LOOKING BACK in the Early Files by Lora Stull

Mr. and Mrs. John W. Bailey and son Clyde were Sunday guests at the Archie Bailey home.

The basket shooting of Matthews was too much for the Mount Ayr basketball team when they met Delphos five at Delphos Saturday night. The speedy little Delphos man was right on basket shooting and he counted five times from the field and three times from the free throw line. The game was hard fought and rough from the start. Twenty-seven fouls were called on the two teams and three Mount Ayr players and two Delphos players were removed from the game for fouls. The Mount Ayr teams took many long shots at the basket but were not able to sink any of them. Geiger put up a good game at guard for the winners and held his man scoreless. Davis played a good game until he went out on personal fouls.

Marriage: Wednesday, Theodore Dillenburg and Thelma Frazee.

Birth: January 22 a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Olan Richardson.

Members of the Mount Ayr Methodist church have approved plans for the construction of a new parsonage.

The modern, one floor, three bedroom house with full basement, will be located on the lot west of the church.

The house on the Howard Burgher 160-acre farm, three miles northwest of Ellston, was completely destroyed by fire Saturday.

The Burghers were doing chores and were unaware of the fire until much of the house was enveloped in flames. They rushed to the house in time to save their most prized possession, their baby.

Births: January 12, a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Milo Kimball.. January 18, a daughter, Barbara, to Mr. and Mrs. Junior Jezek.

Obituaries in this edition were: Iva Jane Blunck Duncan, Paul E. Teale, Lottie N. Ouderkirk Moler.

One of the voices of a telephone operator here that probably sounds familiar to most customers of the Continental Telephone Company is that of Mrs. Helen Luchsinger. It should be recognizable because Helen has been at it for twenty-five years.

Green Hills Inc. of Mount Ayr received the top award at the Iowa Fertilizer and Chemical Association meeting in Des Moines at the Vet’s Auditorium this past week for having the “most educational” exhibit on display. This was the first year such an award was made.

There is an old face back in school now, that of Mr. McIntosh. He is back after relaxing the first semester in order to risk his life once more in the line of duty, teaching driver’s education.

Raider wrestlers win three titles in the Tall Corn Conference mat tourney on Saturday. Taking first in the 112 pound class was Michael Edwards, in the 167 pound class was Ralph Grout and winning the heavy weight class was Curtis Braby.

Marriage: November 15, Vickie Euler and Samuel Abarr.

Births: January 14, a son to Mr. and Mrs. Mike Walkup..January 15, a son to Mr. and Mrs. Randy Smith..January 15, a son to Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Brown.

Homecoming plans for the Diagonal Community school district were announced this week for next week’s celebration. Homecoming court members include seniors Tonya Anderson, Shelly Young, Jason Smith and Sean Stephens; junior participates are Shauna Kilgore, Abby Stephens, Wes Cooper, and Wes Starlin; sophomore members are Renae Smith and Cody Werner and freshman members are Danielle Newton and Alex Stephens.

Three Diagonal students received Division I ratings and advanced to state from the district large group speech contest held at Osceola Saturday. Tory Walkup and Abby Stephens won  a Division I rating in the group improvisation contest. Shauna Kilgore received a Division I rating for the ensemble acting presentation along with Abby Stephens.

A former Ringgold County resident, Ione Wight, will be honored at a Winterset Chamber of Commerce banquet Friday, following her selection as female citizen of the year of Madison County.

Ione Jennings Wight grew up in the Ellston and Beaconsfield areas, the daughter of Clark and Mary (Young) Jennings. She graduated from the Beaconsfield high school and attended Northwest Missouri State teachers college.

Obituary in this edition was Ila Taylor Gray.

The Vision Iowa Board approved $778,60 in Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grants to Iowa Quilt Museum in Winterset, Dragoon Trace Nature Center in Ringgold County, the Garner Public Library, an aquatic center in Lake City, a splash pad in Bristow and sports complexes in Dike and Carroll.

Dragoon Trace Nature Center in Mount Ayr will receive $50,000 grant, contingent on the completion of fundraising with in thirty days. The total project cost is $365,520.

Should the old parking lot be demolished? Some say the lot has value to the community.

That question relating to the heliport/parking lot at the old hospital site generated considerable discussion at Monday’s meeting of the Ringgold County Hospital Board of Trustees.

The Ringgold County area received a healthy dose of snow Tuesday, causing Mount Ayr community schools to close early in the afternoon. The area received up to five inches of snow during the day.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced that Darin Schlapia from Farmers Cooperative Company in Afton and Kevin DeGoey from New Century FS in Grinnell are the 2016 winners of the Secretary’s Biodiesel and Ethanol marketing awards.

Obituaries in this edition were: Virginia Mae Bowman Richards, Ruth Marie Downing Saville, Howard Bryan and Nicholas Daniel Grose.