The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, December 22, 2021 B-5 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.britannica.com Wednesday, Dec. 22 • First gorilla born in captivity (1956) • Churchill and Roosevelt discuss war and peace (1941) Thursday, Dec. 23 • Van Gogh chops off ear (1888) • George Washington resigns as commander in chief (1783) Friday, Dec. 24 • Bob Hope gives his last show in Vietnam (1972) • President Coolidge lights first national Christmas tree (1923) Saturday, Dec. 25 • "To Kill a Mockingbird" opens in theaters (1962) • Washington crosses the Dela- ware (1776) Sunday, Dec. 26 • Bugsy Siegel opens Flamingo Hotel (1946) • George Washington wins first major U.S. victory at Trenton (1776) Monday, Dec. 27 • Radio City Music Hall opens (1912) • Prohibitionist Carry Nation smashes bar (1900) Tuesday, Dec. 28 • First commercial movie screened (1895) • American's first Labor Day (1869) net edition pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet 812-354-8500 • 820 Poplar St., Petersburg, IN • ads@ pressdispatch.net 1940-41 Petersburg High School track team The 1940-41 track team was one of the better teams in the area. Not only were they a good track tea,m the members were just the right age for the draft in World War II. In the first row are: Charles Anderson, James Thomas, Keith Gladish, Ervin Eggleston, Jack Graham, Hubert Hawkins and Clifford Chew; second row: Warner Wheat- ley, Eddie Hawkins, Bob Walker, Travis Young, Gil Hodges, Frank Bulk, Bill Williams, Arthur Beck and Hubert Robling; back row: Lorel Coleman (coach), Jack Potts, Bill Doty, Seith Taylor, Charles Thomas, John Cannavan, Eugene Walters, Bill Stevens and Frank Conrad (coach). SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Friday and Tuesday, Dec. 20 and Dec. 24, 1946 The board of directors of the Petersburg Community Corpo- ration met Monday night to dis- cuss the plans for the erection of the factory building for Peters- burg. Blueprints were present- ed of a proposed building but no action was taken until the need for doors and windows is ascer- tained from the owners of the industry which will occupy the building. The old printing press and folder on which the Petersburg Press was published for the past 40 years have been sold. The folder will be moved to Nash- ville, Ind., and the press will be moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Dosch's Cafe was sold Wednesday to Glen Robert- son, of this city, at an unnamed figure. It has been fairly well known for some time that Al- bert Dosch was interested in returning to the building field and that when the right day hap- pened, he would sell his restau- rant. Glen Robertson is well known in and around Peters- burg, having managed Pick's Newsstand, with the aid of Mrs. Robertson and later having car- ried the mail on the rural route now being carried by Myron Whitelock. Dosch plans on lo- cating in Petersburg on one of three sites and opening a facto- ry for the manufacture of storm windows and doors, and custom built kitchen cabinets. His plans call for this factory to be in op- eration by early spring. He will retain his interest in A&B Mar- ket. At present, all of the help at Dosch's Cafe plan on remaining with the Robertsons. The cafe was opened March 30, 1944. Mrs. Eva Malott, wife of Per- ry Malott, was killed in an au- to wreck west of Union Friday morning. She was riding in a pickup truck driven by her hus- band when it collided with a car driven by Mrs. Maurice Cassi- dy, of Hazleton. The slippery pavement was blamed for the accident. Mrs. Malott suffered a broken neck and was dead up- on arrival at the Gibson General hospital, where she and Mr. Ma- lott were taken in a truck driven by Clarence White. Mrs. Cassi- dy, the former Edith Hightower, of Petersburg, also gravely in- jured, was taken from the scene of the wreck in a Hazleton am- bulance. Mr. Malott was also in- jured and both he and Mrs. Cas- sidy suffered from shock. Marriages: Janice McClure and Robert Joe Howard were married Thursday afternoon, December 12 at 3 o'clock at the home of Rev. Vernor Preston in Petersburg. Deaths: Laura Dent, 74, of Petersburg, died Wednesday morning at her home; Daisy Wiseman, 67, of Oakland City, died at her home Tuesday; Lau- ra Woolsey, 82, of Somerville, died Tuesday at her home; Fred- erick Hagemeyer, 28, of Stendal, died Thursday at St. Mary's Hospital; Charles Newkirk, 56, died Friday afternoon in the Schmidt Clinic in Robinson, Ill. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Pike County Dispatch Thursday, Dec. 21, 1961 Hoosier pupils who hurl spit- balls or upset classroom deco- rum in other ways may be sus- pended, expelled and paddled legally, members of the Indi- ana School Boards Association were told at the closing session of their 12th annual convention. The broad field of pupil disci- pline and what school trustees, principals and teachers can and cannot do legally was explored in a panel discussion. Dr. Joseph Nygaard, of Butler University, one of the panel members, out- lined legal and illegal actions based on either Indiana statutes or court decisions, which school boards, trustees or teachers may take. They include: if the apparel of a pupil interferes with the normal school routine, the child can be suspended or or- dered to wear different cloth- ing; a board can suspend a pu- pil who refuses to be vaccinat- ed when there is an emergen- cy, an epidemic or a danger of one; the board has the power to control a pupil's conduct off the school grounds particularly when homework, behavior, tru- ancy and other such issues are concerned; a child may be sent home if he is unclean or infested with lice or vermin. The school may order the child cleaned, but must foot any bills involved Mar- ried pupils cannot be suspended or expelled unless it ca be prov- en the marriage resulted form immorality or unless the situa- tion is disturbing normal school routine. Married pupils can be barred from extra-curricular ac- tivities; the school is snot liable if school patrol boys is injured while on duty off school proper- ty; corporal punishment may be meted out, providing it is given without malice and results from infractions of reasonable school rules. Only the trustee or school board has the power to expel a pupil, but they may delegate the power. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. ray Mosby, of Otwell, a son, Billy Todd, December 14 at Jasper Memorial Hospital. Marriages: Ruth Ann Ris- ley became the bride of Jerry Wayne Pride on Saturday, No- vember 25 at Velpen Methodist Church. Deaths: Everett Pride, 76, of Otwell, died at 9 a.m. Wednes- day at his home; William Coker, 75, of Winslow, died Saturday, December 16 at his home; Car- rie Nuhring, 72, of Stendal, died Sunday, December 17 at 6 p.m. at Stork Memorial Hospital. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, Dec. 23, 1971 Destruction was wrought by a tornado early Wednesday morn- ing when it touched down in the northern part of Pike county. The barns and outbuildings of Walter Eversoll, southeast of Pe- tersburg, were destroyed in the early morning storm and their home was badly damaged. Int he Dutchtown community, at the home of Claud Stone, one- fourth mile northeast of the Arnold Church, one barn was blown down and other one bad- ly damaged int he Wednesday morning storm. The barn blown down was old and of not much value. The roof and tresses of the other one, a six-year-old, 40 foot by 90 foot structure, were completely blown away. It ap- peared the storm or tornado took a definite path from the Morton property, across the Iden Lee property to Eversolls and onto the Ernest Stafford property. Mr. Eversoll said the storm hit their place around 5:30 a.m. He said his family was in bed in the upstairs of their home but he was awake. He heard the storm and then hear tin and de- bris hitting their house. When that started, he immediately got his wife and daughter out of bed and started downstairs. Be- fore they got downstairs, lights were knocked out and as they reached the kitchen, the wind blew out a back window and tore the door latch out of the wood. When this happened, his wife and daughter were in front of the basement steps and were blown downstairs, unhurt ex- cept for a cut on his wife's leg. He was in the front of the house by this time and started to the kitchen, but when he reached the kitchen door, the force of the wind was so strong, he said he could not pull himself through the door, but held onto the door frame. At this time, a large piece of tin from the outbuildings blew over the outside kitchen door long enough to block the wind and allow him to make it to the basement. He keeps a herd of over 100 cows, 52 of which he milks. He said that although the top was blown off the milk house, the equipment inside was left intact and he had it back in operation by noon Wednes- day. All the fencing was blown down, the fields and yard strewn with tin roofing, broken lumber and tree branches. The storm tore the tops out of the trees in the yard. As son as his neigh- bors hear about the storm, they came to help and began immedi- ately cleaning up the mess. Mr. Eversoll said he did not have an estimate of the damage but it would run into the thousands of dollars. He said he had insur- ance, but did not know if he had enough. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Rob- ert Mills, of Arthur, a daughter, Shandena Renae, Friday, De- cember 17 at Gibson General Hospital; To Mr. and Mrs. Rog- er W. Craig, of Petersburg, Tues- day, December 14 in Deacon- ess Hospital, a daughter, Hol- ly Dawn. Deaths: Frank F. Hemmer, 80, died at 6 p.m. Monday at St. Joseph Hospital. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, Dec. 19, 1996 Leon Jones plead guilty to murdering and raping a 15 -year- old girl an din doing so prevent- ed what was expected to be a long and costly trial for Pike County. He admitted his guilt on Friday morning, Decem- ber 13 during a tightly guarded hearing in Pike Circuit Court. Jones, 22, of Ann Arbor, Mich., faces a minimum of 45 years and a maximum of 115 years in prison on the two charges. He told the court he had hit Shan- non Wentzel with his fist, kicked and sodomized her. He also ad- mitted being present when Wentzel was driven over by a Ford Ranger truck while she lay unconscious on the ground. However, Jones said he was not driving the truck. This is con- tradictory to James Brian Pow- ell's testimony. Powell plead guilty in October to partici- pating in the raping and beat- ing to death of Wentzel. Pow- ell testified that Jones drove a pickup over Wentzel about 15 times in two different locations as she lay unconscious on the ground. Pike County Prosecu- tor Jeff Biesterveld said it didn't matter if Jones was driving the truck or not because he will face the same charge and same sen- tence. Biesterveld did add that he might try to counter that if it is introduced at the sentenc- ing hearing. Pike County and most of southern Indiana was blast- ed by three to five inches of snow Monday. It caused school to start late and end early on Monday and cancelled class- es and extra-curricular activ- ities on both nights. About an inch of snow fell on Monday af- ter rain turned to snow. Rain began again Monday after- noon and then as temperatures fell Monday night, it turned to snow again, dumping several inches on the area. Despite the snow, only a few accidents were reported in Pike County. Deaths: Alma F. Tisdale, 85, of Winslow, died at 11:30 a.m. Monday, December 16 at her residence; Skyler Bolin, 2, of Winslow, died Thursday, De- cember 12 at 4:28 p.m. at Memo- rial Hospital in Jasper; George Boost, Jr., 32, of Petersburg, died Wednesday, December 11 at 9:38 a.m.; Vernon H. Skelton, 86, of Mackey, died at 10 :15 p.m. December 12 at Good Samari- tan Nursing Home; Dorothy I. Stelzer, 85, of Petersburg, died at 2:38 a.m. Thursday, Decem- ber 12 at Amber Manor Care Center; Marie Stout, 90, of Oak- land City, died Friday, Decem- ber 13 at 7:10 p.m. at Good Sa- maritan Nursing Home.