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Looking Backward

25 years ago

A bake sale will be held at Ava’s Walmart store with all proceeds going to the Douglas County Fair Board to purchase new bleachers for the grandstand area.

Winter weather finally moved into the Ozarks. Up until now there’s been sunny weather and clear roads. On Thursday an ice storm hit the area.

Two candidates filed for election to the Ava Board of Education: Zane Gray, who is seeking re-election, and Doran Coberly.

Dwight and Billie (Johnson) Schuster announce the birth of a daughter, Kendra Renae.

Theta Porter went to Cheshire, Conn. to spend the holidays with her daughter and family, Roger and Joyce Strallo, Mark and Bruce. She’s returned to her home at Squires.

The five children of the late Ernest and Virginia Anderson gathered with their families for their annual Christmas supper at the community center. Everything was beautiful and videotaped.

Elizabeth A.J. Brown has 9 paintings on display at the Springfield art museum during the month of January.

The Lady Bears took second place at the Morrisville Tournament.

Toddlers and children up to kindergarten age are invited for Story-Play Time at the library.

Many churches didn’t have services on Sunday due to the ice on parking areas and icy roads.

Tracy Coats was recently named “Volunteer of the Month” at Ava Elementary School for the past month.

The local McDonald’s restaurant participated in the “Share the Warmth” campaign for blankets. Manager Jan Fugitt presented the blankets to Rosie Harris, director of Heart of the Hills Food Harvest, which was collecting and distributing blankets here.

A benefit singing will be held at Skyline School. Proceeds will go to the family of Mary Boyd, a recently-diagnosed cancer patient.

Michelle Morgan Hallford, a 1989 graduate of Ava High School, was honored with Employee Excellence Award at the Motor Vehicle Bureau, Jefferson City.

Two Universities, Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western announced Honor Roll Students. Ava graduates on those lists were Mitchell Sims and James H. Nichols.

This Friday there will be music at the old Sears/Mad Bears Gym building.

Happy 80th Birthday to Ivol & Iven Swearengin.

We’re glad Nora Deatherage is home from the hospital. She had knee replacements in both knees.

50 years ago

No school this week as snow lingers on. A total of 9 inches has been recorded here since Dec. 24. 

A public swimming pool and park will be built this spring.

O.L. Claxton, Community Development Agent, urges each person in Ava to become a citizen, and not just a resident.

Prisoners spruce up the Missouri State Parks during the slack of winter months.

All taxpayers will use the new, one-page Form 1040 tax form.

The Hillbilly Hyd-Out Drive-In was opened by Mr. and Mrs. Ted Sallee. The drive-in is located one door east of Rawlings.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie Evans and their son, Craig, returned to Ava following a holiday visit in Panama City, Fla, with the couple’s other son and his family, Sgt. and Mrs. Rodney Evans and son, Scott.

Army Private Frank A. Twitty, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Twitty, was assigned to the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Ft. Carson, Colo. as a mechanic.

Mr. and Mrs. Orville Hale visited Sunday afternoon with Mr. and Mrs. Macky Hathcock. The Hales visited Tuesday afternoon with Mr. and Mrs. Tony Stillings and son.

Because the average income in Douglas County has moved upward, local families are in a position to buy more expensive housing.

Most impatient fellow in the world is the one waiting for you to finish your tale of woe so that he can begin to tell you his sad story.

Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hunt, Sr., opened Hunt’s Mobile Home Sales at the corner of Highway 14 and business route 5.

Close to a billion dollars has been invested in Missouri’s Interstate Highway system since its inception in 1956 and has produced a 1,147 mile network of the safest type road in the nation. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Beasley will honor their parents on their 50th wedding anniversary with open house. All friend and relatives are invited.

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Foster and two children, Donna and Ivan, of Ann Arbor, Mich., visited in the country home of the Rev. and Mrs. Carl Willis of Route 2, Ava. The family stopped for a short visit while enroute home following a holiday vacation visit with relatives in Mississippi and in Houston, Tex.

A group of out of town relatives and friends were in Ava to attend the funeral service held for Mrs. Minnie McGill.

Mr. and Mrs. Oda Snelson spent Christmas week in Springfield as house guest in the home of their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Brown, and on Christmas day they were joined there by most of their family. While the family group was spending the day together, Mr. Riley, who is a minister, showed a series of religious colored slides during the afternoon.

The Douglas County Easter Seal Society for Crippled Children and Adults has joined the Missouri Easter Seal Society and the Missouri Division of Health in an immunization campaign to stop rubella. 

Missouri’s ‘69 trout stamp, an attractive king-size stamp with a picture of a leaping rainbow trout, went on sale to collectors on Jan. 1.

75 years ago

Ava will host Mountain Grover in a double header. Ava defeated Mountain Grove early in December in two games played then.

Douglas county has its annual drive to raise funds for the fight against infantile paralysis.

Tune in on the “Baptist Hour” each Sunday morning. Dr. M.E.Dodd, pastor of the First Baptist Church, Shreveport, LA, will be the speaker.

Two Ava men, Carl Wayne Ray, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Ray of Ava, and Cleo Avery Simpson, whose wife is Mrs. Virginia Mae Simpson of Ava, recently arrived at Camp Wolters, Texas, Infantry Replacement Center.

Mr. and Mrs. Rex Owens of Robertson announce the birth of a baby girl, Ann Marie.

Wilson McClendon, son of Mrs. Lena McClendon, who is serving with the Marine Corps in the Pacific war area has been advanced from sergeant to platoon sergeant. MeClendon is a tank commander and is serving on his 19th month overseas.

A tuberculin patch test clinic will be held at the Ava High School. The patch test will be applied by Mrs. Paul Murray, county health nurse, and read by a local physician.

Mrs. Lowell Maloney and Miss Meta Fern Adams are now employed at the Corner Drug Store in Ava.

Dr. and Mrs. Ben Davis were in Jefferson City and returned to Ava with their adopted son, John Herbert.

There were sixteen at Sunday school at Mt. Everett this week.

A group of boys and girls of this community met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Uhlmann and organized a 4-H club. Dale Uhimann is leader of this group.

Five attended the bandage folding. Attendance is low due to the bad weather. 

Mrs. Gerald Harvill has received word that her husband is going to sea. 

A birthday dinner honoring the third birthday of Wilburta Ann, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur R. Thompson, was held in the Dee Jenkins home.

The Japanese urge that dolls and flowers be sent to workers in air-plants to boost their morale. What with the present raiding by the superforts we can understand the flowers but why the dolls?

Dick Holt was here on furlough visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Everett Holt and Juanita and Burnita, and his wife, Thelma, and little son whom he had never seen.

The boys in service who have been heard from recently are Buddy Wallen in France, Owen Shortt in Italy, Orval McCullough in the South Pacific, Clyde McCullough in France, Chester Allen in France, Clell Allen in New Guinea, and Elmer Deaver of the Coast Guard.

Joan Lewis entertained a number of her schoolmates in honor of her ninth birthday.

100 Years ago

Two of the pioneer residents of Douglas county, Thomas Singleton, 69 years old, and T.M. Burchell, 67 years old, passed away last week.

The W.L. Hartley residence near Arno burned, including all of its contents. Mr. Hartley plans to rebuild soon. There was no insurance on the property.

An ordinance prohibiting the obstruction of sidewalks with merchandise or other material, interfering with the free passage of pedestrians, was adopted at a session of the city counsel. A fine of not less than $5.00 or more than $25.00 is provided for violation.

Recorder H.M. Curnutt issued a total of 178 marriage licenses during 1919.

The debate between Springfield and Ava high schools will be held in the school auditorium. Because of having to defray the expenses of the visiting debaters and judges a 25 cent admission will be charged. Our speakers have a good chance to win, and should have the support of the people of the town.

A man with a new idea is a crank  until it is a success. – Mark Twain

Glenn Babb, assistant professor of Journalism in the University of Missouri will sail next week to Tokyo where he will join an already large colony of M.U. granduates.

Wanted– Five thousand farmers and dairymen at De Ridder, Louisiana. Country fast settling with northern and eastern farmers. Land cheap and highly productive. Delightful climate. Big paying crops.

Robt. Winningham recently marketed a 35 pound turkey in Seymour and received $9.80 for it.

The hardware firm at Ozark has on display the old bedstead upon which Gen. Nathaniel Lyon was laid just after he was killed in the battle of Wilson Creek, 1861.

To drive out worms that are eating away the strength and vitality of your child, use White’s Cream Vermifuge. It expels the worms without injury to the child. Price 35 cents. Sold by Norman-Gentry Drug Co.

Walter Davis, son of Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Davis, recently enrolled in the Chillicothe Business College for a course in telegraphy and station work.

A pie supper at Vera Cruz netted $84.92 Which was given to Mrs. Ross Pettyjohn, a widow, who has five small children. 

All Rebekahs are earnestly requested to be present at the next regular meeting. Miss Ida Wynne, D.D.P., will install officers.

One of Uncle Joe Hylton’s girls left last week to attend a mission school in Chicago, to prepare herself for a missionary – a noble calling.

The neighbors gathered in last week and helped W.E. Wilson lay in a supply of wood.

Uncle Tom Burke lost a fine filly due to over work in last hay harvest.

Thos. L. Burke has taken the Stony Point school in hand to finish the term of which Mr. Marion Mears has resigned.

Hobart Dobbs was taken to Springfield to have an operation performed on his head.

Charley Hale went to West Plains to have some dental work done.

The party at Mr. Pease’s was well attended and all report a good time.

125 Years ago

Fire completely destroyed the Toronto Globe newspaper building and plant. Loss $150,000.

In the presence of thousands, the new palatial steel passenger steamship Northland was successfully launched at the Globe ship yards in Cleveland, OH.

Hannibal, Mo has lost its 15-year-old canary bird. 

The Salvation Army fed 1,200 hungry folks in St. Louis on Christmas. 

A boy evangelist, 17 years old, is preaching powerfully in Cedar county.

The court house in Joplin is filled with oak furniture made in Michigan.

By buying two horses at once you can get them for $5.40 each in Maryville.

Missouri has produced the tallest woman and the two heaviest steers in the world.

A Hannibal man is going to China to run a laundry. This seems like carrying coals to Newcastle.

Fayette has two theological students at Vanderbilt University, the Rev. Sam Johnson and the Rev. Warren T. Whiteside.

Michael Price, who died recently in Gentry county, served in the Second Missouri mounted volunteers in the Mexican war.

A Lamar woman follows her lover from place to place, and whenever he is seen in company with another woman she whips out a revolver and takes a shot at him.

On account of an unusual amount of job printing and the absence of one of our printers, we are a day late this week. Such things happen in “all well regulated printing offices.”

Mr. H.C. Davis and wife, who have been in Ava for the past three weeks, returned to their old home in Joplin this afternoon and will arrange to come back to this part of the state to reside permanently.

H.S. Wilson succeeded in putting up and saving quite a good deal of good ice before it thawed. The ice was 4 inches thick.

Miss Dora Meyers and Mr. John Cates were joined in marriage at the bride’s home. An invited crowd attended a dance in the evening in commemoration of the event. The happy couple have taken up their abode on a farm near her parents.

John Jester had a valuable cow lay down and die. The cause of its death remains a mystery.

Wm. M. Jenkins has taken a wife and moved to his farm in Campbell township. 

Colonel John A. Cockrell is about to leave for Japan as a New York Herald correspondent.

A.J. Detrick will soon open up a stock or general merchandise in the store building vacated by J. M. Bunch at Little Beaver.

J.A. Owen is gone on an exploration and hunting trip to the mouth of White River and expects to be gone several weeks. 

Daniel H. Craig, founder of the Associated Press, is dead, aged 80 years.

Mrs. Wash Lafferty is reported very sick with inflammatory rheumatism and under the care of Dr. Burdett.

R.H. Thrasher keeps the only exclusive restaurant in Ava, where you can procure Meals or Lunch at all hours of the day. He also keeps a nice line of confectioneries, cakes, pies, lemons, orange, bananas, nuts, etc. When hungry, call and see him on the south public square in Ava.