Looking back 7/17/25

By Editor | July 15, 2025 |

150 Years ago

July 15, 1875

Prof. J. N. Dewell of Barry, assisted by Berlin, Mt. Sterling and Normal and Miss Mary Polling of Peru, will hold the third session of normal school at Barry, beginning July 26 and continuing five weeks. There are accommodations at the place for 150 teachers.

The Quincy Herald offers a reward of $50 for the galoot that has been stealing type and printing materials from their type and job rooms.

125 Years Ago

July 18, 1900

There is considerable difference between the Pike and Greene county Board of Supervisors. Pike will pay nothing for publishing its proceedings, while Greene contracts to pay $20 per session.

A married lady friend of the editor told him yesterday that with her four cows and poultry she keeps the table, provides clothes for the family of four grown persons and now has 300 chickens and $50 in the bank. That’s the kind of wife to bring prosperity, and that too, without any aid from President McKinley.

100 Years Ago

July 15, 1925

Last week traffic on the Wabash line was delayed 15 hours by the derailment of 20 cars west of Barry.

Miss Minna Baugh wrote from Colorado that she has bobbed her hair. This put all the Pittsfield High School women teachers “in the same class.”

The Nancy Ross chapter of DAR is to mark the site of the first courthouse in Pike County at Atlas. A committee has been named to prepare an inscription for the marker.

A Pittsfield school census, which includes Pittsfield and parts of Newburg, showed a total of 1,357 children in the district under 21 years of age.

Thirty-five objections have been filed in the matter of paving around the Pittsfield square and a block in each direction. The objectors could be divided into two classes—business and residential. Business assessments would be larger because of wider pavement.

Clay Irick bought the McHose restaurant business. McHoses bought the business in June, 1924 from Hazen Windmiller.

75 Years Ago

July 11, 1950

U. S. Senator Scott Wike Lucas addressed a Pike County farm audience at the Griggsville Fair Friday afternoon. He is named after Scott Wike, a noted member of the Pike County bar and a Congressman from Pike County in years past.

Sunday, July 9 will go down in history in Florence as a red-letter day. It was the day when the Florence baseball team defeated New Canton for the first time in two years, and it was New Canton’s first conference loss in two years. Six of Florence’s team are named Wade: Raymond, Ellis, Splinter, Gene, Jay and George. The team also includes, Bill, Cleo and Bud Pressey. Other members are Roy Ottwell, Lyndle Lindsey, Elza Blacketter, Leo Beasley and Russell Chamberlain.

A son was born at Illini Hospital July 9 to Mr. and Mrs. Noble Harrison of Pittsfield.

July 12, 1950

Enos Slaughter, captain of the St. Louis Cardinals, will be at the Strauss Store from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 19 where he will be glad to meet all Cardinal fans and baseball fans in general. He promised last year that he would return to Pittsfield and he is keeping his promise.

July 13, 1950

Richard Heitholt of Quincy, former Quincy High School and Quincy College athletic star, has been named coach and mathematics instructor at West Pike High School. At present, Coach Heitholt is playing professional baseball in the Chicago Cubs’ farm team at Sioux Falls, S. D. He is married and has one child.

50 Years Ago

July 16, 1975

The Pittsfield City Council honored its city attorney A. W. Schimmel, Sr. with a surprise birthday party and cake following its meeting Tuesday night. Mr. Schimmel will be 85 today.

Terri O’Brien, 17-year-old daughter of Mrs. Reba O’Brien of Pittsfield, was chosen queen of the Pike County Fair Monday night in Pleasant Hill from among 17 contestants.

Pharmacist Warren Winston has purchased the Hoskin barber shop on the west side of the square and will move his pharmacy there from the north side of the square before Sept. 1.

The Hoskin location has been a barber shop for at least the past 93 years. Before Gail Hoskin barbered there it was staffed by the late Otis Hesley and his father before him. The building’s abstract dates from 1833 and it was originally the two-floor Oregon House Hotel. Two of the original rooms are still there.

Festivities of Pittsfield’s eighth annual Pig Day, July 11, attracted Governor Dan Walker. He flew into Pittsfield’s airport and circled the square riding in a 1913 Model T Ford.

A pig costume was needed for the Pittsfield Theatre Guild’s production of “the Enchanted Pig” so Dennis Dodd and Taylor Steinberg flew from Pittsfield to Milwaukee for a two-and-a-half-hour flight in Dodd’s single engine Mooney to pick up the required pig suit.

Karin Elizabeth and Christopher Ray, children of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Davenport, Jr. of Summer Hill, recently celebrated birthdays. Karin was 4 years old June 14 and Christopher was three years old July 7.

25 Years Ago

July 12, 2000

The Pittsfield City Council voted Wednesday, July 5 to maintain its present course of action in demolishing the Brown Shoe factory, which may cost as much as $200,000 this fiscal year.

The Pike County Board met in special session Thursday night to give final approval to an agreement between the Pike County Landfill and the board.

10 Years Ago

July 15, 2025

A windstorm Monday evening left a trail of fallen trees, debris and utility outages in its wake. The majority of the heavy damages in Pike County appears to have been north of Interstate 72, to include the towns of New Salem, Baylis, Griggsville and Perry, Sheriff Paul said by phone Tuesday morning.

As of July 31, Murray Martin, senior vice president, will retire after 34 years with Farmers State Bank. It was on July 14, 1981 that he started at Farmers State Bank as a loan officer and assistant cashier.

Rev. Wilson Ramsey will celebrate his 90th birthday, July 19 at the Nebo Community Center from 2-5 p.m. with an open house. Friends and family are invited to stop by for cake and coffee and a chance to visit with Ramsey, who still preaches at the Pearl Church of Christ.

Compiled by Michael Boren.

Posted in Society