The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, May 25, 2022 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.nzhistory.govt.nz Wednesday, May 25 • "Star Wars" opens (1977) • Babe Ruth hits last home run (1935) Thursday, May 26 • "Dracula" goes on sale in Lon- don (1897) • Last day of Model T production at Ford (1927) Friday, May 27 • Bismarck sunk by Royal Navy (1941) • Golden Gate Bridge opens (1937) Saturday, May 28 • Lieutenant Colonel George Washington begins the Seven Years' War (1754) • Volkswagen is founded (1937) Sunday, May 29 • Hillary and Tenzing reach Ever- est summit (1953) • Danica Patrick becomes first woman to lead Indy 500 (2005) Monday, May 30 • Joan of Arc martyred (1431) • First Indianapolis 500 held (1911) Tuesday, May 31 • Big Ben goes into operation in London (1859) • Actor and director Clint East- wood is born (1930) 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, May 23 and 27, 1947 Ralph Kent Dies Of Stab Wounds: Word came to rela- tives in this city Tuesday morn- ing that Ralph Kent had died at 2 o'clock that morning in a hos- pital at Saginaw Michigan, as the result of stab wound in the lung. Full details have not been learned but it is known that the accident happened two weeks ago. Mr. and Mrs. Opal Farris of Oakland City left Tuesday afternoon to attend the funer- al. Ralf C. Kent, son of Homer Cleveland Kent and Eva Grubb Kent, both deceased, was born in Pike County in 1928. He had attained his 19th birthday. Ralph served faithfully and hon- orably in the U.S. Army during World War II, and was recently discharged. His father Homer C. Kent died three weeks pre- vious. The following relatives mourn his passing: Mrs. Mau- die Kent, step-mother, of Oak- land City; Mrs. Floyd Farris, of Oakland City; Mrs. Gladys Bell Dyson and Mr. Harold Kent of Petersburg; Mr. Claude Kent, Christopher C. Homer Jr., Floyd and Mrs. Beulah Lee, of Sagi- naw, Mich. To Open Drive On Sidewalk Spitting: Mayor Ray Green has announced that a drive will be started against spitting on the sidewalks of the City of Peters- burg. The sidewalks in several places are stained with the juic- es of tobacco and in number of coses persons passing have been spit on. Enforcement of an old ordinance against such a habit will be started immedi- ately. See in Dark: Remarkable op- tical devices which enable mili- tary observers to see in the total darkness were perfected in this country during the war. Invisi- ble infra-red light rays are con- verted into visible light which can be seen by the eyes of ob- servers. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Lar- ry Payette, of Key West, Fla., a son, Larry Jr., on Easter Sun- day, mother is formerly of Pe- tersburg; To Lieut. Comdr. and Mrs. J. W. Rogers, a son, John Bruce, Bay 18, at the Naval hos- pital, San Diego Calif., mother formerly of Petersburg. Deaths: Ader Ferris, 74, wife of Hilary Ferris, died Friday at the home east of Stendal; The- odoris Taylor, 70, died at his home near Velpen, Thursday af- ternoon after an illness of more than two years; Frank M. Day, 76, died Thursday afternoon at his Velpen home, after an illness of a year; Emory Deffendall, 51, of Oakland City, died suddenly Friday at the depot where he was employed; Mrs. Ernest Smith, of Petersburg, passed away at Terre Haute while vis- iting her daughter, after her husband was ill and recovered, she became ill and died; Henry E. Williams, 67, father of Mrs. Reba Burns, of Winslow, died at Stork hospital; Dr. Frank Luke, of Covington, former- ly of Petersburg, died sudden- ly of a hear attack at his home; Thomas Emil Chappell, 55, of Gary, native of Petersburg, died Wednesday, after being ill for some time; Ralph C. Kent, 19, native of Pike County, died of a stab wound in the lung, at a hos- pital at Saginaw Mich, a W WII veteran had recently been hon- orably discharged. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Pike County Dispatch Thursday, May 24, 1962 Man Falls in Court House Two Years Ago; Sues for $75,000 : A suit for $75,000 was filed against Pike county Wednesday, May 16 by Charles W. Currey. Currey claims he fell down the court house steps, be- cause they were "highly waxed, oiled, unusually slippery" and listed several other reasons why he fell. Currey is being represented by William D. Ste- phens, an attorney from Evans- ville. The complaint did not list Currey's address. The com- plaint stated that Currey was in the court house June 14, 1960 because he had been subpoe- naed to give evidence in a civil proceedings in the court. Cur- rey stated in his complaint that when walking down the waxed steps from the third to the sec- ond floor, the sole and heel of one of his shoes came in con- tact with the step, and because Petersburg football team 1920 Members of the 1920 football team included in row one, Everett Burton, Buddy Minnis, William English, John Hadlock and Alfred Kil- lion. In row two, Albert Nordhorn, Fred Ault, Herschel Doidge, Ralph Ault and Blythe Jones. Row three includes Coach (unknown) Julius, Darwin Gross, Clive Harris, Allen Kime and Leland Frank. the step was waxed and oily, his foot slipped in front of him caus- ing him to fall backwards. As a result of his fall he lists the fol- lowing damages to him physi- cally, both externally and in- ternally, mentally and finan- cially: bruises and contusions about his legs, back and body; back broken in two places; right leg paralyzed immediately af- ter the fall; and he further stat- ed that the injuries were pain- ful in nature and he suffered sever pain and is now suffer- ing severe pain and mental an- guish as a result of the fall. The plaintiff was compelled to incur medical expenses which pres- ently exceed $1000, and that he will be required to have an un- known amount of treatment in the future. He went on say that he was gainfully employed and that he lost three months work and will probably loose more in the future. In his complaint he requested a trial by jury. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. James Lynn, of Winslow, a son, Monday, May 21; To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Norrick, of Winslow, a daughter, Sunday, May 20 ; To Mr. and Mrs. Gary Benefiel, of Winslow, a daugh- ter, Kimberly Jo, Sunday, May 13. Deaths: John Kenneth Hend- ry, 58, of Spurgeon, died sud- denly Wednesday, Sunday, April 24, from a heart, he was known as J.K. and was a dragline op- erator at the Enos Coal Min- ing Company; William Frank- lin Singleton, 58, was killed at the Kings mine, Princeton Min- ing Company, Tuesday, he was run over by a main line motor, a train-like device used to haul coal, men, and equipment back and forth in the mine; Miss Nellie May Craig, 85, of Otwell, died Saturday, May 19, at Da- viess County hospital; Wilber R. Carter, of Petersburg, died Sun- day, May 20, at Veterans' hos- pital in Danville, Ill., he was an interior decorator and a W WII veteran; Biffih Dickerson, City Cleaners proprietor, of Peters- burg, died Monday, at Good Sa- maritan hospital. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, May 25, 1972 Business Specials: Songers and Parker's: Red & White, po- tato chips, twin bag, 29¢; Chase & Sanborn coffee 1 pound can, 59¢; Red & White sandwich buns hamburger or hot dog 3 pkgs. $1. Voyles: ground beef, 69¢, 3 pound pkg; fryers, 29¢ per pound; IGA ice milk, 49¢, 1/2 gallon. Jay C Store: Pepsi Cola eight 16oz. 67¢, plus, de- posit; catsup 19¢, per bottle. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. War- ner Nalley, of Oakland City, a daughter, Crystal Faye, Satur- day, May 13; To Mr. and Mrs. William Craig, of Evansville, a daughter, Sandra Lee, May 18; To Mr. and Mrs. Donald Bur- khart, of Petersburg, a son, Christopher Michael, Tuesday, May 16. Marriages: Lillian Imogene Williams and Clarence Beck were married; Yvonne A. Lowe and Ronald W. McDonald were married; Janice Ann Dunn and Dana Kent Burch were married. Deaths: Mildred Pruitt, 71, of Petersburg, died Thurs- day, May 18; Ottis Ted Butrum, 73, Pike County, died April 27; William A. Frederick, 88, Terre Haute, former resident of Petersburg, died Thursday, May 18; Roy D. Byers, Sr., 74, of Oakland City, died Wednesday, May 17; Flora A. York, 72, of Velpen, died Tuesday, May 16; Edith Mae Kieffner, 67, of Jas- per, died Sunday May 21; Lillie Billart, 80, of Oakland City, died Monday, May 15; Hugh C. Wil- lis, 57, of Petersburg, died Tues- day, May 23; Roberta McCaf- ferty, 51, of Winslow, died Sun- day, May 21. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, May 22, 1997 Mt. Hebron cemetery being cleaned for Memorial Day; On- ly black cemetery in Pike Coun- ty: For the first time in a cou- ple of decades the only known black cemetery in Pike Coun- ty will be cleaned up for peo- ple to pay their respects to two Civil War soldiers and a Span- ish American War soldier and others buried there on this Memorial Day weekend. Bob- by Winn, who moved to Pike County about three years ago, has worked the last two years for weeks clearing off the Mt. Hebron Cemetery and Church. They are all that is left of a once thriving black community in Pike County. The cemetery is located in what is known as Log- town. It is located between Ayr- shire and the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks. Winn found out that there was a thriving black community located at Logtown from the late 1800s to the mid 1940s, where the black commu- nity came to work in the deep mines. A fter looking through records at the Barrett Memori- al Library in Petersburg's gene- alogy room, Winn was able to determine there were at least 21 graves in the cemetery. But he believes there are more. "I have found 21 myself and I know there are more." He has worked piecing back together many of the grave markers with the pieces he has been able to find. Some he couldn't get back together. Of the legible ones, the date of deaths range from 1800s to 1975. The last know person to be buried in the cem- etery was Rev. Herschel Swear- ingen, who was well known and respected. Winn attempted to repair the church where the Reverend preached, but it was too bad to repair and had the fire department do a controlled burn on the building. "I would be satisfied, if I could have just half the impact on the commu- nity that he (Rev. Swearingen) had," said Winn. He said he was proud of the treatment of blacks by the area. "These people were accepted and treated well. They could buy property. They were even allowed to go to public schools and ride the bus." "I'd say it had a lot to do with how people thought of Rev. Swearin- gen." Winn wants to have a me- morial for Rev. Swearingen and a monument with all the names of the people buried in the cem- etery. Pike Central Art Show Win- ners: Susan Robling, a fourth year Senior art student, won top honors at Pike Central's Student Art Show, Friday night. Her large pastel of Pleasant Ridge General Baptist Church cap- tured Best of Show. First place winners in Art III-IV included: Jacy Fox (2), Regina Sharp and Manuela Alcantaral At the Art II level, blue ribbons went to Larry Willis (2), Sarah Henry, Mary Ann Hall, Betty Singer, Julie Riesenbeck (2), Laurie Veale, Andrea Carter, Sara Singer, April Beasley, Julie Hayes, and Suzanne Gowen. In Art I, blue ribbons were won by Julie Bea- sley, Robbie Waddle (2), Bry- an Dillman, Sarah Barr, Chris Hemmer, Matt Breidenbaugh, Jessica Keys, Jenny Perry, and Derek Burns (2). The blue rib- bon in the Computer Art class was won by Brandon Jasper. Eighth grade first place winners were: April Cannon, Amy Stro- bel, Jared Sturgeon (2), Amber Riesenbeck, Chris Buck, Ricky Baker, Mike Johnson, Michaela Batch, Nate Willis, Brandi Wool- sey, and Bertha Weisheit. Blue ribbons in the seventh grade went to: Ashley Craig, Hilary Kinney, Emily Hanback, Aly- son Schirr (2), Sara Weitkamp, Heather Fair, Tara Davis, and Ashley Williams. In the sixth grade, first place ribbons were won by: Abby Clinard (2), An- drea Willis, Hannah Hoover, Brittany Hanauer, Danylle Lohman, Eryn Kempf, Jennifer Gilbert, Breanne McKinney, Cassie Phillips, Holly Thomas, Jamie Wright, Kyle Armstrong, Jessica Bowers, and Leah Barr. Marriages: Laura Ann Duni- fon and Jordan Kicklighter were married Saturday, May 10, at Montreat Conference Center; Beverly Jean Goodpasture and Charles Richard Russell were married. Deaths: Selma Esmann, 83, of Stendal, died Thursday, May 15, at Gentlecare in Hunting- burg; Mary Gillis, 76, of Peters- burg, died Friday, May 16, at Petersburg Healthcare Center; Sonny Ashby, 58, of Petersburg, died Sunday, May 18, at Daviess County hospital, he was a race car driver and a retired coal miner from Amax Coal Compa- ny; Jessie B. Clem, 98, of Oak- land City, died Friday, May 16, at Deaconess hospital, she and her husband ran a feed store in Oatsville for many years; Nor- ma L. Faith, 59, of Velpen, died Saturday, May 17, at Memori- al hospital; Ernest Chamber- lain, 67, of Campbelltown, died Tuesday, May 20, at Good Sa- maritan hospital, he was a re- tired employee of IPL and a vet- eran; Edith O. ( Julian) Knapp, 74, of Haubstadt, died Tuesday, May 13, at Welborn Baptist hos- pital, mother of Elaine Arnold of Petersburg; Walter C. Sie- be, 85, of Holland, died Satur- day, May 17, at his residence, he was a retired elementary schoolteacher; Pauline Minor, 82, of Sullivan, died Monday, May 19, at her home; Wilson Geary, 78, of Bicknell, brother of Lucille Daughtery of Mon- roe City, died Wednesday, May 14, at Good Samaritan hospital; Sarah L. Schmett, 80, of Hunt- ingburg, died Monday, May 19, at her home, she was a Co-De- veloper of Southridge Heights Addition in Huntingburg.