Pickings from Pike’s Past 12.8.21
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50 YEARS AGO: EXPLOSION IN COURTHOUSE CAUSES ONE DEATH
150 Years Ago
Dec. 14, 1873
Wednesday evening, Dec. 20, the ladies of New Hartford and vicinity will hold a festival and supper for the benefit of the Methodist Episcopal Church at New Hartford. A cordial invitation is extended to our brothers of every order, and to the public to aid us on that occasion. Admission 50 cents. No half fare tickets.
125 Years Ago
Dec. 9, 1896
The Methodists in El Dara will have a Christmas tree this year. Everybody help. The El Dara barber shops, which heretofore have been closed at 10 o’clock on Sunday, are now kept open all day.
The New Hartford Rebekah Lodge will have a calico supper Dec. 26. Each lady will wear a calico dress and put a piece of the same material in an envelope for the young men to draw. Come everybody and have a bushel of fun.
100 Years Ago
Dec. 14, 1921
Sixty candidates reported for basketball practice at Pittsfield High School. This is the largest number of men ever to turn out for the cage game, and hopes run high for another district championship team this year.
Miss Phosa Williams, who served as county treasurer after the death of her father, H. E. Williams, has announced that she has decided to become a candidate for the office at the Democratic primary.
The Barry Adage reports that shoplifters have been getting in their work at Barry. Among the articles lifted from the holiday stock was an ivory clock at the store of G. L. Ware.
75 Years Ago
Dec. 11, 1946
The Pittsfield Lions Club has cancelled the Christmas decorations on the square because of the national coal strike.
Hugh Schnepf was named the corn growing champion in Pike County for producing a yield of 133.79 bushels per acre on a five acre plot near Pittsfield.
Hugh Ellis of Detroit Township and his help husked 10,039 bushels of corn on his farm between Oct. 24 and Nov. 28. The crop was grown on 120 acres of fertile farmland. No mechanical corn picker was used. Huskers were Homer Bigsby, Jess Pelican, Charles Davis, Ellis and their wives and children.
50 Years Ago
Dec. 15, 1971
The cause of the explosion in the women’s restroom of the courthouse last Friday afternoon, killing Gertrude E. Kells, 73, of Pittsfield, is still shrouded in uncertainty. It is surmised that she might have lit a cigarette while in the restroom. The old underground tunnel running between the courthouse and the jail once provided the avenue of heat to the courthouse and the means of sewage disposal from the courthouse to a septic tank near the jail. The tunnel has carried the city gas line to the courthouse, but that is being relocated at this time, and it is hoped that heat will be restored to the courthouse from a new gas line by today (Wednesday).
The Nebo Tigers, coached by Harry Wagy, won the 8-team Pearl Invitational Tournament in a 40-37 win over a strong Alsey team. The team members include Buddy Brown, Karson Killebrew, Terry Hubbard, Jeff Stark, Bill Cox, Jim Carlton, Kent Booth, Phil Harpole, Zane Leggett, Larry Sealock and Bob Young.
25 Years Ago
Dec. 11, 1996
It was red-ribbon day Sunday afternoon when Pikeland school board members and a large crowd officially dedicated and toured the new Pikeland Community School. Board members present were Harry Gleckler, Frank Heavner, Garold Parkins, David Barton, Wanda Borrowman, Roger Fox and Jamie Thompson.
The new Ayerco convenience store at the corner of Washington and Memorial streets opened in early December. There has been a service station or convenience store selling gasoline on the site since 1965.
Dr. Fred Berry and Sam Gamble recently received 50-year certificates from Lions Club president Peter Wright. Bill Staff received a 45-year certificate; Paul McCune 40; Tom Troutner 35 and Charles Gates 15.
10 Years Ago
Dec. 14, 2011
Land prices continue to rise throughout central Illinois. Land prices have increased twice as fast as the consumer price index and have increased 18-fold from 1959 to 2007. Approximately 130 acres of farmland in Pike County recently sold for $13,250 per acre.
■ Compiled by Michael Boren
