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1976: Fayette Co. Gears Up for Primary Elections

March 9-12, 1976

Fayette County had almost 800 more eligible voters for the May primary elections than in 1974. The unofficial total of registered voters was a record 9,427 persons.

Ottilie Plattow of Carmine, thought to be Fayette County’s oldest resident, passed away at the age of 103. Right at 140 relatives and friends had gathered at the home of her sister, Mrs. Viola Hoermann in Carmine, where Miss Tillie had lived, on Dec. 1 to celebrate her birthday.

After Lionel Roy Rumancik was declared a winner in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo calf scramble, he received a $275 check to be used toward the purchase of a registered calf of his own choosing.

A 68-year-old Columbus lady was bilked out of $10,000 by two con artists who were free on bond from Gretna, La. One of the swindlers approached the victim at the post office to ask a question. Just then, her partner ran up, saying she had found an envelope containing $30,000 in cash. The cheats convinced the woman to withdraw $10,000 of her own money to co-mingle with the $30,000 in case the serial numbers were recorded somewhere. The pair then talked the lady into going to the bank to talk to their ‘boss lady,’ who had suggested that the three share the loot. There was no one at the bank waiting to speak to the Columbus resident and when she returned to talk to the two women who had engineered the scheme, no one was there, and neither was her money.

Funeral services were held for: Mrs. Julia Lukas, 87, of Fayetteville; Miss Minnie Parma, 70, of Ammannsville; and Mrs. Josephine Duncan Dyer, 94, a La Grange native.

The 32-unit, low-rent housing complex nearing completion in the eastern part of La Grange was to be called the River Valley Addition. The La Grange Housing Authority, which made the decision, chose Koenig Lane for the main street in the River Valley Addition in recognition of G.A. Koenig, chair of the authority. George Hajovsky was named the purchasing agent. He and executive director Verta Hill were to proceed with purchasing furniture and other equipment for the 32 units. More than 40 prospective tenants had filed applications for an apartment.

Gov. Dolph Briscoe announced approval of an $82,133 Office of Human Development grant to Combined Community Action, Inc., in Smithville for a part-time Head Start program.

When they went to the polls on April 3, La Grange school district voters would have five choices for the two trustee positions. Candidates for Position 6, which was being vacated by Lloyd Kolbe, were: Mrs. Robert Ruckert, who had taught school for 10 years before becoming a housewife; James W. Bramblett, an X-ray technician at the hospital; and dentist Dr. Garrette Ray. Seeking the Position 7 seat were attorney John D. Marburger and Richard Landrum, the owner of Landrum Construction Co. The incumbent, Rudolph Voss, was not running for another term.

Sheriff T.J. (Jim) Flournoy reported, “We had two robberies in February, and several house burglaries, and hot checks kept coming in every day. You business people, please be careful when you cash a check for someone you do not know. Lots of times, they will have their own personalized checks, but this doesn’t mean a thing. It is just another way to try and fool merchants, so do be careful.” Sheriff Flournoy also noted that Feb. 21 was a particularly busy day, with 11 persons jailed: three for DWI, six drunks, one for disorderly conduct and one for a hot check. (Two of the drunks were driving a stolen car from Houston.)

La Grange native Airman First Class Clinton R. Pyburn graduated from a technical training course for U.S. Air Force security police at Lackland Air Force Base. Next, he would go to Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene for duty with a unit of the Strategic Air Command.

In Flatonia, Joe Mica bought Eidelbach Lumber Co. from Andrew Eidelbach. The new business was to be called Mica Lumber Co. and its business policies were to be the same as in the past. Mr. Eidelbach stated that although he had retired from the business, he would continue to assist Mr. Mica in the management of the lumberyard for several months.

Bassett Bedding Mattress and Box Spring Division of Bassett Furniture Industries announced the opening of a distribution warehouse in Schulenburg. Bassett was the world’s largest manufacturer of furniture for the home. Located at 805 Bohlmann, formerly the location of the Schulenburg Compress, the Bassett warehouse was to primarily serve San Antonio and Houston, as well and cities and towns within a 250-mile radius.

Approximately 85 persons attended the World Day of Prayer service in La Grange at the First Presbyterian Fellowship Hall. Mrs. Stanley Mach and Mrs. Marion Wessels from the Travis Street United Methodist Church led the program. About $84 was collected in the offering to support Church World Service and UNICEF projects in the Malagasy Republic and Bolivia.

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