REMEMBER WHEN?
50 Years Ago from the files of The Fayette County Record
July 2-6, 1971
A 43-year-old man, who was being sought following a double pistol slaying in Bellville early Tuesday morning, let his hostage go near Fayetteville before fleeing the area. As arresting officers approached the suspect on a highway near Refugio, he wounded himself in the head. The hostage, who had the bad luck to be in the home where one of the murders occurred, was forced into her 1966 Pontiac and ordered to drive around. After about two hours, the shooter released her and she ran to a nearby home. When Sheriff T.J. Flournoy and Deputy Sheriff C.A. Prilop were notified and left for Fayetteville, they may have passed the murder suspect on Hwy. 159 but, at that time, they had no description of the car. The suspect reportedly stopped in Rutersville where he bought a piece of sausage on his way out of Fayette County.
Ivan Fajkus and Erland Schulze purchased the Royal Crown Bottling Company in La Grange from John F. Rohan and E.L. (Dick) Barton. Mr. Rohan had been with the company for 33 years, while Mr. Barton had 17 years of service. The new owners said the business would operate as it had in the past, although the name would now appear as Royal Crown Bottling Company of South Central Texas. The plant, which employed 19 people, distributed RC Cola, Nehi beverages, 7-Up and Frostie in a nine-county area. Both Mr. Fajkus and Mr. Schulze had been employed by Radio Station KVLG for several years.
Vandals struck again on Monument Hill over the weekend. Sheriff’s officers were conducting an all-out investigation into the smashing of another window at the Clothes Closet. It was the second time this location had been hit. The aluminum window frames had not been damaged although seven or eight panes had been knocked out by a blunt instrument. Several days before the latest round of vandalism occurred, an AC repairman found that fuses on the outdoor unit had been stolen, along with a closed/open sign on the front door.
La Grange City Council adopted two ordinances provided for the assessment of a portion of the cost for street paving to be borne by property owners and fixing liens where adjoining property owners had not signed paving agreements.
Funeral services were held for: Reuben F. Schmidt, 76, of New Ulm; Cyrus Earl Greenshield Sr., 73, of La Grange; Willie F. Shimek, 81, of Fayetteville; Paul F. Novosad, 77, formerly of Fayetteville; Buster Schramm, 23, of Round Top; and Gloria Mae Harris, 30, a native of La Grange. Effects of the prolonged drought were showing up in La Grange’s water consumption with pumping during a 30-day recording period averaging more than two-thirds of a million gallons a day.
E.W. Meiners of Meiners Motor Company in La Grange was appointed to the key post of area director of the statewide Texas Automobile Dealers Association. The 54-year-old organization of franchised new car and truck dealers was dedicated to assisting the motor vehicle-buying public and improving the automobile industry in the state.
One mile of Frisch Auf! Road was due to be paved from the lowwater bridge over Buckners Creek to Spur 92 atop the Bluff.
Sharon Zatopek, 22, of La Grange had been hired as the new assistant home demonstration agent in Fort Bend County. Sharon, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. L.F. Zatopek, had earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics from the University of Houston.
Five dollars more per hog! That’s what the Fayette County Fair Association was offering each exhibitor who brought one or two head of market swine to the 1971 fair.
A committee formed to contact descendants of those buried in the Ross Prairie Cemetery near Ellinger. Now in deplorable condition, the old Lutheran burying ground apparently had come into use even before St. John Lutheran Church at Ellinger was established in 1852. The cemetery had been cared for by the children and grandchildren of the pioneer families buried there. However, after those caretakers had died or moved away, the grounds had become neglected. The committee was comprised of: Rev. A.E. Flathmann Sr., pastor; Leonard Baca, chairman; Herbert Stork, vice-chairman; Mrs. Roy Weishuhn, secretary; Mrs. Leslie Fritsch, treasurer; Allan Mueller, John C. Divin and Milton Koehl, council members; and Miss Myrtle Brooks and Mr. and Mrs. James W. Sager, advisory members.
Confirmation services were held at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church at Winchester for the 1971 class members: Carl Lee Schulze, Timothy Lee Franke and Joyce Diane Lehmann.
When the Moulton Rockets scored twice in their half of the third inning at Moulton that was all of the counting. The La Grange Schroeder Drug Demons dropped a 2-0 decision to the Lavaca County team. The Demons still retained a thread of a chance for a share of the north zone titles, depending on the outcome of the rest of the rained-out games that had been rescheduled.
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