Local History

50 years ago: The congregation of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Gaylord honored their pastor, Rev. R. A. Marquardt, for the 40th anniversary of his ordination into the ministry.

10 years ago: Josh Luneburg became the new owner of New Ulm Steel & Recycling. Lunberg took over the business from his parents, Bev and Walt.

5 years ago: New Ulm Cathedral went 4-1 at the Westbrook/Walnut Grove volleyball tournament, losing its only match in the championship match to WWG.

1 year ago: St. Paul’s Lutheran School added a new STEM class for the 2017-2018 school year.

And elsewhere…

Today is Saturday, Sept. 8, the 251st day of 2018. There are 114 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On Sept. 8, 1974, President Gerald R. Ford granted a “full, free, and absolute pardon” to former President Richard Nixon covering his entire term in office.

On this date:

In 1504, Michelangelo’s towering marble statue of David was unveiled to the public in Florence, Italy.

In 1565, a Spanish expedition established the first permanent European settlement in North America at present-day St. Augustine, Fla.

In 1664, the Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, who renamed it New York.

In 1892, an early version of “The Pledge of Allegiance,” written by Francis Bellamy, appeared in “The Youth’s Companion.” It went: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

In 1900, Galveston, Texas, was struck by a hurricane that killed an estimated 8,000 people.

In 1935, Sen. Huey P. Long, a Louisiana Democrat, was shot and mortally wounded inside the Louisiana State Capitol; he died two days later. (The assailant was identified as Dr. Carl Weiss, who was gunned down by Long’s bodyguards.)

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a “limited national emergency” in response to the outbreak of war in Europe.

In 1941, the 900-day Siege of Leningrad by German forces began during World War II.

In 1951, a peace treaty with Japan was signed by 49 nations in San Francisco.

In 1985, Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds tied Ty Cobb’s career record for hits, singling for hit number 4,191 during a game against the Cubs in Chicago.

Ten years ago: In a pointed but mostly symbolic expression of displeasure with Moscow, President George W. Bush canceled a once-celebrated civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Russia.

Five years ago: NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous, credited with boosting finances at the nation’s largest civil rights organization and helping to stabilize it, announced plans to step down at year’s end.

One year ago: Hurricane Irma regained Category 5 status, battering Cuba with 160-mph winds and taking aim on the Miami area; the death toll across the Caribbean climbed past 20 after the storm ravaged islands including St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Thomas, Barbuda and Anguilla. .

Today’s Birthdays: Ventriloquist Willie Tyler is 78. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is 77. Author Ann Beattie is 71. Musician Will Lee is 66. Actress Heather Thomas is 61. Singer Aimee Mann is 58. Pop musician David Steele (Fine Young Cannibals) is 58. Actor Thomas Kretschmann is 56. Rhythm-and-blues singer Marc Gordon (Levert) is 54. Gospel singer Darlene Zschech (chehk) is 53. TV personality Brooke Burke-Charvet is 47. Actor Martin Freeman is 47. Actor David Arquette is 47. Rock musician Richard Hughes (Keane) is 43. Actor Larenz Tate is 43. Actor Nathan Corddry is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer Pink is 39. Singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson is 38. Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas is 37. Rapper Wiz Khalifa is 31. Actor Gaten Matarazzo (TV: “Stranger Things”) is 16.

Thought for Today: “Fools act on imagination without knowledge, pedants act on knowledge without imagination.” — Alfred North Whitehead, English philosopher and mathematician (1861-1947).