Cook County News Herald

Down Memory Lane


20 YEARS AGO
AUGUST 28, 2000

The Cook County Fair held August 16 thru 20 at the fairgrounds in Grand Marais was fun-filled and chock-full of exhibits. In all, 445 exhibits were entered in the open class, while 245 projects were entered in the school class. In the category of school work, Birch Grove School came away with a Best prize for an anatomy project.

30 YEARS AGO
AUGUST 27, 1990

Editorial:

Last week we pumped gas for $1.35. This week it’s $1.45. Next week, who knows? One thing is certain: with oil prices at $30 per barrel and climbing, the price of gas is not going to drop anytime soon. You can moan and complain all you want, but it won’t change things. You can point a finger at Saddam Hussein as the culprit, or oil speculators, or the guy at the gas station, but it’s not going to save you one penny. The fact is, world oil prices are climbing not because America needs Saddam’s oil, but because the Europeans and the Japanese do, and they’re willing to pay more for it. So our prices climb, like everybody else’s.

60 YEARS AGO
AUGUST 25, 1960

The Village Council has voted to establish one-way traffic on that portion of First Street, between Highway 61 and Broadway. It is intended to relieve some of the traffic problems in the five-corner intersection near the new post office building across from the hardware store, village officials feel.

Neighborhood sleep was disturbed about midnight last Thursday when a driverless car careened down Second Avenue West from its parking place in front of the Mrs. William Olson home. Owner of the car was Thomas Cowette, who had just returned to his room at the Olson home from the art show. The car knocked over a fire hydrant, ran over Betty Johnson’s bicycle, four trees, a garden fence, and came to a halt in Frank Cherry’s vegetable garden. It gathered momentum as it sped downhill, and with each crash and turn more residents were awakened. When the owner of the car arrived, quite a crowd had assembled. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

100 YEARS AGO
AUGUST 25, 1920

The WWI sub-chaser boat named “Cook” overtook a small gasoline boat near Isle Royale last Wednesday. The gasoline boat was trying to run the blockade with 340 quarts of Canadian whiskey. The boat was towed into Grand Marais harbor and turned over to Customs officials there. The two occupants of the boat, both Michigan men, were taken to Duluth for arraignment.

John Pherson returned on the America Wednesday evening from an extended trip to New York, where he visited his daughter whom he had not seen for 35 years. He enjoyed his stay there so well that he decided to make his home there for a time.

The large plate glass window in the Grand Marais State Bank building was broken last Sunday during the ball game. It is estimated a new window will cost about $400.

Do you have an old picture or a story from years gone by that you would like to share with the Cook County News-Herald readers? We’d love to hear your Historical Reflections Call (218) 387-9100; e-mail ccnh@boreal.org; or stop by our office at 15 First Avenue West.

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