Looking Back with Lora Stull
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One Hundred Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, July 12, 1922.)
Report of Dr. M.R. French Assistant State Epidemiologist, Concerning Trip To Mount Ayr: In compliance with request from the office of Dr. Fagen, Secretary Executive Officer of the State Board of Health, on July 2, I went to Mount Ayr, July 3, 1922. Upon arriving in the city I found a very unique situation.
On June 13, 1922, a little dog, a puppy about 6 months of age, appeared in several parts of the community. This dog, a stranger to most of the people, seemed to be quite playful and harmless, but somewhat irritated, for it would snap when played with and teased.
The first person bitten by the dog was Coin Walters who played with and teased the dog, but thought nothing of it at the time. Then the dog next appeared at the McQuigg place at the edge of town where on the road it bit Chas. King, a councilman and Perry Kastor.
It than wandered down the road one-fourth a mile and at the Wimer home it bit five children, one of these six months of age. Then it went down three-fourths mile further where at the Clarence Hollopeter home it bit Mrs. Hollopeter. Then Thursday afternoon it appeared about one and one-half blocks from the Hollopeter home and snapped and bit the Mayor, Mr. G.E. Wright.
The little dog was not then seen until Friday morning when it appeared in the south part of town and bit two boys, W. Kirkendall and Willard Lisure. At noon Friday it bit a Bliss girl and Craig Wilson. In the evening it appeared at the Clarence Palmer home, and after snapping and biting two children left this home, where it snapped and bit Mrs. Perry.
The dog then left this home, but returned and was killed. The head of the dog was sent to the laboratories for the State Board of Health.
Upon the return of positive findings for rabies, the Pasteur treatment was started at once on all of those who had been bitten. In all eighteen people were bitten by this dog in two days. All had started the Pasteur treatment when I arrived, except one, although some were rather slow about it and several days had elapsed.
Since some of the dogs in the community had been bitten by the rabid puppy the local Board of Health had ordered all dogs to be quarantined and any who were found running at large were killed. As a matter of course there are no cases of rabies among the people in town for the disease has not had time to develop and with the prompt and energetic Pasteur treatment instigated most likely the disease will be avoided.
J.S. McMaster, who several weeks ago was severely burned by ammonia when one of the pipes of the refrigerator plant at his meat market on the north side of the square burst, sold his business last week to E. A. Saltzman, immediate possession being given.
Marriages: July 4, Ruth Lucas and Otto Bramon…July 10, Violet Davis and Sammie Rhoades.
Births: Mr. and Mrs. Keith Fisher are proud parents of a daughter born June 28.
Obituaries in this edition were: John B. Fisher and Ruth Creveling.
Seventy-Five
Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, July 10, 1947.)
Construction under the supervision of Leonard Rusk has begun on the building for the veteran’s on-the-farm training program, on the lot purchased from Miss Mary Boyles by the independent school district of Mount Ayr.
The building site has been leveled by the use of the FFA bulldozer, operated by Vernon McGahuey. Lumber to be used in the construction of the building is government surplus material, purchased from the Des Moines Ordnance Plant at Ankeny at a cost of $70.
Plans call for space for a 60×80 foot building with a concrete floor throughout, containing space for an office, classroom, shop room, storage space and furnace room.
A contest to name their new place of business, with $5 in merchandise offered as the prize, is being sponsored by the Skinner brothers, Bob, Chuck, and Jim.
The new establishment located on highway 169 at the east edge of Mount Ayr will feature dancing, with a line of groceries, ice cream, steaks, gasoline, sandwiches and candy. There will be no cover charge.
Marriages: July 6, Mary Lou Rusk and Grover Hahn…June 22, Helyn Sandage and Donald Stenback…July 5, Naomi Minnick and Milo Been.
Births: July 7, son, Raymond Jr., to Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Sheldon…Born Tuesday, a daughter Martha, to Mr. and Mrs. Matt Bevington…June 24, a daughter Linda, to Mr. and Mrs. Delbert Gibson.
Obituaries in this edition were: James Noah Simpson, Ernest Jennings, John Wesley Meadows, George Baker, and infant, Paula Reynolds.
Fifty Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, July 20, 1972.)
A violent summer storm spawned tornado funnels Friday that wreaked havoc on at least three farms in the southern part of Ringgold County.
The destructive winds touched down on the George Johnston farm, 8 miles south and 1/2 mile west of the Mount Ayr Livestock Market, the Charles Michelson farm, eight miles south and the Laurance Bishop farm, seven miles south and 1 mile east.
Larry Hunter has been invited to join the editorial board of the Michigan Law Review, announcement of which was made recently by the University of Michigan Law School.
Marriages: June 4, Marcia Keeton and Stephen Webb…June 30, Cherly McBride and Andrew Abarr.
Births: July 10, a daughter, to Mr. and Mrs. Larry Drobny…July 11, a son, to Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Steele…July 15, a son, to Mr. and Mrs. Ed Jacobs…July 10, a daughter, Nicole, to Mr. and Mrs. Ron Landphair.
Obituary in this edition was: Bessie Owens Anderson.
Twenty Five Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, July 3, 1997.)
The woods are coming alive with music of the seventeen year cicadas as they make their presence known across Ringgold County.
The cicadas can be found on the tree trunks in town and in the country as they emerge from underground, where they spend the longest portions of their life cycle. The cicadas will not return to the area until after 2014 after this visit.
Fund raising has passed the $9,000 mark with the help of $4,800 raised at the family fun night on the square Saturday night in Mount Ayr to benefit the new Family Resource Center project in Mount Ayr.
Diagonal Maroonette girls basketball team received the distinguished basketball award for academic achievement for the 1996-97 season. The award is given to teams who have a combined grade point average of 3.25 to 4.0 for the third nine weeks of school.
Births: June 24, daughter, Bailey, to Doug and Susan Saville…June 26, son, Bradon, to Rod and Becky Jones…June 27, son, Trenton, to Don “Junior” and Angie Wells…June 23, a daughter, Kaitlyn, to Kevin and Shellie Klommhaus…June 17, daughter, Madison, to Greg and Amy Mobley.
Obituary in this edition was, Bernice Elizabeth Bastow Long.
Ten Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, July 12, 2012.)
Starting Monday July 2, mail deposited at the Mount Ayr post office no longer has a Mount Ayr postmark.
Local mail has been postmarked in Mount Ayr and then sent to Creston. But the Creston sorting center, once responsible for sorting mail heading to locations whose zip codes began with 508, has closed its doors and mail will now be sorted in Des Moines instead.
Members of the Mount Ayr Chamber gathered at Cunning Insurance Co. Inc. Monday to welcome Ted Smith to his new location on the west side of the square, which was previously located on the north side of the square.
Obituaries in this edition were: James Wray Braby, Elbert Ray Skarda and James “Jim” Donald Washburn.