Remember When?

The La Grange Leopards pushed across two runs with two out in the final inning against the Brenham Cubs at Nelson Field in Austin to win the Class AAA state baseball championship, 3 to 1. The victory climaxed a 21-4 season for the base-running, slick-fielding charges of Coach Leonard May and his assistant Bill Ruskin. The big win brought La Grange High School its first state championship trophy ever in team athletics. David Zatopek’s single won the game. The ball barely eluded the desperate diving glove of Rodney Graves, who seemed to run for half a minute getting under it. For a breathless moment, he seemed to have made the impossible catch. Then the ball trickled away as the Cub centerfielder laid on the ground in agony. Right fielder Bobby Pieper alertly pegged third to catch sliding Buddy Grobe for the third out. But the gate closed too late for the Brenham Cubs because Jim Quinn and Kenny Hatfield, who were away at the crack of the bat, had already raced home with runs.

The La Grange Leopards landed four players on the All-State AAA baseball team. Picked for berths on the tournament squad were: Kenny Hatfield, the 15-year-old lefthander who was winning pitcher over Brenham in a relief role; catcher Marcus Cook; and outfielders Jim Quinn and David Zatopek.

Congressman J.J. (Jake) Pickle asked the Lower Colorado River Authority to reverse its decision to unilaterally cancel the part of its contract that set a ceiling on wholesale electric rates for cooperatives and cities. Pickle said the board’s action was unnecessary since city and cooperative officials were willing to work with LCRA to solve problems arising from gas shortages.

The City of La Grange took several steps to conserve electricity during the energy crisis. Two out of every three street lights along the two highways (except at intersections) had been cut off. Rescheduling of all nighttime athletic events for the baseball fields had been recommended and all businesses were advised to limit lighting to only what was absolutely necessary for business security. The utilities department recommended that thermostats be set at 78 degrees when outside temperatures reached 88 degrees or above.

Fayette County commissioners were informed that two old elm trees on the courthouse square had reached the point of being not only unsightly but dangerous. It was recommended that the elms be removed and replaced with young trees of another variety. In other courthouse news, time was literally standing still because some of the gears in the complicated clock mechanism had become badly worn. The serviceman representing the firm that contracted for the courthouse clock’s maintenance asked that it be stopped until repairs could be made. Since parts had to be ordered from Houston, the timepiece might not be operating until the following week.

A belated audit of the La Grange Independent School District books was being submitted to the Texas Education Agency with a statement that school board members had reviewed and disapproved of the document. Superintendent C.A. Lemmons said a cover letter would be included explaining that the criticism voiced by the auditors was unjust from the perspective of the school board.

When the Alamo Area mobile unit was in town, a total of 183 area people availed took advantage of the American Lung Association’s chest x-ray service and contributed $164.50 toward paying for the service. Members of the Fayette Memorial Hospital Auxiliary registered those attending.

Airman Alice M. Hepner, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Norman V. Hepner of Schulenburg, was assigned to Presidio of Monterey, Calif., after completing her U.S. Air Force basic training.

Fayette voters were going to the polls to vote for or against becoming an independent school district rather than a rural school district.

George Pesek was nominated by acclamation at a District 4 meeting of Fayette Electric Cooperative members at the Moravia Parish Hall.

The three La Grange High School students who entered the Texas State Solo Contest returned home with medals for excellent performances. They were: Mark Johnson, trombone; Lois Krause, cornet; and Dennis Zbranek, contra-bass clarinet.

One of La Grange’s betterknown retail stores was operating under a new name and ownership. Mr. and Mrs. Clarence W. Schulze purchased the Charlie Tobias Co. and renamed the store Schulze Furniture World. Mr. and Mrs. Tobias were retiring after 18 years in the La Grange furniture business.

Ed A. Krivacka, the superintendent of the Rice School District in Colorado County, was one of 20 teachers from South Central Texas to receive a fellowship to attend the 16th annual Petroleum Institute for Educators at the University of Houston. Mr. Krivacka was the son of Mrs. William Krivacka of Fayetteville and the late Mr. Krivacka.

Representing Fayette County and District I, Elaine Warhol of La Grange placed first in the girls’ public speaking competition at the annual Texas 4-H Roundup at Texas A&M University.

Funeral services were held for Mrs. Mary Supak, 85, of Plum and Clarence O. Krause, 62, of Winedale.

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