BY MIKE AVITT This photo appears in the June 12, 1896 edition of the Twice-A-Week News newspaper. The upstairs of 122 S. Taylor was occupied by Dr. C. A. Bent, a dentist. Dr. Bent had located here in March 1896, so that narrows down the date of the photo. Also, Mount Ayr got telephone service…
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BY MIKE AVITT Omer Clay “Pop” Varner is shown here with two trophies. I know one is the 1926 Ringgold County Basketball Tournament for first place and I’m guessing the other one is what was called a “traveling trophy,” which was passed on to each year’s winner. This week’s photo comes courtesy of Max Varner,…
Read MoreBY MIKE AVITT This photo is so historically important, it is described on page 60 of “The Early History of Ringgold County,” by MaryAnn Lesan. It is the earliest photo of Ringgold County I’ve ever seen. The photo is said to have been taken by Ed Hatch in 1869. I read somewhere the photo was…
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BY MIKE AVITT You may have read the Odd Fellows building in Mount Ayr will undergo a restoration effort. I believe I have found the beginning of this historic hall. The 1877 Ringgold Record newspapers are digitized and on the internet, but I could not find the newspapers from 1878. So, I have only half…
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BY MIKE AVITT Thanks to Alfred Holck for this week’s photo. I met Alfred when I was a member of the Burlington Route Historical Society. In 1871, the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad began to construct a branch line from Creston to St. Joseph, Mo. The same year, the B&MR started another branch line…
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BY MIKE AVITT I will continue last week’s article as I found more information in the Mount Ayr Journal newspaper. The Chung family operated a steam laundry in Mt. Ayr, beginning in 1914. I followed the story until 1917 and I lost the trail. Then, in March 1919, I got my last hit for Bow…
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BY MIKE AVITT I had another article planned, but I was inspired by a man asking about the Chinese laundry in Creston. I realized I had a photo and the information, so, let’s look at Mount Ayr’s only Chinese laundry. In July 1914, cousins Charley and Ben Chung (sometimes spelled Chong) came to Mt. Ayr…
Read MoreBY MIKE AVITT The October 26, 1893 Ringgold Record newspaper shared information about Rev. A. Shepherd and his tent meetings near Blockton. So successful were his services, eighty-seven people organized a congregation and set out to erect a church building. The Weekly News of February 22, 1894 showed a land transfer from Mr. and Mrs.…
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BY MIKE AVITT I took this week’s picture in April of 2007. It’s likely this is the oldest, active church building in Ringgold County. Let’s see what the old newspapers say. Unfortunately, once you get into the 1880s with the digitized newspapers, you only have two papers to draw from – The Ringgold Record and…
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BY MIKE AVITT I finally found the information I needed concerning this structure. It was such an ordeal, I want to tell you about it. The Redding Centennial book suggests this building was erected in the 1880s and that it was remodeled in 1905. After years of research, I became suspicious of the construction date.…
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