The Press-Dispatch
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C-8 Wednesday, July 28, 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 Source: www.history.com • Photo source: www.perurail.com Wednesday, July 28 • 14th Amendment adopted (1868) • U.S. Senate approves United Na- tions charter (1945) Thursday, July 29 • NASA created (1958) • Son of Sam terrorizes New York (1976) Friday, July 30 • Johnson signs Medicare into law (1965) • Last classic V W Beetle rolls off the line (2003) Saturday, July 31 • Jimmy Hoffa disappears (1975) • Hurricane sinks Spanish treas- ure ships (1715) Sunday, August 1 • Joseph Priestley discovers oxy- gen (1774) • First drive-through ATM opens in China (2007) Monday, August 2 • Iraq invades Kuwait (1990) • Delegates sign Declaration of Independence (1776) Tuesday, August 3 • Nautilus travels under North Pole (1958) • Columbus sets sail (1492) net edition pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet Streamline the Headline! 812-354-8500 • 820 Poplar St., Petersburg, IN • ads@pressdispatch.net SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Friday and Tuesday, July 26 and July 30, 1946 The bulk of a target fleet of 75 ships rode Wednesday through the fury of the sub-surface atom- ic bomb which sank the battle- ship Arkansas, an oil barge and a tank landing craft and sent a thick column of spray rocketing 9,000 feet skyward. Vice Adm. W.J.P. Blandy, task force com- mander, said in his first official report on this second test of an atomic bomb against a fleet that the aircraft carrier Sarato- ga and the Japanese battleship Nagato had been damaged but other surveys of damage could not be made because it was im- possible yet to enter the radio- active waters of Bikini lagoon. When the spray, which oblit- erated all view of the fleet, fell away, the gallant old Sarato- ga, consigned to the "circle of death" still was afloat but list- ing. Two and on-half hours af- ter the explosion, the Saratoga had settled 15 feet deeper and observers believed she might sink. The battleship New York was down two feet astern and the transport Fallon was listing. Intense radioactivity in the la- goon's waters was indicated by a fast destroyer which went in- side, within less than a mile of the target center, then turned and rushed out at high speed. However, planes circling over- head came down within 3,000 feet two hours after the explo- sion indicating it was safe at that altitude. The battleship Arkan- sas, which had been placed near the bomb, had vanished when Associated Press Correspon- dent Don Whitehead looked down through he clearing mists from an observation plane. Blan- dy later confirmed that she was sunk. The Nagato and the carri- er Independence were both list- ing slightly. It was impossible to determine whether the tremen- dous underwater shock or the terrible impact of the falling tons of water had done this vio- lence. While Blandy said there was no reason to doubt the effi- ciency of the first atomic bomb ever detonated under water, the fact remains that many of the spectacular events expect- ed of it did not occur. There was a thunderous roar when it let go, but there were, for instance, no 100 -foot waves and the atomic geyser which shot up above the explosion came nowhere near the top predicted altitude of three miles. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Del- lo Newkirk, a son, William Har- lan, at the Daviess County Hos- pital, Sunday, July 21. Marriages: Frances H. Drof became the bride of Walter Bro- shears, at the parsonage of the First Baptist Church Saturday evening; Mary Beadles and Joe Vance Gillispie were married July 16 at the parsonage of the First Baptist Church; Colleen Fair and Ralph G. Huffman were married Saturday, July 13; Frank McCandless was married to Maxine Bolin Wednesday; June Grim and Harmon Scrap- er were united in marriage on Saturday evening at 7:30 at the First Methodist Church. Deaths: Bessie Wyatt Love- less, 55, of Petersburg, died Monday shortly before noon at the Good Samaritan Hospi- tal; Martha Whitman, 92, of Oakland City, died at her home Tuesday. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Pike County Dispatch Thursday, July 27, 1961 Announcement has been made that a meeting will be held in the American Legion build- ing in Winslow at 7 p.m. Mon- day evening to discuss plans for a community bomb shelter for Winslow. Greater Toler, di- rector of the Pike County Civil Defense, will be present at the meeting an explain some of the programs for such shelters. Ev- eryone who is interested in the important project is urged to attend the meeting, those in charge said. Following the message of President Kenne- dy Tuesday evening, the impor- tance of building such a shelter has taken on new meaning for every citizen in the community. The 1961 Pike County 4-H Fair was closed and it has been classed as one of the most suc- cessful fairs ever held in Pike County. The attendance was well above average every night, no evening show was rained out and the exhibits and midway were the biggest ever. Members of the Pike County Fair Board have expressed their sincere appreciation to everyone who helped make the fair such a suc- cess. One member of the board told the Dispatch that it would have been impossible to have a successful fair without the help and cooperation of everyone in Pike County. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Ed - win O. Boyd, of Oakland City, a son, Jeffrey Kim, born Sunday, July 16 at Deaconess Hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. William Burns, of Spurgeon, a daughter, born Saturday, July 22 in St. Mary's Hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Claridge, of Spurgeon, a daugh- ter, Kathy Jean, born Monday in Deaconess Hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. Larry Burton, of Peters- burg, a son, Tony Lee, born Sun- day, July 23 in Stork Hospital. Marriages: Donald Bolin and Carolyn Woolsey were unit- ed in marriage Sunday after- noon by Rev. Frank Blackford at his home in Stendal. Deaths: Dale Willis, 50, of Ayrshire, died July 21 at 7 p.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, July 29, 1971 Winslow High School was broken into sometime over the weekend. Damage and loss es- timates have not been estab- lished. The break-in was discov- ered early Monday morning by school janitor Herschel Long, who called Winslow Town Mar- shal O.D. Erwin. A fter making a preliminary investigation, Mar- shal Erwin called Indiana State Police to check for fingerprints and assist in the investigation. Police reported that nearly ev- ery cabinet in the high school was broken open. Hammers from the shop apparently were used to break the locks. Much of the contents of the cabinets were taken out and set around the rooms. Most of the loss ap- peared to be from the science and biology room. There were four microscopes taken out of the cabinets and two fo them were missing. Two of the mi- croscopes were found near the exit. Two sabre saws were tak- en from their storage int he shop and left laying in another part of the building. A film pro- jector was also missing. Entry was thought to ave been made through one of the art room win- dows. The intruders apparently stepped through the window on- to a shelf into the room, which is below ground level. To get out of the room, they apparently went out through the boiler room door where they beat a lock off the door. Several valuable piec- es of equipment and tools were left laying and there was appar- ently no malicious vandalism. An inventory of the contents of the building is underway to de- termine exactly how much was taken. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Rob- ert Onyett, of Petersburg, in Deaconess Hospital, a son, Mi- chael Shawn, born Wednesday, July 21; To Mr. and Mrs. Lester Oxley, of Stendal, in St. Joseph Hospital; a son, Lyle Kent, born Monday, July 19; To Mr. and Mrs. Roger Knight, of Otwell, in Deaconess Hospital, Friday, Ju- ly 16, a son, Ryan Nelson; To Mr. and Mrs. Dewayne Hume, of Oakland City, a daughter, Adri- enne Ellen, born Tuesday, July 20 at Gibson General Hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Richard- son, of Oakland City, a daugh- ter, Libby Renee, born at Gib- son General Hospital on Mon- day, July 19; To Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth P. Christy, of Oakland City, a son, Kelly Paul, born Fri- day, July 16 at St. Mary's Hospi- tal; To Mr. and Mrs. Joe Arm- strong, of Oatsville, a son, Mi- chael Todd, at Gibson General Hospital on Friday, July 23; To Mr. and Mrs. Michael Briggs, of Oakland City, a daughter, Anne Joyce, at Gibson General Hospital on Sunday, July 18; To Mr. and Mrs. Fred Catt, of Pe- tersburg, a daughter, Elizabeth Ann, born Thursday, July 22 at St. Mary's Hospital. Marriages: Cindy Allen and Phil Shoultz were united in mar- riage on Sunday, June 13 at 2 p.m. at the Mt. Olive General Baptist Church. Deaths: Genevieve Green, 66, of Petersburg, died ear- ly Sunday morning at Daviess County Hospital; Victor Wil- son, 66, of Petersburg, died at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, July 27 at his home; Elmer Dewey Hall, 72, of Spurgeon, died at 7:20 a.m. Sun- day, July 25 at an Evansville hos- pital; Andrew L. Fleener, 54, of Oakland City, died Wednesday, July 21 at Gibson General Hos- pital. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, July 25, 1996 Storms producing high winds and lightning moved though Pike County on Fri- day night between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., blowing down trees and limbs. It also produced between one and two inches of rain that was beneficial to the area crops. According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., the storm produced winds of between 30 and 40 mph in southwest- ern Indiana. Petersburg had several trees down. One of the hardest hit areas was near Fifth and Cherry Sts. A tree fell across the intersection, blocking the road. Another tree fell about 100 yards away, across the railroad tracks. At 1307 Cherry St., a tree fell in the yard of Clarence Might. Might said for some reason he had parked his truck clos- er to this house than normal. It saved his truck from being damaged because the tree fell where he normally parked his truck. Another victim of the storm was Bill and Jeree Slaven's motor home. Mrs. Slaven said they were in Ken- tucky when the storm hit and they returned home Saturday afternoon to find a large limb on their motor home. They live on Fifth St., about two blocks north of Cherry St. Winds also hit an area at the south edge of Petersburg near Prides Creek Rd. A number of large limbs and a few trees were blown over on a large hillside where the residences of Bill Finney, Judy Gray and Shirley Stur- geon are located. While the wind was causing the damage, the rain was helping corn and bean crops. Pike County has received between two and four inches of rain in the last two weeks. Tom Held, of the Nat- ural Resources Conservation Service, said corn and beans are in good shape. He said the corn crop looks good, but is just about 30 days behind. Marriages: Stacey Corten and Danny Williams were united in marriage on June 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the Algiers United Methodist Church; Cynthia Sue Thornton and Jeret Christopher Tilley were married at a 1 p.m. ceremony May 18 at the Friendship Bap- tist Church in Asheboro, N.C.; Melody Danzer and James E. Powell III were wed July 6 at 2 p.m. at St. Raphael's Church in Dubois. Deaths: Ruth Leighty, 85, of Winslow, died at 3:21 a.m. Thursday, July 18 at Peters- burg Healthcare Center; Wil- ma Ficklin, 71, of Petersburg, died at 1:20 p.m. Friday, July 19 at Petersburg Healthcare Center; Paul E. Bass, 68, of Petersburg, died Tuesday, Ju- ly 16 at 1:55 p.m. at St. Mary's Medical Center in Evansville. WHS Majorettes 1955 Majorettes of the Winslow High School band included Marilou Smith, Ruth Schumacher, Marcella Fettinger, Mary Long, Charlene Nelson and Lyndall Nelson.