Snapshot of History by Mike Avitt

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…

By Mike Avitt Thanks again to Grover Hahn for another historic photo. This time we see his grandfather and other relatives in a rare, old football picture. I’ll give you the names I have and then I’ll share my problem with this photo. Second from left, back row, is identified as Basil Willey. Clyde Rusk…

By Mike Avitt This photo comes courtesy of Dr. Grover Hahn and shows a lumber yard for which I previously had no photo. I knew it was there and I knew where and when. Allow me to explain. I have many resources at my disposal including the Sanborn plat maps of Mount Ayr which are…

By Mike Avitt I knew where this house was as soon as I got the photo in my hands. I used to work on houses and I have driven all over Mount Ayr looking at the style, construction makeup, and age of houses for many, many years. The house in this week’s article is that…

By Mike Avitt I’ll ask my readers to take note of an upcoming event in Benton on March 15, 2025. The Benton Museum will be hosting an Open House from 2 to 4 p.m. to show off the new, remodeled museum section in the Benton Community Center. I got a sneak-peek recently while attending supper…