REMEMBER WHEN?

50 Years Ago from The Fayette County Record

March 14-17, 1972

The Sheriffs Flournoy – Mike of Wharton County and T.J. (Jim) of Fayette – were featured in a four-page spread in The Houston Chronicle’s Texas Magazine in a story entitled “Living Legends of the Law in Texas.” The brothers had a combined 86 years of law enforcement service. The story about Jim opened with a description of how, at the age of 20, he was a top hand at a ranch in South Texas, but quit when his boss kept selling the horses he trained. Jim was on his way to Houston to look for work when the train stopped at Richmond. He observed a group of prison guards working convicts and decided to ask for a job. Jim got it and that was the beginning of his career as a lawman.

Twenty-four cases were filed against four subjects in connection with the tractor and equipment thefts at Kleiber Tractors, Inc., over the prior two weeks, according to Sheriff T.J. Flournoy. Charges also had been filed in Gonzales County in connection with tractor theft, and others were pending in Nueces County for theft of a Dodge truck, the sheriff said.

The Texas Department of Transportation announced a public hearing on April 13 at the Plum Parish Hall in Plum to discuss improvements on Hwy. 71 from 1.6 miles east of West Point to the Fayette-Bastrop County line. The proposed corridor route would skirt the southern edge of West Point and pass through the town of Kirtley.

Ten world-famous personalities ranging from Ed McMahon, The Lettermen, The Carpenters and Phyllis Diller were taking part in the Texas “Drive Friendly” public service traffic safety ad campaign produced by former La Grange resident Bruce Jaster. The son of Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Jaster of La Grange, Bruce was on the payroll of Media Communications, Inc., in Austin.

The historic Earthman Farm on the Nechanitz Road several miles north of La Grange was named a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark. A Texas Historic Building Medallion with an interpretive plate giving a capsule history of the structure was to be affixed to the building. Part of the wording read, “Earthman Farm – Established 1835 with one-room log cabin as settlers’ dwelling.”

Coach Paul Hoelscher’s La Grange Leopard baseballers came home from the Texas A&M Consolidated Invitational Tournament with the third-place trophy. They won over Class 4A Bryan, 5-3, in the opener and then bowed to Brenham’s Cubs in a 1-0 thriller before annexing an impressive 10-1 victory over host A&M to grab the No. 3 slot. Marcus Cook’s basesloaded homerun in the very first inning proved enough of a margin for the Leps to conquer Bryan, although it took a lot of doing to preserve their victory. Billy Miller had hurled scoreless ball through four frames for La Grange, then ran into trouble in the fifth when the Broncos bunched six base knocks for three tallies. Charles Koether, who had gone in on relief in the fifth, got into hot water in the final sixth when Bryan got a runner as far as third with one away. Bubba Riehs took the mound, walked one and whiffed the next two to end the game. An outfield error on Riehs’ drive, infield out and Stephen Kovar’s bingle had scored the other Leopard counter in the sixth.

The Fayette Memorial Hospital Auxiliary established a scholarship to benefit a La Grange High School graduate who planned to pursue a career in nursing. It was to cover the cost of tuition, books and transportation for two semesters.

Tickets were going on sale for a concert presented by the United States Navy Band from Washington, D.C., that was scheduled to perform in the La Grange School auditorium on May 3 at 8 p.m.

Funeral services were held for: Edwin Schlabach, 84, of Shelby; Alexander W. Melchior, 77, of Washington County; and Dr. Leo J. Peters, 85, of Schulenburg.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission lowered the minimum age requirement for public hunts on state game management areas. Prospective hunters had to be at least 12 years of age instead of 17.

Most of the children and grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Grant gathered at their home on Hwy. 154 at West Point on Sunday to celebrate Mr. Grant’s 100th birthday. The honoree had come to Fayette County as an infant with his father and several brothers almost a century before. He still had good eyesight and an excellent memory that enabled him to recount early events in the Plum-West Point-Muldoon area with delight.

The Houston Chronicle’s Spelling Bee local grand champions were Joan Muras at Hermes Elementary and Kathy Holub at La Grange Junior High. Mrs. Betty Schmidt of La Grange was the county event chairman.

The Velvets band was playing for a dance at Baca’s Pavilion at Fayetteville on Friday, March 17. At Plum, on Monday, March 20, a social sponsored by the Knights of Columbus was set for 7:30 p.m.

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