Snapshots of History

By Editor | July 2, 2025 |

By Mike Avitt
Last week I wrote about Charles Thorla who had a sixty-foot tapeworm removed from his abdomen and how alarming it was to see such news in the newspaper.
This week we’ll look at some other alarming or bizarre accounts in the newspapers.
Bounties paid on destructive animals are nothing new, but did you know Ringgold County once had a bounty on gophers?
The April 7, 1908 Record-News announced bounties would only be paid on gophers if the two front teeth and two claws were produced. Previously, only the scalp need be produced. There was another catch: the teeth and claws had to be brought in within 30 days of the gopher’s death.
I guess body parts get “ripe” after 30 days.
In February 1944, the Ringgold County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution increasing the bounty on gophers from five cents to ten cents. It must’ve worked as I haven’t seen a gopher in months. Only ten cents was paid out in February 1944 by Ringgold County Treasurer Earl Hoover.
Here’s a trick I’ve never seen duplicated. The April 14, 1955 Record-News reports Charles Stringham rolled his car one half block from the Mount Ayr public square.
The 1952 Plymouth came to rest in the alley west of Security State Bank. A passenger in the car, Mrs. Cleo Hampton, sister of Mr. Stringham, was hospitaled for minor injuries. Charlie escaped injury. The car was a total loss.
In 1924, the Ku Klux Klan had several appearances in Ringgold County.
The KKK held a meeting in a pasture west of Mount Ayr with an estimated 400 people in attendance. The Klan rented space in Diagonal and filled the place. A church in Tingley accepted a $25 donation from the KKK.
The newspaper articles gave very little details. After 1924, I can find no evidence that the Ku Klux Klan returned.
The May 24, 1894 Ringgold Record newspaper has an account of early Mount Ayr written by Laura Dunning, widow of Barton Dunning.
The Dunnings came to Mount Ayr in 1855 to operate the first store in Mount Ayr and Barton became the first Mount Ayr Postmaster on August 30, 1855. Laura gave birth to the first baby born in Mount Ayr in December 1855. This is a very important part of our treasured history.
In the January 9, 1912 Record-News we see a detailed, lengthy letter from missionary Helen Galloway. I will use her as an example because there are dozens of letters published in the newspapers written by Ringgold County missionaries.
Helen writes that China was in great turmoil and their lives and their future was uncertain. Dr. Gerald Downie and Josephine Stahl were other missionaries who wrote multiple letters to newspapers.
On at least two occasions, Mount Ayr doctors were charged with “attempting to produce an abortion.” In both cases, no follow-up information was given so I assume the charges were dismissed.
In the first case, the name of the doctor and the name of the mother were given on the front page.
Another interesting thing that took place in early newspapers was the personal attacks on editors of competing newspapers. One editor would smear another editor for supporting a failed political candidate. Or an editor would give a sarcastic complement to another newspaper for an erroneous column.
And there were many of those. Sometimes they were funny and sometimes they were nasty.
This week’s picture shows the original Gasoline Alley filling station, built in 1932, which was located three blocks east of the southeast corner of the Mt. Ayr square.
George and Keith Rogers built a more modern station in 1941 and this old station was moved to the 400 block of West Adams Street to be used as a home. This house is now being dismantled, so I took a few pictures. Because that’s what I do!