Looking Backward 11.28.2013
25 Years Ago
November 24, 1988
The Ava High School Bears will open the 1988-89 cage season Nov. 28 at the top seed in the Forsyth Tournament.
Goldie, owned by George Coggin of Bonaventure Stables, Wasola, and rider Shawna Loftin, 16, Squires, took sixth place in the Kansas City Royal Horse Show recently.
The Ava Chapter of the National Honor Society recently received an additional $1000 donation from the estate of Charley Bennett to be applied toward the Tracy Murphy Memorial Scholarship.
Rick and Wanda (Lee) Whitaker wish to announce the birth of their son, Cody Ray, Sept. 15 at Cox South in Springfield. He weighed 10 lbs. 2 oz., and was 22 ½ inches long.
The Douglas County Fair is announcing an opportunity for a Douglas County youngster to win a 7-month old non-registered thoroughbred filly.
Senior Eric Sallee was Ava’s leading rusher this year with 790 yards on 194 carries for a 4:1 yards-per-carry average, and senior quarterback Scott Silvey passed for 893 yards which places him second in the Ava High record books for single-season passing. Silvey set a new career passing mark with 1,968 yards in three years from 1986 through 1988.
RED BANK –– Mr. and Mrs. Glen Dale Robertson and David Paul visited Saturday with Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Loyd and Mr. and Mrs. Otto Davis.
Ava High School student Jeff Emrick received a letter of appreciation this week from George Bush in regard to some papers given to Bush during his recent visit in Springfield. Emrick said he gave the papers to a secret service agent, who in turn, handed them to the president-elect.
50 Years Ago
November 21, 1963
It has taken about seven years to accomplish, but yesterday was the day of realization for Ava High School students as they moved into their new classroom building. “We will just about complete the move today,” Principal Max Decker said at noon yesterday.
After deliberating for approximately three hours yesterday, a Christian County Circuit Court jury returned a verdict of guilty in the second murder trial of Mrs. Grace Deyo, Clear Lake, Iowa, who was charged with the 1959 poisoning death of her husband at Almartha, Ozark County.
Mrs. Cleo Strader of Ava has purchased the Athena Beauty Shop here, effective Tuesday from Elza Hutchison of Forsyth. Mrs. Strader has been manager and operator of the shop since its opening Nov. 9 in the Pettit Building at the southwest corner of the square.
Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Anderson announce the birth of a son, Timothy Lynn, born Nov. 15 at 5:41 p.m., weight 6 pounds, 14 ½ ounces.
U.S. FORCES, GERMANY –– Army Pfc. Jerry L. Garrison, son of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Garrison, Route 2, Ava, Mo., provided support in Germany for a NATO field training exercise, a part of Operation BIG LIFT, which ended Nov. 5.
Allen Welker, Ava High School coach in his fourth season here, was selected by the group of coaches as the “Coach of the Year” in the SCA.
Cecil Davis, local businessman, was presented a certificate signifying his appointment as Advisory Board Member of Tower National Life Insurance Company of Springfield, Mo., by Denver Roller, Secretary-Treasurer of Tower National Life Insurance Co., a domestic Missouri company.
ROMANCE –– On Wednesday, Nov. 13, the flag flew at half-mast in honor of a former Romance resident. He was Cornelius B. Watson, generally known as Uncle Bug. He had lived at Romance for many years.
STAR –– Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Keeton and Geneva stopped at our house Thursday night for a short visit, then on to Everett Irby’s for a visit with them and Mrs. England.
RICHVILLE –– Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Cearley are constructing a new house on their farm.
BROWN BRANCH –– Twins, identical white-faced calves were born to a registered Hereford cow belonging to A.R.D. Reese lately. Both are fine calves, doing well.
Several Ava football fans were among the 50,800 spectators who saw the Missouri University Tigers – Oklahoma University Sooners football game played at Memorial Stadium in Columbia Saturday afternoon. Included in the Ava group driving to Columbia for the game were Dr. and Mrs. Marvin Gentry, Mr. and Mrs. Claude Gaulding, Mr. and Mrs. James E. Curry, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bowles, Dr. and Mrs. Howard Curry, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Crain, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Lethco, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Dale Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Callaway, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Haynes, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Reynolds and Mr. and Mrs. Weldon Sanders.
75 Years Ago
November 24, 1938
Governor Lloyd C. Stark this week declared war on Missouri’s underworld, calling on all law enforcement agencies to rout gangsters. The statement by the governor followed immediately after the shooting and serious wounding of Louis Lee Baker, 39-year-old Negro, in St. Louis. Baker was the state’s star witness in the bombing trial of Isadore Londe, former convict. Baker identified Londe last June as one of the men who bombed a dry cleaning shop in St. Louis. Baker was shot Sunday night and left for dead in an abandoned mill in St. Louis County.
Ava High School Saturday night won its second annual invitation basketball tournament by defeating Branson 23 to 18. Branson won the championship in the tournament a year ago.
Lloyd Reynolds, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. L.E. Reynolds, and Miss Wilma Sell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Sell, were married Sunday evening at 7:30 in the home of the bride’s parents. The Rev. J.M. Smoot read the marriage ceremony, which was witnessed by the two families. Mrs. Clinton Gaston, sister of the bride, was bridesmaid and Reginald Crumley of Springfield was best man.
A windstorm with almost the proportions of a young tornado struck in the north part of Ava Thursday night, upsetting a well drill at the home of Bailey Ludwig and doing other property damage in that neighborhood.
Volume 1, number 1 of the Student Broadcaster, Ava High School publication was offered to high school students Monday after being printed Friday in the Herald office.
Harry Duncan, 56-year-old Ozark County farmer, was sentenced to life in the state penitentiary Monday morning of last week, less than twenty-four hours after he had shot and killed his wife.
Early last week a secret marriage was disclosed that caused much interest among the younger set in Ava and Springfield. This was the marriage of Miss Mary Margaret Robertson, daughter of the Earl Robertsons of Bolivar, and Basil Adams, son of the J.Q. Adams’ of Ava. The ceremony was read to the couple at Harrison, Arkansas on Sunday, Oct. 30. Basil met his bride in Bolivar last summer while he was attending the Baptist College.
The comment of Mussolini that we are a nation of gangsters, has its touch of irony. We happen to remember that under the Capone regime practically all gangsters bore the unpronounceable name of the Sicilian or Italian. Had we closed our doors to Italian immigration our gangster troubles would not have been formidable.
Mr. and Mrs. Clark Boggess will move this weekend into the log cabin bungalow, which is being built by Russell Meeker. Mr. and Mrs. Boggess, who came to Ava a month ago from Red Oak, Iowa, have been living in the Ozark Hotel. Mr. Boggess is educational advisor at the CCC Camp 1733 near Pondfork.
Virgil Alcorn, son of Dallas Alcorn, and Irene Hitchcock, step-daughter of Bill Plum, both of Ava, were married Saturday with Probate Judge William Fletcher performing the ceremony.
100 Years Ago
December 4, 1913
Congressman Bartholdt in a resolution which he presented to the House of Representatives, proposed to create a National University at Washington, D.C., to be maintained under the control and the expense of the federal government.
The Missouri Capital Commission has accepted the bid of John Gill and Sons of Cleveland Ohio for the construction of the new state capital buildings at Jefferson City. The accepted bid was $2,710,200.
The marriage of Miss Ruth Iola Singleton and Harley Reynolds was solemnized at the home of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.I. Singleton, November twenty-four at half after six in the evening. Rev. E. H. Yeisley performed the ceremony in the presence of only the immediate family.
If there is not a big change in women’s apparel soon there’ll be a lot of frost bitten knees this winter.
Robert Pruitt, of Hollister, captured a good-sized wild cat down in the pineries a few days ago and it is now on exhibition in the drug store window. It seems to be about full-grown, and is not tame and gentle by any means. It was caught in a trap.
STONY POINT – Bud Ridgway had the misfortune of losing two horses recently. Henry Burke also lost one.
There is to be a new investigation by Congress into the price of meat. The consumer can expect another raise in the price of his breakfast bacon shortly.
The smile of some people is like a ray of sunshine and the frown of others is like a thundercloud. Far better to smile and give cheer than to frown and cause unpleasantness.
They are “dressing up” on the north side of the square. Most all the buildings are receiving a new coat of paint.
Frank Stewart has bought the Riggs property on “Quality Hill” and they moved there last week. This is a nice piece of property and can be converted into a model home.
ROME NEWS – The bridge work at Rome is progressing nicely. We think we are soon going to have a bridge worth the money.
DENLOW ITEMS –– Weaver Hutchinson moved to Norwood last week where he will blacksmith for Frink & Randolls hardware.
ROCKBRIDGE ITEMS –– We are having some fine fall weather at this writing. Land in this section is changing hands. Curtis Fleetwood sold his farm one day last week for $1,500. Bill Croley sold a good cow last week for $40.
125 Years Ago
November 29, 1888
George H. Vanderbilt, who has been on a visit to Asheville, N.C., purchased one thousand acres of land near that place and contemplates other large purchases. The general belief is that the Vanderbilts propose to spend $1,000,000 in the establishment of an industrial and mechanical school of a charitable nature.
The administration coming into power on the 4th of March next will proceed to an enforcement of the Civil Service law by turning out the men who got into office through corrupt, and in many instances, criminal subversion of the law, and will then proceed to fill the vacancies thus created in accord with the terms of the law.
Philadelphia boasts an attendance of one hundred thousand pupils at her public schools this year, and still three thousand children cannot be admitted for lack of room in some of the wards.
School enrollment in the United States in 1886-87 was 11,450,798, an increase of 2,718,307 during the past ten years. The cost of sustaining the public schools for the same year was $111,715,707, an increase of $32,530,198 over the year 1876-77.
Miss Sue Blakely, of Warren County, Pennsylvania, killed two rattlesnakes on her wedding day just for luck, and her friend, Mrs. Wesley Cameron, of Clarion County, killed last summer 17 rattlesnakes, five copperheads and three black snakes.
A novel experiment is about to take place in Paris with the establishment of a cab company with a plant of 300 hansoms fitted with rubber tires, drawn by English horses.
Dr. J.T. Hailey returned from Seymour Monday and came alone, but from the smile on his face we think he will go again before long.
A charade party was given at the residence of J.H. Payne Tuesday evening, and with charades and music a very pleasant evening was passed.
Wm. Pennington and family of Cherryvale, Kans., arrived last Friday and have moved into the house recently vacated by Prof. Tingle, having purchased the property of Barney Mallonee. Mr. Pennington has purchased his father’s interest in the mill.
General Howard, commanding the Military Division of Pacific, in a general order, prohibits gambling on military reservations.
To keep chestnuts from four to six months,, mix each bushel with a pint of salt, shake thoroughly and keep in a dry place where the temperature is from 40 to 50 degrees.
The Norris Mine of Michigan is the greatest iron mine in the world. It has shipped nearly 370,000 tons of ore this season.
Rittner’s Commercial College, shorthand institution and English training school, is the standard institution and the largest in the West. Shorthand by mail a specialty. Send 25 cents for Primer and three trial lessons.
