Remember When?

For the first time in the city’s 100-year-plus incorporated history, La Grange voters elected a councilwoman, Mrs. Henry C. Paine. They also chose a new councilman, Ivan V. Fajkus. A total of 359 votes were cast in the city election. In the school district election, Joe G. Bargas carried eight of the nine boxes, while his challenger, Mrs. John Edward Morgan Jr., received the most votes in Plum, where she lived. Elmo Minzenmeyer won reelection and Dr. John E. Hofmann was elected to fill a vacant seat on the school board. All three Schulenburg incumbents, Charles A. Eilers, Dr. August J. Watzlavick and Elmo Meyer, won reelection.

Both Fayetteville Independent School Board members were reelected. Robert J. Kovar Jr. won his second term and Jesse Bruton Jr. had no opposition. Mrs. Ira Bell Bathe and Merle Sternadel were elected to new threeyear terms and voters selected Franklin Schobel to complete an unexpired term on the Round Top-Carmine School Board. Lawrence Friedrich and Harrell Rightmer were reelected without opposition to the Schulenburg School Board.

An elongated dry spell coupled with strong south winds and arid fronts from the north meant crops across the area badly needed a general rain. Although sorghum and corn were not hurting too much, rain would be necessary within 21 days for those crops to flourish. Frost the previous week had set back much of the sorghum, but there were no reports of losses that required reseeding.

An old vacant building in the downtown area of West Point was destroyed by fire on Tuesday morning. A La Grange volunteer firefighter department spokesperson reported they rushed to the scene, but the structure was engulfed in flames by the time they arrived. Workers razing a nearby building were burning some discarded lumber. The loss of the building owned by longtime West Point postmistress Mrs. Lula G. Thornton, who lived in La Grange, was said to be minimal.

Punching out 11 base knocks with reckless abandon, La Grange’s highflying Leopards shut out the Yoakum Bulldogs, 8-0, Thursday afternoon in Yoakum. The victory kept the Leps firmly entrenched in the driver’s seat in the District 13-13A West Zone with an unblemished 4-0 record, upping their mark for the season to a phenomenal 15 wins against one setback. Neal Miller went the distance for La Grange, permitting only three safeties to chalk up the mound triumph. He fanned six and also walked a half dozen, but tight defense again aided and abetted the victors’ cause. As had been their custom, the Leps punched across a pair in the very first frame. Leadoff batsman Garry Dippel drew a walk and swiped second. Steve Kovar also strolled, Garry then pilfered third and Steve stole second. Marcus Cook followed with a single to score both. Three more came across in the third on base knocks by Mick Muzny, John Schramm, Dippel and Kovar, sandwiched around a force-out and followed by Ron Sulik’s sacrifice.

The La Grange High School agricultural mechanics team won the Area III competition at Southwest Texas State College in San Marcos on Tuesday. They were to go on to compete in the state contest at Texas A&M University on April 27. The team, composed of Danny Janacek, Weldon Hartman and Daniel Kollaja, scored 354 points to defeat the Weimar High School entry from Gary Cernoch, Gary Boeer and Victor Vana, which garnered 328.

Funeral services were held for: Hilbert Wunderlich, 65, of La Grange; E.R. Owen, 67, of Swiss Alp; Helen Ann Oeser, 20, of Nechanitz; Eddie Coufal, 78, of Willow Springs; Mrs. Ella A. Schramm, 85, of Shelby; and Willie Schultz, 81, of Rutersville.

Sophomore Johnny Johnson was chosen to represent La Grange in the regional track and field meet in Huntsville on April 20. At the District 133A event in West Columbia, he turned in a time of 15.2 for second place in the 120 high hurdles. Overall, La Grange came in seventh in the highly contested meet. Other athletes who placed were: Eddie Oppermann, Kenny Hatfield, Wayne Zimmerhanzel and Robert Poole, 440 replay, 6th, 44.9; Hatfield, Mike Maxwell, Poole and Johnny Johnson, mile relay, 5th, 3:27; Clinton Pyburn, mile run, 6th, 4:46; Albert Schmidt, mile run, 7th, 4:47; and Mike Teinert, mile run, 8th, 4:48.

Charles A. Hentschel of La Grange retired from the Fayette County maintenance section of the Texas Highway Department after 31 years of service. Mrs. Hentschel went to work for the department on April 12, 1943, and formally retired on the last day of March. In recent years, he had been ‘the sign man’for the Fayette County maintenance section.

The Jimmy Rohde family of Park posed for a photo beside a granddaddy Live Oak

Below are ads from 1974

on their property. The tree’s crown measured 120 lineal feet, its circumference was 18 feet and its width 7½ feet. Several old-timers in the area said they could not remember any change in the size of the tree over their lifetimes.

The ‘Over-the-Hill’ gang from La Grange came home from the Shiner tournament with a trophy and $25 after downing Hallettsville 13-3 Saturday and staging a comefrom- behind win over Columbus, 11-6, on Sunday. Charles Koether was the winning pitcher in both games, going the distance on Saturday and replacing David Kotzebue on Sunday. Kotzebue, ordinarily the starting catcher, took the mound job and did a fine job in his six and one-third innings. Edwin Karstedt was injured by a foul. Glenn Barrett had La Grange’s hottest bat on Sunday, slamming out a triple and two doubles. Danny Muzny and Tommy Knippel shared the honors Saturday with a double and a single apiece.

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