The Press-Dispatch
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C-10 Wednesday, December 18, 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, August 11 and August 15, 1944 A few days ago, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Ficklin had a telegram from the war de- partment informing them their son, Tech. Sgt. Floyd J. Ficklin, had been wound- ed. Since then, a letter has been received from Sgt. Ficklin in which he told them his right arm had been amputated near the shoulder, also, his right lit- tle toe had been amputat- ed because of injuries re- ceived during combat du- ty in France on July 6. He is also recovering from shrapnel wounds in the right leg. He writes he is getting along nicely and is in a good American hospi- tal. A telegram was received Tuesday by Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Davis, of Algiers, from the war department informing them that their son, Tech. Sgt. Donald Da- vis, 20, has been missing in action in France since July 17. T/Sgt. Davis was a ra- dioman in a B-24 bomber and had been in combat du- ty in both Italy and France. In his last letter, he had completed his 32nd mis- sion. On one of their raids made over Germany, their plane was badly damaged, and for a time, thought they would have to bail out, but finally made it back to the base. He has been award- ed the air medal. He was inducted into the army two years ago and received his training as radioman and tail gunner in St. Peters- burg, Fla., Scott Field, Ill., Wendover Field., Utah and Gowen Field, Idaho. The Christmas mail- ing period for army and navy forces overseas will be the same as last year, Sept. 15 -Oct. 15, the post office department has an- nounced. A fter Oct. 15, no gift parcel may be mailed to a soldier without the pre- sentation of a written re- quest from him. Because of shipping demands and the need for giving preference to arms, munitions, medi- cine and food, gifts must be mailed early and per- son mailing to far distant points are urged to start their mailing on the open- ing day, Sept. 15. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Rollo D. Smith, of Peters- burg, on Friday, a daugh- ter, Barbara Jo; To Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Tharp, of Petersburg, a girl, Patricia Mae, born August 7. Marriages: Eva Mae Cockerham and Pfc. Rob- ert Cockerham, were mar- ried recently at the Bap- tist parsonage at Morgan- field, Ky.. Deaths: Sarah Eliza- beth Stephens, of Win- slow, died Tuesday, August 8 at 5:30 o'clock in the af- ternoon; Miss Wilhelmine Reisenbeck, 82, died at 8 o'clock Friday morning at the home of her nephew in Velpen. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Thursday, November 12, 1959 Ernest Grimes' 1953 Pontiac was stolen recent- ly on Franklin and Main streets in Evansville. Mr. Grimes stopped at a store to get some break and milk on his way home from his work at 5 p.m., when he came out of the store seven minutes later, the car was gone and with it, a box of cigars he had purchased earlier to pass out to his friends, as his wife had just presented him with a new son. The Evansville police found the car four days lat- er on Illinois street one block from where it had been taken. It had been driven 140 miles. The on- ly damage to the car was a broken spring. A barn belonging to Wil- lard Copeland in Oakland City was completely de- stroyed by fire Tuesday night. The barn was struck by lightning and was ablaze immediately, burn- ing quite a bit of hay and corn. Twelve cows which were in the barn apparently became frightened during the electrical storm and es- caped before being caught in the flames. A tractor and other implements were al- so lost in the blaze. Accord- ing to the Copeland family, lightning also struck a tree near their kitchen windows just before the bolt set the barn afire. Marriages: Rachel Lumbrix and John Shelton were married at 4 p.m. Sat- urday, at Pilgrim Holiness Church in Bruceville; Ar- butus Jean Blackburn and James Hegdon were united in marriage on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the home of Justice of the Peace Oda Dearing in Arthur; Mary Ann Cart- er and Brook Boger were married Friday, October 30 at the Free Methodist Church in Petersburg. Deaths: Robert Lee Simpson, 86, of Peters- burg, died at the Daviess County Hospital in Wash- ington at 7 a.m. Monday; Lucy Thompson, 86, of Winslow, died at 9:30 Sun- day night in an ambulance enroute to Gibson Gener- al Hospital; Ethel L. Bur- ton, 75, of Petersburg, died at a nursing home in Vin- cennes at 9 p.m. Friday; Thomas J. Wiggs, 70, of Pe- tersburg, died at the Gib- son County General Hos- pital in Princeton at 10 :45 p.m. Sunday. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, November 27, 1969 A dense fog, shrouding all of Indiana, is blamed in the tragic bus-car accident near Glezen which killed one and injured 22 others early Monday morning. Killed almost instantly was four-month-old Karen M. Overton, of Toledo, Ohio. Her mother, Flossie Over- ton, was seriously injured and remains in the Daviess County Hospital. Follow- ing the crash of the bus, three ambulances, two be- longing to Corn Mortuary and one to Lamb Funer- al Home, both of Oakland City, were involved in an accident in South Washing- ton as they were carrying the injured to the hospital. The bus accident happened around 5:15 a.m., apparent- ly when the fog caused bus driver Ralph Baker to mis- judge intentions and posi- tion of an auto waiting at the side road, which inter- sected Highway 57. One witness, John Ham, who lives nearby the scene of the crash, said he was go- ing out to wait for his ride to work. He reported that he walked out to the road and stood on the south side of the Richard Anderson auto, then proceeded to walk across the highway to wait for his ride. He said he heard the bus coming, saw it sliding and reported that it appeared to be attempt- ing to go behind the car as though the car was sitting in the highway. He went on to say that the bus slid side- ways, hitting the car and then overturning one and a half times. He stated that in the contusion of people screaming and the noise of the crash, it was difficult to remember just exactly how it did happen. The bus driv- er later told police that he thought the car was pulling in front of the bus and he applied the brakes, caus- ing the bus to skid side- ways, slamming into the auto, then turning over. Marriages: Diana Kay Brewster and Winifred L. Brown, were married at 7 o'clock Friday evening, Oc- tober 24 at the First Gener- al Baptist Church in Oak- land City. Deaths: Oda Dearing, 73, of Pike County, died Friday, November 21 at 11:30 CST in Good Sa- maritan Hospital; Uber B. Cox, 69, of Oakland City, died suddenly Sunday at the Gibson General Hos- pital; Daniel M. Shawhan, 81, of Petersburg, died at 8 p.m. Sunday, November 23; Mrs. Ellen Horstmey- er, 93, of Petersburg, died Tuesday, November 25 at 3:30 a.m. in Holiday Home; Orral Wathen, 80, of Oak- land City, died at 4:20 a.m. Monday at Wirth Memori- al Hospital in Oakland City. TWENTY- FIVE YEARS The Press-Dispatch Thursday, November 10, 1994 Two children were hit by a truck in Petersburg but no injured seriously Tues- day afternoon when a mo- ped they were riding dart- ed in front of a pickup on 15th St. It is the second time in six weeks some- one has been hit by a ve- hicle on 15th St., accord- ing to police. David Rain- ey, 15, was riding his Hon- da Express moped east on Locust St. when he failed to stop at a stop sign at 15th St., and ran into the path of Donald P. Davis, of Algiers, who was driving south on 15th St., according to Pe- tersburg Police chief Mike Key. Key said Rainey also had Candice Crow, 3, on the back with him. Rainey sustained leg and shoulder injuries. Crow complained of head pain. Area authorities found a 72-year-old man after he spent a day and night with a broken hip and collarbone after falling from his deer stand in the Pike State For- est. Anthony Tomasonvich, 72, of Newburgh, was in his tree stand in the Pike State Forest about a half-mile south of Highway 364 near Hog Branch Creek, when he fell from hi stand. State Conservation Officer Mike Collier said Tomasonvich was moving in his stand when a strong wind hit the stand, causing him to fall. Collier said Tomason- vich went into the woods at about 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. He attempted to crawl back to his car; how- ever, he was unable to go very far and stopped at the bottom of the hill. When he didn't return home that night, his wife called a friend of Tomasonvich. The friend went to the for- est and found Tomasonv- ich's car parked along 364. A fter making an unsuc- cessful search of the area, he came to the manager's residence and told them Tomasonvich had not re- turned home. State Police were contacted and they contacted state conserva- tion officers. A fter search- ing for several hours, To- masonvich was found sit- ting up and conscious. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Russell Green, of Ot- well, at St. Joseph's Hospi- tal in Huntingburg, Oct. 28, a daughter, Ashley Er- in; To Mr. and Mrs. James E. Stevens, Jr. of Otwell, a daughter, Kendal Lynn, Oct. 31 at St. Mary's Hos- pital in Evansville; To Roy and Jackie Shoultz, of Pe- tersburg, on October 31 at St. Mary's Medical Center in Evansville, a daughter, Lexus Ann; To Lisa and Gary Harker, a daughter, Alexandera Leigh Harker, Oct. 17 at 10 :15 p.m. in St. Mary's Hospital in Evans- ville. Marriage: Lana My- ers and Brandon Hawkins were united in marriage Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. in the First United Methodist Church in Petersburg; Mi- chelle Mignon Lecklitner and Darin Boyd Ashcraft were united in marriage at 5 p.m., June 4 in Central Presbyterian Church at La- fayette. Deaths: Clystie Sand- ers, 89, of Petersburg, died Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 12:20 p.m. at Good Samar- itan Hospital in Vincennes. Glezen G.B. Church about 1950 The photo of the Glezen G. B. Church was submitted by the late Art Miley of La Jolla, California. Miley said the photo his from the archives of his grandparents, Charles and Ada Miley who were lifelong members of the church. Miley was a deacon and teach- er in the church for four decades prior to is death in 1962. The church was originally named Hosmer Chapel and was organized on March 9, 1872, Within about four years the church was united with the General Baptist denomination. Several additions have been added to the church since the photo was taken. net edition pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet Streamline the Headline! 812-354-8500 • 820 Poplar St., Petersburg, IN • ads@pressdispatch.net Wednesday, December 18 • Mayflower docks at Plymouth Harbor (1620) • Slavery abolished in America (1865) Thursday, December 19 • President Clinton impeached (1998) • Thomas Paine publishes "American Crisis" (1776) Friday, December 20 • Elvis Presley is drafted (1957) • Berlin Wall opened for first time (1963) Saturday, December 21 • Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Scotloand (1988) • Apollo 8 departs for moon's orbit (1968) Sunday, December 22 • First gorilla born in captivity (1956) • Continental Congress creates a Continental Navy (1775) Monday, December 23 • Van Gogh chops off ear (1888) • George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief (1783) Tuesday, December 24 • Soviet tanks roll into A fghanistan (1979) • War of 1812 ends (1814) Source: History.com