Snapshot of History by Mike Avitt

I believe this is my first time covering Barton and Laura (Stiles) Dunning, the first residents of Mount Ayr. We are fortunate to have a picture of Mr. Dunning as he died in 1877. This week’s portraits come from page 3 of the Mount Ayr Centennial Book. So, where did these photos come from and…

I got this week’s picture from both Jeff Klein and Lolly (Beaman) Summerwill. Jeff is the great-grandson of Mr. Downie and Lolly is Downie’s granddaughter. The picture came with the information that Everal Sumner Downie is seen driving his Cartercar with Burr Newton as his passenger. I question the identity of Mr. Newton as Burr…

This week’s picture shows station manager Art Clayton servicing what appears to be a 1928 Chevrolet at the Diagonal Skelly in 1932. Art is wearing a white uniform and I can see three gravity-flow gasoline pumps on a beautifully landscaped driveway. The movie theater can be seen to the left. A large sign advertises Tagolene…

This picture postcard appeared on Facebook recently and I love it. The picture was posted by Tami Foster and shows, not only the Kellerton depot, but the surrounding rail yard. The photographer was situated in an upstairs window of the Odd Fellows building across the street with the camera pointing northwest. The card was postmarked…

By Mike Avitt This week’s photo was taken about 1950 and the photographer gives us a full length view of the Red Crown gas pump in front of the Watterson Store. I can read the words “Red Crown” on the front of the pump. Red Crown was a grade of gasoline sold by the Standard…

By Mike Avitt I was asked about the history of Breakfast with the Master, held at the First Christian Church in Mount Ayr. Breakfast with the Master is a Lenten Service held in the morning during the week preceding Easter and focuses on the betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. This event is sponsored…

By Mike Avitt Automobile travel was popular in the 1920s, but even more so in the 1930s. Despite the Great Depression, motorists took to the road in record numbers. Let’s try to get a better understanding of what motorists encountered in the 1930s. The filling station in this week’s article was built in 1922 as…

By Mike Avitt This week’s picture is a scan of an old 1932 Standard Oil road map and focuses on Ringgold County. The map indicates the locations of Standard Oil service stations with a blue, circled “S” and I count eight in Ringgold County. I got asked about one of these stations so this week…

By Mike Avitt I did not plan an article this week so we’ll continue with Mount Ayr houses and I’ll give you some information I left out of last week’s article. Although I’m not a member, I sometimes attend meetings of the Ringgold County Historic Preservation Commission. I like to call myself a “consultant” but…

By Mike Avitt Brothers Randolph and Walter Beall issued a special edition of their newspaper, Twice-A-Week News, on June 12, 1896. That special edition highlighted the growth and people of Rinngold County and the issue was loaded with pictures. This week’s picture is one of those photos. A house belonging to Mrs. W. C. Manson…