12-05-2025
Douglas County Past: Superior, Gordon men die in war; actress launches ship
May 12—May 9, 1925
Students wage close battle
Deadlocked for first place, Hazel Nelson of the Black River school and Irene Lemponen, Bryant school representative, fought out the Douglas county student spelling championship honors yesterday afternoon in the Blaine school building. Miss Lemponen finally emerging the victor only after Rotary club contest officials went outside of the state fair spelling list to find words for them to spell.
Other contestants were: Anthony Mizinski, St. Stanislaus school; John Smith, Franklin school; Mavell Taylor, East High school; Walter Frank, Pattison school; Elaine Scott, Blaine school; Leo Vogl, Cedar Grove school; Catherine Bonner, Sacred Heart school; Veronica Shears, St. Francis school; Helen Bock, Brule; Ester Etele, Maple school; Flora Hedblad, Cooper school and Evelyn Melster, Itasca school.
May 9, 1945
Christmas spirit busy at Cathedral
Christmas may seem far away, but for the newly-organized Junior Red Cross chapter at Cathedral high school, it's just around the corner. The members are making 500 folding Christmas cards with envelopes, 500 nut and candy cups, 500 card and envelope folder combinations, 500 postcards decorated on one side, 500 tray favors to be used as place cards and 500 napkin and ring combinations. These will be used as Christmas decoration units for overseas hospitals and bases.
Declared dead
Sgt. Harold J. Patterson, son of Mr. and Mrs. F.J. Patterson, 2027 Banks avenue, has been declared dead by the war department. He has been missing in action since May 1, 1944, while a ball turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber. On that day he left for Iceland and failed to reach there.
Sergeant Pattison was born July 1, 1921 in Superior and was graduated from Central high school.
Surviving besides his parents are three brothers, Earl, in the South Pacific, Roy and Robert, Superior, four sisters, Mrs. Dorothy Rygg, Beverly, Donna and Margie, Superior.
Victim of Reich War
GORDON — Pfc. Marvin Jensen, 29, of Gordon was killed in action in Germany on April 14 according to information received by his father, Christian Jensen, of Gordon. Private Jensen was born in Crawford, Neb. Feb. 4, 1916 and lived in Omaha prior to coming to Gordon in 1927. He entered the army two and a half years ago. He is survived by his father and a twin brother, Melving, of Gordon; three other brothers, Hans and Soren of Omaha and Carl Raymond, who is with the merchant marine; two sisters, Mrs. George Hoyt of Iron River and Mrs. Rosie Fletcher of Omaha.
May 10, 1945
Capt. William Fritz completes 50th mission
Capt. William R. Fritz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Fritz, 1119 1/2 Seventeenth street, recently flew his 50th combat mission with the 485th Bomb group of the 15th air force. Captain Fritz, a pilot flight commander, went to Italy last summer and took part in the fall and winter campaigns that destroyed a large part of German industry.
In October, Fritz's group was attacking a rail yard in Germany when flak knocked out an engine and destroyed the hydraulic lines. He feathered the engine and continued down the bomb run only to have more flak cut the elevator controls and damage the power controls. The entire bomber was filled with flak holes as he came off the target.
Fritz stayed with the formation after leaving the target but his power settings were frozen and he was unable to alter the speed of the propellers. This forced him to leave the group after a few minutes and proceed home alone with his damaged aircraft over enemy fighter territory.
Arriving at the home field, Fritz gave his crew a choice of bailing out as there would be no brake power for landing and the power settings were still frozen. The crew elected to stay with Fritz and he displayed great flying skill in putting the bomber on the ground without injury to crew or airplane.
Capt. Fritz was graduated from Central high school and was attending Superior State when he entered the air force in 1943.
Three juvenile girls admit extensive shoplifting tours
A pile of coats, sweaters, purses, shoes, slacks, trousers and assorted items ranging from adhesive tape to needles and thread were which covered Assistant Police Chief George Davis' desk earlier this week was gradually being reduced to order and retired to the owners Thursday.
Davis and Detective William Lund continued to check on the stories of one 12 year old and two 15 year old Superior girls who have admitted the theft of clothing valued at more than $150 from Superior stores and garments worth $67.83 from Duluth firms.
Articles the three girls admit taking from S and L department store, Millers, the Eastern shop, the Fashion shop, Gately's and Stack's have already been valued by the stores at a total of $150.52, Davis said. In addition, the girls confessed the theft of several items, some valuable, from Kinney's shoe store, Ford Hopkins drug store, the Coop store, Newberry's, Roth's, Tradehome shoe store and Kresge's.
May 11, 1925
Cigaret dropped on floor causes blaze
A cigaret, dropped carelessly beneath a card table at 723 Tower avenue store, owned by A.E. Hillgrove, while two men, whose names were not learned were engaging in a game of cards, originated a minor fire there Saturday afternoon. The fire was discovered when the trousers of one of the men became uncomfortably warm.
A hole was burned in the floor. The alarm came to headquarters at 3:42 p.m. and it was the work of but a few moments to put the blaze out. Damage to the floor was not above $5.
Resume work at dock today
Work of clearing away the debris caused by the toppling of the superstructure of a Barnett and Record concrete mixer scow at work at Great Northern ore dock No. 1 Saturday afternoon, resulting in the drowning of Oscar Berg, 26-year-old laborer residing at 1216 Sixth street, had been virtually completed today and officials of the company plan to resume the laying of concrete mattresses at the dock within a day or so.
Berg was brushed into the water from the deck of the scow when the tower fell over the side into the water, it was stated. The tower fell toward the west. The cause is unknown, it was said. It did not strike the ore dock and no damage was done to the dock, according to J.E. McKenna, district engineer of the Great Northern.
Berg came to the United States from Norbooten, Sweden two years ago and made his home in Superior.
May 12, 1945
Actress Anne Baxter visits Head of Lakes, sponsors ship
Vowing that Roddy MacDowell and Monty Woolley are her favorite leading men, Anne Baxter, charming young Twentieth Century-Fox actress who visited the Head of the Lakes Saturday, skillfully avoided linking her name with John Hodiak, who played opposite her in "Sunday Dinner for a Soldier."
"I'm not married and I'm not going to be — not that I know of," Miss Baxter smiled.
Here to sponsor the USS Lever's Bend, launched Saturday noon at the Walter Butler Shipbuilders, Inc. Riverside yards, Miss Baxter took time out from a vigorous round of activities to talk with an Evening Telegram reporter.
She began studying to be an actress at the age of 11.
Music is Miss Baxter's greatest interest aside from acting, she said. Her record collection ranges from "Bach to boogie-woogie."
Articles and pictures courtesy of retired librarian Judy Aunet with Superior Public Library.
