Pickings from Pike’s Past: 100 YEARS AGO: CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON HIGHWAY FROM FLORENCE TO PITTSFIELD

By Editor | March 15, 2022 |

150 years Ago
March 21, 1872
Spring, gentle spring with ethereal mildness is traveling this way, but so very gently that unless it hurries up, it won’t get here until next fall.
Hannibal has got a ghost, whose abiding place is in the tunnel at the west edge of the railroad bridge.

125 Years Ago
March 23, 1897
It is raining today, and as like begets like, it will be likely to rain as long as the Mississippi is up.
The building on East Adams Street in Pittsfield, formerly the Catholic church, is being fitted up by W. B. Turnbaugh and “Yank” Robinson for a livery stable.
Word has come that an operation has been performed on Charles E. Strong in the hospital in St. Louis for appendicitis, which has proved imminently successful.
The Perry Springs hotel and adjoining lands was sold at administrator’s sale. The hotel and 35 acres of land on which it was situated brought $2900. A 44 acre tract nearby brought $23 an acre. The hotel and fixtures and beautifying the grounds, away back in the 1860s, cost about $100,000.

March 26, 1897
The editor of the Democrat would like to learn who there is living here besides himself and William Joslin of Nebo, who went in the company called out by Governor Ford about the year 1845 to go to Hancock County and help the civil authorities enforce the law against the Mormons. The company was out some 20 days, and was in Nauvoo.
Dr. A. B. Carey, Jr. informs us that he will spend next week in Milton attending the wants of the people in the dental line.

100 years Ago
March 22, 1922
Hymen Brunswick, one of the oldest Jewish citizens of Pittsfield, passed away in his rooms at the Pittsfield House Sunday morning. In his youth he was a member of the famous firm of Brunswick, Balke and Collender, of St. Louis, known the world over for its billiard tables.
In connection with the stunt show put on by the pupils of Pittsfield High School tonight, there will be a genuine fashion show, at which real live girls will wear gowns, wraps, blouses, suits, etc. shown by Worth’s Woman’s Shop, and another bunch will wear the beautiful hats, veils and other accessories displayed by Creel Hat Shop. Kientzle Shoe Store will also model a lot of their swell spring footwear along with hats and gowns.
The Barry Seed Company is serving radishes and onions from its own gardens, which is about the earliest sass we have heard of. New chickens are as thick as hops over the country, and our good friend rhubarb is about ready to eat. Sassafras tea also is on tap.
Physicians all over Pike County are being kept busy day and night treating the many people who are ill of pneumonia and grippe.
The big rain last week raised the creeks so high in south Pike that the train between Nebo and Pleasant Hill had to back into Nebo and wait for the water to run down before going on to Pleasant Hill that morning.
Construction of the state route from Florence to Pittsfield is scheduled to begin in a few days. There will be plenty of demand for workers, especially men with good teams and scrapers.
Charles Hesley has been barbering in Pittsfield for 45 years. For the past 43 years he has been at the same location. His is the only business in Pittsfield that has continued without change of management in that period of time.

75 Years Ago
March 19, 1947
Pittsfield’s Saukees lost a sensational game at the Quincy Sectional Wednesday night to the Routt Rockets by the score of 35-33. The Saukees end the season with a 21-8 record.
A son was born at Illini Hospital to Mr. and Mrs. Earl L. Kendall of Barry, March 14, 1947, named Charles Bruce, mother formerly Betty Dolbeare.
Pittsfield Rotary enjoyed an unusual and outstanding program at its Thursday luncheon meeting at the Cardinal Inn. Rotarian Al Wuellner, head of the Strauss Store, presented a program all about rayon, a modern wonder of the fabric world. Demonstrating that it takes human warmth to make the dress, several local high school beauties appeared in a style parade before the Rotary group, wearing rayon frocks, coats, bathing suits and beach coats. The style show was supervised by John Brass of the Strauss store.
Mrs. Dot Dorothy Swan is helping at the Republican following the death of publisher Mr. Parcells.
Is there a plan for U.S. Highway 36 to bypass Pittsfield altogether? We don’t know for sure as this is written.

50 Years Ago
22 March, 1972
A surprisingly large vote for Dan Walker, independent Democratic candidate for governor, stunned Pike County politicos as returns came in at the courthouse Tuesday night. In his primary contest against Lt. Governor Paul Simon, Walker received 1290 votes in the Pike County unofficial tally, compared to 1874 votes for Simon.
Mayor Frank Penstone and City Attorney A. W. Schimmel, Sr. reported that negotiations are continuing with Gerald Fudge and Marjorie Nighbert on the purchase of land for the new airport.
Western Illinois Power Cooperative (WIPCO) reports that the coal supply at the Pearl plant is adequate, and that a 20,000 kilowatt gas turbine generator is to be installed at Pearl and operating by 1973.
The officers of the Pittsfield High School FFA are Mike Niebur, president; Mike Barton, vice- president; Ralph Benz, secretary; Roger Hall, treasurer; David Benz, reporter, and Don Snyder, sentinel.
Miss Ellen Borrowman, a senior at Blackburn College in Carlinville, will begin practice teaching in Virden prior to her graduation in June.

25 Years Ago
March 19, 1997
More than 100 people turned out Monday night at the Pike County courthouse to hear the views of the three candidates for Pittsfield mayor at the Pike Press-sponsored forum. The event was originally scheduled for the lower courtroom, but the crowd required a move to the upstairs courtroom. The three candidates were James Halpin, James “Cork” Lemons and Larry Snyder. Shannon Killday was the moderator.
When the buzzer sounded at Meredosia a few weeks ago it signified the end of the Saukee basketball season as Pittsfield had been defeated by the Bluffs Bluejays. It was also the end of an era of Pettys (for this generation). John and Bonnie Petty had eight children, all of whom played basketball for the Pittsfield Saukees, and they closed out with 3,086 points. The Petty players, all pictured, are Jane, Chris, Joe, Patrick, Paul, Adam, Kate and Jonas, who is a senior at PHS.
Work began last week on two new ball diamonds south of Pikeland Community School.

10 Years Ago
March 21, 2012
Carrie Boyd defeated Brett Irving and John Clark for the Democratic nomination for Pike County State’s Attorney, and no one ran for that office in the Republican primary.
Pike County voters agreed that Pike County should adopt a “Constitutional carry of arms.” The advisory vote, spearheaded by Dr. Dan Mefford, passed by 3,214 to 550.
The Western Community Center YMCA project in Barry is officially moving forward, after being approved by the Quincy YMCA, with an anticipated opening date of sometime in May.
Nebo Mayor Hubbard said that dreams of building a playground in Nebo got a boost when the community received a $15,000 grant from Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and the national non-profit KaBoom.

■ Compiled by Michael Boren