The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, March 10, 2021 A-11 HISTORY Submit history photos: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: news@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Source: www.history.com • Photo source: www.biography.com Wednesday, March 10 • "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" pre- mieres on the WB (1997) • First speech transmitted by tele- phone (1876) Thursday March 11 • Great Blizzard of '88 hits East Coast (1888) • Paul McCartney knighted (1997) Friday, March 12 • Coca-Cola sold in glass bottles for the first time (1894) • FDR broadcasts first 'fireside chat' during the Great Depres- sion (1933) Saturday, March 13 • William Herschel discovers Ura- nus (1781) • Eric Clapton leaves the Yard- birds (1965) Sunday, March 14 • Albert Einstein born (1879) • The FBI debuts "10 Most Want- ed Fugitives" list (1950) Monday, March 15 • Lyndon B. Johnson calls for equal voting rights (1963) • Washington puts an end to the Newburgh Conspiracy (1783) Tuesday , March 16 • First liquid-fueled rocket (1926) • "The Scarlet Letter" is pub- lished (1850) Spurgeon Grade School built in 1903 The Spurgeon Grade School was built in 1903 by Samuel J. Julian. The photo of the building was taken shortly after the building was finished. It was located about 750 feet west of the Methodist church and cemetery. This building was used until 1924 when a new brick building was completed. The new building was used as a high school until 196,6 when all students from Spurgeon were transported to Winslow and later to Pike Central in 1974. The grade school students attended Surgeon school several years after 1966.—Photo courtesy Donald R. Park,e of Newburgh. SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Friday and Tuesday, Mar. 8 and Mar. 12, 1946 Luther Elvis Swain was the victim of a self-inflicted gun- shot wound Monday evening about 6:30 o'clock in front of the home of Russell Coom- er, Jr., located just one block from the Swain home. Young Swain was the son of Claude and Edith Murry Swain and he was born in Petersburg al- most 23 years ago. He spend a month in the Navy at Great Lakes and received a medical discharge there September 15, 1942. Two years ago, he was seriously burned when ex- plosive asphalt, which had col- lected on his clothes became ignited and exploded when he stood near the stove at the filling station at 5th and Main. He was rushed to the hospi- tal, where he remained a pa- tient for almost four months. Subsequently, his health re- mained impaired and he was subject to frequent attacks of melancholy, during which he often threatened suicide. Lat- er Monday afternoon, he went to the Coomer home nearby and seeing a shotgun hang- ing on the wall, asked to bor- row it. He then asked Russell Coomer, Jr. if he had a shell and the lad unsuspecting- ly gave him the only one he had. Young Swain went out into the street, where he load- ed the gun, placed the barrel against his head and fired. He died a few minutes later. Harlan Edward Tisdale, 26, of Stendal, was killed Tuesday night when the truck he was driving skidded from a high- way and rolled over three times. Mr. Tisdale incurred a crushed chest in the acci- dent, according to coroner Mrs. Opal Brenton, who in- vestigated. Tisdale was driv- ing the truck with a load of fence posts between Stendal and Augusta when the acci- dent occurred. Tire marks in- dicated the vehicle swerved in- to a soft shoulder, skidded and overturned. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Eu- gen Griffith, a son, Richard Al- len, at their Algiers home on Tuesday, March 5; To Mr. and Mrs. Grover Long, a daugh- ter, Dianna Gay, at their home Sunday, March 10. Marriages: Betty Boger became the bride of Glenn B. Brittain on Saturday at the First Baptist Church; Lavonne Thomas and Charles Ander- son were quietly married Sat- urday afternoon at 4 o'clock in Henderson, Ky.; Louise Ben- jamin and Eldon Parker were married Saturday evening at Morganfield, Ky. Deaths: William I. Scrap- er, 80, of Otwell, died Satur- day shortly before noon; Lo- ren O. Graves, one-year-old son of Alonzo and Irene John- son Graves died at his home at 18th and Locust Monday morning. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Pike County Dispatch Thursday, Mar. 9, 1961 Bertis B. Cornwell, 33, of Petersburg, died at the Oak- land City Hospital at 9:10 p.m. Wednesday from injuries re- ceived in a one-car accident at 8 p.m. the same evening. Cornwell's death was caused from a crushed chest, accord- ing to Gibson County coroner Robert Wade. The accident oc- curred when the car he was driving, reportedly at a speed of about 100 miles an hour, skidded off the pavement on a curve and sailed down a ra- vine about three miles north of Oakland City on Highway 57. Witnesses told Sate Troop- er Paul Oxendine that they be- lieved the car driven by Corn- well, a 1960 Lark, was travel- ing at about 100 miles an hour when he passed another car on the curve and missed an approaching car by about on- ly six inches. The car went into a skid off the right side of the road and flew over a 20 -foot embankment. According to the trooper, the car traveled about 150 feet before coming to a halt. When the car land- ed at the bottom of the ra- vine, Cornwell was thrown out of the top of the door, which came open. He landed about 25 feet away form the car and against a tree. A rain and wind storm struck different sections of Pike County at about 4 a.m. Monday morning and caused heavy damage to television antennas, trees and several buildings. Heavy damage was reported in Petersburg and in the vicinity of Arthur. Many roofs were damaged in these two areas and the top of one new building on a farm near Petersburg was blown com- pletely off. Traffic on South Ninth St. had to be routed around one block when a large tree fell across the highway. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Young, a son, Jeffery Keith, Friday, March 3 in the Daviess County Hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Curtis, of Winslow, a daughter, Trea Lynn, on Tuesday, March 7 at Good Samaritan Hospital. Deaths: Lula Hedges, 73, of Arthur, died suddenly Wednesday, March 1 in the Stork Memorial Hospital in Huntingburg; Charles Young, 60, of Oakland City, died Tues- day while enroute to the Oak- land City Hospital at 6:45 p.m.; Gaines Nalley, 78, of Oakland City, died at his home on Sat- urday, March 4 at 6:45 p.m.; Ray Wood, 71, of Winslow, died Sunday, March 5 at 7: 15 a.m. in Welborn Memorial Baptist Hospital. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, Mar. 11, 1971 Richard Flatt, Jr. 21, of Evansville, was arrested Satur- day evening at Williams Phar- macy III, and three charges were filed against him, in- cluding attempting to obtain narcotics by fraud. The phar- macist at Williams received a call from a person claiming to be an Evansville physician and stating that he wanted to phone in a prescription for a woman for dilauded. Charles Hiam, pharmacist, knew that dilauded was a class A narcot- ic and could not be prescribed over the phone. Shortly after that, he received another call, this time from a woman saying that her brother would be in to pick up the prescription. The pharmacist called State Troop- er Steve Richardson, who wait- ed in the store until Flatt came in to pick up the prescription. He was placed under arrest and placed in the Pike County Jail. Two other charges were filed against Flatt. One was be- ing an addict in a public place and the other was possession of an illegal weapon, a switch- blade knife. Bond was set at $2,000 for the fraud charge and $1,000 for each of the oth- er two charges. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Mick Meade, of Mt. Olym- pus, a daughter, Robin Lynn, February 21 at Gibson Gener- al Hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. Paul David Leighty, of Peters- burg, in the Good Samaritan hospital, Thursday, March 4, a daughter, Brenda Jolene; To Mr. and Mrs. David Whit- tington, of Petersburg, in Da- viess County Hospital Mon- day, March 1, a son, Jonathon David. Marriages: Marilu Clark became the wife of Navy Petty Officer, Second Class, James Otis Terrell, on Monday night, February 8 at North East Park Baptist Church. Deaths: Claud Kemp. 67, of Velpen, died at 10 :15 p.m. on March 3 at his home; James Dale Arnold, 86, of Winslow, died Saturday, March 6 at 4:30 in the Professional Care Home in Hartford, Ky.; Donald R. O'Neill, 41, of Cato, died at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday in Me- morial Hospital in Jasper; Fred L. Beauchamp, 64, of Oakland City, died at Wirth Osteopath- ic Hospital Friday afternoon. TWENTY- FIVE YEARS The Press-Dispatch Thursday, March 7, 1996 For the second time in a month, a Pantry convenience store in Pike County has been hit by a vehicle. Monday at about 10 :30 a.m., Thomas E. Waugh, of Wellston, Ohio, pulled into The Pantry park- ing lot and the brakes on the Bronco he was driving failed, and he slammed into the side of the building, according to Petersburg police Chief Wil- liam Scales. He said dam- age to the building included a wall, large picture window and both front doors at the site of the impact. Also, the impact pushed the front counter into the donut and sandwich case, breaking the cooling motor loose and glass in the case. It also knocked over a copy ma- chine. Damage to the building was estimated at $7,000. Dam- age to the Bronco, which was owned by Nick and Candace Grubb, of Petersburg, was es- timated at more than $1,000. About a month ago, a truck drove through the outside wall of the Winslow Pantry. It is the third time a vehicle has hit the Petersburg building. Construction began Mon- day on the new Winslow li- brary, which is expected to be completed in six months, depending on weather condi- tions. Located east of Main St. on Center St., the new build- ing will be brick and will blend in with other buildings in the town, according to library board members. The library started out with 800 clients and is snow serving 3,000 and still growing. Personnel at the Winslow library include Char- lene Schitter, Faith Hart and Eloise Bodkins. It will have considerably more space than the current library, which is housed in a former home one block west of Main St. and will have a much larger inventory of books and reading material. Births: To Jamie Lee, of Petersburg, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Huntingburg, on February 14, a son, Dakota Jacob; To Mr. and Mrs. Na- than Sollman, of Velpen, at Memorial Hospital in Jasper, February 27, a son, Alec Ross; To Rev. and Mrs. Larry Barr, of Petersburg, at St. Mary's Medical Center in Evansville, February 23, a son, Jacob Paul; To Mr. and Mrs. Thom- as E. Wilkison, of Buckskin, at St. Mary's Medical Center in Evansville, February 278, a daughter, Rebecca Sue; To Jim and Nancy Pope, of Pe- tersburg, at St. Joseph's Hos- pital in Huntingburg, Friday, March 1, a son, James Austin. Marriages: Charlotte Bo- ger and Dave Beck were unit- ed in marriage February 3 at the First Baptist Church in Petersburg; Kara Lea Klingle and Brian Lee Frederick were united in marriage on Novem- ber 25 at Central Christian Church; Michelle Lee Ben- jamin and Jason Adams Rob- erts were married Saturday, January 6; Jean Johnson and Larry Stucky were married on March 1 in the Francisco Gospel Ministry Church. Deaths: Walter R. "Bud" Wyatt, 73, of Petersburg, died Thursday, February 29 at 10 :40 p.m. at Memorial Hos- pital in Jasper.