The Press-Dispatch
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C-12 Wednesday, Februar y 7, 2018 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, October 16, 1942 Like the man who invent- ed the better type of mouse trap, John Harrell, Peters- burg Radio man had invent- ed a new type of airplane that has been attracting people from far and wide to study the type. The new plane has a wider body stream- lined in such a manner that the wings form a part of the body giving more strength and allowing wide spacing of the landing gear which will add safety and carrying load to the plane. John got inter- ested in planes shortly after a local concern ran an air- plane building contest last fall and in January started the present model. The mod- el under construction will fly when completed and is pow- ered with a one sixth horse power gasoline motor. The great hazard of field fires at dry season of the year as the present demon- strated last Wednesday eve- ning when a field of sage grass adjoining the right- of-way of the A.W and W. Railway, near the old No. 6 mine of the Ayrshire min- ing company in Patoka town- ship. Had it not been for the watchmen, Fred McCord and Orace Eads, at the tower near there, a fire that could have done untold damage might have occurred. At Kroger, five pound bags of apples were being sold for 23 cents. Ray Henson, who resides north of this city on the old Starke Ferry road, and who is employed as a ground man at one of the Patoka- Ayrshire Coal Co., just out of Winslow, was seriously in- jured Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.n. when a piece of rock in the overburden be- ing removed by one of the large electric shovels, rolled back into the pit, after being deposited on the top of the bank, and struck Henson, badly mashing and breaking his left leg. According to the information received at this office, he suffered greatly from the loss of blood. Births: Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Nicely received word today of a great- grandson born October 8. He was named Rolland C. Beckam, Jr.; Ru- dolph Stone received a card from his son Leon Stone, of Princeton, announcing the arrival of a new baby boy named Leon Conrad; Born October 11 to Mr. and Mrs. Earl Slunder, of near Pikev- ille, a baby boy named Jer- ry Earl; Mrs. Mr. and Mrs. McGaughey, of Bainbridge, Ind., are the proud parents of a girl born October 8. She was named Sandra Sue. Deaths: Mrs. Amanda Byrd, widow of the late Ed- ward Byrd, of Hazelton, died at her home Friday morn- ing at 7:30, following com- plications of diseases due to infirmities of age; Elmer Butrum, one of the widely known deep miners of this county was crushed to death at 10 :45 p.m. Wednesday night in an accident at the Ditney Hill Mine, in Warrick county, owned and operated by David Ingle and others, who were the former oper- ators of the mine at Littles, in this county. Mr. Butram was operating a cutting ma- chine in the mine and in some mammer was caught between the machine and the side of the entry in which he was working andhis chest was so badly crushed that he died almost immediately; SIXTY YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Friday, December 27, 1957 Pike County Deputy Sher- iff Allen Smith was badly in- jured in an auto crash ear- ly Christmas morning on Highway 61, three-and-a- half miles east of Peters- burg. Smith was reported to have a cracked spine, two broken ribs, four fractured ribs, facial cuts and bruises by the Daviess County Hos- pital in Washington. The Deputy Sheriff met a car traveling towards Peters- burg in the middle of the highway and swerved to avoid striking the oncom- ing car. The Smith car hit the soft shoulder and went out of control, turning over and landing in a field near- by. A spine specialist exam- ined Smith Thursday to de- termine the extent of dam- ages to his spine. A full house of approxi- mately 540 children crowd- ed into the Lincoln Theatre for the free "kiddie" show Monday, Dec. 23. The Lin- coln management proved to be a big help to late Christ- mas shoppers. The parents brought their children to town for the movie and then went on with their Christ- mas shopping. The children of the county say thanks to Lincoln. Local police arrested an 11-year-old Petersburg boy on charges of robbing the Voyles I.G.A. Market Sat- urday, Dec. 21 of $ 358 in cash. The boy was appre- hended Dec. 23 by local po- lice Chief Bill Harvey. Har- vey said that he was mak- ing an investigation of the crime when he was told that a boy had inquired the store owner, John Voyles, if the cash drawer of the cash register was left open each night. Harvey said the boy had worked selling Christ- mas trees Saturday at the store for the Boy Scouts. The lad denied having any part in the robbery when questioned by Harvey. But when Harvey found $ 32 in a shirt pocket, the boy admit- ted having taken the money. The money had been placed in hiding places all over the house, Chief Harvey stat- ed. About $ 343 of the sto- len money was recovered. The boy appeared in juve- nile court Tuesday morn- ing, Dec. 24. Mrs. Helen Spray an- nounces the engagement of her daughter, Margaret Jean Spray, to James W. Pirkle, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leon- ard Pirkle, of Winslow. Marriages: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sebastian Weisheit announce the marriage of his daughter, Marie Lore- na, to Mr. Frederick Philip- popoulos-Vendouzis, at 5 p.m. Saturay, December 28, in the St. Peter's Lutheran church of Manhattan, New York City. Births: Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt Potts announce the birth of a son, Monday, Dec. 23, at the Daviess Coun- ty hospital; Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jochim announce the birth of a son on Sun- day, Dec. 22 at the Daviess County hospital. Deaths: Mrs. Verna Teague, Otwell, died Thurs- day, Dec. 26, 1957 in the Jas- per Memorial hospital; Fu- neral services for Harry O. Stafford, 75, Monroe City, were at 10 :30 a.m. Tuesday, at the Harris Funeral home; Funeral services for Mrs. Gertrude Reed, 63, were at 2 p.m. Tuesday, at the Har- ris Funeral home; Funeral services for Charles Kend- all, 79, will be at 2 p.m. Sat- urday, December 28 FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, January 11, 1968 Petersburg school stu- dents, Kindergarten through Grade 6 and Special Education, will be offered free measles vaccine (one in- jection) by the Pike County Board of Health, in cooper- ation with the Pike County School Corporation. Coun- ty Health Officer, Dr. J.W. El- bert, obtained the measles vaccine through Indiana State Board of Health to be used in Pike County. This is part of a national program to eradicate 10 day measles or "Old Fashioned" measles, as it is more commonly known. The measles vaccine will be given at school by Dr. Milton Omstead on Tuesday, Janu- ary 16, at 8:30 a.m. to grades kindergarten, grades 1, 2, and 3. Tuesday, grades 4, 5, 6 and special Education will receive their vaccine. Mayor Thomas F. O'Rourke was sworn in as Democratic Mayor for his second term during brief ceremonies at 12 p.m. in the City Hall of Petersburg, Jan- uary 1. Mrs. Goldie Logan, possibly the first woman to be elected as City Clerk of Petersburg, also took her oath of office. Arthur Miley who lives on highway 61 south of Peters- burg has been able to get around only by the aid of a crutch the past two weeks. While at work at the old Enos Mine south of Win- slow, Thursday, December 28, Mr. Miley was helping fellow workers move some machinery when he stepped on a frozen clod of dirt which rolled with him. When the frozen clod rolled, his ankle turned, causing the small bone in his right leg to crack in two places just above his ankle. Ray Wools, Safety En- gineer at the mine, took him to the Good Samaritan hos- pital emergency room where the painfully injured leg was placed in a cast. Fire of undetermined or- igin completely destroyed the Village Inn, a promi- nent eating place south of Petersburg on highway 57, early Sunday morning at 2 a.m. The building, fixtures and supplies were a total loss and were only particu- larly covered by insurance. John Anderson, who was on his way home after attend- ing a party with a group of young folk, saw smoke pour- ing from the Village Inn. He stopped and went to the door to warn anyone that might be inside but didn't see the trailer on the south side of the building where the pro- prietors, Mr. and Mrs. Eitle Blythe live. When he could arouse no one, he went into Petersburg and notified the fire department. Mr. and Mrs. Blythe did not know the building was on fire. They are considering re- building in the future. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. John Broker, of Hunting- burg, a son, born Sunday, January 7 at St. Joseph's hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Reed, of Lexing- ton, a son, Robert Ray, born December 28; To Mr. and Mrs. William Bakeis of Linton, a daughter, Chris- tine DeAnn, born Decem- ber 29 at the hospital in Lin- ton; To Mr. and Mrs. Gary K. Grant, of Oakland City, a daughter, Stacy Kay, born Wednesday, January 3; To Mr. and Mrs. James White- head, of Otwell, a daugh- ter, April Marie, born Mon- day, January 8; To Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Reed of Oak- land City, a daughter, Angela Kaye; To Mr. and Mrs. Low- ell Dillon, of Jasper, a daugh- ter, Heather Dawn; To A-1c and Mrs. William C. Smith, of Bangor, Maine, their first child, a son, Jay Carl, born Tuesday, January 9; To Mr. and Mrs. Jon McCandless, of Winslow, a son, Monday, January 8. Deaths: Melvin F. Fergu- son, 59, Charlestown, who had been employed since Christmas as a combustion engineer at the Indianapolis Power and Light Company, Petersburg plant, died from a heart attack at 7:45 Mon- day morning; Funeral ser- vices for Mrs. Ray (Arsena F.) Veale, 69, of Otwell, were conducted Monday at 10 a.m. at V.L. Poindexter Fu- neral Home in Washington; Mrs. Lesta Miller, of Spur- geon, reported to the Press- Dispatch that her uncle, James A. Parke of Temple, Ariz., native of Spurgeon, died Thursday, January 4, at 1 a.m. in a Temple hospital; Mrs. Lilly Belle Parker, 69, of Mt. Carmel, Ill., who with her husband were formerly in business in Petersburg, died Saturday, December 30, in the Mt. Carmel hos- pital after a year's illness of cancer. She was critically ill one month. Tonia Lea El- liott, nine day old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest El- liott, of Otwell, died at 2 a.m. Friday in Welborn-Baptist hospital in Evansville. The infant was taken to the hos- pital Thursday. Death was possibly from a heart defect; Mrs. Bessie Bradfield, 94, of Petersburg, died at 8:35 p.m. Monday, January 8, at the Daviess County hospi- ta; where she had been a pa- tient since Friday; Services for Mrs. Bessie Strickland, 79, who died at 5 a.m. Satur- day at her home in Mackey was at 10 :30 a.m. Tuesday at Mackey EUB church, with burial in Townsley ceme- tery; Mrs. Maude Chumb- ley, 76, Winslow, died Thurs- day, January 4, at St. Mary's hospital, Evansville at 11:30 p.m. Services were at 2:30 ; Funeral services for Mrs. Lydia J. Willis, 89, who lived four miles southwest of Pe- tersburg, were conducted Friday at 2 p.m. at Lamb Funeral Home in Oakland City; Mrs. Myrtle May Kin- man, 78, Monroe City, died at the Good Samaritan hos- pital in Vincennes at 2 a.m. Sunday after a lingering ill- ness; Graveside services for the infant son, Chad Jon, of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Roeder, Jr., of Oywell, will be con- ducted today, Thursday, at 11 a.m.; Funeral services for Mrs. Mary McRoberts Coleman, 64, of Princeton, native of Union, Pike coun- ty, will be Thursday, today, at Colvin Chapel in Prince- ton; Mrs. Lucinda Garrison, 97, of Oakland City, died at 1:55 a.m. Sunday morning at Gibson General hospital. Mrs. Garrison was born No- vember 18, 1870. TWENTY- FIVE YEARS The Press-Dispatch Thursday, January 7, 1993 A Petersburg man was hit with a mop handle Mon- day night as he attempted to enter his house in what po- lice think was a foiled bur- glary attempt. According to Pike County Deputy Sher- iff Rick Chamberlain, Pren- tice Offil, Petersburg, came home late Monday night and went to the back of his home where he has an entrance in- to his basement. Chamber- lain said Offil went into his basement and got a load of clother out of his dryer and then went back around to the front of his house. When he bent over to put his key in the lock, someone hit him in the back of the head with a mop handle. Offil told Chamber- lain it briefly knocked him unconscious and when he got up, no one was around. Chamberlain said there was no sign of forced entry and nothing was taken. He said it appears Offil came home when a burglar was trying to break in, and he his in a closet on the porch until he hit Offil. County commissioners started the new year by re- organizing on January 1. The only personnel change came at the top. Gary McCandless replaced Tom Deen as coun- ty superintendent. County superintendent is in charge of the county highway ga- rage and county landfill and has a supervisor under him in each of these depart- ments. Ironically, it was Gary McCandless who was fired to make room for Deen eight years ago, when Democrats Wilmer Whitehead and Jim Shoultz took majority control of the commissioners. Now eight years later, Republi- cans Arvel Grubb and Mike Vaughn have given the ma- jority of the three-member commissioners back to the Republicans. Amy Krohn received her B.S. degree in legal stud- ies from the University of Evansville in the graduation ceremony on December 18 at 2 p.m. She is employed at Verdelski Miller law office in Evansville. Robie and Jerry Carter and families hosted a party for their parents Earl and Anna Mae Carter celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on December 10 at a restaurant in Jasper. Jamie Onyett and Rebec- ca Riley, of Petersburg, Kim- berly Jarvis and Tammra Thompson, of Winslow were named to the dean's list at Indiana Business College in Vincennes. Deaths: James Haskell Woolsey, 83, of Scottsburg- Bethel community, Oakland City, was dead on arrival at Wirth Hospital in Oakland City at 10 :40 a.m. Sunday, January 3; Carl J. MArvel, 79, died Friday, January 1, at 9:45 a.m. at the home of a daughter near Stendal; Rhe- ba Barr, 88, of Petersburg, died at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31 at Petersburg Health Care Center; Catherine Mar- guerite Ashby, 65, of Peters- burg, died Friday, Jan. 1 at 10 p.m. at Holiday Care Nursing Home in Evansville; Marvin R. Anderson, 65, of Monroe City, died at 9:22 p.m. Thurs- day, Dec. 31 at Good Samar- itan Hospital in Vincennes; Darryl Ray Mays, 23, of Ha- zelton, died Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 12:41 p.m. at Indianapo- lis Methodist Hospital suffer- ing fromcancer; Alice Erma- dine Luff, 69, of Scottsburg community, Oakland City, died at 2:13 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 29 at her residence; Sib- yl Flack, 91, of Indianapolis, formerly of Somerville, died Thursday, Dec. 31 at 12:15 a.m. at Indianapolis Method- ist Hospital; Opha Cox, 74, of Petersburg, died Friday, Jan. 1 at 1:35 a.m. at Petersburg Health Care Center. WES 6th grade 1970—Mrs. Lucille Wood Front row: Charles Denton, Dale Nalley, Phillip Ferguson, Eddie Bailey, David Hill, Russell Hale, Terry Coleman and Alan Ro- bling; Middle row: Nancy Pirkle, Hazel Wade, Cynthia Samples, Dixie Grissom, Janice Embry, Martha Jones, Nyla Riddle and Glo- ria Bruce. Back row: Kimberly King, Sandra Alford, Alan Todd, Hubert Barrett, Gary Couts, Timothy Newton, Donald Weathers, Ethel Meinhart, Peggy Butler, Ronald Taylor and Beverly Bennett. Wednesday, February 7 • Beatles arrive in New York (1964) • The Great Baltimore Fire begins (1904) Thursday, February 8 • Mary Queen of Scots beheaded (1587) • First execution by lethal gas (1924) Friday, February 9 • Daylight Saving Time instituted (1942) • William Henry Harrison is born (1773) Saturday, February 10 • The French and Indian War ends (1763) • Mormons begin exodus to Utah (1846) Sunday, February 11 • Nelson Mandela released from prison (1990) • Underdog Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson (1990) Monday, February 12 • Congress enacts first fugitive slave law (1793) • President Abraham Lincoln is born (1809) Tuesday, February 13 • Patrick Henry named colonel of First Virginia battalion (1776) • Galileo in Rome for Inquisition (1633) Source: History.com