DCI History December 22, 2022

50 years ago
December 27, 1972
Folmer Carlsen, Publisher
Santa Visits Mantorville Cub Pack…
Santa Claus (Bud Green) appeared at the December pack meeting at the Opera House in Mantorville on December 18th to help pass out exchange gifts at a Christmas party for the Cubs of Pack 230 in Mantorville. Songs were sung, skits were given by Dens 1 and 3. Awards were received by Doug Bartel for Showman Activity Badge and by Bob Meeker and Don Weidendorf who both received the Bobcat Badge.
30 years ago
December 23, 1992
Randy Carlsen, Publisher
Art a gift Mark Rose could feelat an early age
At the age of three K-M senior Mark Rose had a feel and gift for art. Things just came to him and he had the ability to put those thoughts on paper. As a fifth and sixth grader Mark Rose did some design work for the Dodge County Independent’s Newspaper Christmas issue. This year, for the 1992 edition, Mark is the featured artist on the front page which highlights the theme, “The ability is there too. Mark is in demand around the school scene. Make an illustrated poster for this event or how about a sketch of this for a program? Rarely does Mark not have time to oblige. In some cases, Mark is taken advantage of because he makes what he does so well look easy. “Things just come to me for ideas,” said Rose. Dedication and ability and an impressive portfolio could some day land Mark a very “artistic” job. He would like to continue his art career in college but says most of the good schools are out of state, say for instance in New York, and cost a lot of money. He is now in the process of applying for scholarships and grants to several different schools. Mark’s favorite area of art is doing illustrations-cartooning and comic book material. He is also partial to book illustrations. Whatever area Mark does decide on, his high school instructor is confident Mark will be a success-based on the dedication and ability he now has going for him. Mark has also played an important role in making the 1992 edition of the D.C.I. Christmas issue special.
20 years ago
December 25, 2002
Randy Carlsen, Publisher
McNeilus Steel employees raise18 tons of food!
Audrey Erwin, manager of the Dodge County Semca Food Shelf stated, “It is badly needed as the cupboard was almost bare!” Erwin went on to say, “The need was up considerably over past years, it seems that there are more people needing a helping hand this year. Without the support of the McNeilus Steel employees, the holiday season and the winter months would be very tough times for a lot of people.” According to Erwin, the McNeilus Steel Employee Drive raises more food than the Channel One Food Drive in the whole city of Rochester! Why is it that these 165 employees can produce more food to donate than a town of 80,000? With approximately 800 plus homes in Dodge Center, wouldn’t it be something if each of these families raised the same average pounds of food each year as the McNeilus Steel employees? That would equate to 176,000 pounds! The food shelves would have a problem where to store it all, but what a great problem to have. It seems that living in a country like the United States, there should never be anyone who does not have enough to eat. And yet it happens. Without the compassionate, sharing attitude of people like those at McNeilus Steel, many of those less fortunate would be looking at bleak days ahead. Just a couple visits to the food shelf can often get these folks by until they get back on their feet. We should all wish that no one would ever have a need to visit a food shelf, but knowing things will happen, we should all be thankful and have comfort in knowing they are there with that helping hand.
10 years ago
December 26, 2012
Randy Carlsen, Publisher
Former NFL linebacker has stories to tell
Former NFL player Duane Benson, uncle of K-M Middle School teacher Slone Suess, spoke to sixth grade students Thursday afternoon.  The 11 year NFL veteran and former state senator, had many stories to tell and he did not have any difficulty keeping the attention of the students. Benson was what many would consider a “long shot”. He grew up in Grand Meadow and attended college at Hamline. In high school he was a three sport athlete and captain on all three teams. In college he chose football and track and field and was a captain on those teams. Then when he made it with the Oakland Raiders and earned a Super Bowl ring, guess what? He was a captain. Duane Benson was not selected a captain because he was one of the best athletes on these teams. He was one of the hardest workers, a leader and most committed. Benson played in the late 60’s and early 70’s when the average player salary was around $70,000. The favorite team he played with in the NFL was the Oakland Raiders and coach John Madden. In fact he was one of 30 people invited by Madden to his induction ceremony into the Hall of Fame. Duane’s father died when he was nine years old so Slone’s father was like a father to him. “He was very good to me and I never forgot that,” said Benson. When asked if he was ever injured Benson asked, “how much time do you have?” He had everything from a fractured skull, 100 stitches to his face (not all at the same time), four broken fingers and bone spurs just to name a few. Benson showed a video of an important game in 1968 between the Jets and Raiders called the Heidi game. In the fourth quarter of a very important game that went beyond the scheduled broadcast time the station switched over to the movie “Heidi”, about a little orphan girl. Football fans were outraged and this game took on a special significance. Benson now farms by Grand Meadow. One of the first questions asked was, “Have you ever been in a Madden game video? Benson grins and acknowledges he was a little before that time.