The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, August 18, 2021 B-3 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.autoweek.com Wednesday, August 18 • Coup attempt against Gor- bachev begins (1991) • Genghis Khan dies (1227) Thursday, August 19 • First race is held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (1909) • USS Constitution earns its name "Old Ironsides" (1812) Friday, August 20 • First around-the-world telegram sent, 66 years before Voyater II launch (1911) • The Menendez brothers murder their parents (1989) Saturday, August 21 • Hawaii becomes 50th state (1959) • Theft of Mona Lisa is discov- ered (1911) Sunday, August 22 • Althea Gibson becomes first A f- rican-American on U.S. tennis tour (1950) • Redcoats land at Long Island (1776) Monday, August 23 • Fannie Farmer opens cooking school (1902) • Pete Rose gets booted from baseball (1989) Tuesday, August 24 • Vesuvius erupts (79) • British troops set fire to the White House (1814) net edition pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet Streamline the Headline! 812-354-8500 • 820 Poplar St., Petersburg, IN • ads@pressdispatch.net Col. Jim Sanders—1953 Col. Jim Sanders, teacher at Petersburg High School, was on a trip with the Class of 1953 to St. Louis. Photo courtesy of Pike County Museum by Sandy McBeth SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Friday and Tuesday, Aug. 16 and Aug. 20, 1946 The Pike County forest will soon be developed accord- ing to plans unfolded to an in- terested group of Pike Coun- ty business men who met Wednesday night to confer with state officials on this im- portant project. Henry Bedell, head of Indiana's state forests, and Ralph Wilcox, acting head of the state park department, in company y with two other members of the state depart- ments, Mr. Potter and Les- ter Wallace, Pike State for- ester, listened to the petition requesting action on the for- est and then told the group that at present the forest was not large enough or scenic enough to allow consideration for a hotel, but that it could be developed for recreational purposes. First on the slate is the installation of electric- ity. This project will soon be possible as Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Service Co. will be expanding their lines to carry current very close to the park. At this time, the of- ficials will see that electric- ity is carried into the forest. Plans will commence immedi- ately on the construction of an adequate supply for the park as it was stated that there was immediately available $1,000 which could be used for this purpose. If funds are then available the barn now on the premises will be turned in- to a shelterhouse with cook- ing facilities and bunking fa- cilities, which will make it available for groups such as 4-H and boy scouts or church groups. If there should be not enough money at the present time, such project will be in- cluded in the next year's pro- gram. Talk turned to the de- velopment of a lake suitable for swimming. The officials stat- ed that such a lake had been started by CCC workers, but the state geologist had found a fault in the rock below the sur- face and ruled that the pres- ent site would not hold water. At this time, it appears that the Ayrshire Mining Compa- ny will soon strip the proper- ty which is next to the forest. This being the case, Mr. Wil- cox felt that the same cooper- ation could be obtained from Ayrshire as was received at Greene County where the company stripped some land and by piling their spoil banks to cut off ravines, etc., the lake created by the mining compa- ny might be possible at a fu- ture date to make the same de- velopment as in Greene Coun- ty. Mr. Wilcox admitted that something has been needed here in the Pike County State Forest, but the lack of help and administration during the war, plus the lack of money has hampered the board. The park at present is not serving as ma- ny people as it could and Mr. Wilcox said that he would do everything possible to further this project. Kellar Thompson unfolded plans for a new high- way to the park, which would make it more accessible and should increase its usage. A committee was named at the close of the meeting to meet with Lester Wallace on laying out the changes to be made at the park. The committee consists of Howard Parker, of Winslow, Charles Farmer, of Oakland City, Lawrence Ju- lian, of Spurgeon, and Don Montgomery, of Petersburg. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Roger Fistos, a son, James Neddleton, Tuesday night at Good Samaritan Hospital. Marriages: Winifred Mc- Candless became the bride of Gilbert R. Jarvis at 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 10 at the home of the bride's parents. Deaths: Thelma Rose No- lan, 20, passed away Tuesday at Daviess County Hospital; George W. Deffendall, of Pe- tersburg, died last Thursday at Deaconess Hospital. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Pike County Dispatch Thursday, Aug. 17, 1961 The D.X. Service Station in Otwell, owned by William Garland, was broken into Au- gust 9 and $ 35 was taken from the cash register. The register was also damaged. Mr. Gar- land said the thieves made their entrance through a back window by breaking it. They then broke through a door into the main part of the sta- tion when they lifted the mon- ey from the cash register. Mr. Garland said he was not in the habit of leaving money in the cash register, but had left it there Friday night because he had been in a rush to close the station. He said that the lo- cal county police are investi- gating. The weekend will be big days in both Winslow and Pe- tersburg. There will be spe- cial events in both places, which will be sponsored by merchants in each of the two communities. In Winslow, the merchants will sponsor Cou- pon Days Friday and Satur- day. In Petersburg, the mer- chants will sponsor Back- to-School Sale Days, which will begin Friday and contin- ue throughout the following week. Of special importance in Winslow will also be the an- nual Winslow Kiwanis Club Fish Fry. During the storm short- ly before midnight Friday, lightning struck and burned out Mr. and Mrs. Albert Cole- man's television, burst the an- tenna rotator to pieces, burned out their telephone and clock, and ruined their television antenna. Several other per- sons in the neighborhood re- port that the lightning burned out their water heaters. At the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Hunley, lightning struck their television and burned it out. At the home of Kenneth Powell, a floor fan was ruined. The storm was one of the worst electrical storms we have had in Winslow this summer. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Raymond France, of Otwell, a son, Kevin Joe, Wednes- day, August 9; To Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Mason, of Coe, a daughter, Lois Ann, at Dea- coness Hospital on Sunday, August 13; To Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gladish, of Petersburg, a daughter, Cheryl Lynn, Au- gust 9 in the Washington hos- pital; To Mr. and Mrs. Royce Kent Traylor, a son, born Au- gust 7 in Jasper hospital. Deaths: Lon Drew, 63, of Petersburg, died suddenly Sat- urday in the driveway of a Pe- tersburg physician; Arthur McKinney, 60, of Oatsville, died suddenly August 6 at his home; Alva W. Woodruff, 82, of Oakland City, died at Gib- son General Hospital at 11 p.m. on Sunday; Dello Wilson, 75, of Spurgeon, died Tuesday at 10 :25 p.m. at St. Mary's Hos- pital. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, August 19, 1971 On the fifth Sunday, August 29, there will be all day ser- vices at the Petersburg Gen- eral Baptist Church on 16th and Walnut Sts. A carry-in basket dinner will be served at the Church of God recre- ation hall on South 8th St. In the afternoon, there will be a dedication service for the new Sunday School room that has been recently built and oth- er additions to the church in the past few years. All church- es and singers and everyone is invited. All former pastors have been invited. There will be special messages and sing- ing. A General Baptist Church in Petersburg was first consid- ered in 1909 when a few peo- ple gathered at the home of Isaac Holsclouth at the cor- ner of 18th and Locust Sts. Among the people who gath- ered for prayer meeting were Rev. George Meshler, Rev. Jim Barrett, Rev. Henry Hill and some women whose names are not available. They dis- continued after a few services. In the year 1911, they bought the house from Isaac Hols- clouth and the General Bap- tist Church was organized. The church joined the Flat Creek Association of the Gen- eral Baptist in 1913 and it was then named Corinth General Baptist Church. Rome Nich- ols organized the first Sunday School in 1913. The members sold the church house in 1922 for $150 and on Sept. 29, 1922, purchased the lot the present church is now on. The lot was bought from Home Building and Loan Company of Wash- ington. The deed was record- ed October 5, 1922. In the ear- ly 1930s, the basement was dug and the heating system installed. In 1949, the Sunday School rooms on the east side were built. The church has continued prospering since 1949 in remodeling and build- ing. In complying with President Richard M. Nixon's price and wage "freeze," there will be no increase in subscription rates at this time. The past two is- sues of The Press-Dispatch carried an announcement of the increase planned for Au- gust 22. The increase was deemed necessary, and still is, because of increased post- age rates and handling costs. In May this year, postal rates were again increased and han- dling costs have continually increased. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Larry Alexander, of Winslow, in Gibson General Hospital, Friday, August 6, a son, Jamie Scott; To Mr. and Mr.s Jerry A. Church, of Petersburg, Ju- ly 29 in Deaconess Hospital, a son, Jared Thomas; To Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hopf, of Otwell, in Jasper Memorial Hospital, Sunday, August 15, a son, Rog- er Roman. Marriages: Larna May Dickson became the bride of Roger Dayne Young on Saturday, July 31 at 4 p.m. at the Otwell United Method- ist Church; Judy Ann Casper and Michael Joe Hayes were married on Sunday, August 1 at 2 p.m. at Oak Grove Gener- al Baptist Church in Oakland City; Silva Lee Pruitt became the bride of Raymond Leon Jones at the First church of God in Winslow, July 24 at 7 p.m. Deaths: Ethel Ellison, 83, of Winslow, died at 9:45 p.m. Saturday, August 14 in Wirth Memorial Hospital; Walter B. Bundy, 56, of Oakland City, died Thursday at Wirth Hos- pital. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, August 15, 1996 Several dramatic develop- ments took place during ac- cused murderer Leon Jones' court hearting Tuesday af- ternoon in Pike County. Two charges were added that would cause him to be sen- tenced to life in prison without parole if convicted. Also, Pike County prosecutor Jeff Bies- terveld announced a co-defen- dant in the case has indicated he would testify in the case. In another development, for the second time in eight days, the case has been scheduled for a different time. The trial date was at issue in Tuesday's hearing. Jones, 21, of Ann Ar- bor, Mich., along with two oth- ers, is charged with beating, raping, sodomizing and kill- ing a 15 -year-old Evansville girl on December 9, 1995, in rural Pike County, according to a probable cause affidavit. The affidavit is based on state- ments after Powell and Kelly Craig, 17, were arrested for the murder of Shannon Went- zel, 15, of Evansville, three days after Wentzel's body was found in rural Pike County. Both Craig and Powell are fac- ing murder and rape charges in Wentzel's death. Jones had returned to Michigan and was arrested a day later than Craig and Powell. Births: To Robert and Tere- sa Townley, a son, Dalton Colt, on July 11 at Daviess Coun- ty Hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Wojtowicz, of Pe- tersburg, at Welborn Baptist Hospital, July 25, a son, Gar- rett Lane. Deaths: Bonnie Readles, 50, of Winslow, died at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7 at her residence; Zelma Hub- bell, 83, of Petersburg, died at 3:58 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10 at Daviess County Hospital; Charles D. Smith, 65, of Oak- land City, died at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7 at Wirth Regional Hospital.