Looking Back with Lora Stull
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One Hundred Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News, Thursday, December 29, 1920.)
The appeal now being made for funds to save the lives of the more than three and one-half million of starving children in eastern and central Europe is meeting with a hearty response throughout Iowa. The 3,500,000 children are the helpless victims of the late war and they are neither responsible for the war nor their coming into the world. Many of them are without fathers or mothers; they live where local aid and assistance are absolutely impossible; help must come from outside if they are permitted to live.
A New Year’s Resolution: In the interest of community advancement might it not be well for everyone of us to include in our New Year’s resolution the following: “Resolved, as we stand upon the threshold of the New Year, to strive earnestly and in every way that lies within our power for bigger, better work and service, and with new enthusiasm and unbounded faith in the future to do our full share in making the year of 1921 the biggest and best in history.”
Marriage: Dec. 24, Lela Stephens and Guy Drake…Dec. 25, Nancy Bicknell and B.R. Miller…Dec. 26, Agnes Ross and Arthur Leeper…Dec. 25, Faye James and Carl Waugh…Dec. 27, Daniel Gilliland and Bessie Lovell.
Obituaries in this edition were: Emma Sarah Virginia Howell Beard and Helen G. Evans.
Seventy-Five
Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, January 3, 1946.)
Two hundred and ten births were recorded in the Record News during 1945 with the boys in the majority with 113 and the number of girls 97. The total for the year shows a decrease of 74 as compared with the total 284 in 1944. There were 214 recorded deaths in the Record News for the same time frame. The number shows a decrease of 39 when compared with 235 in 1944.
The abandonment of the CB & Q railroad line of approximately 85 miles between Humeston and Clarinda became a reality Saturday December 29 at 11:59 p.m. when all freight and passenger service was curtailed. The abandonment, reported to be one of the largest in history of Iowa, will effect the towns of LeRoy, Weldon, Van Wert, Grand River, Beaconsfield, Ellston, Tingley, Diagonal, Clearfield, Sharpsburg and Gravity. From the viewpoint of the taxpayer, the effects of the abandonment of the line will be quite noticeable. The Burlington Company has always been a heavy taxpayer in the school districts and municipalities traversed by its right-of-way. Taxes due in 1945 to be paid in 1946 by the company amounts to $18,849. Property owners will be required to absorb this extra tax burden.
Marriages: Dec. 31, Eileen Yashack and Charles Lesan…Dec. 27, Marjorie Poore and Wilfred Knutson…Dec. 30, Mary Amendola and John Willey, Jr….Dec. 24, Virginia Link and Andrew Milano.
Obituary in this edition was Dr. Roe B. Reed.
Fifty Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, January 7, 1971.)
Old man winter decided to quit fooling around Sunday. The results was the worst winter storm in this area since the pre-christmas blast of 1961. Starting as light powdery snow about 10 p.m. Saturday evening, the storm grew in intensity during the night. By Sunday morning, about eight inches of the white stuff covered the area.
New procedures affecting the Mount Ayr town dump go into effect Monday, January 11. That’s the word from Mount Ayr mayor Roy Payne. There are 2 main changes: the dump will be open only at certain specified hours and all persons and businesses will be charged a fee to maintain the dump facility.
New of Men in the Armed Service-Pfc. Eldon Starmer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Starmer of Diagonal, is serving with the armed forces in South Vietnam. He is attached to an Engineer Battalion at Soctrang and is engaged in carpentry work…Sgt. Keith Hunt, son of Mr. and Mrs. Amon Hunt of Mount Ayr returned December 28 from a 10 month tour of duty in Vietnam. Sgt. and Mrs. Hunt and son are at home in Creston and he will return to school next fall.
Marriage: January 2, Martha Terry and Carmine Chiusano.
Births: January 2, a son, Jeremy, to Mr. and Mrs. Mark Larsen…December 29, a daughter, Corine, to Mr. and Mrs. Pat Winn.
Twenty Five Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, January 4, 1996.)
One of the noticeable changes in Ringgold County in the past year are the “Watch for Horse Drawn Vehicles” signs placed along Hwy 2 & 169, warning drivers that they may come upon a horse-drawn carriage. The arrival of several Amish families who have moved into the Redding area means that some of the methods of farming and transportation of a simpler era are being used again in the county.
Winners have been named in the local Diagonal Hoop Shoot, a qualifying for the Elks Hoop Shoot in Creston, Saturday, January 20. Qualifying from Diagonal event were: 8-9 yr. girls and boys bracket; Gina Gunsolley, Tricia Moffitt, Robbie Mason and Eric Starlin. 10-11 yr. bracket, girls and boys; Danae Smith, Kathy Morse, John Hoyt and Greg Goodale.
12-13 yr. bracket, girls and boys; Shelly Young, Jamie Goins, Wes Cooper and Matt Shackelford.
Ten Years Ago
(From the Mount Ayr Record-News,Thursday, December 20, 2010.)
Early morning fires Monday leave one death, injury in wake. Fires on opposite sides of the Ringgold County early Monday morning destroyed two homes at the Kenneth Nielson property near Blockton. It is feared that Nielson was the victim of that fire, as a body was found in the rubble…A resident of Kathy Newton’s home in Kellerton was treated and released for injuries in that house fire.
Farmland values in Ringgold County bounced back from a slight decrease last year to increase 6 percent, according to the annual survey of farmland value conducted by Iowa State University. The average acre of farmland in Ringgold County is now worth $2,609.
David Showalter has been selected to play in the 2011 Iowa Shrine Bowl. Showalter will be a member of the south team which will face the north squad on July 23 at Iowa State University.
Births: December 20, a daughter, Charlotte, to Bryan and Tiffany Campbell.
Obituaries in this edition were: Robert L. Elliott and Opal Pearl Reynolds Ferber and Byron Willard Hervey.