The Press-Dispatch
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A-10 Wednesday, June 9, 2021 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 net edition pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet Streamline the Headline! 812-354-8500 • 820 Poplar St., Petersburg, IN • ads@pressdispatch.net Train wreck Saturday, August 27, 1966 A Southern Railway train pulling a flat car loaded with pilings or utility poles in a train of about 100 cars was apparently rocking from side to side when it approached the Patoka River bridge. The pilings caught on the bridge and ripped the upper structure into a tangled mess. The flat car was about 35 cars from the rear of the train and strung cars for about a quarter of a mile down the track. The train was headed west and running about 55 miles per hour. Carroll Wood was in a car on the north side of the track and Donald Coleman was on the south side returning from a Little League game with four youngsters in his car. Neither car was hit by the flying debris. Five tank cars in the accident containing deadly chlorine liquid, but none of the cars leaked. Grand Army of the Republic Post, Oakland City A.H. Cockrum Post No. 520, Grand Army of the Republic, at Oakland City, was organized by Gil. R. Stor- mont, September 20, 1887. The is believed to have been named in honor of Corporal Alexander Hamilton Cockrum, who was a member of the 58th Indiana, Co. D. He died at Murfreesboro, Tenn., on February 18, 1863, from wounds received at the Battle of Stone River (also called the Battle of Murfreesboro). The year the photo was taken is unknown, as is the identity of the men. The charter members were: Ira Castetter, Ephraim Christmas, F. M. Langford (Lansford), John T. Benton, Abe Cole, James Kilmartin, Henry C. Vickers, James M. Reavis (Reeves), Alvin T. (W.) Lett, Francis M. Black, Charles W. Abram, Joseph Beck, Henry Barton, William Myers, Asa Turpin, Wiley J. Baldwin. William M. Mo- reland, James M. Cockrum, James Hord, John McFarland. The organization, founded in 1866, was composed of Civil War veterans. Its peak membership reached 410,000 in 1890. It was dissolved in 1956 when its last member, Albert Woolson, 106, of Duluth, Minn., died. The photograph was submitted by Oma McGrath, of Petersburg. SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Friday and Tuesday, June 7 and June 11, 1946 William H. Woodall, father of Ethel Woodall of local Pub- lic Service, was killed in an accident near Sullivan early Wednesday morning where he was employed with the Allen Construction Company of Vin- cennes. He was working on a scaffold when he slipped and fell, receiving the injury which caused his death. Forrest (Cotton) Cockerham had his hands burned by liquid air Tuesday at Enos mine, where he is employed. Mr. Cockerham was carrying a bag of the explo- sive when the cold penetrated the bag and the heavy leath- er gloves he was wearing and blistered both his hands. The burns are not thought to be deep enough to be serious. Cpl. Hugh Blaize, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Blaize, near Pe- tersburg, was one of the guards of the German jewels recovered recently and now reposing in a vault in the War Department in Washington, D.C. It was in that city where Cpl. Blaize served as guard. This is the fantastic gem robbery consummated by an American colonel and his WAC bride. The gems, valued at one and a half million dollars, be- longed to the German House of Hesse and were stolen from his- toric Kronberg Castle in Germa- ny and sent by plane to the Unit- ed States, and hidden in a bag- gage locker in a Chicago rail- road station, where they were discovered. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Jean H. Roberts, a girl, born at 1:45 p.m. June 9; To Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Osborn, of Peters- burg, a son, Kenneth Ray, on Tuesday, June 4 at their home. Deaths: David Andrew Chumbley, of this community, died on Friday at the home of his brother; Robert M. Dalton, 75, died at the home of his daugh- ter on Friday afternoon. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Pike County Dispatch Thursday, June 8, 1961 Dr. J.W. Elbert has announced that Saturday, June 10, is the last day for the free immunizations which have been part of an im- munization program in Peters- burg. The program was started several months ago by the doc- tors of Petersburg and the im- munizations have been available to every child of the Petersburg area during this time. Early Tuesday morning, it looked like Winslow was going to have a fire break out in the new Masonic social room, for- merly the Star Theater. Mrs. Herschel Toler, who cleans the Masonic Hall over Park- er's Drug Store, went down in- to the social room to get a mop and found the social room and furnace room full of smoke. Men with wet cloths over their mouths and noses searched the building for over an hour and a half. The fire truck was brought to the scene to stand by in case fire broke out. They searched the adjoining buildings, out- buildings and incinerators. The puzzle was solved when it was discovered that damp wall paper had been put in a stove in the apartment over Kent's Furniture Store and was smol- dering. The exhaust fan in the Masonic hall was pulling the smoke through the furnace in the coal room of the Masonic so- cial room. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Paul Knight, of Winslow, a son, born June 9 in Oakland City Hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. George Ded- rick, a daughter, in Gibson Gen- eral Hospital in the middle of May; To Mr. and Mrs. James W. Warren, of Princeton, at Gibson General Hospital, Friday, May 27, a daughter, Shiela Michelle. Marriages: Nola Rothrock became the bride of Jeffrie Corn, Jr. Saturday evening, June 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Winslow Methodist Church. Deaths: Carroll Barrett, 40, of Stendal, passed away Friday, June 2 at 5 a.m.; Jo Marie Ashby, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ashby, of Princeton, died at birth at 11 a.m. Thursday in Gib- son General Hospital; Claude E. Cox, 47, of Madison Township, died at Good Samaritan Hospi- tal at 1:40 p.m. Tuesday. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, June 10, 1971 One of the Petersburg City Police autos was damaged Mon- day night around 11:20 p.m. in an accident at the rear of the el- ementary school building. The car was purchased new in Feb- ruary and was a 1971 Chevro- let. The accident occurred as Burt Tisdale, night policeman, was making a routine check of the school property. In some manner, Tisdale apparently lost control of the auto and hit a corner of the elementary build- ing. Mayor T.F. O'Rourke said Wednesday that the accident is still under investigation. He stated that damage to the auto was about $ 800. There was no damage to the school property. Stanley Gress, 9, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee A. Gress, of Vel- pen, is listed in satisfactory con- dition at the Jasper Memorial Hospital following an accident at his home. The accident oc- curred around 7 a.m. Wednes- day, June 2, when he caught his leg in a piece of farm machinery. The leg had to be amputated be- low the knee. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Ter- ry Hightower, of Petersburg, in Daviess County Hospital, Fri- day, June 4, a daughter, Heather Dawn; To Mr. and Mrs. paul G. Cooper, of Otwell, Friday, June 4, at the Daviess County Hospi- tal, a son, Barry Gordon. Deaths: Carl T. Frederick, 87, of Hazleton, died at 8 a.m. Sunday, June 6 at his home; Anna Powell, 64, of Cato, died at Good Samaritan Hospital at 11:40 a.m. Monday, June 6; Don- ald K. Crow, 65, of Alford, died Sunday, June 6 at Good Samar- itan Hospital. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, June 6, 1996 Petersburg's water line was secured from another disas- ter by several governmental agencies working together to reach a solution in only a mat- ter of hours. Last Tuesday, Nat- ural Resources Conservation Service District Conservation- ist Tom Held and Engineer Ju- nior Spires were diving along River Road north of Petersburg looking over damage caused by flood waters from the White River rushing over the road for more than three weeks. Water had just that day drained off the field behind the road. They noticed a large hole and when they looked closer they saw Pe- tersburg's water line was span- ning the hole that was about 50 feet long, 20 feet wide and about six feet deep. Held, Pe- tersburg Mayor Randy Har- ris and City Services manag- er Gary McCandless met late Tuesday at the site to decide what to do. Wednesday morn- ing the met again with engi- neers and decided they would try to stabilize it by filling the hole with rip-rap and chat. It was an urgent project, because of the rains that were on their way down the White River. It was predicted to reach 22 feet, which is six feet above flood stage and would cause current to be rushing over and around the exposed water line making it vulnerable. Petersburg took measures to prevent that from happening. Mayor Harris said they switched that line off and used the back up line that is sev- eral hundred feet further from the river and less exposed to erosion. Marriages: Tami Miley and Andrew Dewees were wed on May 18 at the Summum Chris- tian Church; Debbie Moore and Kevin McKnight were wed on June 15 at the American Legion Home in Oakland City.. Deaths: Henry Cox, 71, of Petersburg, passed way Mon- day, June 3 at the Good Sa- maritan hospital in Vincennes; Horace Perry, 69, of Monroe City, passed away Tuesday, May 28 at St. Vincent hospital in In- dianapolis; Joyce Sipes, 51, of Velpen, passed away Saturday, June 1 at her residence; Carlos Biggs, 83, of Evansville, passed away Monday June 3 at his sons residence in Rockport; Barba- ra Traylor, 68, of Otwell, passed away Monday, June 3 at Memo- rial Hospital; James Gilley, 80, of Winslow, passed away Satur- day, June 1 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes.