25 Years Ago
March 20, 1986
The first Missouri Century Farm awards to be given in Douglas County was presented by the county’s University of Missouri Extension Council last Thursday night. Recipients of the awards are Mr. and Mrs. Delbert Swearengin of Dogwood, and Mr. and Mrs. Donnie Kelley of rural Norwood.
The best spellers in Ava Junior High are: second place winners, 6th grade, Christina Kilgore; 7th grade, Tara Streight; and 8th grade, Ernie Irwin. First place winners are 6th grade, Holly Stillings; 7th grade, Angie Huffaker; and 8th grade, Lee Maggard. Maggard and Irwin were also first and second respectively overall in the spelling bee.
The world’s most famous battleship, the USS Missouri, will be recommissioned May 10, 1986. The USS Missouri was launched Jan. 29, 1944, commissioned June 11, 1944. decommissioned Feb. 26, 1955. In between the above dates, the Lady distinguished herself in battle throughout the South Pacific theatre, and on Sept. 2, 1945, the instrument of formal surrender of Japan to the Allied Powers was signed on her deck, thus bringing an end to the most disastrous conflict in human history.
Mr. and Mrs. Norman Duckworth observed their 40th wedding anniversary on March 8 with a barbecue luncheon and family get-together at the home of their son Randy.
Jerry Green, chairman of the board of Citizens Bank of Ava announces that Hershell Letsinger, prominent Douglas County dairyman, has been appointed to the board of directors of Citizens Bank.
Billy Buckwalter, a senior at Dora High School and leading scorer for the Falcons basketball squad this year, has been named fourth leading scorer in Missouri among players in all 1A, 2A and 3A schools.
Vada Gray is retiring after 13 years as a cook at the Ava Head Start, and on Monday was honored by Ozark Action personnel in West Plains.
50 Years Ago
March 16, 1961
Doggy, doggy, who has the doggy? It’s a fact that some owners have dogs, but some dogs don’t have owners. The city of Ava had a dog pound, but doesn’t have a dog pound catcher. Monday of last week the City Council employed Adrain Byerley as dog impounder, to enforce an ordinance to rid the city of stray dogs. He was to impound all dogs not wearing a tag which denotes ownership and payment of a license fee. Byerley started to work and Thursday had 15 dogs in the wire pound at the city fairgrounds. Friday morning the pound had a big hole cut in it and the dogs were gone. After repairs more dogs were impounded. Saturday morning another hole had appeared in the wire and the dogs were on the howl again. Monday morning Byerley resigned. So far, council members have no comment – for publication, that is.
A tornado warning system for Ava residents was set up this week by Fire Chief Leo Lisby. Lisby made arrangements with the U.S. Weather Bureau in Springfield to call the telephone number of the Ava fire department in case of a direct tornado threat to this community.
Four candidates have been filed to fill two positions on the Ava R-1 board of education, it is understood unofficially. Reported to be candidates for the board are Don Sallee, Jay Monger, Carl Henley and James E. Curry. Retiring board members are Lloyd E. Reynolds, Jr., and Herbert Sanders.
A 28-year-old Memphis, Tenn., truck driver performed a good deed for a Douglas County man on Monday, March 6 – but died that evening before a letter of thanks could reach him. James Davis, hauling a trailer load of gasoline from a refinery at Memphis to the Gastineau MFA Station in Ava, saw a billfold laying by the side of Highway 14 near Evans. He stopped to pick it up and found $21 in bills laying a short distance away. Fearing that there might have been foul play, he drove to Ava and reported the incident to Sheriff Don Souder. Davis accompanied Deputy Chancy Sherman back to the scene and they found that the owner of the billfold, Max Cooley, had lost it. The truck driver would accept no reward. Deputy Sherman sat down and wrote to Davis’ employer, Miller Transporters, Ltd., of Jackson, Miss., praising Davis. The sheriff received this letter from the firm: “This is to thank you for your nice letter concerning our driver, Mr. James Davis. We are sorry to advise you that Mr. Davis had an accident on his return trip from Ava on Monday, which resulted in his death. The accident occurred only about seven miles from Davis’ home.
Mr. and Mrs. Dallas Cunningham of Route 5, Ava, announce the birth of an 8 pound, 6 ounce girl at 8:23 p.m. Friday, March 10, at Gainesville.
75 Years Ago
March 19, 1936
Floyd Briggs, 20-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. D. Briggs, received a broken left thigh and the horse he was riding was killed Saturday night when they were struck by a car on Highway 5 a mile north of town. The accident occurred on the hill at the cemetery.
No ill luck experienced on March 13 birthdays…Miss Marjorie Reynolds, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Oden Reynolds, happily is not superstitious. Friday, March 13, she observed her thirteenth birthday. The day passed without any experiences of bad luck. Tom Brooks, manager of the Stanley Brooks grocery, also had a birthday March 13. He was born on a Friday, and since then a number of his birthdays have fallen on Friday. Like Marjorie he professes no fear of superstitious bugaboos.
Here’s one for Ripley’s “Believe It or Not’. It was reported that a calf without eyes or tail was born at the farm home of Leo Thurman a week ago Saturday. It was said the calf was still thriving and able to eat.
The speech of Hitler shows the man is not suffering from an inferiority complex. He doesn’t mind telling about the marvelous things he has accomplished – things no other man could possibly do; and while he admits the existence of “another great man,” he doesn’t tell us who he is.
In 1932 President Roosevelt carried 42 out of the 48 states.
City automobile license stickers must be displayed in plain view this year. City Marshal Burnam Cummins warns car owners.
J.C. Garrison overturned a Chevrolet pickup truck near the Springcreek store building Tuesday afternoon while rushing to Girdner to tell Mr. and Mrs. B.W. Singleton of the illness of their daughter, Mrs. Ed Garrison. Mrs. Garrison was taken to the Springfield Baptist hospital Tuesday afternoon for an appendicitis operation.
Permanent Wave…special offer. Our finest permanent wave, guaranteed to please you in every way. Beauty Salon, located over Croslin’s Store, Florence Fletcher.
Vernie Jones of McClurg and Miss Delcia Day of Rome were married at 12:30 p.m. Monday, March 16 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. E.A. Hunsaker. Mrs. Hunsaker read the marriage ceremony in the presence of the bride’s mother, Mrs. O.R. Day, and Coma Davis, brother-in-law of the bride.
March Into Spring With New Furniture. Save money on your living room suite, $32.50 up; beautiful ultra-modern bedroom suites during this sale as low as $38.95; inner-spring mattresses, $11.00 to $29.50 with trade-in. Floor lamps $2.95 to $4.95 values, $1.98. Clinkingbeard Furniture Co.
Everyone is planting crops and gardens now. Spring is upon us, and Easter is the next important event of the year. It is reasonable to believe that life in humanity shall go on after death, just as surely as spring follows the winter seasons.
100 Years Ago
March 23, 1911
One of the main reasons why our boys are leaving the farm is because they have never been given an incentive to stay on the farm, nor shown the opportunities that farm life affords. There are many ways to interest the boy in the farm and one of the best is to have him join the Boy’s Corn Growing Contest and grow some corn under the directions of the College of Agriculture. There are no rules or requirements of any sort and every Missouri farm boy between the ages of ten and twenty is eligible to membership in the Boy’s Corn Growing Contest.
Concrete Bridge Complete –– The bridge is now complete and will be sufficiently seasoned by April 5, to carry any traffic on the streets. This of itself is not very much to be proud of, but is the first and we hope is the ice-breaker, the beginning of better bridge building. This bridge is 10 feet wide, 10 feet clear span and 6 feet from base to bottom of slab (floor). It rests throughout on solid rock, abutments 2 1-2 feet thick at bottom, 10 inches thick on top, the slab is 1:2:4 concrete 8 inches effective thickness reinforced with old wagon tires about 10 inches center to center longitudinal and about 24 inches center to center crosswise, these cross bars are bent up and extend into the parapets on each side thus giving additional strength and making it a girder slab bridge. Of course, it is impracticable to estimate the tensile strength of the old wagon tire but assuming it to be about one-half the strength of good structural steel I estimate that the bridge at 60 days would have a uniform load of over 200,000 pounds, the bridge itself weighs 71,650 pounds. We of the NW Ava are thankful to the businessmen of the city for their financial assistance; thankful to all who helped us. And now on for more concrete bridges; they are assts you can leave to your children. Respectfully, J.H. Murray
Now that it has been demonstrated that cattle can be herded with an aeroplane, we may expect soon to see the police handling crowds at parades and other public celebrations in the same manner. It will be an improvement over the pushing and hauling of the method in vogue at present.
Rash orders were issued by the war department to take 2,000 recruits in addition to the 30,000 troops which has been mobilized and en route from army posts to the Mexican frontier. The situation is full of international political dynamite.
BRUSHY KNOB ITEMS ––Hiram Rice has moved his gasoline engine from the store onto his own land where he is ready to grind your corn.
Not only will the state of Missouri erect a monument at Hannibal, the boyhood home of Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) but his little know birthplace will be appropriately marked. This was settled in an amendment to the monument bill providing that $1,000 be spent for a marker at the birthplace at Florida, Monroe County, near the upper fork of Salt River.
Walter Huey and Miss Myrtle Hicks were married at the home of Mrs. Sallie Joe Adams yesterday evening at 4:00 p.m.
