Looking Backward
25 years ago
Ava Public School began classes Wednesday with several new faculty members on staff. They are Penny Loftin, middle school EMH aid; Cathy Lawler, 1st grade; Tracy Eden, high school speech and drama; Karen Hollrah, 3rd grade; Deanna Anderson, 1st grade; Becky Klineline, 2nd grade; Pam Stout, high school LD; Superintendent Maynard Wallace, high school principal Phil Cook, Dorothy Brech, middle school At Risk; Kimberly Hodges, 4th grade; Carol Owens, elementary BD; and Robin Wheeler, kindergarten.
Skyline R-2 School started classes Wednesday with several new staff members including a new superintendent / principal Dean Anders. Staff members include Dan Prichard, 7-8 grade aide; Roberta Dixon, 6th grade; Carla Mitchell, K-1 aide; Cathy Pearson, Chapter 1 aide; Rosie Gunter, 2nd grade; Virginia Fultz, Chapter 1 teacher; Lannie Hinote, 7-8 grade; Stacy Freeland, special education aide; Gloria Asmussen, special education aide; and Lisa Heath, 5th grade.
Lou Prince, manager of DoCo, IN., the Douglas County sheltered workshop, will retire Sept. 1 after nearly 40 years as a manufacturing boss. Replacing Prince as workshop manager will be Walter Woods, of Ava.
Mandy King, youngest member of the Sassafras Sprouts Hoedowners, was at the Grand National Clogging Championships held at Silver Dollar City on June 15 and entered the single division for the 5-6 year-olds. Mandy came away with the second place plaque in her division.
Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Garrison of Ava drove to Memphis, Tennessee on Friday of last week to take their daughter, Tracy, who will enroll as a freshman in Memphis College of Art beginning Aug. 29.
Family and friends of Glenn E. Witchey gathered at Smith Park in Springfield, to celebrate Glenn’s 90th birthday on Aug. 14. Glenn was born Aug. 9, 1904 in Alva, Oklahoma.
Becky Duckworth and her bull, Indian Outlaw, was named grand champion Simmental bull at the Ozark Empire Fair junior show recently.
50 years ago
An automobile left on a farm near Ava belonging to a young woman whose bullet-riddled body was found last Tuesday near Alton, has led to the arrest of two persons as murder suspects according to the West Plains Daily Quill. The badly decomposed body of the young woman was found in an isolated area on Eleven Point River.
Six local persons are taking a series of rabies vaccines after a steer owned by Dorn Everett died here and was found to be rabid, according to Dr. Taylor Woods, local veterinarian. Dr. Woods said the steer had been kept on a farm near Squires until it became ill and was brought to the Barry Barnes farm here. Taking the rabies shots are Dr. Woods, Billy Joe Evans, Aileen Barnes, Barry Barnes, Bill Herrell and Dorn Everett.
Jerry W. Loftin, 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. Burrel Loftin, Route 5, Ava, was promoted to Specialist 5 effective July 11 in Korea DMZ, where he is serving with the 2nd Engineers Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. Loftin has been in Korea since July 1968 and is scheduled to return to the states on Oct. 6.
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Uhlmann celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary August 10.
In some shops the man who knows what he is doing is an expert at keeping secrets.
Ava’s Little League All-Stars defeated Willard 13-2 in the finals of the Crain Invitational Tournament to win championship honors Friday night, it was reported by Coach Carl Roebuck. Team members are Joe Swofford, Tim Sallee, Ivan Chambers, Rexie Sawyer, Danny Gray, Kris Norman, Kraig Gilliland, Eric Shrable Kevin Swofford, Jim Satterfield, Jeff Fleetwood, Terry Knisell, Terry Goodman, Randy Snelson, Mike Russell, Tim Russell, and Jeff Shrable manager.
Pam Evans, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Billy Joe Evans was high point rider for the 4-H Horse Show here last Friday night. Miss Evans and her horse, Roany, scored 14 points. Johnnie Klineline had 12 points.
WASOLA –– Mr. and Mrs. Euel Graves of Ava and Delsie Clayton were Sunday visitors in the Roy Brown home.
LITTLE CREEK –– Jane Ewing spent the weekend with Marilyn Piland.
MT. TABOR –– Ralph Hedrick, Martin Hathcock and Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Yates all attended the picnic at Alley Springs, Friday. The picnic is held annually for the highway employees.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Hampton of Roy observed their 40th wedding anniversary Sunday, August 10. The couple married August 10, 1929 at Ava.
75 years ago
Paris was reported taken Wednesday by French patriots. Frenchmen with light artillery were reported shelling German positions in northeastern Paris Tuesday and it was reported that the Nazis were evacuating the capital.
A 20-acre tract of ground has been purchased for a city dump ground and preparations are being made this week to get it ready for use, Mayor Ben M. Callaway announced. The tract is four miles north of Ava, 300 feet to the right from Highway 5. It was purchased from George Eggers for $300.
The canning center on the Ava school campus now is open and ready to operate, George Schmitt, supervisor, announced Wednesday.
Private Leslie G. Wrinkles, son of Mr. and Mrs. Pearl Wrinkles of Drury, was to have arrived at Jefferson Barracks Sunday on his way home for a furlough, according to the Army public relations office at Omaha. He has been overseas in the southwest Pacific for 33 months.
Sales averaged almost a melon a minute for four hours and forty minutes Saturday when Jack Mackey of Rome brought a truckload of muskmelons to Ava and sold them on the corner of the square. He sold 256 melons in 280 minutes. During that time he ate two of the melons himself and made some deliveries.
School Board and Faculty: Board of Education, L. H. Pettit, president; Dr. R.M. Norman, vice-president; J.E. Curry, secretary; C.V. Clinkingbeard, treasurer; G. Felda Davis, and F. P. Simmons; Faculty, Norma Gaines, grade one; Catherine Shoemaker, grade two; Emmagene Owen, grades one and two; Julia Mae Wallace, grade three; Betty Delp, grade four; Vernice Stecker, grade five and grade principal; Dorotheta Swearengin, grade six; Anna Fair, grade seven and teacher-training; Basil Burks, commerce and physical education; Una Ellison, social studies; Ruby House, science; C.W. Parker, superintendent, teacher-training; Charles Phillips, mathematics; E.R. Norman, h.s. principal and social studies; Florence Garrison, English; Ollie Ray Bloomer, English; Sue Goy, Spanish and social studies; George H. Schmitt, vocational ag; Alphanetta Wallace, vocational home ec.; Alice Haley, music; Lena McClendon, study hall; H.W. Woodruff, science and social studies; Hope Finger, librarian; and Ora Siler, school secretary.
PLEASANT GREEN –– Mrs. Ray Stillings and son, Lawrence Ray, and daughter, Geraldine, have been visiting in St. Joseph.
A sugar snow was a welcome sight to the early settlers for maple sugar was a table delicacy since the prohibitive price of cane sugar made it a luxury to be used only when entertaining company. In 1819, Thomas Nuttal visited Missouri and wrote that sugar retailed at 24¢ a pound. “There is a male in this country which has not come under my notice, called the sugar tree, that could, no doubt, by a little attention, afford sugar at a low price.
ROBERTSON –– Woodrow Gray took a group to the ice cream party Sunday night held in honor of Wesley McGill who left for the Army Tuesday.
100 Years Ago
Announcement has been made public at Jefferson City of the apportionment of school funds for the year 1919-20. Douglas County will receive $17,151.83. The total amount for the state is $2,641,389, the largest amount ever apportioned. The amount apportioned to other counties in this section of the state follows: Christian, $14,962.81; Webster, $14,537.02; Wright, $18,969.40; Howell, $25,593.82; Oregon, $16,219.23; Ozark, $11,288.52; Stone, $12,412.65; and Taney, $10,089.33.
The trial of Joe Long at Yelville, Arkansas last week on charges of the murder of Chas. Hampton resulted in a victory for Long. Judge Fred Stewart of Ava who was employed to assist in the prosecution of Long, stated that Hamptons’ bad reputation had much influence with the court.
Robert Simpson and William Sylvester, Missouri’s star athletes who won high honors in the inter-Allied Games in France, have returned to America. They have been asked to take part in a track meet to be held in New York.
J. Fred Ellis, of Mountain Grove was in West plains last week on his return home from Double Spring, near Dora, in Ozark County. Mr. Ellis, who is a banker of Mountain Grove together with J.A. Chase and L. H. Williams, also of Mountain Grove have bought the Double Spring and several hundred acres of adjoining land near Dora in Ozark County and contemplate the building of a big dam and power plant.
Miss Eulah Norman was absent from her duties at the Ava Post Office during the first of the week owing to illness.
Misses Elinor and Florence Adams entertained a number of friends at a party at Whitehall on Thursday evening last week.
J. J. Harris of Jerico Springs, Mo., is guest at the home of his daughter, Mrs. I. R. Strong of Ava at present.
Linzie Bunyard was captured at Smallett last week and lodged in jail in Ava on a bond forfeiture for failure to appear at the last session of circuit court here on charges of bootlegging. This was the second bond to have been forfeited for Bunyard in this case.
At a meeting of the Commercial Club Tuesday evening, Jesse Mitchell, H. S. Wilson and C. E. Yeoman were appointed as a finance committee to solicit funds for the fair this fall. V. R. Wilson was placed in charge of the arrangements for soldiers at the fair.
MOUNT CLEMONS, Mich., Aug. 14 –– A jury tonight awarded Henry Ford 6 cents in damages against The Chicago Tribune for calling him an anarchist.
Winchester Wallace, Bill Lewellen and Jesse and Harry Brooke left for Prim, Arkansas Monday.
Miss Ina McMurtrey has the Black Jack School.
Charley Gaulding motored up from Nottinghill Saturday and visited at Frank Mahan’s until Sunday.
Oliver Twitty came down from Ava last Monday and visited until Tuesday brown. He was accompanied home by Miss Geneva Twitty who has been here for the past months.
125 Years ago
Cholera Morbus is making the rounds of Joplin.
A drunken tramp is known in Chilicothe as a “loaded nomad.”
The Missouri State University property at Columbia is valued at $700,000; at Rolla, $89,000.
Stories of chickens hatched by the heat of the sun are common in Missouri this season.
A Laclede County jury has sent John Murphy to the penitentiary five years for stealing one bushel of potatoes.
The steamer Benton is to run on the Missouri River between Rocheport and St. Louis and compete with the railroad.
The populist people of Douglas County seem to be of the opinion that all it takes to win a campaign is noise and bluster mixed with a few campaign lies put in circulation by their organ, the farm bureau.
After all, the main thing we do in this life is to wish it was tomorrow.
When some men lose their tempers it would be well for them if they never found them again.
Chinese names are like the Chinese themselves. You can’t tell them apart until you get them together.
Egotism is the very meanest kind of ignorance.
The system employed by the United States Post Office department in tracing thefts from the mail is so perfect that it is utterly impossible for anyone to rob the mail many times without being detected. Every now and then you read of this or that person being arrested by the post office inspectors, but do you know the system they used to trace the theft?”
ST. PETERSBURG –– A wind of death swept across the Sea of Azov yesterday. It will be impossible for days yet to compute the damage done, but it is almost certain that 1,000 have perished, some by drowning, others by being crushed under the falling houses and trees. The excitement is great among the American colony in this city for it is feared that at least two parties of American tourists were on the Sea of Azov at the time the wind did its deadly work.
The annual Grand Army state encampment opened in Grand Island, Nebraska, today. One thousand tents are in the camp. The attendance is expected to reach 20,000. The Populist and Republican state nominees will discuss politics during the week.
For the first time a filly has won the Futurity. Butterflies winning by a neck. Brandywine second, Agitator third. Time 1:11.
In Pennsylvania, Judge Barker has handed down a decision in the suit brought by W. T. Kerr, state counselor of the Junior Order of the United American Mechanics, against the board of directors of the Gallitzin School to prevent the employment of Catholic sisters wearing their religious garb as teachers. The judge decided that sisters may be attired in the garb of their order and that they may be addressed by pupils by their religious names, but refuses to allow the Catholic catechism taught. The costs were divided.
