Over the Years

50 YEARS AGO
October 17, 1957 — State education officials were scheduled to conduct a meeting in Hillsboro regarding the annexation of rural school districts into the Hillsboro school district.
A “bruising, hard-fought battle” between the Hillsboro and Larimore football teams ended in a 6-6 tie.
A Clifford man was sentenced to one to three years in the state penitentiary for stealing liquor from the Staupe’s Liquor in Clifford. The theft occurred just two weeks prior to the sentencing.
Harlum Ydstie showed off a whopper of a sugarbeet. The monster beet measured close to 18 inches tall and weighed 12 pounds — even with a hollow heart. Keep reading →

50 YEARS AGO
October 10, 1957 — Fire destroyed the Farmers Union Elevator in Buxton, N.D. More than 23,000 bushels of barley were lost in the Saturday evening blaze. Hundreds of onlookers watched until early Sunday morning as the fire completely consumed the elevator structure, which had been remodeled during the past year with new metal sheeting, wiring and overhead drive. Firemen from Buxton, Reynolds, Mayville and Hillsboro worked to contain the fire to one building. Concrete units on either side of the wooden elevator, belonging to Buxton Co-op and Farmers Union, were not affected. The fire continued to smolder all day Sunday.
Hillsboro city leaders considered adding an iron filtration plant to the city’s water treatment facility.
40 YEARS AGO
October 11, 1967 — After 28 years of ownership, the Mehl family sold the Hillsboro Gambles Store to Lyle Larson of Genuine Auto Supply. Larson planned to move his store into the building by the end of the month. The Gambles store would close.
Dead fish below the dam on the Goose River in Hillsboro concerned local game warden Lee Johnson. He speculated that pollution might be the cause. Debris had also plugged the channel and limited the flow, he said.
The Hillsboro football team was credited with playing the “finest game ever seen” on the local field in their 35-0 homecoming win over Mayville. With 23 consecutive wins, the Burros were on track to complete their second undefeated season. Coach Dennis Nelson praised defensive play by Richard Flieth, Terry Beach, Bill Koering and Stephen Basol for repeatedly stopping drives by Mayville and forcing three fumbles.
30 YEARS AGO
October 13, 1977 — Hillsboro’s municipal swimming pool ended the season with a $10,500 operating los. The pool cost about $26,000 to operate and only generated $8,700 in fees. A $7,300 Community Block Grant provided additional funding. City commissioner Merrill Knodle insisted that pool expenses should be the responsibility of the park board, not the city. The city planned to turn over the operation of the pool and the summer recreation program to the park board in 1978. Knodle urged the park board to seek a mill levy increase to cover the additional costs. More than 9,270 swimmers used the pool in 1977.
20 YEARS AGO
October 12, 1987 — Hillsboro’s Ford man for the past 25 years, Ed Baumgartner, welcomed visitors to Hillsboro Auto’s showroom to see the new 1988 Ford line of vehicles.
Public health nurse Julie Johnson alerted residents to a small outbreak of headlice in the Hillsboro schools.
10 YEARS AGO
October 11, 1997 — Hillsboro High School homecoming candidates included Josh Rude, Christy Juelson, Adam Cotton, Kim Kraby, Erica Larson and Jason Brustad.
First too warm and then too wet, weather conditions failed to cooperate for the annual sugarbeet harvest. For the first five days of the scheduled harvest , lifting was limited to the cool overnight hours. After three days of cooler weather, three inches of rain fell in the valley, forcing a stop to all lifting. Only 16 percent of the harvest was done.

— compiled by Michelle McLean

50 YEARS AGO
October 3, 1957 — Strong support was shown for geographically enlarging the Hillsboro School District. The local PTA met with representatives from surrounding townships — Eldorado, Hillsboro, Bloomfield and Norway — and the Hillsboro school board, Hillsboro supt. Lars Grant and county supt. of schools Esther Miller. PTA president George Sorlie said the annexation process would help provide a broader curriculum for students.
The Clifford liquor store was robbed twice in three days. One suspect signed a confession admitting he took a small amount of liquor in the first burglary but denying any involvement in the second theft.
The annual Kiwanis Kids Day featured a parade with the HHS band and kids and their pets and dolls in costume. The Saturday event ended with a free movie for 350 kids at the Traill Theater. Keep reading →

50 YEARS AGO
September 26, 1957 — A minor flu epidemic among high school students forced the postponement of a football game between Mayville and Hillsboro. The game was rescheduled for 10 days later.
A record number of entries were exhibited at the annual county 4-H Achievement Days. More than 800 entries prepared by 500 4-H club members were on display at the three-day event in Mayville.
Hillsboro Banner editor William Kremer noted in his weekly column the need for additional housing in the city. He pointed out that the shortage was problematic but if the town were to expand the shortage would soon become critical.
The Haga Blacksmith Shop in Reynolds was razed. Mr. Haga died in January 1957. He had been the town’s blacksmith for 40 years. Keep reading →

50 YEARS AGO
September 19, 1957 — Traill County veterans officially protested the use of war memorial funds in the new Hillsboro armory. Veterans from VFW and American Legion posts around the county asked that funds collected under the four-year, four-mill war memorial levy be kept intact until the full $200,000 in expected revenues were collected in 1959. Hillsboro vets had requested $30,000 to help complete construction of the city’s new National Guard armory.
The Hillsboro Fire Department asked that Hillsboro residents “refrain from rushing to fires or emergencies when the fire whistle blows.” Crowds at fire scenes had prevented firemen from doing their job. Cars rushing to fires had created traffic jams and hindered fire-fighting operations. Keep reading →

50 YEARS AGO
September 12, 1957 — Howard Carver was the new city police chief in Hillsboro. Carver served with the military police in the U.S. Army. He replaced Ed Hill.
Hillsboro veterans discussed plans for how to spend $200,000 collected by Traill County as a war memorial fund levy. Hillsboro veterans had asked county officials to donate $30,000 toward the new National Guard armory project. The funds would be earmarked for creating a veterans room in the armory, providing a kitchen and good flooring in the assembly hall. The four-mill levy was expected to raise more than $35,000 a year and be in place for four years.
Hillsboro High School’s football roster included John Oman, Roger Dahlstrom, Darrell Rotvold, David Soholt, Butch Fankhanel, Jerry Lindgren, David Shafer, Ronald Thorsrud, Charles Mueller, Wesley Fossum and Bruce Kaldor. Keep reading →

50 YEARS AGO
September 5, 1957 — Two Hillsboro community leaders were remembered at funerals. R.W. Johnston, an accountant and insurance agent, died at 65. He had served as city auditor for 23 years. Lynn Elton, 50, died after years of ailing health. He had operated the Elton Meat Market for many years. When Elton was buried, he was the first person laid to rest in a new addition of the Hillsboro City Cemetery. The Lynn Elton Memorial Cemetery was located adjacent Riverside Cemetery to the east. The seven acres was a gift to the city planned by Elton for some time.
“Rain poured down” — more than five inches in one day in Hillsboro — and halted harvest and construction work. The rain shut down work on the new National Guard armory and the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church education wing. Keep reading →

50 YEARS AGO
August 29, 1957 — Hillsboro city streets were torn up in order to install new water mains. The railroad crossings were also the focus of an improvement project.
Gundy’s Radio and TV in Hillsboro premiered the new RCA Victor Microsharp television. The super console cost $239.95.
Coast to Coast Hardware advertised a Robin Hood lunch kit for $2.89 and a three-speed phonograph for $19.95.
For the first time in history all Traill County schools planned to operate on a nine-month calendar. Classes were to start Sept. 3. Keep reading →

50 YEARS AGO
August 22, 1957 — Hillsboro city superintendent Ralph Byars urged city leaders to add a second water supply line from the wells west of town to the water tower. The 20-year-old line had proven too small, only delivering 90 gallons per minute to the city. Pumps had to run 24 hours a day in the late summer months to refill the tank overnight.
Traill County hired a Moorhead firm to develop a farm identification system to be used by rural fire departments and Civil Defense. The project would include a numbering system for all rural residences as well as signs and mapping.
The Belmont Pee Wees won the county pee wee baseball tourney. Keep reading →

50 YEARS AGO
August 8, 1957 — Fourteen farmers from townships surrounding Hillsboro asked the Hillsboro Fire Department to consider creating and serving a rural fire district. A new state law allowed for the establishment of rural fire districts which would be funded by local residents. Officials estimated the cost would be about $200 a year for each of the four townships involved.
Dennis Jacobson was the new operator of Jerry’s Hi-way Service, a gas station and cafe on Hillsboro’s northern edge. Keep reading →