Looking Backward

25 years ago

Joe Murphy, alderman from the east ward on the Ava City Council, filed for re-election this week. Also filing for the same seat on Wednesday, was James Taber.  Incumbent alderman Herman Davis, of the west ward, filed for re-election last week. 

A new family-owned and operated grocery will open next Monday in the Barnes Shopping Center, just north of the Ava Square.  P.G.’s Salvage & Surplus Groceries, owned and operated by Phillip and Glenda Jones, will offer just what the name implies –– groceries with containers that have been damaged in the warehouse or in shipment. 

Twin brothers, Bradley and Brandon Mills, turned four years old on Wednesday, Jan. 5. They were honored with a birthday party on Saturday night, Jan. 8 at the home of their parents, Jim and Shawna Mills. 

Jeff Sherman, head basketball coach at Central Methodist College, has announced that Nate Brusselback is a member of the CMC Eagles Basketball team for the 1993-94 academic year.  Brusselback, a freshman from Ava, is the son of Lon Brusselback and Kay Dennis. 

Jana Lynn Lumb, daughter of John and Janice Lumb of Ava, graduated in December from College of the Ozarks. She received her bachelor of science degree in physical education. 

MT. TABOR –– We don’t have the three and four above zero this morning like we have had the past week, but we have a freezing mist which is causing a lot of driving problems on the highways. 

STAR –– Callers in the home of India and Mabel Merritt Sunday afternoon were Russell and Sue Loftin, David and Michele Stout and Mr. and Mrs. Butch Merritt and family. 

BUCKHART –– Happy birthday  to David Coonts, Geneva Hancock and J.C. Hall this week. 

SQUIRES –– The Johnson’s 2nd annual pitch tournament was held Saturday at the Dan Johnson residence. There was a tie for first place making the round robin event go into a play-off game, Harold Mitchell and Dan Johnson against Rick Nelson and Mike Dering.  Taking home the first place trophies were Rick Nelson and Mike Dering.

RED BUD  – Welcome to Beulah Henley, who has been elected to Red Bud Village Board.   

50 years ago

Four new county officers and two incumbents took office here Wednesday after being given the oath of office on Tuesday.  Taking over as sheriff for his first term is Troy Hancock. Mr. Hancock replaces Chancey Sherman who has served one four-year term. Hancock has named as his deputy Edwin Riley of Brushyknob.  Archie Douglas will be the new assessor replacing incumbent Garnet Kelly who was not a candidate for re-election.  Other new county officers include Charles Spurlock, surveyor, and Wilma Fish, public administrator.

A snow storm last Friday night dumped four inches of snow on the county causing hazardous driving. The snow was blown into three-foot drifts in some areas of the county. 

Mrs. Cheryl Owens Dooms of 1011 North Jefferson, was a guest performer on the program presented at the Four Star Opry in Springfield Friday night, Dec. 20.  On the occasion Mrs. Dooms sang, “Oh, Lonesome Me,” and “D-i-v-o-r-c-e.”  A talent scout representing the Meramec Caverns heard Mrs. Dooms sing in Springfield and has asked her to sing at the caverns with Buck Owens and his band when the caverns open in the 1969 spring season. 

Rev. and Mrs. Howard English and daughters, Dana and Sharon of 601 NW 3rd Avenue left Ava Monday night to spend Christmas with members of their families.

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Sparks, 410 NW 6th Street, announce the birth of a son, James Carl, at 6:56 o’clock Tuesday morning, Dec. 24, in St. John’s Hospital.  

Mr. and Mrs. Don French of Ava announce the birth of a daughter at 740 oo’clock Monday evening, Dec.16 in St. John’s Hospital, Springfield. The baby weighed 7 pounds and 2 ouces at the time of her birth and she has been named Rebecca Dianne. 

Richards Bros. The Friendly Store, Strongheart Dog Food, 15 oz. can, 8¢; Colonial Sugar, 10 lb. bag, 88¢; Crisco, 3 lb. can, 59¢; Charmin toilet tissue, 4 roll pkg. 33¢; Sweet Rasher sliced bacon, 47¢ lb.; EZ Time pink lotion detergent, 39¢ quart; avocados 2 for 15¢. 

Miss Addie Warner, who has been public health nurse for Douglas County since May, has resigned her position here to take similar work in Michigan.  As yet her place here has not been filled.  Miss Peggy Hamlin of Neosho, field advisory nurse who was here Tuesday and Wednesday working with Miss Warner, said nurses with the state health department were resigning faster than they could be replaced.  She pointed out the Army and Navy were taking many nurses. 

Early today it was reported that U.S. heavy bombers and escorting fighters had blasted 95 German warplanes out of the sky Wednesday as they ranged across an 800-mile front to strike at the Kiel shipyards, airfields at Bordeaux and Tours, and industrial targets in Germany.

75 years ago

Fire during a snowstorm Sunday night completely destroyed the home of Mrs. Stella Pendergrass in the south side of town. The fire started when Mrs. Pendergrass’ son-in-law started a fire in the cook stove with gasoline which he mistook for kerosene.  The flames spread so fast that the family, which had just returned from a visit with relatives, saved only a few blankets and articles of clothing which they piled on a little red wagon. Mrs. Pendergrass had purchased the home about six weeks before. She Had $300 insurance on it. 

Miss Addie Warner who has been public health nurse for Douglas County since May has resigned her position here to take similar work in Michigan. 

A branch state automobile license bureau at the Coday-Freeman Motor Company at Mansfield has been authorized by Secretary of State Dwight Brown.  Other license bureau offices are located at Springfield, Lebanon and Willow Springs.  The Mansfield office will serve a territory bounded by Cabool on the east, the Arkansas state line on the south, Fordland on the west and Lebanon on the north. 

“Bashful Bobby” has been selected as the play which will be presented by the Ava High School junior class on Thursday night, in the high school auditorium.  The three act comedy is being directed by Mrs. Neal Garrison. The cast includes Ola Mitchell, Beatrice Bender, Betty Jo Brown, Pauline Cameron, Fay Johnson, Helen Wiggins, Lucy Elliott, Paul Sell, James Gipson, Doran Manis, Roy Lewis and Dale Rowe. 

 If relatives of Private Glan E. Hugans of Dora were, by chance, wondering Sunday morning where he might be, the answer was contained in an Associated Press news dispatch from the American Sixth Army at Saidor, NewGuinea. The dispatch said Private Glen Hugans of Dora, was one of the veterans among the first to hit the beach in an assault wave Sunday morning on Japanese-held Saidor on the north coast of New Guinea. 

There have been many double size eggs, many double yolk eggs, but Mrs. Marvin Eagleston of the Mt. Zion community found a new one – a double shell egg. Her son, Herman Eagleston, brought the egg into the Herald office Monday with only part of the outer shell still on it. The outer shell was brown and flaky in texture. Most of it had flaked off leaving a normal appearing white shell beneath it. 

Any war commentary is like a lesson in math. It doesn’t make sense if you missed what came before it. 

Mrs. Edna Hale and her two sons, Cleo and George, of Route 3, Ava, attended Sunday School at Goodhope every Sunday during the past year.  

If he has developed a great respect for the law of supply and demand, it means he has the supply. 

Mr. and Mrs. William Eugene Lutrell, Route 3, Ava, announce the birth of a daughter Wednesday, Jan. 5, at St. John’s Hospital. 

All these big-word arguments against price control measures boil down to this: “Let me get more money.” 

Coming next at Pettit’s Theatres, Red Skelton in “Dubarry Was A Lady.” 

100 Years Ago

Col. Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep at his home, Oyster Bay, NY at 4:15 o’clock Jan. 6. No one was in the room but his valet, his wife and the servants being in their rooms.  Col Roosevelt had been suffering from ‘inflammatory rheumatism for about two months.  The first claim to national honor by Roosevelt came when he organized and took to Cubia the famous Roosevelt Rough Riders.  

Among the cases appearing on the docket for the coming session of circuit court is a damage suit brought by Geo. A. Veach against Dr. J.C. Ellis of Smallett for $10,000.  Veach alleges that Dr. Ellis is responsible for the separation and divorce suit now brought against him by his wife, Mattie Vech.  His petition states that he and his wife lived happily together and enjoyed the aid, support and companionship, society and affection of each other until the defendant J.C. Ellis interfered.  

James S. Brotherton, chief quartermaster on board the United STates STeamer “George Washington,” which carried president Wilson and his party to Europe, passed through Ava last Friday on the way to his home at Vera Cruz.  Brotherton has been in the naval service for sometime.  He made ten trips to Europe during the war. He has now resigned his position and is home to stay. In his diary Brotherton gives an interesting account of the trip abroad with the president and his party. 

To keep high wages up the U.S. will have to keep cheap foreign products out.  

G.G. Blair, cashier of the Citizens Bank, and bride arrived in Ava today from camp MacArthur, Texas. Mr. Blair having been discharged from the army. 

Frank J. Davis, formerly of Ava, has bought the Seymour Citizen at Seymour, and has taken charge of the business.  He was employed by the Mansfield Mirror prior to going to Seymour. 

Mr. Tuttle was “held up” and searched by two unidentified men while returning to his home just north of Ava late Tuesday evening. The two men stopped Tuttle in the road at the top of the graveyard hill, searched him and failing to find anything of value let him go.  An effort of the sheriff and his deputies to locate the would-be highwaymen, has failed. 

Miss Mary Minton, music teacher at Mt. Zion was in Ava Saturday to fill her regular appointment and announced that she would give a music recital at the Nuggett theater in Mansfield on Friday evening. 

TIGRIS ITEMS –– Mr. and Mrs. Lester Moffet are enjoying music these long evenings, the music being produced by a new Edison 4 minute phonograph. 

125 Years ago

James Mayers of Findley Township is serving a 35 day term in the county jail for selling whiskey without license. 

HARRODSBURG –– About 50 whitecaps went to the home of Josh Mitchell at Leesburg, six miles from here, Saturday night and dragged him from his house.  Mitchell broke away and started for his home, but his body was perforated with buckshot and he fell dead on the door sill. Several others were badly whipped and ordered to leave the country. 

James Burchell who was recently committed to jail on a charge of carrying concealed weapons made his escape from custody on Tuesday. He was in charge of a guard and at work on the Mansfield Road, when he got permission to go to a spring for water and forgot to come back. 

KANSAS CITY –– The steamer A.L. Mason, property of the Kansas City and Missouri river transportaiton company of Kansas City, struck a snag and sunk last night in the Mississippi River near Friar’s Point, Miss, about 50 miles below Memphis. No lives were lost. Captain George C. Keith, the commander of the mason, was badly hurt in the accident. 

“Crazy John” of Springfield, a well-known character, and claiming to be a preacher, united in marriage a verdant couple from the rural region.  The couple, after paying John 24¢ for his services, went on their way rejoicing, and it was not until the third day of their honeymoon that they discovered the fact that John was not a preacher, but a lunatic and that they were not married in the eyes of the law.  The fools do not all live in South Missouri. 

A company has been incorporated to build a railroad from Bentonville, Ark., to the Missouri line.

The London Telegraph says that the proposal to add Utah, Arizona and New Mexico to the states of the American Union will probably involve the United States in embarrassments more difficult to surmount than any thus far experienced. 

At Frisco, Coffee County, Alabama, John Clowers killed his brother in a fit of anger, the outcome of a quarrel over a debt of 80¢. 

Two of the train robbers who held up and robbed the “Frisco Express train at Mound Valley, Kansas, early in September, passed through Carthage this morning. Will Bartrim and wife of Carthage, two of the passengers robbed, were at the depot this morning and identified the bandits.  Mr. Bartrim recovered a ring from one of the robbers and also identified one of them as the one who killed Express Messenger Chapman on the morning of the holdup. 

Jefferson City had a little building boom during 1893, about 100 houses having been erected. 

It is desired that the United States government dump $35,000 into the Current River, making it navigable from West Plains to its mouth.