Looking Backward 3.22.2012
25 Years Ago
March 19, 1987
Newly elected and appointed Extension Council members sworn in last Thursday night are Dale Uhlmann, Don Blackerby, Byron Cory, Wilfred Boeddeker, and Armon Stewart.
The Ava Chamber of Commerce moved one step closer to opening a permanent office Tuesday evening when the board of directors voted to rent a building across the street from the sheriff’s office. The building, owned by Joe Pitts, was formerly occupied by barber Danny Woolman. The Chamber will rent the building for $75 per month.
The members of the Douglas County Retired Teachers Assn. met at Hutch’s Country Inn at 1 o’clock on March 10 with the following people present: Trellis Dewhirst, Minnie Dean, Una Ellison, Verbena Swearengin, Gladys Norman, Mabel Mitchell, Sybil Kerr, Gladys Long, and Mr. and Mrs. Van Vencil. Guests were Mr. and Mrs. Byron Rea.
Visiting Mrs. Daisy Huff the past week were Mr. and Mrs. Don Graham, Mr. and Mrs. Junior Huff, Dr. Paul Howard, Edna Davis, Dixie Garrett, Sara Banta, Pam Cunningham, Burl Sellers, and Tom Johnson.
Mrs. Oca Cooper celebrated her 92nd birthday at her home in Red Bud Village March 11.
Brenda Hart of Ava recently won $200 playing the Monopoly game at Town and Country Supermarket.
At the completion of the first semester, Lyndell Ray Lakey, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold L. Lakey, Ava, earned the average grade of B, qualifying him for the dean’s list at Bob Jones University, Greenville, S.C.
Rob Hunsaker, 6-foot-2 senior for the Bradleyville Eagles, has been named Most Valuable Player in the Mark Twain Conference. Members of the all-conference first team are Hunsaker; Randall Ewing and David Dye, Sparta; Scott Fraker and Michael Dill, Niangua; and Chris McFarland, Norwood.
50 Years Ago
March 15, 1962
Members of the First Baptist Church held their first services in the newly constructed building on Highway Y, across from the Douglas County Fairgrounds in west Ava, last Sunday, and it was termed “the greatest day in the history of our church,” by the Rev. Max Morris, pastor. “We were overjoyed to have 267 in Sunday school and 320 at the worship service.”
The young people of Ava, who are members of Teen Town, will sponsor a benefit Twist Party Saturday night, March 17, in the American Legion Hall and all proceeds will be given to the American Red Cross.
Mrs. Stella Davis was hostess at a luncheon last Thursday to a get-together of the Davis sisters, honoring birthdays of two of the group, Mrs. Mertie McFarlin and Mrs. Phillip (Effie) Davis. Other sisters were Mrs. O.K. (Gladys) Welton, and Mrs. Richard (Sammye) Roper. Joining the group at noon were Mrs. Robert Bowles and Mrs. Dennie Hays.
Six Ava children, who are enrolled in the kindergarten Sunday school class at Ava Methodist Church, appeared each morning last week on the 9:00 to 9:30 o’clock television program, the Romper Room Kindergarten, a feature on KTTS in Springfield, and they are being taken back to the city again this week to make daily appearances on the program. The children are Penny Haught, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Haught; Deborah Tien, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. Joshua Tien: Cathy Hoss, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Hoss; Stephen Faszholz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Faszholz; Teddy Burk, son of Mr. and Mrs. Merle Burk, and Tim E. Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Williams.
Two brothers, who are grandsons of Mr. and Mrs. Lonnie Kester of Smallett, are serving in the United States Navy and are assigned for duty on the same ship. The two brothers are sons of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Kester of Springfield, the grandsons of the Lonnie Kester of Smallett and the great-grandsons of the late Aunt Mary Pratt, who before her death was a resident of Smallett.
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Givans of Arnold announce the birth of a daughter on Thursday morning, March 8 in the Lutheran Hospital in St. Louis. She has been named Julie Ann.
Marvin Hill, boilerman second class, USN, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe Hill, is serving aboard the escort destroyer USS Renshaw, which departed Hawaii, for a six-month tour of duty with the Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific.
LONGRUN –– Mr. and Mrs. Rex Wallace are the proud parents of a baby boy, born Friday, March 8. Ronald is his name.
75 Years Ago
March 18, 1937
Old-fashioned cut nails used in construction of Douglas County’s old frame courthouse have been creating some interest during the razing of the old structure. The four-sided nails were driven into the timbers of the old courthouse fifty years ago, but still are bright and in good condition. Most of them are eight-penny and sixteen-penny sizes. Work of razing the old building is almost completed, as all that remained this morning was the flooring, foundation and the brick vault.
Sheriff Lincoln Barnes and deputy Lester Eslick arrested two Christian county boys Sunday and turned them over to federal officers on a liquor charge. In the model A Ford the boys were driving the officers found about eight gallons of boot-leg whiskey contained in a five gallon keg, some half gallon fruit jars and half pint bottles.
Roscoe (Red) Jackson, who was convicted in circuit court in Galena in December 1934 and sentenced to hang is to be hanged in Galena April 16. Jackson is to pay with his life for the murder of Pearl Bozarth middle-aged owner of a poultry-medicine manufacturing concern. Bozarth was killed in August, 1934, and his bullet-riddled body was found in a clump of bushes beside a little used road near Brown Branch just over the Douglas County line in Taney County. Jackson was already a fugitive, fleeing a murder charge in Oklahoma, when he was picked up by Bozarth. Shortly afterward Jackson was picked up at Wewoka, Okla., with Bozarth’s car.
The House of Representatives in Jefferson City last week passed an anti-alimony bill proposed by Mrs. Gladys Stewart, Douglas County representative in the legislature. The measure would prohibit the granting of alimony to persons married less than five years, unless children were born to the union or if the wife had become physically disabled from earning a living since her marriage. She said all fields of employment were now open to women, making it no longer necessary for a man to support his divorced wife.
Mrs. J.T. Morris, a pioneer settler of the old Biggs post office community in the east end of the county was a visitor in Ava Tuesday. This was her second visit here in her entire lifetime. She came to town with her son-in-law, Luther Wood.
Winner of second place in the district American Legion oratorical contest held in the high school building here Wednesday night of last week was Miss Wanda Burdett, Ava High School senior and the Douglas County representative in the contest.
A chicken egg, twice the size of an ordinary hen egg, was brought to the Herald Tuesday morning by Mr. and Mrs. N.B. Ives, of Route 2. The egg was laid by a Speckled Sussex pullet eight-and-a-half-months-old. It weighed four ounces and measured nine inches in circumference the long way, and by seven and a half inches in circumference around the center.
100 Years Ago
March 21, 1912
Mr. Dyer of Missouri, has introduced a bill this week to give preference in the Civil Service to those persons who have been honorable discharged from the military or naval service of the United States.
The Postmaster General has submitted a recommendation to Congress to extend the free delivery service to small towns and cities throughout the country, which do not already have the service because their post office receipts do not reach $10,000 a year. Under the plan of Mr. Hitchcock, it is estimated that 30,000,000 people in the United States, who now have to chase to post offices, would be served mail at their homes, and the argument is that inasmuch as the people of the cities, and residents along the rural routes have this class of service, the smaller towns should enjoy the same privileges.
In some instances it may not be convenient for farmers to obtain good seed. This will be true particularly of corn this year, for in many sections the yield and quality of corn grown in 1911 were considerably below the usual average.
There is no question but what Washington is somewhat uneasy over the continuation of Mexican revolutions.
Everybody is invited to the Masquerade skate Sat. night March 23rd. Masques on sale at Wilson Hardware.
A neighboring doctor advertises by circular: “I will pay one-half the funeral expenses where I am not successful.”
Last Saturday was the first spring-like day we have had in the Ozarks for several weeks. This has been the longest drawn-out winter that was ever known in this country.
No town, country or community will ever prosper where there is a division of strife of any nature. The true motto of each and every citizen of a town is and should be to assist and help your neighbors, encourage business of all kinds, there’s no danger in gorging the market in this line, unite in the matter of improvement in making the town attractive and giving it a home like appearance.
The property and lot of the Singleton Hotel, now occupied by the Carters, will sell at public auction next Wednesday. This is a very valuable piece of property and several parties are figuring on buying it. There will likely be a good building go up on the lot.
MARRIAGE LICENSE – Hughey Byrd to Lillie Heard, both of Thornfield; Jas. M. Strait to Elsie Turner, both of Girdner; Ezra Elmore of Kiowa, Okla. to Bulah Kinder, of Girdner.
“There’s a lot of girls that don’t ever intend to get married.” “How do you know?” “I’ve asked several of them.”
