Town Days Tour 2013 Comfrey

 

History

  • The City of Comfrey was founded in 1899 by the Chicago Northwestern Railroad.
  • Comfrey is located, for the most part, in Brown County. There are few homes in Comfrey that are technically located in Cottonwood County.
  • Highway 258 runs through Comfrey. The Cottonwood River and Mound Creek Dam are near town.
  • The town of Comfrey was founded when the Chicago Northwestern Railroad purchased one-quarter section of land from C-J Holm in 1899. Postman and farmer AW Pederson moved the post office to the new town site to be near the railroad. He named the town “Comfrey” after a plant that grew abundantly in the area.
  • Comfrey’s weekly newspaper is the Comfrey Times. It was 1st published in the year 1900.
  • The City of Comfrey was devastated by a tornado in March of 1998. Over two thirds of the buildings in town were destroyed, but the community pulled together and rebuilt the town better than ever before.
  • A famous Comfrey native is the owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Glenn Taylor.

 

Businesses

  • The Comfrey School District employs many people in town. They are the Rockets.
  • Two of Comfrey’s businesses that are important to the surrounding area are Harvestland Co-Op and Clements Lumber. They play a key economic role in the agriculture and construction industries.

 

Festivals & Events

  • Comfrey’s big summer event is called Comfrey Community Days. It features an ice cream social, lots of local entertainment, a tractor pull, raffles, a street dance, softball tournaments, and lots of other fun events. Comfrey Community Days is held in June.
  • The various service groups in the Comfrey area, such as the Lions, the Legion, and the Legion Auxiliary, hold numerous pancake feeds throughout the year. Rarely a month goes by when you can’t get some pancakes in the community of Comfrey.
 

People 

  • The Mayor of Comfrey is Gary Richter.  The population is around 400.
  • The Comfrey School District’s Teacher Of The Year for 2012 was Beth Griffis. She has been with the district since 1994, and has served in a variety of positions, including paraprofessional, 6th-grade teacher, physical education teacher, substitute, lunch room supervisor, playground supervisor, computer teacher, van driver, and reading teacher. Prior to her arrival in Comfrey Griffis taught at St. Michael’s in Morgan for 3 years. She has an Elementary Education degree from MSU-Mankato, with an emphasis on Physical Education and Health.
  • Comfrey High School students named their Homecoming Royalty in September of 2012. Crowned Homecoming King was Cole Kelly, and named Homecoming Queen was Nancy Schroepfer.
  • A Comfrey man was one of KNUJ’s Hometown Heroes for October of 2012 credited with rescuing a Nebraska man from a burning vehicle near Comfrey. Nick Rients of rural Comfrey and Stetson Shoen of Springfield were working in nearby fields when the accident occurred the afternoon of September 30th. The 74-year-old driver had lost control of his van and it went into the ditch and began to burn. Rients and Shoen attempted to extinguish the flames before freeing the man from the vehicle by cutting his seatbelt and moving him to a safe location. The 2 were presented “Citizen Achievement” certificates from the Brown County Sheriff’s Office for their actions.
  • The search for a new Superintendent for the Comfrey School District is underway, with current Superintendent Allen Hoffman resigning when his current contract expires on June 30th of 2013. Hoffman had intended to resign as Comfrey superintendent at the end of the last school year, but had returned for one more year with a reduced-time contract. Hoffman had also served as the Comfrey School Principal, but that position was filled last year.

 

 

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