Douglas County Past: Lightning strike kills cow; Superior couple arrested for counterfieting

Aug. 12—Aug. 12, 1982

North End Fun Day Saturday

Final plans have been made for the Fun Day Saturday in Kelly Park, located at North Seventh Street and Grand Avenue, sponsored by the North End Neighborhood Organization.

A German band will perform from 2 to 4 p.m. with Eddie Williams presenting music from 6 to 8 p.m. for a street dance, which will be held on Baxter Avenue. A flea market will be featured all day with free space available. Persons wishing to participate in the flea market must bring their own tables.

Mary Bong and Beverly Haglund are acting as co-chairmen, assisted by Iva Vandenberg, William Bong, Ray Hill, Margaret Anderson, Mary Bolts, Ed Stein, Agnes Hudgens, Stanley Parzych and Jim Sigfrids.

Aug. 13, 1947

Lightning strikes twice, kills cow, wrecks chimney

Lightning was reported to have struck in two places in this area during the electrical storm early Wednesday morning in one instance killing a cow and in the other damaging a chimney.

A cow owned by Fred Koenig, Station B, Route 1, was killed by lightning as it stood under three pine trees seeking refuge from the storm. One of the trees was spit down the center from top to bottom. The animal was in a neighbor's pasture back of the Ralph Law property.

Firemen received a call to the Robert L. Zowin residence, 2413 E. Seventh St., where a chimney was hit by the lightning and the top knocked off. There was no blaze and only the chimney was damaged.

Blaze causes $15 damage to awning

A smoker was said by firemen to be the cause of a blaze which did $15 damage to the awning Tuesday night at the Douglas Cafe, 314 Tower Ave.

Firemen said that evidently a passing smoker had flicked a cigarette butt into the awning. The alarm was received at 8:50 p.m.

Aug. 13, 1982

Steel work progressing

Structural steel erection is progressing on the new Arrowhead Bridge on the Superior side. Arrowhead Bridge Builders of Litchfield, Minnesota is the general contractor for the steel installation of this portion of the bridge. Installation includes a stretch from Pier 30 to the Wisconsin abutment, approximately 3,600 feet in length. Expected completion date for this portion of the project is May 12, 1984 at a cost of $5,477,144.47. The contract for the concrete deck portion of the same project was awarded to Lunda Construction Co. of Black River Falls for $4,625,536. The concrete work will take approximately seven months to complete from the starting date. Blacktopping on the Wisconsin approach is tentatively slated to begin on Sept. 1 with a completion date approximately Oct. 23.

Aug. 15, 1947

Local couple arrested for counterfeiting half dollars

A 31-year-old man, Miller Mereno, 314 Tower Avenue, is being held in the Douglas County jail for grand jury on double federal charges of counterfeiting and passing counterfeit coins. His common-law wife, Helen, 25, is being held as a material witness.

Arrest was made Thursday morning by Superior police at 314 Tower Ave. The Merenos had allegedly sent their 5-year-old daughter, Helen Jane, to a grocery store operated by Ingvald Paulson at 13 Tower Ave. After making a purchase she gave the clerk a counterfeit 50 cent piece. Police said the counterfeiting was not a "very good piece of work" as the store clerk had no difficulty in immediately recognizing it as such.

Russell Daniels, St. Paul, supervising agent for the Secret Service, who is in charge of the case, said that their equipment for doing the work was "very crude," consisting of a hammer, a crushed coffee can, a board on which to place the metal when pounding and stamping, a piece of pipe and soldering materials. Mereno told authorities he was only engaged in making 50 cent pieces. He also admitted Friday that he had passed three of the coins.

Girl to get VFW award for sale of most poppies

An award for selling the most poppies in the recent sale by the Veterans of Foreign Wars will be made to Joan Malmquist Friday night by William Forsyth, commander of Henry S. Blomberg post.

Joan, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C.R. Malmquist, 172 Lackawanna Ave., will receive a certificate signed by national, state and local officers of the VFW and also a beautiful 8x10 autographed photo of the movie starlet Margaret O'Brien. Miss O'Brien had been chosen by veterans as the national poppy girl.

This is the first year that the national office has offered an award for selling the most poppies.

Articles and pictures courtesy of retired librarian Judy Aunet with Superior Public Library.