Now we know the story behind the boys on bicycles published in the Herald a few weeks ago. They were distributing the Springfield evening paper.
We thought we had the answer. We were sure they were delivering the Grit newspaper. Johnny Lumb, of Nixa, said it was Grit. Doris Liniger at the Highway House, said it was Grit. Jerry Sellers thought it might by Cappers Weekly. He said it was delivered door-to-door at one time.
But then Russell Hunt came forward and gave us the sure answer – because he’s one of the boys in the picture.
Russell said L.H. Pettit, who owned the Avalon Theater pictured in the background of the photo, had the Springfield papers brought to Ava on the bus, then the boys would deliver them. That’s why the photo was taken in the evening.
Back in those days Springfield had two newspapers – a morning edition and the evening paper. The morning paper was the Springfield Daily News, the evening paper the Leader & Press. When the papers were merged, the name News-Leader was established.
Maybe one of these days we can get Russell to tell us who the other boys are in the picture. When we do, we’ll print it again with names.
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We really thought Judy Shields, Ava’s relatively new Chamber of Commerce director, was just kidding when she said she had “connections.” But now we believe it.
On the square for the Friday Night Frolic on Dec. 10, the topic of discussion was the weather. When would the rain move in? Would the Christmas Parade have to be canceled? Would the bitter cold cause people to stay home and not come out to see the parade this year?
Judy acted like she was not concerned; everything would be okay, she said, “Because I have connections.” She was right!
The rain came early and ended before parade time on Dec. 11. The strong winds picked up and the temperature was dropping as the parade made its way through downtown Ava, but we’ve seen much worse weather conditions for a parade. So, when Judy tells you she has connections, you’d better believe her.
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As for the work of the new Chamber director, she is to be commended for a job well done on her first Christmas Parade. Both the Friday Night Frolic and the Christmas Parade on Saturday were well-organized and both events went off without a hitch, so far as we could tell.
The parade lineup was accurate and easy to follow from a media standpoint. When the parade ended we were handed a list of money winners in the float competition, and soon after the parade we were given a list of other winners in the various competitions.
Good job, Judy!
