The Press-Dispatch
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C-10 Wednesday, July 31, 2019 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 and Tuesday, March 24 and 28, 1944 A fire which started in a large clothes closet at the home of Mrs. and Mrs. Frank Holland, burned all the family clothing, bed clothing, and destroyed the furniture in two rooms. The rooms were also damaged. Mrs. Holland discovered the fire about noon Wednesday when she saw smoke coming from the closet. She opened the door and flames busted out in her face. In an effort to pull the burning contents out of the closet, one of her hands was severely burned. The city fire department was summoned and togeth- er with the aid of neighbors the fire was extinguished before it broke through the roof. The damage is estimat- ed to be around $1,000 and is partly insured by the Wen- dell Kinman Agency. Early Thursday morn- ing, a freight train moving through Petersburg jumped the track and smashed up eleven cars. No one was in- jured. The wreck was be- lieved to have been caused by a broken rail. Work of clearing the tracks was started almost immediately and was well under way by noon Thursday. Traffic was expected to be in normal op- eration on Friday. A new restaurant, Dosch's Cafe, will open for business Thursday in the building for- merly occupied by the Tomp- kins Ice Cream Co. The res- taurant is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Albert Dosch and will be operated by them with the aid of Mr. and Mrs. Al- va Steen. Mr. Dosch is well known here in Petersburg, having been a building con- tractor who has completed several jobs in Petersburg. He will continue in this busi- ness in addition to helping with the restaurant. Mrs. Dosch is not as well known but has a pleasing person- ality and should soon make many friends. Births: To Mrs. and Mrs. Wendell Craig, an 8 pound boy, in Daviess County Hos- pital, Sunday, March 26, named Roger Warren; To Mr. and Mrs. William Garland, a 7 1/2 pound girl, at the home of Mrs. Garland's parents in Ot- well, on Sunday; To Mr. and Mrs. Robert McGaughey on Tuesday night, March 21, a 9 3/4 pound girl named Sharon Rae, at the home of Mrs. Mc- Gaughey's parents. Deaths: Miss Margaret Ruth McClure, 19, died at the home of her parents in Augus- ta Saturday evening at 6:30 o'clock following an illness of only one day. An abscess of the brain was given as the cause of her death; Mrs. Mary Bradfield, 78, died at her home north of this city after an illness of several months. She suffered a stroke of paral- ysis several months ago and had been in a serious condi- tion since that time. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Thursday, June 25, 1959 Bill Hunt, of Princeton, formerly of Oakland City, is in serious condition in the Western Baptist Hospital, Pa- ducah, Ky., from serious in- juries he received when his cabin cruiser exploded and burned Saturday afternoon at 2:30 at Kentucky Lake. He received multiple fractures of both legs and feet, lacerated arm requiring twenty stitch- es, both knee caps injured and first degree burns from his neck down. The fire com- pletely destroyed the 34 foot long boat, the boat dock and gasoline supplies. Playing at the Oakland City Drive-In Theater was "Kelly and Me," "Peyton Place," and "A Farewell to Arms." At Red and White, cake mixes were selling for $ .10 per box; potato chips for $ .39 for a giant twin pack; and chuck roast for $ .49 a pound. Births: To Sgt. and Mrs. Paul France, a son, Brian Ed- win, weighing 11 lbs, in the Gibson General Hospital at Princeton, Tuesday, June 16. Marriages: Miss Patty Lou Slaven was united in marriage June 13 to Donald Cox in the Free Methodist Church; Miss Mary Jane Himsel and Mr. Fred J. Roeder, Jr. were unit- ed in marriage in the Otwell United Methodist Church on Saturday evening, June 13 at 8 o'clock; Miss Nancy Sue Hor- rell and Donald Wayne Da- vis exchanged vows at 8 p.m. June 20 in the First United Methodist Church in Peters- burg; Miss Sharla Selby and Gary Cox were united in mar- riage Saturday, June 6, in the Winslow Church of God. Deaths: Mrs. Cora Con- rad, 73, of Somerville, died Tuesday, June 23, at 6 a.m. in Welborn Baptist Hospital in Evansville, where she had been a patient for one day. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, July 10, 1969 Two cars and a truckload of wheat were apparently stolen and returned Monday morn- ing by an unidentified pair of youth. Along with the stolen cars, a tape player and several tapes were stolen which were not returned. About 4:30 a.m., someone awakened Mitt Bea- dles, according to Winslow Town Marshal O.D. Erwin, and asked him to help them get out of the ditch. They were on the north side of Winslow on Highway 61. Beadles told them they might get Marion DeMotte to pull them out, ac- cording to the police officer, but when they got to the De- Motte home, there was no one there. A fter looking around, the pair found the truck, load- ed with wheat, and also a tape player and tapes in Ron De- Motte's auto, and attempted to pull the car out of the ditch with the truck. They had tak- en the car from Scraper Sales, Inc. parking lot and it was a brand new 1969 Ford. They were unable to pull the car out with the truck, so they apparently drove to the res- idence of William Crawford and stole his "mine" car, then drove back, put the truck back, and then went back to where the first stolen car was in the ditch. They had Beadles call the McCord Au- to Sales wrecker, driven by James Camfield, who then pulled them out. They paid the wrecker fee of $10, drove on their way and put all three vehicles back. The new car was wrecked on one side and the truck load of wheat was ruined by the early morn- ing rain. Neither Beadles nor Camfield recognized the pair. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Shelby Robling, of Spurgeon, a son, Shelby, Jr., Friday, July 4 in the Gibson General Hos- pital in Princeton. Deaths: Ulysses Sam Ab- bott, 82, died Friday evening at the Oakland City Rest Home following a long illness; Mrs. Mazo Stewart, 81, of Oakland City, died of a stroke on Wednesday, July 2; Melvin R. Robling, 63, of Petersburg, died at 5:30 a.m., Sunday, Ju- ly 6, suffering from cirrhosis of the liver; Ira Traylor, 72, of Otwell, died Sunday, July 6 in Memorial Hospital in Jas- per; Marlin "Noggin" McClel- lan, 44, of Glezen, died Mon- day in Gibson General Hospi- tal; Mrs. Audrey McCullough, 88, of Oakland City, died Mon- day at Welborn Baptist Hospi- tal in Evansville. TWENTY- FIVE YEARS The Press-Dispatch Thursday, June 23, 1994 Area residents have been suffering through an extend- ed heat wave that is baking the Midwest to the tune of near record high tempera- tures for the last 10 days, but got a brief relief from the heat with a shower Tuesday after- noon. The rain dropped tem- peratures from the mid-90s to near 90 degrees. The storm had strong winds in the cen- tral part of the county, down- ing two trees in John Bememt II's yard in Campbelltown. Temperatures have been above 90 since June 13. A Princeton man was ar- rested on a charge of bat- tery following a violent beat- ing of his wife along the road- side in Winslow, according to police. Ronald Meade, 37, of Princeton, was arrested at about 8 p.m. Sunday after a resident called police telling them a man was beating his wife near the corner of Sec- ond and Brenton sts. in Win- slow. Winslow Town Marshal Steve English said when he arrived, the man was gone and the woman was bleeding from the face and mouth, and possibly had broken ribs. Eng- lish said Meade had gotten in- to his car, leaving his wife and kids along the roadside and drove away after the witness yelled to him he had called the police. English said Sher- iff's Deputy Jeff Clements was only a few blocks away and heard the description of the car. He saw the car pull onto Highway 61 and stopped him. English said Clements no- ticed the odor of alcohol and issued a sobriety test, which Meade failed. They took him to the Pike County Jail, where he tested .13 percent for blood alcohol content, according to English. Meade was charged with battery, operating a ve- hicle while intoxicated and driving with expired license plates. Births: To Brian and Stacy Veale, of Winslow, a son, Tyler Allen on June 13 at St. Mary's Medical Center; To Richard and Laura Williams, of Win- slow, at St. Mary's Medical Center, on Friday, June 10, their first child, a son, Hunt- er Ryan; To Vicky Williams and Earl Cox, of Petersburg, at Good Samaritan Hospital, Saturday, June 4, a son, Ricky Wayne. Marriages: Diane Elaine Williams and Mark Baumann were united in marriage Sat- urday, May 21 at 7 p.m. at Good Shepherd United Meth- odist Church in Oakland City. Deaths: Susan A. gray, 86, of Otwell, died Wednesday, June 15 at 1:54 a.m. at her res- idence; Orpah P. Bostick, 82, of Petersburg, died Tuesday, June 14 at 9:42 p.m. at Daviess County Hospital in Washing- ton; Lucy O'Neal, 93, of Oak- land City, died Saturday, June 11 at 7:35 p.m. at Wirth Os- teopathic Hospital in Oakland City; William Paul Robling, 66, of Union, died Friday eve- ning June 17 at his residence. 1979 Pike Central Janitors Pictured above are the 1979 janitors for Pike Central High and Middle School. Pictured are (l to r): Frank Dedrick, Mary Kent, Arthur Culver, Grace Stradt- ner, Marie Morton and Charles Earley. Photo from archive. CREATIVITY. OUR SPECIALTY. The Press Dispatch PIKE COUNTY'S NEWS NETWORK Design by two of Indiana's top designers is included with every ad purchase. Call today! 812-354-8500 OR ADS@PRESSDISPATCH.NET Wednesday, July 31 • Jimmy Hoffa disappears (1975) • Hurricane sinks Spanish treasure ships (1715) Thursday, August 1 • Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen (1774) • First drive-through ATM opens in China (2007) Friday, August 2 • Iraq invades Kuwait (1990) • Delegates sign Declaration of Independence (1776) Saturday, August 3 • Nautilus travels under North Pole (1958) • Columbus sets sail (1492) Sunday, August 4 • Anne Frank captures (1944) • Lizzie Borden's parents found dead (1892) Monday, August 5 • First electric traffic signal installed (1914) • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed (1963) Tuesday, August 6 • American bomber drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima (1945) • First execution by electric chair (1890) Source: History.com