REMEMBER WHEN?

50 Years Ago

Oct. 2-6, 1970

Questionnaires were mailed to the parents of students in La Grange Junior and Senior High School asking for opinions on the school dress code. The questions included: Should the school have a dress code? Should the present rule be enforced? If the rule should be changed, how short should hems be?

Fayette County’s commissioners began the long process of planning for redistricting in order to equalize the population of the different commissioners’ beats.

When a tractor-trailer gravel truck northbound on Hwy. 77 went off the road, it uprooted a 15-inch in diameter post oak and grazed a utility pole. The driver said he swerved to miss a car in front of him turning into a private driveway.

Winners of the Rosa Meinecke Award for the 1969-70 school year were: Wayne Voss, James Liska, Charles Mayer, Gary Minzenmeyer, John Williams, David Elmore, Richard Grobe, Glenn Davis, Rebecca Munsch, Virginia Legler, Debra Chovanec, Catherine Smith, Ruth Ann Wessels, Peggy Hruska and Jeanette Clegg.

Catherine D. Smith scored in the upper two percent of the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Tests. She received a letter of commendation that was presented by La Grange High School Principal H.C. Giese.

La Grange’s public schools were being dismissed at 2 p.m. on Friday in order for the buses to make their usual runs and return to be serviced before leaving for the big football game in Sweeney. Reserved seat tickets were $1.50 and student tickets sold for 50¢.

Only five building permits were issued in La Grange during the third quarter of 1970 for a total of $67,650. This included: C.A. Prilop, Sara Jo St., residence; Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Weyand, Eckel St., residence; Ivan Fajkus, von Minden St., residence; Willie Wormley, E. Guadalupe St., barbershop; and Kreuz Market, W. Colorado St., remodeling.

W.D. (Bill) McKellar purchased Hill Top Grocery from Mrs. Nita Rosenberg. Mr. McKellar, a native of North Carolina and a La Grange resident since 1945, had been employed by Petzold’s Service Station for the prior eight years. Mrs. McKellar was the former Alice Giesber.

Michalsky’s Packing Plant in Fayetteville was selling feedlot beef, 125 to 150 pounds, for 56¢ per pound, plus a small additional charge for cutting and wrapping. All beef was state inspected.

A reunion of the Joe and Veronica Kasper family was held on Sunday, Sept. 27 at the Fairgrounds in La Grange. Following the noon meal, the following officers were elected: John Kasper of La Grange, president; Sidney Blinka of Rosenberg, vice president; and Josephine Huelsebusch of La Grange, secretary-treasurer.

Funeral services were held for: Mrs. Paula Weyand, 74, of Warrenton; Mrs. Willie Sacks, 74, of Round Top; Mrs. Milda Raschke, 87, of Prairie Valley; and John P. Ehlinger Jr., 70, a native of La Grange.

Three little boys, who were thought to be 10 or 11 years old, were looking down on the world from the courthouse roof one evening. Their perch on top of the third story roof was noticed first at about sundown by Mrs. Emil Seidel, the wife of the courthouse custodian, who was windowshopping on the east side of the Square. She heard giggling and looked around, but couldn’t see anyone. Then she looked up and saw the youngsters just below the clock tower. Before they could be identified, the boys retraced their steps down an aluminum stepladder that the contractor replacing the roof had left on the third story landing. Then they scuttled down a rigid ladder on the third floor and hot-footed it down the fire escape to the ground.

Winners were announced in the Punt, Pass and Kick competition sponsored by Ford Motor Company and La Grange Motor Co. in cooperation with the La Grange Jaycees. In the age 13 category, the honors went to Kenneth Hatfield, Garry Dippel and Lyman Smith; 12 year-olds, Larry Bippert, Arthur Meurer and Jeff Lindemann; 11-year-olds, Chris Janda, Thomas Supak and Pat Smith; 10-year-olds, Bill Roitsch, Ricky Dippel and Michael Roberts; nine-year-olds, Donald Bertsch, Darren Kolbe and Tony Michalsky; and eight-year-olds, George Mode, Jeffery Cook and John Lindemann.

Fayette County Sheriff T. J. Flournoy was frustrated that criminal case trials were not moving to court as quickly as he would have liked. “Out of the last three grand juries there have only been two cases tried. The November grand jury returned 14 indictments and this month nine indictments. For some reason, we can’t get them to trial and I don’t know why.”

Henry Brosch was playing at a dance on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Freyburg Hall and the same evening, The Triumphs were making music at New Bielau Hall. Admission was $1.50 per person.

St. John Lutheran Church at Rutersville was observing its 75th anniversary of the founding, as well as the dedication of recent building modernization on Sunday, Oct. 11. The pastor was the Rev. Walter C. Probst Jr.

For more great stories, visit Elaine online at www.elainethomaswriter.com/blog/ or call her at 979-263-5031.