Looking Backward
25 years ago
Select singers from Ava High School will perform in the SMSU Invitational Honors Choir concert to be held Saturday, Sept. 17. Students selected to sing with the Choir are Stephanie Williams, Jennifer Corum, Jimmy Voliva, Nakoi Morozumi, Travis Powell, Heather Roberson, Allen Stillings, Aaron Corum, and Heather Moree.
A group of local Boy Scouts took on the task last Saturday of painting the gazebo in the center of the Ava square. The work was done as an Eagle Scout project of Preston Brooks.
The Goodhope Bluegrass Gospel Band entertained at the annual Labor Day Picnic at Highway Church of the Nazarene last Sunday evening. Members of the group are Vernon Fuller, Dennis Turner, Danny and Connie Johnson, Bob Hammons, Richard Mitchell, and Stephen Mitchell.
Gerald Scott Nall graduated from the Academy of Military Science and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Air National Guard, at McGhee-tyson Air Force Base, Knoxville, Tennessee.
George and Opal Proctor will celebrate their 48th wedding anniversary on Sept. 17.
Theta Porter returned to her home at Squires last week after visiting two weeks in Cheshire, Conn., with her daughter and family, Roger and Joyce Stollo and sons, Mart and Bruce.
On Monday, Aug. 29, Dick and Pauline Richards of Rome, enjoyed a spaghetti supper with all the trimmings brought in by Juanita Herrell, Norman Jenkins, and a friend of Juanita’s from Springfield were all there to enjoy the delicious meal.
Two longtime Rawlings employees retired last week after a combined total of 52 years of service to the local manufacturing plant. Mable M. Everett retired after 30 years of service, and James Edward Turner, retired after 22 years of service to the company.
Chester Lorenzen celebrated his 100th birthday Sunday, July 24 at the Ava Lions Club.
50 years ago
Renee Davis, eight-year-old daughter of Cpl. and Mrs. Bill Davis of Ava, has been named first place winner in the Youth Horsemanship Class here, it was announced recently by the South Central Horse Show Association.
A decrease of 18 students was recorded this week in the Ava public Schools as principals tallied enrollment statistics after the first three days of classes which began Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. Burrel Loftin of Route 5, Ava, entertained with a buffet dinner Thursday evening honoring their son, Marvin on his birthday.
Fair turtle race winners are Brenda Turner, Ava, second place; and Donald Haffekamp, Wichita Kan., first place.
Coach Larry Silvey of Ozark High School didn’t get off to a good start on the new football season. After handling the first practice session Aug. 15, he suffered an appendicitis attack the next morning and underwent surgery at St. John’s Hospital. Silvey is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Silvey, Route 4, Ava, and is a former teacher coach in the Ava school system.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Addy of Route 4, entertained their son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bouse (Shirley Addy) as weekend house guests in their country home.
ARNO –– David Homeister arrived in Springfield Sunday from Army service to join his wife. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Loranz Homeister.
LITTLE CREEK –– Kevin Taber won a blue ribbon and a yellow one and $15 with his pony, Stormy, at the Ava horse show Wednesday night.
Mike Roberts, Route 3, Ava, and Bobby Blankenship, Mansfield, were the FFA project winners at the Douglas County Fair. Roberts had the best hog shown at the fair while Blankenship had the best cattle display in the FFA division. Roberts received a hog house and Blankenship was given a cattle supplemental feeder, both built and donated by Built-Rite-Sentinel of Ava.
The roadrunner, that ever-victorious hero of the cartoon world, is moving into southern Missouri and having children. Roadrunners, the strange quick-stepping birds of the southwest, have been seen in southern Missouri for several years, but now Charles Coatney, the Department of Conservation’s area manager at Caney Mountain Refuge near Gainesville, reports a sighting by Orvis Wood of an Ozark County roadrunner with about a dozen young behind her. Beep, Beep!
SMALLETT –– Mrs. Buddy Norman and children, Gayle, Kris and Philip, visited Friday evening with her grandmother, Mrs. Della Sellers.
BREEDEN –– Everett Coy, Wayne Richard, Veneta, Mr. and Mrs. Ebb Pruiett attended the singing at Fairview Church.
WAGNER –– Mr. and Mrs. Tom Ince are building a room and porch on their house.
75 years ago
An increased enrollment in the Ava schools was announced yesterday by C.W. Parker, superintendent on the third day of the opening of school for the fall and winter terms. Total enrollment in high school and in the grades was 760. This compares with a total of 739 on the third day of the 1943-44 school year.
Allied armies in the European theater of war have rolled forward at an accelerated pace during the past week, with General Patton’s forces holding the limelight. Patton’s armored columns of the Third Army began a powerful offensive Wednesday directed at the Siefgried line in Germany, with all indications this might develop into the decisive struggle of the European war.
Five Douglas County boys have made their company softball team at the Great Lakes naval training station, and not only that, but turned in a victory in their first inter-company contest. Listed on the Company 1720 lineup at the Great Lakes station are Howard Woods, Truman Collins, Wayne Shorter, Lowell Maloney, and Orville Nall, all from Douglas County. With Nall pitching and Maloney catching, the team turned in a score of 12 to 2 to win the opening game against Company 1722.
Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Harley announce the birth of a son, Joe Henry, at the St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Monday morning, Sept. 4. Mrs. Harley and her other son, Jerry Lee, had been in Springfield for 10 days and had been guests in the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Kyle.
Clyde Shipps of Ava was appointed a member of the board of commissioners for the Benton Special Road District. Shipps was appointed to fill out the unexpired term of Bye Brown, who resigned.
CROSS ROADS –– Mrs. Kathleen Harnden and son, Robert, and Miss Geraldine Hailey visited Monday with Mrs. John Harnden and Mrs. Lucille Stewart and daughter, Margaret Ann.
Out-of-town teachers of the Ava School faculty came here during the weekend and are established in the following Ava homes: Miss Ruby House will again live in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Sallee and family, where she spent last school year. Miss Ollie Ray Bloomer has her niece, Mary Agnes Jones of Walnut Grove with her this year, and they have an apartment in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Jones on Marvin Street. Miss Dorotheta Swearengin who is teaching the sixth grade is living in an apartment in the W.I. Barker home and wiht her is her younger sister, Miss Dorene, who is attending high school. Another new grade teacher, Miss Betty Delp, of Thornfield, is not yet established.
Seaman and Mrs. Clifford Robertson who have been in Ava since early last week are leaving today to return to Manhattan, New York, where Mr. Robertson is stationed with a Naval unit.
WASOLA –– The 4-H Club recently reorganized with Clyde Hicks as sponsor, met at the schoolhouse Monday night.
100 Years Ago
As practically all the schools in Douglas County are now in operation it is important that everybody become more or less acquainted with the requirements of the new truancy law. Supt. Moorhouse this week announced the appointment of L.C. Letsinger of Bryant as truant officer for Douglas County. The county court in session in Ava last Tuesday fixed Mr. Letsinger’s salary as such office at $3.00 per day and expenses while actually employed in the fulfillment of his duties. The most salient feature of the new law as enumerated by Supt. Moorhouse is: Every child between 7 and 14 years old must attend some day school the entire term each year.
Ava Grocery Company is a thing of the past, the business having been discontinued in so far as this company is concerned, last Saturday. A.M. Bonne, partner with Jos. B. Thompson in the business, will retire from the mercantile business, and the building will be occupied by “The bargain Store: owned by Mr. Thompson and W.F. Morris. The stock of sample goods and furniture owned by Mr. Morris who has been located on the south side of the square is being moved this week into the Ava Grocery Building. The Bargain Store will carry in addition to a complete line of groceries, a line of sample shoes, clothing furniture, etc.
There is one rat, at least, for every person in the United States. This estimate is considered conservative, but coincides with that for Great Britain, and Ireland and also with authoritative figures for Denmark, France and Germany. There are just three kinds of rats in this country included in the survey: the “Norway” or brown rat, the black rat, and “Alexandrian” rat. The “Norway” rat, larger, more ferocious and antagonistic than the other two, has pretty generally killed them off and today the black rat and “Alexandrian” rat are seldom found except in seaports. None of these rats are native to the United States.
W.F. Morris has just moved into the Ava Grocer building on the east side of square, where he will continue his line of business in connection with a full line of groceries.
Grover Upchurch arrived last week on discharge from the Army after having been with the forces in France for several months.
The Lee Dyer Harness Shop was sold this week to Rosco Spurlock, and the entire stock of harness, saddles, etc., is now being offered at cost. Mr. Dyer is to turn the business over to the new owner on September 15, and the closing out sale will continue until that date.
Etcyl Hagee of Arno has bought the Chas. Spurlock barber shop and will continue the business. Mr. Spurlock expects to give all of his time to looking after the affairs of the surveyor’s office.
August 31, 1919, at 2 p.m. at the home of the bride’s parents near the Nubbin Ridge School a marriage ceremony was performed wherein Mr. Joseph Dever and Miss Hattie Givans were made man and wife.
125 Years ago
NORTH SYDNEY, Canada –– The schooner Rigel of Gloucester, Mass., arrived here yesterday with the crew and passengers of the steamer Miranda, which left New York July 7 with Dr. F.A. Cook’s Arctic excursion. August 9 the Miranda struck a rock near Sukkertoppen, West Greenland, and was abandoned in a sinking condition August 23 in Davids Strait. Nothing except the sailors’ bags were saved from the Miranda.
Howell County has a 10-year-old boy who weighs 117 1/2 pounds.
Missouri has a cadet at West Point bearing the legal name of Chitty.
No more opera houses will be built in Missouri towns, auditoriums are now in order.
The medicinal properties of the Siloam Springs have been known for about 16 years.
It is claimed that an unusual number of candidates for school teachers have failed this year in their examination.
For 250 miles along the windings of the Gasconade and Piney rivers are caves once inhabited by a now extinct race of men.
An effort will be made by a club of St. Louis ladies to have the school age for Missouri changed from 6 to 4 years.
Chicago brewers are busy with a fresh plan to form a syndicate on a basis that will escape the anti-trust law and net them an average of $5,000,000 a year in increased profits on beer.
Doctors have declared that the heart of Zimmerman, the famous bicycle rider, is fully two inches larger than the average size of hearts.
An ice locomotive was some years ago constructed for use in Russia. It is employed to haul freight between St. Petersburg and Cronstadt. The front part rests on a sledge, and the driving wheels are studded with spikes.
Every man, woman and child in the United States will pay a tax of $1 next year for the privilege of buying sugar at an advanced rate. Of this dollar less that 43 cents will go to the government in the form of revenue; and more than 57 cents will go into the pockets of Mr. Havemeyer and his associates of the sugar trust, some of it to be contributed in advance, of course, to the election of Democratic congressmen this fall.
The Army Temperance Society of the British Army in India has grown from 13,000 members in 1890 to 32,000 members today.
A balloon is a rapid vehicle when it travels in the right direction. One sent up at Berlin recently by Arthur Bevore rose to the height of 23,000 feet, traveled at the rate of 65 miles an hour for about 20 hours, and then came down unharmed.
