Pickings from Pike’s Past: 125 YEARS AGO: NO ICE YET, AND NO PROSPECTS OF ANY
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150 Years Ago
Jan. 11, 1872
Snow, ice, mud and slush are abundant in this locality. What will come next the weather-wise have not yet informed us.
Hull’s Station is at the point where the Quincy, Alton and St. Louis Railroad intersects and crosses the Hannibal and Naples Railroad, and is named in honor of our good friend John Hull, whose excellent farm is nearby. The railroad companies have displayed commendable enterprise by erecting a beautiful and commodious passenger depot at the crossing.
Our quiet town of Perry, although not blessed with a railroad, has gone through another year with about the usual amount of trade. Our pork packers have cut about 4000 head of hogs up to the present writing, and will cut a thousand more before the close of the packing season.
As the mills of the gods grind, so grinds the legislative body of Illinois, slow but sure.
125 Years Ago
Jan. 5, 1897
New Year’s Day the editor of the Democrat had a branch of lilac in full bud, Mrs. Edward Penstone picked two violets grown in the open air in her door yard, and Mrs. H. T. Duffield saw two robins in her yard. And a lad saw a snake and several frogs. Who says the promised boom isn’t here?
A new year’s cantata was rendered at the Christian Church last Thursday by the choir, assisted by the Sunday school. Notwithstanding the rainy weather, the house was filled to overflowing.
Have you relieved your cellars of the water the big rains of last Saturday and Sunday poured into them?
Jan. 15, 1897
No ice yet, and no prospects of any, and January half gone. The coal business is not booming, and it looks as if the ice was in the same boat. And the weather keeps just as sunshiny and lovely as anyone could ask.
The papers tell of a big spot on the sun and it is said scientific men are having a great and busy time studying it.
The mid-winter fair is now in full blast. The displays of cakes, fruit, vegetables, etc. is far greater than the most sanguine had any reason to expect.
100 Years Ago
Jan. 11, 1922
A meeting of the baseball fans of Pittsfield was held. The consensus was that each club should be allowed to have one salaried player, which would usually be the pitcher.
The Pike County Hard Road committee, of which M. D. King is chairman, went to Springfield to meet with the governor and the state highway commission for the purpose of taking up matters with reference to route 36.
Members of the Pittsfield Radio Club have been meeting in the back room of the CIPs building during the evening, and listening to music broadcast by station KDKA, conducted by Westinghouse Electric Company of Pennsylvania.
The New Salem High School basketball team went to Hull and defeated the team there 28-11. Thirty-five round trip railroad tickets were sold for people to see the game.
The year 1921 showed that 466 babies were born in Pike County and 233 deaths occurred. The births were equal: 233 boys and 233 girls.
75 Years Ago
Jan. 8, 1947
Pittsfield Community High School defeated Hannibal Saturday 55 to 35 in the Higbee High gymnasium. Captain George Watkins played his best game of the current season, scoring 15 points. Walter Winter and Jimmy Denison also played well for the Indians.
Five Pike County schools, Pleasant Hill, Nebo, Barry, Griggsville and Milton, will take part in the 2th annual Winchester Invitational Tournament, starting January 20.
A total of 282 babies were born in Illini Community Hospital in 1946, 130 girls and 152 boys. There was one set of triplets and three sets of twins.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hubbard, Jr. of Pleasant Hill are the parents of a son named Randall Gene. This is their first child. Mrs. Hubbard was the former Jean Yocum, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Yocum of Nebo.
50 Years Ago
Jan. 12, 1972
The proposed Pittsfield municipal airport received a major boost this week with the announcement from the Illinois Department of Aeronautics that, “with the approval of Gov. Ogilvie, the department has allocated $196,370 to the city of Pittsfield for the development of a new airport to serve the greater Pittsfield area.
The new board of directors for the Greater Pike Industrial Corporation consists of Gale Boren, Donald Zimmerman, Vic Callendar, Ron Johnson, Allan Seiler, Clay Owens and Clarence Marshall.
The new electrical scoreboard at East Pike High School has been dedicated to one of the school’s graduates, Dale G. Smith, class of 1964, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1969.
Larry Fischer, Agriculture instructor at East Pike High School, had an emergency appendectomy at Illini Hospital last week.
The First National Bank of Pittsfield reported the “best year yet in the history of the bank,” according to Delbert Robertson, assistant cashier and farm representative. Dan Chamberlain was elected an assistant cashier. Other officers include Hiram McKenna, cashier and executive vice president; Russell Keys, trust officer and assistant cashier; Gale Boren, assistant cashier and installment loan manager; and Christine Hannant, assistant trust officer.
25 Years Ago
Jan. 8, 1997
Lloyd Dolbeare, county zoning administrator and civil defense director for more than 20 years, resigned effective Dec. 31. Having his salary cut in half had a lot to do with it.
Births, death, marriages and divorces were all down in Pike County for 1996, compared to 1995. There were 67 county births and 176 deaths, 151 marriages and 110 divorces in 1996.
Rev. and Mrs. Floyd O. Hamilton of Pittsfield have been married 60 years as of Jan 1, 1997. Over 40 years of their married life have been spent serving in the ministry of Baptist churches in Illinois and Missouri. From January 1954 to 1962 they live in Nebo where Rev. Hamilton was pastor of the Nebo Baptist Church. All six of their children attended the Nebo schools.
10 years Ago
Jan. 11, 2012
The two buildings that once housed the Purple Martin Inn restaurant at 105 Quincy St. in Griggsville came down last week, almost five months after the restaurant was closed due to damage discovered on the building. Betty Lacy, former owner, said, “A lot of people wanted to try and save it, but there was just too much repair that had to be done.”
For the second straight year Seth Petty stunned Quincy Notre Dame with a game-winning shot, as the Saukees beat the Raiders 54-53 Saturday, Jan 7 at Voshall Gymnasium in Pittsfield. Petty did almost the same thing to QND in a 35-33 Saukee win last season in Quincy.
Junior guard Shea O’Brien reached 1000 points at the North Greene tournament, as the Pittsfield-Pleasant Hill Lady Saukees cruised past Greenfield 41-27. Only seven other Lady Saukees have reached the 1000 point plateau.
■ Compiled by Michael Boren
