REMEMBER WHEN?
50 Years Ago from the files of the Fayette County Record
April 2-6, 1971
Close liaison between Sheriff T.J. Flournoy and his department and Houston and Harris County officials paid off. Two young Houston men were charged in Justice of the Peace A.V. Smith’s court in La Grange with burglary of the vocational schools in Schulenburg and La Grange two weeks earlier. Bond had not yet been set and the duo was still in a Houston jail. Baytown officers apprehended the pair while they were attempting to break into a safe at a place of business. They admitted to selling the accumulation of tools and other items they’d taken in the burglaries to a man named “Jimmie” for about $125. Melroy G. Berger, head of the auto mechanics department in La Grange, and Elmo Meyer of the Schulenburg vocational school accompanied Sheriff Flournoy to Houston. Mr. Meyer was able to identify a cutting torch and oxygen tank from his school.
An unearned run in the bottom of the fourth inning gave Brenham’s Cubs a 3-2 victory over the La Grange Leopards at Brenham’s Firemen’s Park Tuesday night in the opening District 10-3/1 baseball tilt for both clubs. Although outhitting their opponents 7 to 3, the Leps could not effectively bunch their blows. After the Cubs counted a solo tally in the last of the second, the Leopards came back with a pair in the upper half of the third when Buddy Grobe singled and Frank Kana bunted him to second. Ricky Kana followed with a three-ply smash into deep right-center to score Grobe and Bubba Riehs’ single scored Kana. The lead was short-lived as the cubs countered. Riehs, who went the distance for La Grange, deserved a better fate. The junior southpaw struck out nine and freepassed only three in tossing the three-hitter. He also got two of La Grange’s seven base hits.
Funeral services were held for: Mrs. Carlena Krause Thompson, 54, formerly of La Grange; Kyle Kenneth Kingery, 51, of La Grange; and Gregory Prihoda, 74, of Ellinger.
Fayette County had 78 students enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin.
Construction permits totaled $52,855 for the first quarter of 1971. Some of those were: Miss Myrta Hermes, N. Washington St., remodeling; Ed Kasper, N. Horton St., carport; Wilbur Hagens, E. Walnut St., home addition; Sidney Cernoch, E. Pearl St., home addition; G.B. Mueller, E. Travis St., commercial; Percy Kasparek, Vail St., tool shed; Clarence Gilbert, Rosenberg St., residence; Leslie Hunger, N. Madison St., home addition; Mrs. Louis Legler, N. Washington St., residence; Harry Vogt, Water St., roof replacement; Viva Riley, Overbay St., home addition; Von Minden Brothers, W. Colorado St., commercial remodeling; Mrs. Vallie Hall, S. Jefferson St., carport; Royal Crown Bottling Co., E. Travis St., commercial repairs; and Adolph Matocha Jr., Oak St.
Mr. and Mrs. Kenney Hinze of Carmine celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a host of relatives and friends at the Carmine Hall on Sunday. Miss Noreen Jaster registered the guests at a table covered in white with silver accents. Mrs. Elwood Leonhardt registered the gifts assisted by Mrs. O.B. Schoenmann and Miss Donna Lu Leonhardt.
At the FFA Parent-Son Barbecue, Dr. J.D. Norris and Dr. James Tiemann were presented with plaques in recognition of the help that their respective clinics had rendered.
An Austin taxicab driver charged Vietnam Army cook Don Draper $25 to bring him home to La Grange. He announced his arrival by knocking on his parents’ front door at one o’clock in the morning. He had left Vietnam by jet at 7 p.m. on March 27 and landed at Travis Air Force Base at Oakland, Calif. It took Don 20 hours to finish the separation process and catch a jet to Austin. Mr. and Mrs. Coleman Draper and Don’s younger brother, Paul, were delighted and surprised to see him because he was not due home for several weeks. The possibility that Ruters
The possibility that Rutersville, Fayetteville and Ellinger might be added to Fayette County Precinct 2 in order to bring about compliance with the Supreme Court’s one-man, one-vote ruling, loomed large at a public hearing. The areas had always been part of Precinct 1.
Clarence A. Roitsch, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, was elected to the La Grange School Board in Saturday’s election by a close 26-vote majority. Mr. Roitsch received 351 votes, while Mrs. J.E. (Sara) Morgan polled 325.
Wilbert’s Cafe at Shelby advertised fresh Red Fish as its special for Good Friday, April 9.
South Central Savings Association in Brenham was paying 5¼ to 6% on savings certificate accounts and 5% to 5¼% on savings passbook accounts.
The winners of the annual poetry writing contest at Sacred Heart Catholic School in La Grange sponsored by the local Catholic Daughters of America were: Laura Smith, first place, first division; Sandra Kleiber, second place, first division; Carol Brauner, third place, first division; Kathy Prause, honorable mention, first division; Michael Faldyn, first place, second division; Judy Chovanec, second place, second division; Jane Kana, third place, second division; and Michael Rohan, honorable mention, second division.
To assist the sheriff’s department, Sheriff T.J. Flournoy asked cattlemen to brand their cattle because of an increasing number of thefts. “(Otherwise) it would be just like trying to find a stolen car without a number on it,” he said.
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