The Press-Dispatch
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A-10 Wednesday, May 9, 2018 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 SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Tuesday, December 29, 1942 Mr. Ottis Kinman, of Mon- roe City, was in town Satur- day, looking after business interests and was caller at this office to give us a snake story. Mr. Kinman, his son Glen and Ernie Maxwell, all of Monroe City, were rabbit hunting Christday, on the Jake Hancock farm, in Knox County. The number of rab- bits killed was not mentioned by Mr. Kinman, but he did say that while they were walking through the fields that they found and killed a snake. It was a chicken snake, about eighteen long and was crawl- ing through the grass. One of the finest Christmas gifts that any parents could receive was received Christ- mas Eve by Prof and Mrs. J.B. Leas, of this city, when a telegram came that their son, Larry had recovered from in- juries received in active duty, in A frica. The Lincoln Theatre played The Pied Piper on Tuesday, December 29. Donald Beck, of Ander- son, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clay Beck, left Monday morning for induction into the U.S. Army. Mrs. Beck will remain with her parents in Anderson at pre sent. Births: Mr. and Mrs. Frank Harris, of Terre Haute, are the proud parents of an eight pound boy, born De- cember 21. Deaths: An account of the death of Harry Heathman, of Winslow, that occurred De- cember 23, at the Robert Long Hospital in Indianapo- lis, was given in last Friday's issue of the press; Eugene Brooks Chappell, a native of this county, died in Miami, Fla., Sunday night, December 20 following an illness of sev- eral months duration; Mary Marinda Craig, a most be- loved lady of Jefferson town- ship passed away at her home southeast of Otwell, Satur- day morning; John Nelson Clark, a poultry dealer in Ot- well, died at his home Satur- day evening. He had suffered from asthma and a heart con- dition and together with com- plications claimed his life. SIXTY YEARS AGO The Petersburg Press Tuesday and Friday, March 25 and 28, 1958 Ralph Werner, owner of Werner's Show Store, proud- ly remembers that he was the son of the richest man in Vincennes. Ralph's father always boasted he was the richest man in Vincennes.. he said he had 20 children and he wouldn't take a mil- lion dollars for any of them. Yes Ralph came from a family of 20, 10 boys and 10 girls. He first entered like at Evansville and at the age of five moved with his family to Vincennes. At Vincennes, Ralph's father went into partnership and built Vincennes Furniture Manufacturing Co. Ralph got started in the show busi- ness when he was 14 years old. He worked for William Trapp in Vincennes. That was 47 years ago this com- ing April. He made his way to Petersburg and on April 10, 1921, he opened a show shop right behind Dosch's Cafe. Ralph operated there for about 12 years and then moved to his present location on Main Street. He has been at the present location for 25 years. The County Highway Ga- rage in Petersburg was en- tered between 7 and 8 p.m. Sunday night, March 23 and $7 in cash and 10 cartons of cigarettes were taken. Po- lice Chief Bill Harvey said the cigarette, candy and Co- co Cola machines were bro- ken into. Harvey said the per- son, or persons, were proba- bly scared away because the money in the candy machine was left untouched. The Petersburg Little League will have its official opening on Saturday, May 3, at the Legion Park. A dou- ble-header is being sched- uled for the first day. A big day is planned for the boys of the community. The Lit- tle League board of direc- tors hope to secure the ser- vices of the local high school band for a huge parade out to the park. A choral group of Otwell High school will participate in the County Choral Festi- val which will be held in the old gymnasium at Hunting- burg at 2:30 p.m. March 30. Approximately 300 students are scheduled to participate in this year's festival. The Bill Holman residence near Algiers was heavily dam- aged by fire Tuesday morn- ing around 10 a.m. Quick work by the Petersburg Fire Department saved the build- ing from being completely de- stroyed. The home was gut- ted by smoke, fire and water. The loss has been estimates at $5,000 to the home and fur- niture. Marriages: Miss Lois Ann Herron became the bride of Richard Joe Morgan, of Win- slow, in a double-ring ceremo- ny read recently by the Rev. Rae Bartle in Forest Hills Baptist church in Evansville. Births: A son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Graves, Winslow, in the Oak- land City hospital; A daugh- ter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Blaine Scales, Jr., of Winslow, in the Oakland City hospital; Twin boys were born to Mrs. Marilyn Church, Friday, at the Daviess County hospital. They have been named Tim- my Wayne and Terry Wayne; Born to Mr. and Mrs. Glen Vodkel, Otwell, an eight and a half pound boy; A daugh- ter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Harold Wheeldon, Peters- burg, Sunday at the Good Samaritan hospital. The girl was named Brenda Sue; Born to Mr. and Mrs. Rich- ard Padgett, Velpen, a girl on Monday. Deaths: Mrs. Belle Col- vin, 52, passed away unex- pectedly Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the home of her mother, Mrs. Carrie Bryant, in Oakland City, following a stroke early Sunday morn- ing; Hugh Grubb, 56, died Fri- day morning after suffering a heart attack while walking along Jackson Street in Oak- land City, Ind.;Funeral ser- vices for Richard C. Alexan- der, 81, were help at 2 p.m. Sunday, at the Harris Funer- al Parlor; Mrs. Kate L. Brit- tain, 82, Otwell, known to ev- eryone as "Granny" Brittain, died at 12:30 a.m. Saturday at the residence of a daughter; Mrs. Mabel Peach, 71, died at 3:40 p.m. Tuesday, in the Gibson County General hos- pital; Services for Mrs. Stella Corn, 62, of Oakland City, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday (to- day) at the Primitive Baptist church, Spurgeon; Mrs. Ruth Roe May, 40, of Winslow, died at 11:30 p.m. Monday in Stork Memorial Hospital. FIFTY YEARS AGO The Press-Dispatch Thursday, April 11, 1968 Mrs. Robert C. Heldt and F.M. Banks have announced their resignation as officers of the J.W. Cockrum Printing Company, Inc., and the sale of their stock in the corporation to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Walk- er, of Ft. Branch. The printing company was incorporated in 1913 by the late J.W. Cockrum and was an outgrowth of the Oakland City Journal, which was started by Mr. Cockrum in 1893. The newspaper was sold to Mrs. Vera Sheerer of the Princeton Publishing Company in 1946. At a county meeting held Monday in the court house, councilmen appropriated funds for a full time county sanitarian. William Wonder, who had been temporarily working in this capacity has been appointed to fill the posi- tion. The last legislature pro- vided that the state of Indiana provide $5,400 toward paying for this job. Locally, the coun- ty pays $2,000. Petersburg Fire Depart- ment was called Friday, April 5 at 10 :30 p.m. to extinguish a fire in a 1954 Buick belonging to Bernard Wheatley, Main Street, Petersburg. The car was parked behind the Cor- ner Tavern on the Midwest Telephone Company parking lot. Extensive damage was do- ne to the interior of the auto- mobile and it is considered to be a total loss. Mr. and Mrs. Irid G. An- derson, Petersburg, arrived home last Friday night from a week's trip which was cli- maxed with a most uneasy night spent in Memphis, Tenn., the night of the shoot- ing death of Dr. Martin Lu- ther King. While Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were having dinner, word was received at the restaurant that Dr. King had died, that nobody was al- lowed to enter or leave the city of Memphis, and that ri- oting had broke out minutes after the announcement of his death. Revival services will begin Monday, April 15 at Peters- burg Baptist Chapel, with the Rev. Otto J. Brown as evange- list. In charge of special mu- sic will be Lindel O. Whick- er. He is an outstanding sing- er and song writer. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Embry, Oakland City, a son, Thursday, April 4; To Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Catt, Winslow, a daughter, Monday, April 8; To Rev. and Mrs. Maurice Ray McCrary, of Charleston, Ill., a son, Tim- othy Brian; To Mr. and Mrs. Doug LeMond, Petersburg, their first child, a daughter, Stacy Suzette; To Mr. and Mrs. Sidney, Warren Mc- Candless, Winslow, a son, Troy Alan. Deaths: James D. Vovos, of Petersburg, died Tuesday morning from a stroke he suffered Monday morning at 8 a.m.; Funeral services for Mrs. Nora Helen Cheek, 42, of Indianapolis, native of Pe- tersburg, were Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Harris Funeral Home; Mrs. Frank (Belle) Haga, 77, died suddenly at her home in Petersburg at 2 p.m. Friday, April 5 from a stroke; Alvie Bailey, 83, died in his sleep at his home in Spurgeon Monday morning from a heart attack; Servic- es were conducted Monday at 2 p.m. at the Free Meth- odist church in Petersburg for Mrs. Sandie May Hunt- er, 80, of Petersburg; John V. Yancy, 74, a retired Black- foot coal miner, died sudden- ly from a heart attack at his home at Arthur, Wednesday, April 3 at 3:45 p.m.; Christo- pher Nicholson, 74, of Otwell, died in the Good Samaritan hospital in Vincennes Sunday at 5:15 a.m.; Mrs. Margaret Bolin, 88, died Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Daviess County hospital. TWENTY- FIVE YEARS The Press-Dispatch Thursday, April 8, 1993 A 4:30 a.m. Thursday morning fire destroyed the residence of Lillie Mae Ro- bling, of Arthur. The South Patoka Fire Department re- ceived two calls on the fire which had reportedly start- ed in the middle of the house. Seventeen fire fighters from South Patoka and a support tanker and driver from North Patoka battled the blaze for approximately one and a half hours. Robling was staying with friends at the time, un- able to save any contents in the frame home. South Pa- toka fought the fire from all sides and had men inside the structure, according to Carol Mitchell. The state fire mar- shal was called in when de- partment members were un- able to determine the cause. The one story aluminium frame house was valued by the fire marshal at $40,000. The Burn's Jewelry store located at 610 Main St. Peters- burg was burglarized some- time early Wednesday morn- ing according to Petersburg Police Chief Mike Key. Offi- cer Brad Jenkins was work- ing third shift at the time of the burglary which was re- ported at 5:54 a.m. to the Pe- tersburg Police Department. The break-in was discovered by owner Bob Burns who re- ported that entry was made through the roof over the Powder Puff beauty shop next door. Taken in the burglary, according to Chief Key, were two bracelets, 75 to 100 rings, 50 to 60 watches, 15 necklac- es and 15 sets of earrings, valued at between $15,000 and $20,000. Key stated, "It looked like they took most ev- erything of value that could fit in a small bag. Some of the rings were extremely valu- able." Key stated that the In- diana State Police and the Pike County Sheriff's Depart- ment are investigating the theft and that several leads are being followed. A proclamation honoring the many years of service rendered by Joseph E. Elbert, D.O., was enacted during the regular Monday evening Pe- tersburg City Council meet- ing. Mayor Randall Harris read and then presented the document to Doctor Elbert. Pike Central junior Nina Nuora, and seniors Cecilia Melgarejo and Tomoko Sa- wa have been named Youth of the Month. All three stu- dents are attending Pike Cen- tral through the Youth for Understanding Optimist en- dorsed exchange student or- ganization. Marriages: Emily Lynn Sickman and Paul James Gloeckner were united in marriage on Saturday, Feb. 27 in the Evangelical Cove- nant Church in Lafayette. Births: To Mr. and Mrs. Brett Hilsmeyer, of Evans- ville, a son, Chase Alan; To Mr. and Mrs. Keith Brown, of Brownsburg, a daughter, Adelynn Renee. Deaths: Raymond J. Letts, 72, of Loogootee, died at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 4, at his residence; William Rus- sell Beadles, 69, of Peters- burg, died Monday, April 5 at 8:35 a.m. at Gibson Gen- eral Hospital in Princeton; Vona Thomas, 86, of Augus- ta, died Thursday, April 1 at 6:40 p.m. in Huntingburg; D. Norman Walker, 67, nephew of Mildred Collins, of Hazle- ton, died March 25 at Bethes- da Naval Hospital in Mary- land; Roy "Ed" Keeton, 72, of St. Charles, Mo., brother- in-law of Mrs. Roy (Beverly) Craig, of Winslow, died Tues- day, March 30 at St. Joseph's Health Center in St. Charles, Mo.; William "Cappy" Lee Hulfachor, Jr., 64, of Patoka, died at 1:17 a.m. Thursday, April 1; Neoma P. Clark, 102, cousin of Pail King, of Win- slow, died at 3:15 a.m. Fri- day, March 19 at Huntingburg Convalescent Center; James Gowen, 73, of Oakland City, died Tuesday, March 30 at 10 :15 p.m. at St. Mary's Med- ical Center in Evansville; Rev. George Nelson Anger- er, 88, of Franklin, died Sun- day, March 28; Frances JoAn- na Gonzales, 41, of Spurgeon, died Wednesday, March 30, at 11:30 p.m. at the home of her sister; Harry Sharp, Jr., 71, Oakland City, died Tues- day, April 6 at Wirth hospital in Oakland City. SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY? Give us a call: 812-354-8500 Wednesday, May 9 • L. Ron Hubbard publishes Diabetics (1950) • Buffalo Bill's Wild West show opens (1887) Thursday, May 10 • Transcontinental railroad completed (1869) • Thomas J. "Stonewall Jackson dies (1863) Friday, May 11 • Dust storm sweeps from Great Plains across Eastern states (1934) • Paratroopers battle for "Hamburger Hill" (1969) Saturday, May 12 • Body of Lindbergh baby found (1932) • Berlin blockade lifted (1949) Sunday, May 13 • President Polk declares war on Mexico (1846) • Pope John Paul II is shot (1981) Monday, May 14 • Lewis and Clark depart (1804) • The Warsaw Pact is formed (1955) Tuesday, May 15 • The Seven Years War begins (1756) • Governor George Wallace shot (1972) Source: History.com 1967-1968 Petersburg Fourth Grade Classmates Pictured above are students from Miss. Regina Miller's 1967-1968 Peters- burg fourth grade class. Top row: Laurie Van Meter and Dale Mitchell. Mid- dle row: Chuck Williams and Eugenia Willis. Bottom row: Mary Ann Sheely and Donald Snyder.