Rugby saw temperatures go from minus 32 degrees to 42 degrees in a 24-hour period...Howard and Lois Burns purchased the Hanbury Cafe...Tim Estes was elected new Rugby Fire Chief...and Ben Franklin held a grand opening for its Rugby store. These were some of the news making headlines in January of 1972.

Here's a few more.

January 5, 1972—Part of the ceiling above the choir loft at Little Flower Catholic Church inexplicably crashed down sometime in the middle of the afternoon on Dec. 30. Church officials have no idea what would have caused the collapse, but one speculated a sonic boom may have had something to do with it. A boom was reportedly heard around that time in the skies above Rugby. Fr. Grow expressed heart-felt appreciation to the men and women of the church who cleaned up the debris. He added it was fortunate it did not occur during a church service.

January 12, 1972—The Rugby Police Department was in a gun battle. The villian — rabid skunks. A pair of the striped critters were in a fight in the Gertrud Dunham front yard and her dog was close to getting into the fray when law enforcement arrived. The skunks did spray the lawn pretty good and the noxious odor could be smelled for blocks away.

January 19, 1972—Harold S. Haaland, the benefactor for whom the Haaland Home for the aged is named for, died at his home in Washington. Haaland's initial donation of $100,000 got the ball rolling for the senior living home which was constructed in 1961. Haaland was born in Norway in 1892 and came to America to live with his brother, Nels, south of Granville. Eventually, he would manage the grain elevator in Granville and later Willow City.

January 26, 1972—Rugby school officials reported a large number of students out of school due to illness. Health officials reported it was some unidentified strain of influenza. At Ely Elementary, some 100 students were out for a week out of 570 students. At Little Flower, 34 students were reported absent with the flu out of 225. At the Jr.-Sr. High, absences related to the flu were hard to determine since semester testing was being conducted and there was no regular classes. However, there was 25 out of 410 students out of school. There was also a number of teachers who became ill. Health officials said the strange illness was not the Hong Kong or Asian flu which has been well-publicized.

Showing at the Lyric: Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin)...Night of the Dark Shadows...Summer of '42 (Jennifer O'Neill)...Adios Sabata (Yul Brynner)

Other news nuggets Boy's fleece boots were $2.99 a pair at Rugby's Holiday Store...A 17-inch Sylvania color TV was selling for $349.95 at Hoffert's TV...Swanson's TV dinners were three for $1 at Bickler's Jack and Jill...Children's ice skates were $6 a pair at Buck's Sports Shop.

Last answer: Jerry Gaetz

Person of Interest: This long-time M.J. McGuire's employee switched from auto mechanic to selling cars in January of 1972.