Donalda Diary
Hanging on the wall in the Village of Donalda office and museum complex is a large panel with plaque listing all the mayors and councillors over the years. Recently we obtained an enquiry about a particular individual and were able to confirm when he was mayor. Since the Village was incorporated in 1912, there have been 60 mayoralty terms and 25 individual mayors. The first Mayor was Leslie Bell. Some individuals were mayor for several terms, including Cullin B. Murphy, seven terms; Chris Lausen, five terms; and Gary Clement, seven terms. The longest-serving Mayor was Chris Lausen, from 1945 to 1961 – 16 continuous years. Three women have served as Mayor. Mr. Bruce Gartside is the current Mayor.
I thought I should to provide a list of the mayors for the reading public. If there are relatives of any of the former mayors of Donalda, we would be pleased to hear from you.
Mayors of Donalda
Leslie W. Bell 1913-14
J. Rosenburg Stolee 1915
Charles Layher 1916
J.L. Christenson 1916-17
George Lowry 1918
Ben A. Butzer 1918-1920
J.L. Christenson 1920 -21
William “Earl” Porter 1922-23
J.J. Christenson 1924
Cullin B. Murphy 1925
J.L. Christenson 1925
Cullin B. Murphy 1926-28
Stanley Greenaway 1929-30
Thomas C. Paterson 1931
Cullin B. Murphy 1932-36
James Ottoson 1937
Cullin B. Murphy 1938-44
Chris Lausen 1945-61
Winston Clement 1962 - 65
Carl (Casey) F. Jones 1965 - 67
Gary Clement 1968-1978
Eric Hjorth 1979-1985
George Elliot 1986
Robert Conibear 1987 -1991
Marilyn Lee 1992-94
Jerry McKetsy 1996-98
Jean Knudtson 1999-2001
Paul McKay 2002-04
Barbara Lazarenko 2005
Terry Nordahl 2006-10
Bruce Gartside 2011- current
Happy Birthday this week to: Riley Carroll, Rebecca Ruehn, Clay Kneeland, Madison Bauer, Arlene Trivinio, Deanne Bell, Lincoln Broemeling, Luke Thorne, Jayden Swaren, Curtis Cassidy, John Thorne, Ray Kneeland, Dennis Blouin, Kelly Strandquist and Ross Salmon. If there is anyone missing from the Donalda list, please also accept our Happy Birthday wishes.