Snapshot of History by Mike Avitt

BY MIKE AVITT The story of Bonnie and Clyde visiting Ringgold County never gets old so I’ll tell it again. Thanks to Doug Still for this week’s photo. The story is really about Marvin “Buck” Barrow, who was one of five members of the Barrow Gang when the outlaws passed through Ringgold County on July…

BY MIKE AVITT The story of Bonnie and Clyde visiting Ringgold County never gets old so I’ll tell it again. Thanks to Doug Still for this week’s photo. The story is really about Marvin “Buck” Barrow, who was one of five members of the Barrow Gang when the outlaws passed through Ringgold County on July…

BY MIKE AVITT Hopefully, you’re familiar with a shop in Chariton, Iowa called Piper’s Candy Store. They have home-made candies and doughnuts, but also groceries. The store still has hardwood floors and wooden shelving. Vintage food and soap packaging is on display throughout the store. This week, we’ll look at Mount Ayr’s connection to the…

BY MIKE AVITT Posing for the picture are (left to right): Frank Sheldon, Zella Campbell, Bernice Moore, and Clare Allyn. Zella married Roy Swartz on May 6, 1925 and Bernice married John (Clem) Sheil on November 10, 1928. Frank Sheldon was president of the Mount Ayr State Bank when this photo was taken. He had…

                                        BY MIKE AVITT I’ve waited many years to get an early photo of Mount Ayr’s roller rink and here it is. Thanks to Linda Swanson for this week’s picture. In 1931, Fay Bryant built the…

BY MIKE AVITT We all have our “favorite” blizzard or winter, but this week we’ll look at a winter very few, if any, remember – the winter of 1936. The Mount Ayr Record-News began reporting on Ringgold County’s worst winter on January 23, 1936. Nearly all of the county roads were blocked by the latest…