A Century of Change in the Lennox Community, Part XXII

Year of 1985
Weather conditions were generally good in 1985 for the growing of corn, soybeans and small grains although there were some dry spells during the summer. There were 45 inches of snow recorded during the year which contributed to the total of 24 inches of precipitation in 1985. It was a rather wet fall with five inches of rain in September. Ice forming on power lines in March caused a number of outages. The coldest temperatures of the year was 24 below zero recorded on January 19 and then 26 below zero just 11 months later on December 19. The mercury never did hit the century mark during 1985 but did get up to 99 on July 7.
On the local business scene, Dale and Gladys Johnson sold their Johnson Evergreen Farm and Craft Store to Steve Pedersen and Donna Kniffen. Great Plains announced the closure of its lumber yard in Lennox but a deal was made whereby the yard manager, Arnie Kruse, and his son, Craig purchased the facility and renamed it Kruse Building Center. Harvey Jongeling and Rowan Doorn purchased the Great Plains property at the south end of Main Street. Tim and Sandy DeLoof moved their wholesale greenhouse business from Michigan to a farm located west of Lennox.
Wally’s Jack and Jill Store (formerly’s Courey’s) went out of business, as did Cavin Implement located southeast of Lennox. Formerly owned by Bill Cavin, the business had been sold by him a few years prior to the closure. The Oriole Cage Cafe opened in the Straatmeyer building (now the Pizza Ranch) and Lynette’s Kut and Kurl opened for business on Main Street. A deal was announced whereby Jim Simon would sell his long-established insurance business to Olson and Associates. Jim would continue in the tax consulting business.
It was noted that about 800 people attended the annual Town & Country Night sponsored by the Commercial Club.
As usual, it was a busy summer in the park with many baseball and softball teams playing in various leagues. The highlight of the summer for the Lennox Legion team was the opportunity to play the Wakefield, Nebraska team in the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
LHS Orioles lost in the finals of sectional play, failing to advance to the State A tourney. The Ladybirds also lost in sectional play, and the Orioles were eliminated in the first round of the football playoffs. But a real highlight of LHS athletics in 1985 was the capture of the state cross country title by the boys team coached by Dennis Ortman.
Among many local events drawing considerable attention in 1985 was the annual Old Fashioned 4th of July in the Park. Also noted were the annual Pork Show, the Oriole Show Choir talent night, the annual street celebration, the first annual Southeastern South Dakota Threshermen’s Show held on Labor Day weekend, and the SD Oldtime Fiddlers program held in Lennox. Probably among one of the most unusual event of the year in Lennox was the demonstration put on by members of the 101st Airborne Division. They repelled from a helicopter as it hovered over the area south of the high school.
Politically, 1985 seemed to be a quiet year although there was a school board election, Joel Laumer, Gordon Sweeter and Gaylyn Reiners being elected to serve on that board. There were no contests for city council positions, no election was held.
In other city affairs, Doug Jorgensen resigned as chief of police after having served in that position for many years. Roger Almond, city water and sewer superintendent, had a close call when he was overcome by sewer gas in the performance of his duties.
In county news, Don Burma was named director of equalization upon the retirement of Doris Hanson. The Lincoln County History Book was published and copies sold to many throughout the area. Appearing in the book is a brief history of each community of the county and scores of biographies of individuals and families of the county.
Highlighting church news of the year was the merging of Faith and LaValley Presbyterian congregations, and the forming of an Assembly of God congregation in Lennox.
Among those honored by the community in 1985 was John Camp who marked his 100th birthday. John, at that time, continued to live alone in his Lennox home and perform many housekeeping chores as well as work out in the yard. Honored by the Lennox Lions Club for her long community service was Margretta Bossman. She was presented the Lions LIFE Award. Elaine Ganschow was honored upon her retirement from Cargill-Nutrena after 42 years of service.
Year of 1986
Weather certainly made the news locally in 1986 as everything from tornadoes to floods were reported. It was a wet year with over 30 inches of precipitation reported. This was seven inches above normal and when over eight inches of rain fell in September the result was flooding in some areas.
A tornado struck six miles south of Lennox, destroying a number of farm buildings and damaging many more. Fortunately, no one was injured in the storm. The governor assigned inmates the task of cleaning up much of the mess left in the wake of the storm.