REMEMBER WHEN?
Jan. 19, 1973
Ray Baca, Fayetteville’s master musician, was to play at the inaugural ball for President Richard M. Nixon being held at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. Mr. Baca was to be featured on the dulcimer as he performed with the Gil Baca Band of Houston that had been booked for 20-minute shows every hour during the evening. Mr. Baca’s two sons, Gil on the piano and Kermit on the drums, also were members of the band along with Vernon Drozd, Louis Piskor, Gene Lichnovsky, Thomas Estrada, Norman Barnes and Joan Wilson.
La Grange public school students, who enjoyed a leisurely three-day holiday from classes during the prior week’s ice and snowstorm, would be paying the piper inApril. Instead of the weeklong vacation scheduled at Easter, they would have one day off, Good Friday. Although not previously scheduled as a school holiday, students would get a day off on March 2, Texas Independence Day, to even things up.
La Grange Independent School District trustees again heard from a La Grange Chamber of Commerce delegation wanting to talk about air conditioning the schools. The question of whether or not to poll school parents or taxpayers – or both – was discussed, although no specific action was taken. The school board also talked briefly about exempting homeowners over 65 about the first $3,000 of assessed taxable value of residence homesteads, an action made possible by a vote of the people of Texas in the prior 1972 November election.
Two La Grange places of business were victimized by petty thieves sometime during the night Tuesday or early Wednesday morning. At a break-in at Ruether’s Grocery at 539 E. Colorado St., 11 cartons of cigarettes, two six-packs of beer and between $10 and $15 in quarters, dimes and nickels were taken. The other business entered illegally was the office building of Gulf Coast Federated Feed Association at 698 E. Lafayette St., where some small change was stolen. Entrance at each place was gained by knocking a small hole in the glass of the front door and then reaching through to trip the lock.
The lads outnumbered the lassies by 13 in new arrivals at Fayette Memorial Hospital for 1972. Births numbered 68 for boys and 56 for girls for a total of 124. The debuts included two sets of twins - boys born to Mr. and Mrs. John Riehs - and a boy and girl to Mr. and Mrs. Keith Bayless. The first new arrival of 1973 was a boy born to Mr. and Mrs. Walter Post of Austin on Jan. 5th. Named Christopher Brent, he weighed in at six pounds, 11 ounces.
Funeral services were held for: Mrs. Joe (Hermina) Sklar, 78, of Fayetteville; Mrs. Henry (Cecilia) Rainosek, 95, of Hostyn; Mrs. Katherine (Katie) Huelsebusch, 80, of La Grange; Emil W. Haverlah, 39, of Industry; and Mrs.Alice M. Duerr, of La Grange.
A grass fire along the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way between West Point and Muldoon posed a threat for a time on Wednesday afternoon but was extinguished without significant property damage. The Flatonia Fire Department sent out its booster truck and the La Grange Department responded with its tank truck to provide water for dousing the flames. A considerable area was burned and some fence posts were charred.
The new lieutenant governor of Texas, Bill Hobby, was to be the guest speaker at the La Grange Chamber of Commerce banquet on Tuesday, Jan. 25. Mr. Hobby, a native Houstonian, graduated from Rice University in 1953 and joined the U.S. Navy, where he served three years in the Office of Naval Intelligence. In 1959, he was parliamentarian of the Texas Senate during the regular session of the 56th Legislature. Mr. Hobby, president and executive editor of The Houston Post, had served six times as a jury member recommending winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism. A total of 325 tickets were on sale for the banquet at both La Grange banks, three local drug stores and the chamber office.
A new office for Ford Fritsch Real Estate was being constructed on Hwy. 71, next door to Kleiber Ford Tractor. The 16x30-foot cedar cabin was due to be completed on Saturday.
A second defensive driving course was scheduled at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 23, in the La Grange VFW Hall. Those who completed the course would be eligible for a 10% auto insurance discount. Interested persons were urged to contact Arthur J. Friemel.
Kenny L. Stork of La Grange advertised he wanted to lease or buy cotton allotments. He offered to pay top prices at his house any day of the week or was willing to visit prospective customers if they had no transportation.
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