Looking Backward 9.5.2013
25 Years Ago
September 1, 1988
The Ava Police Department is currently investigating a break-in that occurred sometime last Friday night at Jean’s Healthway on North Jefferson Street in Ava. Jean Farbin, owner/operator of the store said all that was taken was a large supply of body building products. These dietary supplement products had an approximate retail value of $1200, she said.
With the good gospel music and excellent weather, a record crowd enjoyed another Friday Night Music on the Square.
The Ava girls 9-12 All Stars, coached by Rick Lafferty and Leland Barnes, were undefeated in a softball tournament at Fordland, August 13.
Fallon Sawyer announces the arrival of her baby sister Jessie Taylor, born Aug. 9 at 8:15 a.m. at St. John’s Regional Health Center, Springfield. She weighed 6 lbs., 14 oz., and was 20 inches long.
Gail Lynn Hart became the bride of Cpl. Scott Wayne Huffman on June 11 at the First Southern Baptist Church in Ava with minister Arthur Hicks officiating and Brother Nolan Carrier assisting.
The Norris Sloan family, of Rt. 1, Mtn. Grove, is the Missouri State Fair Farm Family representing Douglas County this year.
SQUIRES –– Lue Brown had a birthday.
MT. TABOR –– I am sure everyone is enjoying the big change in the weather we had over the weekend when it started raining. The high is only supposed to be 70 today.
DENLOW –– Aunt Jo Kraemer will be celebrating her 99th birthday Tuesday, Aug. 30.
50 Years Ago
August 29, 1963
Grand award winners were named Tuesday, Aug. 20, in the sixth annual 4-H Electric Awards Program sponsored by White River Electric Co-op. Winning in the boy’s division was Bill Mackey of the Roy Boosters 4-H Club in Douglas County. Bill’s demonstration was “How to Make a Trouble Light.” Bill is the 14-year-old son of Mrs. Jewell Mackey of Smallett.
Mrs. Emma Jane McGill, a lifetime resident of Douglas County, who celebrated her 100th birthday anniversary on Sept. 18, 1962, died Monday, Aug. 26, at the age of 100 years, 11 months, 8 days.
Walnut Grove Church was the scene for a very pretty wedding Aug. 18, when Faith Goodnight, daughter of Mrs. Rae Goodnight, became the bride of Guy Haskins, son of Mr. and Mrs. Basil Haskins of Thornfield. The Rev. Tom Johnson performed the 2 o’clock double ring ceremony.
Bennie Hutchison of Washington, D.C., who has been vacationing here with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hutchison, and with his sister Mary Martha and her daughter, Lisa, will leave tomorrow to return to his home.
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Turton and son, Larry, have returned home from a visit with the couple’s son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Bowman of Orange, Texas.
Mr. and Mrs. Doc Boggs will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary Sunday afternoon, Sept. 1, with an open house at their country home one mile south of Brown Branch.
EVANS –– Miss Twila Freeman entered a Jersey cow at the fair and took a blue ribbon.
MOUND –– Mr. and Mrs. Orville Swearengin are the proud parents of a baby girl.
Ninety-one relatives and friends gathered at the MFA Hall in Ava Sunday to attend a birthday dinner held in Honor of Mrs. Leota Gentry, who was celebrating her 80th birthday.
2-Piece Studio Couch Set – best grade nylon covering, plus three matching tables, 2 matching lamps, special this week, $139.00 and your old suite regardless of condition. Thomas Furniture Co.
Mrs. John Bressie attended the southwest regional conference of Delta Kappa Gamma held at Hotel Muehlebach in Kansas City last week.
Some people who travel the straight and narrow path have minds that are just as narrow.
The Hunter Club to revamp Turkey Creek building. Mrs. Wendell King, club president, presided over the business session and the members voted to put a new roof on the community building known as Turkey Creek Church, and the work will start immediately.
Anyone who does nothing but wait for his ship to come in has already missed the boat.
Chronic complainers are convinced that every season comes at the wrong time of the year.
75 Years Ago
September 1, 1938
This is Douglas County’s second annual fair as started a year ago, and is being held at the City Park three big days, September 15-16-17. The Douglas County Fair Edition is in this edition of the Douglas County Herald.
Ava schools this year have a new superintendent, C.W. Parker, formerly of Ozark having been employed to take the position formerly occupied by Ray Hailey.
The first improvement to be noticed in the high school building will be the new flooring in halls and four classrooms. The two school janitors, Will Singleton and Steve Tate, have laid 3,500 feet of new oak flooring.
Ava’s baseball team will face a West Plains Negro nine on the diamond at the city park Sunday afternoon fresh from a 25 to 4 victory over the Springfield Blues here last Sunday.
School buses have been a part of the Ava school system since the school year of 1931-32, according to school authorities. The first year buses transported students here, they brought in 322 non-resident students. In 1932-33 there were 294 students transported here. The next year the number was decreased because of the depression and only 129 students were brought to Ava high school.
Tuesday in Ava is very much like Saturday insofar as the number of persons in town is concerned, and the thing that brings the crowds to town on Tuesdays is the auction sales held each week on that day. Auctions have been held for something like 2-1/2 years, and now they are conducted under the management of G.R. Prock who also is auctioneer.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Livingston and sons, Bobby and Souder, Charles Taylor, Mrs. Lem Northrup and Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Browning enjoyed a picnic supper and outing at Browns Cave Sunday evening.
Miss Pearl Pitts and Miss Grace Hibbard were in Mt. Vernon Friday and spent several hours visiting Miss Helen Curnutt who is a patient in the state sanitarium.
Jackson’s Mill on Beaver Creek near Highway 76, eight miles southwest of town, is a favorite resort for picnickers during hot summer weather. Spring water is led along a millrace to a high overshot mill wheel, from which it flows in to adjacent Beaver Creek.
MT. TABOR –– Rev. Letsinger and Rev. Kastning baptized 28 at the Frank Sanders Ford on Beaver last Sunday amid a large crowd of probably 300 persons.
EAST VANZANT –– Mr. and Mrs. Olen Woods have a new radio.
Prince Mischief 41st, is owned by Lawrence Croslin, Ava, Mo. This Domino bull heads a herd of 9 cows and 8 heifers, obtained from the Painter herd, Roggen, Colorado. He will be among the animals to be shown at the Douglas County Fair, Sept. 15, 16 and 17.
100 Years Ago
September 11, 1913
In order to maintain the best school possible, the teachers request the public to assist them in eliminating, as far as possible, the school curses – tardiness, irregular attendance, and truancy.
The entire school assembles every Tuesday and Friday morning. The exercises on Tuesday are devotional, while on Friday time will be given to current events, short talks and other interesting exercises.
Otto Clapp has sold his business in Springfield and returned to Ava to live. He has bought an interest in the Kitterman Café.
Bud Hodge and family formerly of Cold Springs, have sold their hotel interest at Norwood and are at present living on the Clem Smith place near Filer. Their daughter Ivy was recently married to Thompson of Norwood where they now live.
DRURY –– Sales are the talk of the neighborhood, Mr. Kester, John Hart, Charley England, and Mr. Stephenson will all have sales this week. Several other families are talking of leaving.
Marriage licenses were issued to Omer Lyons and Anjie Cannifax, both of McClurg.
LARISSA ITEMS –– Mr. and Mrs. Pettit are living in the old store building by the old Wilson Mill, where Mr. Pettit can be close to oversee the work.
Black Oak school cannot begin until there is rain so there will be water in the spring. That is a pretty house and in a fine ground. All they need is a well, and out-buildings, to make it a model school ground.
It is very interesting and instructive to travel and enjoy the beauties of our own United States, but we of the Ozarks have wondrous displays of nature’s handiwork all around us and people are awakening to the fact and coming from afar to visit the Ozarks.
Several sections of the Bryant Bridge of the K.C.O.&S. burned Friday night, the train returned to Ava Saturday afternoon.
Attorney and Mrs. Cannifax are the proud parents of a fine baby boy. There will be no limit to Mr. Cannifax’s political career if the present pace is kept up. Mrs. Cannifax and infant are getting along nicely.
John Hart of near Drury passed through the first of the week, on his way to Montana, where he and his family will make their home. The best wishes of the Herald go with them.
We will celebrate the second annual Douglas County Fair on October 1-2-3-4, 1913. We gave you good entertainment last year, but we are planning a program for 1913 far greater than before.
The seven best flours sold in Ava: Enn’s Best, Pride, Plansifter, Big A, Snow Fall, Elberta, and Ben Davis.
125 Years Ago
September 13, 1888
The President has flopped over to the Republican side on the Chinese treaty question, as he did on the rebel flag business and the fishery matter. “Cal” Brice may yet have trouble in keeping Cleveland “solid” for the Democratic national ticket.
In Connecticut the divorces average more than one-tenth the number of marriages.
An attempt is to be made to introduce the breed of Shetland ponies into the Hebrides.
The recent volcanic eruption of Bandal San in Japan, buried several villages and destroyed 500 lives.
Advices from Alaska state that all the canneries there are running full blast and are getting more fish than they can handle.
About 75,000 cattle will be sent from the Wyoming roundup. Larger prices will be realized this year than were last season.
The gray wolf is still a very lively issue in Butte County, Dak., where he occasionally plays havoc among horses and other farm stock.
An 18-pound pike, having a ballast of a silver watch, three spoons, a pair of silver spectacles, and a porcelain doorknob, has been captured at Kingston, Ont.
According to the report from the Department of Agriculture, the present average rate of monthly wages for farm labor in the United States if $18.24 without board, and $12.35 with board.
Everything is quiet now in and about Richmond, Texas, though the whites are still prepared for a raid by desperadoes.
Texas fever has made its appearance among the dairy cows in the western suburbs of St. Louis and killing off cattle at a lively rate.
Whistler, the artist, was married the other day in a blue coat, and his bride wore a blue dress. It is to be hoped their matrimonial prospects are not of the same color.
Our physicians report considerable sickness in the county.
Hamilton Avenue and Spring Street are to be opened this winter.
W.W. Birch has his well drilled 16 feet deep, and has struck water.
Married –– on Monday, the 10th inst., at the office of the County Clerk, Jas. Hart and Miss Nora Brinkley; Rev. S.G. Haws officiating.
S.S. Roberts and Aaron Fletcher, while in Springfield last week, purchased a sorghum mill with a capacity for making 50 gallons of syrup per day.
B.F. Tallman’s new residence on Hamilton Street is one of the handsomest buildings in the city. If you are going to build, give him a call and see what his work is like. It will show for itself.
Ava has not been idle this summer while her sister cities were “booming”. Although off the railroad, she has been making a steady growth and substantial improvements are noticeable on every hand. … We notice new fences in all parts of town, several new wells, and a number of lots cleared and preparations being made for building. Taken all in all, Ava has certainly made wonderful progress, and her future looks decidedly bright.