1975: Round Top Readies for 125th Annual 4th of July Fest

July 1, 1975

The mayors of Texas’s largest and smallest cities planned to ride in a Model T Ford truck in Round Top’s 125th consecutive July 4th parade. Houston Mayor Fred Hofheinz was joining Don Nagel, Round Top’s magistrate, for the event that was to begin at 10 a.m. with the traditional cannon firing. The original cannon from the Civil War era used in the celebration blew up at a July 4th in the 1890s. It was later embedded in concrete on the town square. For the past few years, a cannon furnished by historic weapons buff Don Morgan ofAustin had performed the honors. The cannon shot would signal the welcoming address by Mayor Nagel, followed by a response from Odies Schatte, the president of the Round Top RifleAssociation. Fayette County Sheriff T.J. Flournoy was once again serving as parade marshal.

A bolt of lightning killed four dairy cows on the Harold Stueber dairy east of La Grange in the Joiner community at about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The loss included two Holsteins, one Brown Swiss and one Jersey. The thunderstorm struck a tree that the cows had sought shelter under. About two inches of rain fell during the heavy shower. In fact, raindrops kept falling on La Grange for five consecutive days for a total of 3.54 inches. It rained 12 of the first 29 days in June. The highest temperature reading for the year thus far was 92 degrees.

Highway and farm-to-market road construction in Fayette County that was underway, planned for the future or had yet to be put on the drawing boards was estimated to cost in excess of $6 million. One large project involved extending the road from Rocky Creek southeast 1.2 miles to the Halsted community.

La Grange volunteer firefighters responded to a house fire at the Sherman Smith home on E. Eblin St. in the early hours of Friday morning. The kitchen was badly gutted by the blaze. There was also some fire damage in the attic and water damage throughout the house. Mr. Smith was not home at the time of the blaze.

In the neighboring community of Weimar, burglars entered Farmers Drug Store late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning and took about $2,000 worth of pills, a small percentage of which were hard drugs. Most were the common shelf variety of tablets and capsules. The burglars scattered empty pill bottles and containers all over the floor. Deputies said the perpetrators must have dumped all of the pills into one or two containers, mixing them together. The burglars also got away with a tape player and a Kodak Instamatic Camera. Although no fingerprints were found, the burglars left behind two pairs of gloves, one rubber glove and another the leather work variety.

Henry L. Sloan, 67, a former special agent in charge of the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia, and a former member of the Texas Highway Patrol stationed in Fayette County, passed away on June 18 at his summer residence at Lake James, N.C. While stationed in Schulenburg, he married the former Minnie Meyer and was a member of the Schulenburg Masonic Lodge.

Funeral services were held for: Nathan James Muras, infant, at Hostyn; Eddie F. Chovanec, 63, of Fayetteville; Gus Peska, a native of Cistern; and Don Cherry, 15, of Schulenburg.

Building permits issued in La Grange during the first half of 1975 totaled $273,918, according to city secretary Mrs. Margaret S. Mason and building inspector Ovie Roensch. That was only a little over one-third of the total of permits written in the corresponding period of the prior year when the sum hit $803,288, reflecting the proposed construction of the Dopslauf apartments. One new home permit was written for Robert Preuss Jr. for a $26,000 house on Ellinger Road. The permit total included 26 jobs of $500 or less, primarily for reroofing and remodeling.

Two concerts in Henkel Square, a trio of seminars and performances by student artists and concert pianist James Dick at state schools in this area, would mark the end of the fifth annual International Festival Institute at Round Top. Mr. Dick and his students would then depart Round Top for a 10day tour of Texas and Louisiana to give a series of concerts and public performances.

La Grange had three winners in the state fire prevention poster contest. Argentine Connor was first in the primary division, while La Vern Dobbins won first and Tina Turner second in the special education category.

A group of neighbors and friends met at the Byler’s place at West Point and proceeded to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wally Van Wart for a surprise charivari at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 27. Fayette County Sheriff T.J. Flournoy led the procession. Hostesses for the occasion were: Mrs. Jerry Alexander, Mrs. Leroy Wetjen, Mrs. Elmond Luck and Mrs. Sarah Morgan.

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Below are ads from 1975