarding his experiences in the war, including prison camps and mine work. “Every man will want to hear this thrilling story.”

At the theaters “On the Loose” depicts the story of the neglected teenage daughter of Douglas and Lynn Bart, two parents more inter ested in their social activities and in themselves than in their daughter.

April 17, 1952

How Much Worse Would Korea Be A La MacArthur (summary) Following the

firing of Douglas MacArthur over his suggestion to use nu clear weapons on the Korean Peninsula, a nationwide grassroots sentiment emerges in the general’s defense, with President Truman’s “personal investigator” Major General Frank Lowe returning to re port that MacArthur could have destroyed the Chinese communists, but they had since had seven months to dig in.

“It will be much harder now,” Lowe intones of the campaign to drive the com munists from the Korean peninsula. Soldiers write home reportedly asking “if it’s true that Washington doesn’t want us to win the war out here,” with Charles Jenkins among those later de

fecting in part from a fear of being sent to Vietnam.

85 years ago PIERCE COUNTY HERALD April 22, 1937 Lyle Brown of Ellsworth and Tillie Schmidt of Hart

land are married at the Pres byterian manse (pastor ’s house), making their home on a farm in El Paso township.

April 15, 1937

Graduating 72 students on May 28, the Herald reports that this will be the largest graduating class in Ellsworth history, with the class motto being “Forever Forward” and class colors of old rose and silver. The principal, mean

while, furnishes the Herald with a list of names for the event, as follows: Cleo Abbett, Anthon An derson, Margaret Anderson, Marjorie Batho, Truman Beardsley, Florence Bieslin, John Birkel, June Bolin, Claude Brandtner, Edward Cannon , Clara Christopher son, Vernon Christopherson, Doris Cope, Lois Cope, Yvonne Danielson, Gaylord Falde, Erma Belle Ferber, Inga Finstad, Arthur Fischer, James Fitzpatrick, Amanda Florness, Helen Flynn, Mary Frank, Florence, Freier, Lil lian Garlid, Dorothy Haddow, Charles Halls, Leona Hanvelt, Neil Harrington, Phyllis Hawn, Gordon Howe, Walter Huber, Donald J. Johnson, Loretta Johnson, Arthur Jothen, Samuel Kaiser, Flo

rence Keith, Francis Kinne man, Robert Kline, De Ette Knowlton, Esther Larson, Myron Leonard, Arold Lunde, Clarence Lybeck, Marcella Maynard, Marguerite Mel

gaard, Marjorie Moore, Flo rence Nelson, Lorena Nelson, Elaine Nugent, Mike Nugent, Mildred Odalen, Dorothy Par

rish, Alice Peterson, Lois Pe terson, Ruth Peterson, Elaine Riley, Vera Rogers, Audrey Rolson, Lois Schulte, Vincent Schulte, Eldon Siefert, Lloyd Simenson, Ronald Stewart, Verle Straub, Alice Svec, Rosella Torgerson, Marion Tracy, Norman White, Ralph Winberg, Warren Winberg, Graydon Wood.