Porter Memory Book

2006

January 27, 2006

Porter March Of Dimes Auction

Courtesy of The Canby News

Courtesy of The Canby News

January 28, 2006

Arctic Blast at Del Clarke Lake

Courtesy of The Canby News

Dana McKracken of Porter plunges into Del Clarke Lake

February 3, 2006

Porter Trucking Service, Inc. Fire

Courtesy of The Canby News

February 7 - Canby News - Don Beman

Rescue

A chain of events that began last summer led to the saving of a life and possibly the property of others in Porter early last Friday morning.
Two Canby High School students coming home from a basketball game saved a man's life and called for help before gusty winds could fan a smokey fire in a truck repair shop into open flames and blowing embers, the Porter fire chief said.
It was not only a chain of events - things like taking a different route home - but common sense that makes the story a good one, especially for the life that was in jeopardy when junior Kyle Kack and senior Jesse Schlecht discovered the fire.
"I don't think he could have survived more than a minute or two longer," said Chief Patrick Vlaminck, referring to Dave Prellwitz. "Also, if we hadn't gotten the alarm and been here before the building was fully engulfed, it could have spread to a couple houses across the street."
Firefighters from Canby and St. Leo were also called in. They poured water on the structure and kept track of burning embers that were being blown across the street toward some trees next to two houses. The other two departments weren't released until about 4:30 a.m. Porter firemen stayed on into the day in case it flared up again.
The fire call came from Kack as Schlecht was helping Prellwitz the rest of the way to safety. Vlaminck said Prellwitz was disoriented and suffered smoke inhalation and burns on his legs.
The chief said the cause was apparently a wood burning stove in the shop owned by Raymond Petersen, who was out of the state on vacation.
Schlecht said the two came through Porter shortly after midnight on their way home from a girls basketball game at Kerkhoven and saw smoke.
"The whole town was filled with smoke. From where the smoke was coming from we thought it might be Petersen's shop," said Kack. "We swung over there and checked it out."
He said they yelled to see if anyone was inside.
"We heard somebody yell back 'I'm in here'," said Schlecht. "I asked if it was Dave and he said it was. Dave was kind of watching over the place while Raymond was out of town."
Schlecht said they told Prellwitz to get out and he said he couldn't see.
"The smoke was really thick," Kack said.
"We could barely see him in the smoke (against the flames on the other side of him) just standing there and he wouldn't move," Kack said. "We yelled at him to get down on the floor."
"He was just standing up," Schlecht said.
Kack said they kept yelling and told Prellwitz to follow their voices and finally he began to crawl.
"We saw him and went and grabbed him when he got close enough," Kack said. As Prellwitz made it the rest of the way to safety, Kack called 911 for help and the Porter Fire Department was on its way. Vlaminck said the call came about 20 minutes after midnight. He called for help from the other departments after he saw the fire and realized what could happen.
Prellwitz was in Kack's pickup when firemen and Porter First Responders arrived.
"His whole face was all black and it looked like his legs were burned," Schlecht said.
"We asked if anyone else was in there and he said 'Moose'," Kack said, referring to Petersen's dog. "We couldn't get him."
Prellwitz told firemen he got out, but had gone back in to get the dog. He couldn't find him and discovered he could not see to get back out.
When Canby firemen arrived, Porter firemen were already in place. The fire was still inside and smoke poured from the building. Finally, flames broke through on the west and north sides. A semi rig parked next to the building had to be moved out of the way and Otter Tail had to cut power so the firemen could get into better positions.
The two boys said they didn't try to go inside the building because they had been around the shop and knew there were combustible materials, like welding tanks and solvents, that could explode.
"I was thinking about those welding tanks," said Kack.
The two recalled the early morning events as they sat in Principal Robert Slaba's office at Canby High School later Friday morning.
"I just think you were somehow meant to be there," said Slaba, after he learned the reason the two had gone to an out of town game on a school night knowing it would be late when they got home.
"I met these girls at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Atlanta (Ga.) last summer and I had told them we'd be at the game," Kack said. "We stopped and talked to them for a while after the game."
The two said the other thing that happened was they chose a slightly different road to come home on, a gravel road, that seemed like it might be a little quicker late at night, which brought them into Porter.
Vlaminck said Prellwitz was taken to the Canby hospital and later was transferred to Sioux Falls to a burn unit at Avera. The chief said the burns were not as serious as they could have been. He said the immediate problem when the boys arrived was that Prellwitz was running out of oxygen.
"They showed some really good common sense in how they helped him," the chief said, explaining that it could have been a fatal mistake for them to try to go inside the burning building because they would have found themselves surrounded by smoke and unable to find a way out.

March 11, 2006

Raymond Petersen Benefit

March 11, 2006

Community Shows Strong Support For Petersen

The Raymond Petersen Benefit on the Evening of March 11^th turned into an overwhelming display of support and emotions. Raymond Petersen suffered a substantial loss in the Porter Trucking Service fire in the early morning hours of February 3^rd. The benefit supper drew more than 400 people from Porter and the surrounding communities as well as members of Petersen's family. Proceeds from the supper will be matched up to $1,000.00 by the Yellow Medicine County Chapter #31323 of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Following the supper a list of names was read, recognizing those who made significant cash donations, going as high as $700.00 per donation. A donation of a stainless steel tool cabinet by 2 local businessmen was also recognized. A presentation of a warm quilt was made by Doris Jacobson on behalf of Bethel Lutheran Church. The quilt was hand-made by the Bethel Quilters. The raffle was then drawn with Petersen's mother winning the top prize shotgun. Over 100 items were auctioned off by local auctioneers with items such as Mavis Anderson's famous donuts selling as high as $85.00 per dozen. The support grew as the evening progressed with over $15,000.00 being raised for Petersen.

March 14, 2006

State Honors Two Young Heroes

Jesse Schlecht and Kyle Kack were honored on March 6th for their heroic acts during the early morning fire at Porter Trucking Service on February 3rd. Both Kack and Schlect recived plaques from the State Fire Marshall's Office during a school-wide assembly on the 3rd at Canby High School. The entire student body and both Kack and Schlect's parents were on hand as well as State Representative Aaron Peterson, State Senator Gary Kubly, State Deputy Fire Marshal Bob Dahm, Deputy Fire Marshal Steve Kelen and Porter Fire Chief Patrick Vlaminck. The two were rewarded for doing the right thing in reporting the fire that could have easily spread to homes in Porter and more importantly for saving the life of David Prellwitz who suffered extensive burns and smoke inhalation from the fire.

Courtesy of The Canby News

April 15, 2006

Easter Egg Hunt at James A. Schoneman Memorial Park

Courtesy of The Canby News

April 22, 2006

Porter Community Market Day Sale

August 18, 19 and 20, 2006

Porter Harvest Festival, Porter's 125^th Anniversary Celebration

Please note: The information on this page is an archive of the "Porter Headlines" from the Porter Homepage. For a more complete archive of Porter's 125th see the Harvest Festival Section of the Porter Activities and Events Page.

King William Ningen and Queen Norma Johnson Will Reign Porter's 125^th

William Ningen and Norma Johnson were crowned Porter's Eighth King and Queen Friday night in James A. Schoneman Memorial Park

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The New Flag Pole in Schoneman Memorial Park was dedicated during the Opening Ceremonies on Friday night.

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The North won the annual North vs. South Softball Tournament.

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Medallion Hunt Clues

The Medallion was found at 8:15 AM Saturday by Kelly Anderson! The Medallion was located in the second row of the city tree line straight west of the intersection of Prairie Ave. and Chestnut St. All of the clues have now been released.

All Clues

Porter 125^th Anniversary Updates

-The Medallion Hunt will begin Monday, August 14^th with clues being posted on this website, at Deb's Cafe and broadcasted on KMHL. The prize will be $125.00 cash for the person who finds the medallion. If the medallion is found prior to 7:00 on Friday the winner will be announced and given their prize after opening ceremonies at the park.

-Firemen's Water Fights: 6:00 PM on Saturday, Aug 19 at Schoneman Memorial Park

-Threshing Bee at 11:00 and 1:30 on Saturday and after the Parade on Sunday at the Porter Auction Grounds

-Anyone interested in volunteering to help with any event should contact Teri Knutson at 296-4571 or Norma Johnson at 296-4522

-With there being a chance of rain in the forecast for all three days, we will keep weather notifications and announcements current on this site.

Porter's 125^th Time Capsule - Give your Opinion in the Porter Public Opinion

Your Input is requested. Click on the Porter Public Opinion link to make your voice heard. You can even suggest a question for the poll. This is a submitted question from the community! Please continue to submit your ideas for our community orientated questions.

Historic Photos and Items Sought

If you have any photographs that you would like to make part of a Porter 125th anniversary commemorative website/book, please Email them to the webmaster of this site. Any stories of Porter's past may also be sent to the same address, please be as detailed as possible in any stories so that we can keep our history alive through the ages to come. If you have any memorabilia other than pictures, or have pictures that cannot be Emailed, please contact the webmaster for an address to ship them to. If you wish to have them returned after the festival, please make note of it.

Funeral Arrangements for Frank Goslar

Lifetime Porter resident, Frank Goslar, passed away Friday, November 3 at the age of 91. Funeral Services Have been set for 1:00 PM at Bethel Lutheran Church of Porter. You can share your memorable stories of Frank on the current public opinion forum.

Nov. 26, 1914-Nov. 3, 2006
PORTER — Services for Frank W. Goslar, 91, of Luverne, formerly of Porter, will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Bethel Lutheran Church in Porter. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Sunday at Bethel Lutheran Church, with a prayer service at 6:30 p.m. Visitation will continue on Monday one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in Wergeland Cemetery. Military honors will be provided by Porter American Legion Post 457. Online condolences can be sent at http://www.birkfuneralhome.com
He died Friday, Nov. 3, 2006, at Sioux Valley Luverne Hospital.
He was born Nov. 26, 1914, to William and Laura (Sternke) Goslar.
Survivors include his former wife, Ardis; their five children, LaNetta VanDale, Lareth Goslar, Rhonda Bates, Zelda Goslar and Laureen Hinders; 14 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Election Day - November 7

Vote at the Porter Fire Hall on Tuesday, November 7. Polls close at 8:00 PM. Positions to be elected: Porter - Mayor, Council Member and Treasurer. Governor, US Senator, US Representative and many other representatives.

Porter Signatures Page Plagued With SPAM

Because of recent SPAM attacks on the Porter Signatures Page some changes have been made to it. If you find that your recently added message is missing, please add it again. If the page shows as "cannot be displayed"