All too many people have commented that everyone has his or her minute, or maybe it’s five or 15 minutes, of fame.

Friday, October 15, 1999

All too many people have commented that everyone has his or her minute, or maybe it’s five or 15 minutes, of fame. Well, folks, maybe that same concept could also apply to a main drag like Albert Lea’s Broadway Avenue. This was certainly true in early 1974 when the New York Times published an article written by Judy Klemesrud.

In the last column we featured, with permission, a good portion of Judy’s article. Now, we’ll finish with the rest of her Times article, plus information as to how this article came to be written, followed by an update on the Klemesrud family of Thompson, Iowa.

Again, there are several points which need clarification. First, the time period involved is late 1973 and early 1974. Second, this drag route or whatever it was called ran from Seventh Street on Broadway to the north end at Fountain Lake Park, Third, Quik Trip Burgers was a fast-food place on East Main Street, Fourth, I want to again stress that two paragraphs and the actual names of the young people interviewed by Judy have been deleted.

&uot;It was 10:10 p.m. and (two girls), both 17, both blond and both seniors at Albert Lea High School, were standing on the corner of Clark and Broadway, a popular teen-age pickup area also known as ‘Merle’s Corner.’

&uot;’ That’s where you stand and look,’ (one girl) explained. ‘ It’s named after a man named Merle who sells popcorn here.’

&uot;At a visitor’s invitation. the two girls eagerly hopped into a strange car to explain the sociological nuances of dragging Broadway. It was a subject they seemed to know very well.

&uot;’Kids still cruise even when they have dates,’ (one girl) said, as their car passed another cruising car in which a young couple were snuggled very close together in the front seats. ‘Just because you’re with someone doesn’t mean that you aren’t still looking.’

&uot;Other observations: The Mustang with wide wheels is the favorite car among dragsters, the girls agreed. Pot smoking has practically replaced beer drinking as the most popular illegal thing to do while dragging. And KAUS is the only rock music radio station to listen to while dragging, because every body else is listening to it, too.

&uot;’You know, I heard that they might make Broadway one-way, which could ruin dragging,’ (one girl) said, almost woefully. ‘They did that in Mason City, Iowa (40 miles south) a few years ago. They broke up Federal with one-way streets and malls. But the kids still found a way to drag it.’ …

&uot;By 11 p.m., the parade of red tail lights had thinned considerably. So the girls made a visit to Quik Stop Burgers, a few blocks east of Broadway. There they ran into …, a tall, blond 17-year-old senior at Albert Lea High School, whom they had never met before.

&uot;’I think dragging is dumb,’ (he) … told the girls over a Coke. ‘ Just what is so exciting about driving up Broadway 30 times a night, seeing people and showing off your car?’&uot; …

Judy Klemesrud was the daughter of Theodore Klemesrud, the publisher of the Thompson, Iowa, Courier. Her father served in the Iowa House of Representatives for several terms.

Judy graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in journalism, and earned a master’s degree from Columbia University in New York City.

She was a staff writer for the Chicago Daily News, then switched to the New York Times in 1967.

This epic about teen-age and young adult life on Broadway was based on a trip she made to Albert Lea while on vacation visiting her family in Thompson during late 1973. Judy likely came to Albert Lea many times on weekends a few years earlier to sample life along the Broadway drag route.

Her brother, Tom Klemesrud, is the present publisher of the Thompson Courier. During a recent telephone conversation, he said his sister, Judy, died in 1985.

Special thanks go to Alice Peterson of Scarville, Iowa, and Clarence Heavner, &uot;the Watkins man,&uot; of Albert Lea, who both answered a request on the KATE Radio program for information regarding Judy Klemesrud. Extra special thanks go to her brother, Tom, for his cooperation regarding family information and the reprint rights.