Looking Back by Lora Stull
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One Hundred
Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, August 20, 1919)
Monday morning about 9 o’clock a big fire occurred in the city of Ellston, when the Ellston Elevator burned to the ground. It is a complete loss and the elevator was filled to capacity. The fire was caused by back firing of the engine in the basement.
An importation of 33 registered short horns was recently received to add to the herd of C.W. and Frank Chandler of Kellerton. This lot includes a sixteen month old, fourteen hundred pound, bull imported from the herd of George Camplell of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This bull is a roan and is the true show yard type and will be used as the herd sire at the Chandler farm. Two cows also imported from Scotland are among the best females of the importation. Such livestock as this has given Iowa the name of having the best short horns in America.
Postmaster John McNernery received Saturday a list of food supplies allotted for distribution through the Mount Ayr post office. The supplies were purchased under contract by the government before the war closed and the post offices of the country are being used as distributing agencies. The supplies sold through the local office will be ordered from Chicago. The allotment for the Mount Ayr office is as follows: Baked beans-1,092, #1 cans; 12 #2 cans; 1,752, #3 cans; stringless beans- 216, #2 cans; corned beef-1,578, #1 cans; 1,892, #2 cans , 204 #6 cans; beef roast-1,242, #1 cans, 1,380, #2 cans, 120, #6 cans; cherries- 84, #2 1/2 cans; corn-2,286, #2 cans; hash corn beef-824, #1 cans, 912, #2 cans; peas-2,844, #2 cans; beans-issue pounds 1,700.
Marriage: August 20, Mabel Regina Butler and Glen Lesan…August 12, Fannie McClain and Harold Wellington…August 2, Minnie Elliott and Edward Huber.
Obituaries in this edition were: Martha Orinda Hardy Miller, John L. Patterson, and Frank H. Mackey.
Seventy-Five
Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, August 24, 1944.)
Mrs. Ivan Brown received a telegram Friday, August 11 from the War Department, notifying her that her husband Pvt. Ivan Brown had been killed in action. He had been missing since April 28. Pvt. Brown was participating in a D-Day invasion practice in the English channel off the southern coast of England. (The D-Day rehearsal, code-named Exercise Tiger, was a disaster on a grand scale with the loss of life greater than the actual invasion of Normandy just months later. But the true story was to remain a secret for decades to come. Early on 28 April 1944, eight tank landing ships, full of US servicemen and military equipment, converged in Lyme Bay, off the coast of Devon, making their way towards Slapton Sands for the rehearsal. So vital was the exercise that the commanders ordered the use of live naval and artillery ammunition to make the exercise as real as possible, to accustom the soldiers to what they were soon going to experience. But a group of German E-Boats, alerted by heavy radio traffic in Lyme Bay, intercepted the three-mile long convoy of vessels. The heavily-laden, slow-moving tank landing ships were easy targets for the torpedo boats which first attacked the unprotected rear of the convoy. A series of tragic decisions – including the absence of a British Navy destroyer which was supposed to be escorting them, but had been ordered into Plymouth for repairs, and an error in radio frequencies – led to three of the tanks being hit by German torpedoes. More loss of life was caused by lifejackets worn incorrectly by soldiers and the extreme cold of the sea which resulted in hypothermia. Temporary graves were made for the Exercise Tiger casualties. The official death toll of Exercise Tiger was 749 men, which is more than perished at the hands of the real enemy during the Utah beach landings. It was the worst loss of life since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. It was considered by US top brass to be such a disaster that they ordered a complete information blackout. Any survivor who revealed the truth about what happened would be threatened with a court-martial. Now, some 44 years later, key persons have begun to tenaciously ask questions and individuals, including Cathy Ward of Mount Ayr, are getting more answers. She is hearing about her father, Ivan J. Brown. Brown was in 3206 Quartermaster COC-U.S. Army.)
August 12, Margaret A. Carr and James A. Haley were united in marriage.
Obituaries in this edition were: William Ray Duffield and Mrs. Mart M. Henderson Overmire.
Fifty Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, September 12, 1968.)
Summer vacation ends for approximately 1,025 pupils in the Mount Ayr Community school district on Wednesday, August 27, the opening day of the 1969-70 academic year. School will be in session at all six attendance centers for a full day.
School lunches and breakfast are available for all students beginning the first day of school and will be served in each attendance center. Lunch will be served at 30 cents per student on a weekly ticket basis and 35 cents per meal for a daily ticket. Breakfasts are available at 10 cents a meal in all centers. Work book rental fee will be $5 per student per year in elementary. Towel rental and laundry service for physical education and athletics is $1 per semester for junior high and high school.
News of Men in the Armed Forces…Mike Duckworth writes, “From sunny Vietnam.” I am still at Camp Davies. The Viet Cong have been hitting real close. Saigon is now off limits and we’re again restricted to camp. We have tripled the guards on the perimeter. Things are getting pretty hairy. The 536th is a strategic unit as we support over 200 different units around Saigon. We are now supporting the River Patrol and have been fabricating many parts for tug boats. Sure would enjoy hearing from home folks. Mail means a lot. My time is down to five months and one week. WOW! I can’t wait. (Duckworth has been in Vietnam since January of 1969.)
June 7, Violet Still and Daniel Jimmerson were united in marriage.
Births: Aug. 13, a daughter, to Mr. and Mrs. C. Richard Handy of Des Moines…Aug. 14, a son to Mr. and Mrs. Eldon Thomas of Sheridan, MO…Aug. 14, a daughter, to Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie Ward of Grant City, MO…Aug. 18, a son, to Mr. and Mrs. Wilton Boyle of Lamoni…Aug. 18, a son to Mr. and Mrs. Ron Scott.
Obituary in this edition was, Levice Ann Smith Noble.
Twenty Five Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, September 16, 1993.)
Law enforcement officials in Ringgold County and northern Missouri are defendants in a law suit filed in US District Court in Des Moines in July. Jeffrey White, Imogene White and Ray White all of Mount Ayr are the plaintiffs in action brought under the Civil Rights Act for claims for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraud. The suit alleges that the law enforcement agents “concealed the true nature” of a car accident which Jeffrey White was injured severely “from occurrence through the present” and that they acted in a manner which intentionally deprived the accident victim of immediate and necessary medical care” making his injury worse, increasing his disability and making it permanent. Defendants are Ringgold County Sheriff, Lyle Minnick, County Attorney, Arlen Hughes, the Ringgold County sheriff department, an unknown Missouri Highway patrol officer, Worth County sheriff, Lawrence Waldeier and Worth County sheriff department.
The expansion of the Mount Ayr Place’s Discount store is just one of six expansions for the 28 store employee owned company, head quartered in Bethany, MO., according to store officials. The Mount Ayr expansion to double the size of the store here will create another new full line discount store for the company, which became employed owned almost 3 years ago.
Obituary in this edition was, Raymond Dean Still.
Ten Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, August 6, 2009.)
Last gasp for Gooseberry Lake? Sponsors set information meeting. One more review of how Gooseberry Lake might become a reality in Ringgold County will be done in a series of meetings in September.
State Representative, Cecil Dolecheck of Mount Ayr was recently appointed to the school finance formula review committee which takes place during the 2009 Legislative interim.
Three Mount Ayr Community Raider baseball players received all-conference recognition this week. Senior Daniel Showalter was selected Pride of Iowa all-conference first team as an outfielder. Michael Bentley and Ryan England were both honored with second team selections this season.
Obituaries this edition were: William E. Johnston, Donald LeRoy Kibbe and Gail Noftsger Trullinger.