REMEMBER WHEN?
50 Years Ago from the files of The Fayette County Record
June 21-25, 1972
“Telephoning” for catfish in the Colorado River north of La Grange proved costly for four area young men, who were apprehended by Game Management Officer Leroy Bennetsen of La Grange. The quartet pleaded guilty to charges of “taking fish from state waters with an electric shocking device” in Judge A.V. Smith’s justice of the peace court. The fine and costs for each amounted to $55.50.
In district court, a Buffalo, Texas, man was given three years in prison for the May 15th break-in at the Gus L. Hruska Store in Ellinger. The 29-year-old suspect entered a guilty plea after he waived grand jury indictment and requested immediate trial on the burglary charge. District Judge Paul Huser of Schulenburg pronounced the sentence. The convicted man’s wife, 25, was given a three-year probationary sentence.
Erich Bauch, a native of Mathis, joined the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and was to be stationed in Schulenburg. He succeeded Fritz Prilop who had retired earlier in the year. A career Army soldier and World War II veteran, Mr. Bauch had served as deputy sheriff for two sheriffs at Mathis since 1959.
Approximately 900 people, 419 of them registered members, jammed the Round-Up Fall at the fairgrounds Wednesday night for Fayette Electric Cooperative’s 34th annual membership meeting. Ewald W. Friedrich of Weimar, representing District 6, and Arthur J. Friemel of Fayetteville of District 7 were re-elected by acclamation to three-year terms as directors. At an organizational session following the meeting, C.W. Meyer of Freyburg was named president, Edwin G. Kruppa of La Grange, vice president, and Ed Thiede of Cistern, secretary-treasurer. Holdover board members were L.A. Giese of Warda and George B. Pesek of Moulton.
Shorter school hours were in store for La Grange public school students in the fall of 1972. The board of trustees approved a schedule that called for a school day running from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for both students and faculty. State law required a minimum of a seven-hour school day, but local schools for many years had been open from 8 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. for students. Teachers stayed until 4 o’clock. In other business, it was decided that German would be offered as an elective rather than a required course in junior high school. Elementary students would continue to take either German or Spanish, and high school students still would have German as an elective. The lunch hour for the entire school was set for one hour, 11 a.m. to noon.
Funeral services were held for: Mrs. Ella Rachui, 82, a native of Round Top; Mrs. Annette Sadler, a native of La Grange; Joe F. Dusek, 69, of La Grange; Miss Annie Miller, 88, who was buried at Hostyn; Miss Mary Maude Hart, 78, of Winchester; and Walter Keilers, 87, formerly of Warrenton.
The La Grange All-Stars, who won the Area III Little League championship at Eagle Lake, were: Billy Roitsch, Stanley Krebs, Michael Roberts, Michael Miller, Douglas Bippert, Darren Kolbe, Glenn Zoch, Mike Kinslow, Ricky Meinen, Michael Albers, Curtis Ray, Ricky Dippel, Chris Boehm and Tim Willett. Their coach was W.O. Miller and Lloyd Kolbe served as manager.
La Grange High School homemaking teachers, Mrs. Melanie Peck, Mrs. Vada Luckenbach and Mrs. Peggy Hunter, were participating in a Teachers Homemaking Association conference at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Dallas.
A panel of judges picked pretty, petite Patti Fluitt, who represented the La Grange local, as the new Fayette County Farm Bureau queen. Miss Fluitt, 18, a recent La Grange High School graduate, was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Fluitt. She was crowned by the retiring queen, Brenda Lehmann of Warda. First runner-up was Elaine Fritsche of Winchester. Cindy Petras of Holman was second runner-up. Other contestants included: Carolyn Muras, Ammannsville-Dubina; Doris Elaine Hajdik, Cistern; Patricia Chovanec, Ellinger; Rita Kallus, Swiss Alp; Martha Gosch, Flatonia; and Treva Mayer, Warda. Rendering a saxophone solo, Michael Brown of Swiss Alp won the talent contest. Kathy Kieschnik of Winchester was first runner-up with a vocal number and piano accompaniment. The second runnerup was Eurline Schmidt of Round Top-Carmine, who played an organ solo.
Two Fayette County 4-H members who received first place awards for their record books were going on to compete at the state level. They were Donna Zapalac and Chris Cernosek.
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