Looking Backward 6.15.2017
25 Years Ago
June 11, 1992
The 1992 Poke Salat Days event competed with the weather last weekend, but even with rain most of the day on Saturday, most of the events went off as scheduled.
TIP, the Duke University Talent Identification Program, sponsored a recognition ceremony to honor some of Missouri’s most talented seventh-graders on June 3 at Weiser Gymnasium in Springfield, Mo. Julie Aborn, the daughter of Lee and Marsha Aborn was one of over 585 students recognized for their academic achievement.
Chapel Grove Outside Amphi-theatre will celebrate its 10th anni-versary this Saturday with a special program to kick off the 1992 summer season.
Eugene and Eatho Ousley, Dora, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary June 20 with a drop-in reception at the Ball Church of Christ, Dora. Eugene and Eatho were married June 19, 1942 at Ava.
Dustin Johnson, a 1992 graduate of Ava High School, has been selected to participate in the annual East-West All-Star baseball game for the state of Missouri. The son of Roger and Beverly Johnson, of Squires, Dustin will be one of 18 members of the West division team.
BUCKHART –– The Chitter Chatter group of ladies met at Hutch’s Country Inn in Ava today, for dinner. June Ousley and June Yarnall had birthdays.
FOX CREEK –– Mrs. Opal Pool visited Friday with Mrs. Gertie Tate and took her for a drive.
GIRDNER –– Browney and Bessie Brown were here for our Porter reunion. They treated Eldon and Wilma Brooks, Paul and Alice Welch and Effie Potter to dinner at Rockbridge, Monday.
STAR –– Agnes Farris attended a wedding shower Saturday for Scotty Farris and Angie Chaffee.
50 Years Ago
June 8, 1967
New officers and directors for the Ava Lions Club were installed at a Ladies Night Banquet Monday, May 29 at MFA Hall. They are Ernie Uhlmann, treasurer; Bart Kilgore, program chairman; Charles Howe, first vice president; Marl Kilgore, president; Mervin Case, third vice president and secretary; Max Murphy, tailtwister; Bill Cradic, liontamer, and Charles Fish, second vice president.
Three Ava business houses were entered during the past week, and an undetermined amount of money taken, it was reported this week by Douglas County Sheriff Chancey Sherman. Sheriff Sherman said that burglars entered the Crain Auto Agency and Pettit Cleaners last Thursday night, making their way into the buildings by breaking in a back window at Crains and a rear door at the cleaners. The Daniels Variety Store on the east side of the square was entered Sunday night and an undetermined amount of change was taken.
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Johnson of Route 3 announce the birth of a 6-lb., 8-oz., son, Stephen Lee, May 24 at St. John’s Hospital.
Kim Casey of Forsyth and Twila Freeman of Ava, will join young people from throughout Missouri, in Jefferson City, Thursday, to embark upon the Missouri Electric Cooper-atives’ fourth annual Youth Tour to Washington, D.C.
Five local students, who attend the University of Missouri in Columbia, have arrived in Ava to vacation in family homes. Harry Stafford, Jr. returned to the family home Wednesday and will be vacationing at home through the summer. Eddie Hesterlee arrived home Saturday night and will be vacationing here until June 12. Gene Holman, who is attending graduate school at M.U., arrived home Saturday night. He is vacationing this week with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Holman. Miss Jennifer Tallent, who is attending the School of Nursing at Missouri University, arrived in Ava Monday evening to spend this week with her parents. Paul Warden, who is an upper-classman at Missouri University, returned home Saturday to start a vacation visit.
A surprise music party was given May 29 for John W. Baumgardner in his home in observance of his 80th birthday.
MOUND – Mr. and Mrs. Dewey Applegate are the parents of a daughter born May 4.
A prisoner in North Vietnam is Lt. Joseph C. Plumb, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph C. Plumb, Sr., of Overland Park, Kan., and a nephew of Mrs. Voyne Brooke of Ava. Lt. Plumb’s F-4B Phantom jet was shot down May 19 over North Vietnam. He was scheduled to return to the states only a few days after he was shot down, his family reported.
Two members of the Ava High School chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America, Miss Wanda Lathrop and Mrs. Trellis Dewhirst, sponsor of the local chapter, will leave June 10 for San Francisco, Calif. To attend the 16th annual FBLA National Convention.
75 Years Ago
June 11, 1942
American casualties are light in the Battle of Midway Island. Pacific Fleet Commander Nimitz reported two and possibly three Japanese aircraft carriers and a destroyer were sunk, and three battleships, six cruisers and three transports were damaged in the battle of Midway Island, Admiral Nimitz said. One U.S. carrier was hit and some planes lost, but casualties among the U.S. Personnel were light.
Vice-President Henry Wallace affixed his signature to the resolu-tion declaring war on the three Nazi dominated countries, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. As soon as President Roosevelt signs the document we will be officially at war with the three nations.
Three Douglas County officials stand unopposed for re-election with the deadline for filing for office past. The three officials who seek re-election and are unopposed are Mrs. Gladys Stewart, representative in the general assembly; Ramey Smith, clerk of the county court; and Arthur Singleton, county treasurer.
A Hampshire ewe owned by Roscoe and Delbert Swearengin, farmers living 18 miles west of Ava on Highway 14, is the mother of quintuplet lambs born May 30 and all healthy and thriving. In addition to producing five good lambs for the Swearengin brothers, this ewe also sheared ten pounds of wool this spring.
Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Clodfelter, formerly of Salina, Kansas, are new residents of Ava, moving Thursday last week into a new house recently completed by Gorman Dye on the water tower hill.
Forrest Henderson was arrested here Wednesday afternoon on a charge of abandoning his wife and children.
President Roosevelt, in his special message to Congress on April 27, stated: “To keep the cost of living from spiraling upward we must discourage credit and installment buying, and encourage the payment of debts, mortgages, and other obligations, for this promotes savings, retards excessive buying and adds to the amount available to the creditors for the purchase of war bonds.” In compliance with this statement, the Federal Reserve Board put into effect rules regarding credit on May which we must abide by. In other words, any items sold during May shall be paid for by July 10.
John Barrymore is dead. The great profile hidden forever from the sight of man, the curtain rung down on the last act. John Barrymore will be remembered as one of the greatest actors of history.
Sunday morning at nine o’clock in the parsonage of the General Baptist Church, Corporal Franklin M. Stewart and Miss Lucille Harnden were united in marriage.
From radio station KMOX in St. Louis we hear that Margie Gillette, better known in Ava as Mrs. Jerry Pettit, this week is singing as a guest star on a KMOX program. In 1932 she married Jerry Pettit, son of Mr. and Mrs. L.H. Pettit of Ava, and has since been singing with his band in the west and recently in Springfield.
100 Years Ago
June 14, 1917
A heavy rain in the vicinity of Mansfield and west to Cedar Gap caused an overflow of many small streams and did considerable damage to creek bottom farmers in Douglas County on Friday of last week. The KCO&S Ry. Bridge over Perry Creek just this side of Mansfield in Wright County was washed away, and the small bridge at the county line was badly damaged. Train service over the road was suspended until Monday. Bryant Creek was out of its banks and did some damage to crops all along. Cowskin Creek, west of here, was high but not much damage reported from overflows.
The Douglas County Farm Bureau is now composed of 18 local clubs, and the farmers have already begun to realize the advantage of the organization.
Senator S.E. Bronson was grant-ed a change of venue to Douglas County in the several civil suits against him by the circuit court at Forsyth last week. The suits involve discrepancies charged against Bron-son while Secretary of the Finley Building and Loan Association at Ozark, Christian Co. The cases will be tried here in September.
Arrest of All Slackers Asked by Government – All who are without registration cards are to be punished –– Washington, June 11 –– An order for the arrest of every man between the ages of 21 and 31 who cannot show his registration card was issued by the Provost Marshal General late this afternoon, effective at 9 o’clock this evening. This order was sent to the police department of every city and the sheriff of every county of the United States, and secret service men were ordered to search for all “slackers” and place them under arrest.
A respectable group in Congress has lined up behind national woman suffrage, and is attempting to secure the necessary legislation at this session. The suffragists are conducting a vigorous campaign, and they are hopeful that their amendment may squeeze through at the present session, or early next winter.
Oscar Gentry and Chas. Burris who recently joined the Army have been transferred from Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, to Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, where they will do training.
B.F. Hays has moved his real estate office into the Osborn building which was recently vacated by I.R. Strong.
M.C. Reynolds distributed a car load of Ford cars last week to the following persons: A.B. James, Bakersfield; Lou Cochrum, Gaines-ville; Alta Boone, Gainesville; Lan-don Gaulding, Nottinghill; Dr. G.W. Taylor, Almartha; and W.M. Leth-co, Goodhope.
125 Years Ago
June 16, 1892
The trial of the Taney County lynchers is in progress at Forsyth. Both the state and the defense claim to be ready. Warrants were heard for thirteen more of the lynchers.
Three men were killed and two others hurt by lightning at Gainesville.
The excessive rainfalls of the past week have about ruined crop prospects for Missouri.
Secretary Rusk is of the opinion that imported trotting horses should be subject to duty.
Henry Sullivan, a farmer living near Forsyth, Mo., tied an enemy in a cave and nearly starved him to death.
John P. Quinn, for 25-years a gambler, is now preaching a crusade against it in New York.
Wilkins Ruskin, of Omaha, a Yale student, sustained injuries while being initiated into one of the college societies that caused his death.
- V. Baker, an ex-deputy sheriff of Taney County, Mo., has been arrested as an accessory to the murder of Deputy Sheriff Williams.
The St. Joseph, Mo., world’s fair association has dissolved because no St. Joseph woman was appointed on the board of women managers.
The celebrated Wils Howard murder trial case has commenced in the Laclede County, Mo., circuit court. Howard is a noted Kentucky outlaw and is said to have killed 10 or 15 men in his time, although still a young man.
Born to the wife of Frank Curnutt, of Ava, on Sunday the 12th, a boy.
James Burchell was arraigned before Squire Snyder last week on a charge of stealing twenty dollars from Porter Harper. He was found guilty and fined ten dollars and costs. Burchell is now paying his fine working the highways of Douglas County.
Considerable excitement pre-vails in Cedar County over the killing of Tom Moore, about five miles north of Jericho Springs. It seems that Moore has resided there the past six months and bore a very bad name. He had stolen several horses and disposed of them. He never kept company with anyone and his life was a mystery to everyone. It is believed by some that Moore had murdered a man near Butler City, Montana and made his escape. The governor of that state offered a reward of $1,000 for his capture. A telegram was sent to Butler City Wednesday for a description and it answered in every aspect to this man. The posse found him lying on the ground five miles from the town and then call on him to surrender. He refused to do so and drew two revolvers from his pockets and fired one shot. It entered the hat of one of the posse. With this, the posse fired, killing him instantly.
Marriage will continue to be a failure till our young women learn to support a man in the style he has always been accustomed to.
