The Press-Dispatch
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C-8 Wednesday, September 20, 2017 The Press-Dispatch HISTORY Submit history photos: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: news@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Friday, August 7, 1942 Petersburg will have a cir- cus. The advance agent of King Bros. Circus was here the first of this week making arrangements and billing the engagement for Saturday, Au- gust 8, benefit for the Ameri- can Legion, Conrad Post 179. Two performances will be giv- en, at 2 and 8 p.m. The compa- ny includes The Valencia Trio, The Zopple Troup, The Zavat- ta's, Junx Houghland, Fisher's Elephants, The Hodgens, Er- nie the Contortionist, Marga- ret Pettis, sensational swing and ladder act, Frank Stout and his trained dogs, ponies and goats and Claud Meters and his concert band. Pop- ular prices will be charged. The show will be at the Ameri- can Legion Park, formerly the Fair Grounds, where there is plenty of parking space and shade. The regular monthly Well Child Conference will be at the Pike County Nurses Of- fice, 108 N. 8th Street, Peters- burg, on Tuesday, August 11 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. At the last conference eight children were given smallpox vaccina- tions and three were given their first Diptheria Immuni- zation. The Petersburg City Band met Tuesday evening in the K of P hall for their regular weekly practice, and at the close of the practice were in- vited into the dining, to find a fine cake and large packer of ice cream. The cake and ice cream were furnished by Mr. and Mrs. Courtney Miley and was served by Mrs. Frank Thomas, Mrs. Albert Stone- cipher and daughter and H.S. Curtis. The members of the band appreciated the gener- osity of Mr. and Mrs. Miley and the evening was one of the most pleasant spent by the band this season. The band closed their last concert for the season here Thursday evening. These concerts are enjoyed by the public and have been attended each Thursday by large crowds. Mrs. Clarence Bell, from near Brenton Chapel, was most delightfully surprised Sunday when she returned from church to see a large number of her friends assem- bled on the front lawn and a long table spread with boun- teous food. Marriages: Mrs. Esther Anderson, of Petersburg, an- nounces the marriage of her daughter, Iretta to Matthew Miley, son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Miley; Mr. and Mrs. George Ballard Snow of Parker Dam, Calif., announce the marriage of their daugh- ter Virginia Ballard to Corpo- ral Hubert Senior Jerrell, who is in the United States Army; At the Methodist parsonage at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon Reverend R. M. Taylor unit- ed Mr. Joe Davis and Martha M. Osborn in marriage. The couple are both from Oakland City and will reside there af- ter their honeymoon; Miss Helen Louise Carr was unit- ed in marriage to Glenn Agee Chumbley, Saturday evening at 8. Births: Born Wednesday to Mr. and Mrs. William Gar- ner, of the Dutchtown neigh- borhood, a baby girl named Juanita Sue. Deaths: Word came to Mrs. Rufus Colvin Thursday morning that Mrs. Core Hale, a former resident of this city, had passed away at the Robert Long hospital, in Indianapolis at 1 a.m. following an illness of two months of carcinoma. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Friday, August 9, 1957 The schools in Jefferson, Lockhart, Marion, Monroe and Patoka Townships will start school Friday, August 23. Schools in Logan, Mad- ison and Washington Town- ships will start school Mon- day, August 26. Clay township school will start Wednesday, August 28. Pike County In- stitute will be Friday, August 30 at 9 a.m. There will be no school on Labor Day. Annual meeting of the Knox-Pike Counties REMC is planned for 1:30 p.m. Thurs- day, August 15, at the Panthe- on Theatre in Vincennes. Reg- istration will begin at noon. Entertainment, reports, ward- ing of prizes, annual business meeting and election of direc- tors are planned for the affair. To men who joined the First National Bank in recent weeks are preparing this week to move their families to Petersburg. George Heil- man, cashier, formerly assis- tant vice president at Old Na- tional Bank in Evansville, has acquired the home of the late Joe O'Brien and hopes to oc- cupy it within a week. Albert J. Alley, who comes to Peters- burg from the bank at Chris- ney where he was cashier, will live in the Corn Proper- ty at 8th and Locust Streets. Two automobiles crashed at 10th and Poplar streets, a pref- erential street intersection, at 3 p.m. Thursday, resulting in about $400 damage but no in- juries. A car driven by Freder- ick R. Mitchell, 18, put down 25 feet of skid marks before it crashed into a car driven by William G. Scott, 34, of Mon- roe City. Damage to Mitch- ell's was $225 while damage to Scott's was at $175. City of- ficers said no charges were filed. It's been a busy sum- mer around the high school building while thirteen pu- pils worked hard at master- ing instruction on how to drive a car. No telephone poles are down, no fenders were creased. The teacher, Richard Houchin, is not tak- ing nerve medicine. Births: Born to Mr. and Mrs. Bob Harris, on August 2, a daughter, Lelisa Jayne; A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Claude Postlewait, of Otwell, Monday, August 5; Born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Alley, a son, Donald Eugene. Deaths: Funeral servic- es for William S. Thomp- son, 92, Winslow, were at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Win- slow Methodist church; Alt Houchins, 55, is to be buried at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the Cup Creek cemetery at Velpen. He died about 7 p.m. Aug. 6, fol- lowing a period of despon- dency; Funeral services for James Stinson, 65, Winslow were at 10 :30 a.m. Tuesday, August 6, at the Curtis Cha- pel; Elmer G. Hart, 57, Princ- eton, died at 9 a.m. Wednes- day in the Gibson County hos- pital after four months illness; Funeral services for Mary M. Blake, 78, were held at 2 p.m., Tuesday at the Primitive Bap- tist church in Oakland City; Funeral services for Martha E. Walker, 86, Spring Valley, Calif., who died Aug, 7, will be at 2 p.m. Monday at the Har- ris Funeral Home. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, August 24, 1967 The Oakland City Lions' Club is sponsoring a "Sweet Corn Festival" beginning at 5 o'clock on Thursday, August 31, and continuing through Saturday, September 2. It will open with a parade down Main street featuring bands and the queen candidates in convertibles. During the chock boat op- erations here in this area, bi- ologists found excellent fish qualities and stated that fer- tilization program carried out here in previous months is showing results. Don Mann, manager of the Patoka State Fish and Game Area, is shown with a nice sized bass taken from the water of East Twin Pit in the fish and game area. Over 400 people gathered at Hornady Park last Satur- day night to honor one of Pike county's distinguished citizens, former U.S. Senator Honer E. Capehart. Capehart, who now resides on his farm in northern Daviess county, recalled several times during the course of the evening ma- ny pleasant memories of his early youth when he lived in Pike County. Michael Gross, two, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gross of Ayrshire, was taken to the St. Joseph's hospital in Hunting- burg Saturday evening after a jack flew from under a car and hit him in the left cheek. Mi- chael's father had jacked the car up preparing to change a tire when the jack flew out from beneath the car and hit Michael who was stand- ing nearby. Eighteen stitch- es were required to close the wound. He was then brought where he is reported to be do- ing nicely. First Pike County casualty of the Viet Nam conflict oc- curred Saturday, August 19, when Staff Sergeant James W. Ragle died from the results of gunshot wounds. Deaths: Doyle Robling, 58, well known citizen of Win- slow, died Tuesday, August 22 at 10 :15 p.m. in the Welborn Baptist hospital where he had been a patient two and a half weeks; Harold Brochin, 56, Indianapolis, died sudden- ly at 4 p.m. Thursday while at his work; Fred Finney, 82, of Petersburg, died Saturday, August 19, at 9:45 p.m. of a heart attack at his residence; Osete Klusmeier, wife of Wil- liam Klusmeier who writes "Bill Sez" for the Press Dis- patch, died Sunday, Aug 20, at 5:30 p.m. at their home; Josie O'Neill, 84, died Satur- day, August 19 at 7:15 p.m. at Rest Well Nursing Home, Vin- cennes; Paul Ward, 46, of the Pleasant Ridge community, died Wednesday, August 16, in the emergency room at the Daviess County hospital at 8:15 p.m.; Funeral servic- es for Vernon James Kell, 78, a lifetime resident of Somer- ville and Oakland City were at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Corn Mortuary; Mrs. Cora Sprad- ley, 84, of Stendal, died Satur- day, August 19, in the St. Jo- seph's hospital where she had been a patient three weeks; Mrs. Cyrus Woodall received word of the death of her aunt, Lydia Willis Chambers, 81, of Pawnee, Illinois; Cecil McK- inney of Oakland City re- ceived word of the death of his brother, Harold McKinney; Word has been received here of the recent death of Louis A. Shearer, 89, of Anderson. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, August 20, 1992 Area neighbors recently got their wish to have a four- way stop installed on Sev- enth St. It is their hope that this will slow traffic in front of their houses where ma- ny small children play and cars zoom by at speeds of al- most 50 mph. The sign was installed by city workers last Thursday. So far, most people have been stopping. A legal dispute in Pike County's Small Claims Court turned into a scene resem- bling a professional wres- tling match last Thursday as two women came to blows and then grappled with each oth- er before order could be re-es- tablished in the court. Small Claims Court Judge W. Wyatt Rauch said it is the first time he has ever seen anything like that in his court. Judge Rauch said he had his head down taking notes following testi- mony by Carolyn Woods. Ap- parently the fight broke out as Woods was returning to her seat from the witness stand. Rauch said he heard a com- motion and looked up to see Woods and Delores Robling wrestling, with one woman having the other in a head- lock. He said the women's husbands were trying to sepa- rate them. During the scuffle, a chair was turned over and struts in the railing between the spectators' and officials' part of the small claims court were knocked out. Rauch said he yelled at the top of his voice to settle down the commotion. Court reporter Shirley Ste- vens said she left the court- room to call the police. The Petersburg City Coun- cil, in a 4-1 vote Monday night approved the zoning ordi- nance with two amendments. The amendments will now be considered by the plan com- mission at a special meeting set for Wednesday, Septem- ber 2. If the commission ap- proves the amendments, the zoning ordinance will be ef- fective immediately, accord- ing to city attorney Russell Mahoney. Rick Chamberlain, depu- ty Pike County Sheriff, and State Trooper W.W. George were part of a team of local and state police participating on a county-wide sweep to eradicate marijuana patches. Contractors will have until 1 p.m. September 22, to sub- mit their bids on Pike Coun- ty's new 44-bed jail, according to architect Lawrence Gold- berg. He said the final plans will be formally drawn mad made public on August 24 for contractors interested in bid- ding on the project. Marriages: James Weigant and Sarah Marshall were unit- ed in marriage at Petersburg Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center on July 30 at 2 p.m. Rev. Jay Litherland conduct- ed the double ring ceremony created by Rita Barkhaus. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Greg Stieneker of Indianapo- lis on Tuesday, Aug. 11, their first child, a son, Joshua Al- an; To Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Scott Boebinger of Westfield, N.J. on Wednesday, Aug. 5, a son, Matthew Gray. Deaths: Helen G. Cole- man, 83, of Petersburg died Saturday, Aug. 15, at 3:55 p.m. at her residence; Marion W. Hayes, 73, of Otwell, died Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 11:43 a.m. at Memorial Hospital in Jasper; Gary A. Krieg, 38, og Huntingburg, brother of Mi- chael Krieg of Velpen, died at 10 :30 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, in the emergency room at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hunting- burg; Leonard ( Jake) Like, 67, of Wheatland, died Fri- day, Aug. 14, at 5:49 p.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes suffering from a heart attack; Cortney B. Wil- lis, 82, of Petersburg, died at 3:19 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, at Memorial Hospital in Jasper; Ortho H. Greene, 82, of Chan- dler, died at 10 :12 p.m. Sun- day, Aug. 9, at St. Mary's Med- ical Center in Evansville; Wil- fred "Hack" Wilson, 89, for- mer Pike County native, died at 6:25 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, at Miller's Merry Manor in Columbia City, where he had been a patient since June 10 ; Alonzo Hill, 82, of Princ- eton, died at 7:43 p.m. Satur- day, Aug. 15, at the VA Hospi- tal in Marion, Ill. By Sandy McBeth Pike County Historical Society The history of Petersburg actually begins with the for- mation of Pike County. It sprang from the need for a county seat for the newly formed county. In February of 1817 four men came for- ward and donated land for the village site. These men were Peter Brenton, Hen- ry Miley, Sr., Henry Miley, Jr., and John Coonrod. They donated a total of 112 acres of fine hill-top land located about 3/4 of a mile east of the settlement of White Oak Springs. The donation was made to form a perfect rect- angle for the town site and was valued at that time for $20,000.00. For an idea of the original size of Peters- burg, imagine a rectangle formed from the lines of 5th Street and 12th Street by Spruce Street and Maple Street. Petersburg was named in honor of Peter Brenton, who donated the largest tract of land (83 ½ acres). Ho- sea Smith surveyed off the streets and lots for the town on April 3, 1817. There were a total of 166 lots. Twelve lots consisted of one acre each, two lots at one-half acre each and one-hundred fifty- two lots at one-fourth acre each. Main Street, "laid-off" following part of the "Old Buffalo Trace" was 100 feet wide and a third of a mile long running "from Hen- ry Miley's ash tree to Peter Brenton's new building". Pe- ter Brenton's home was lo- cated at the corner of Wal- nut and 4th Streets on the lot where the Pike County Sher- iff's Department and County Jail now sits. On April 14, 1817 the County Commissioners held the first sale of lots in the new village. The first lot sold at the auction was # 83 which sold for $144.00 to Robert M. Evans. HL S Health & Well- ness now sits on this site. Lot # 84 where the old In- tegra Bank was located was purchased for $120. By 1825 one-hundred and twenty- two lots had been sold for a total of $13,984.87. Gleanings From the Pike County Democrat, 1902 1986 Pike Central Chargers Open Sectional The Pike Central Chargers opened sectional and played on Wednesday, March 5, 1986 at 6:30 p.m. against Loogootee. Pictured in the front row from left to right are managers Chad Evans, David Pipes and Eric Shoup. In the second row, from left to right, are cheerleaders April Whitehead, Jody Mattingly, Stacy Shoultz, Angie Hunley, Carlene Garland, Missy Gaines, Dana Bohnert and Janet Hagemeyer. In the third row, from left to right, are Barry Welch, Mark Ashley, Mike Morris, Steve Pride, Chad Lemond and Tim Carlisle. In the back row are assistant coach Ken Leinenbach, Dwayne Sanders, Trent Horrall, Chris Nelson, Mike Key, Matt Bellamy, Briane Beane and head coach Ned Wicker. Photo submitted by Linda Boyles Continued Next Week Wednesday, September 20 • Kennedy proposes joint mis- sion to the moon (1963) • Magellan sets out (1519) Thrusday, September 21 • Benedict Arnold commits treason (1780) • Monarchy abolished in France (1792) Friday, September 22 • Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation (1862) • President Kennedy signs Peace Corps legislation (1961) Saturday, September 23 • Billy the Kid arrested for the first time (1875) • Lewis and Clark return (1806) Sunday, September 24 • The First Supreme Court (1789) • The Mormon Church official- ly renounces polygamy (1890) Monday, September 25 • Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., arrested (1957) • Bill of Rights passes Congress (1789) Tuesday, September 26 • First Kennedy-Nixon debate (1960) • Drake circumnavigates the globe (1580) Source: History.com