REMEMBER WHEN?

50 Years Ago

June 23-30, 1972

La Grange Independent School District trustees lowered the school tax rate by 10¢ per $100 valuation at a Monday night meeting because property valuation within the district had increased by over $775,000 in 1971. The assessed valuation for 1973 was $24,730,000 compared to $23,976,900 in 1972.

Sister M. Rose Kallus (Adela Kallus) of Victoria, former Rev. Mother of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament Convent in Victoria, was observing her golden jubilee. The first young lady of Sacred Heart Parish to enter the religious life, Sister Rose was being honored on June 25 by the Sacred Heart Parish with a 10 o’clock Mass. The Kallus family planned a gathering and dinner at Sacred Heart School following the Mass. A reception for parishioners and other friends was being held from 3-5 p.m. in the Sacred Heart School auditorium. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bohdan Kallus, Sister Rose grew to young womanhood at Rutersville.

Funeral services were held for: Mrs. Pauline Janda, 78, of La Grange; Mrs. Emma Morisse, 84, of La Grange; Miss Sandra Stammann, 16, of Shelby; and Miss Louise Loessin, 84, of O’Quinn.

Marvin George Kalina of La Grange was uninjured, although the car he was driving sustained considerable damage when it collided with a cow on State Hwy. 237 near Round Top. Patrolman David Wansley of La Grange reported Mr. Kalina was driving a 1971 Plymouth two-door Roadrunner when the accident occurred at 12:50 a.m. Efforts to locate the owner of the cow, which ran away, were futile.

Fayette Memorial Post 5254 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States presented certifi cates of appreciation to two local agencies. Post Commander Les Blume and Quartermaster Werner von Minden honored Sheriff T.J. Flournoy and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department and Fire Chief Stanley Webb of the La Grange Fire Department.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department tentatively approved a $12,000 development grant for an updated boat ramp at the Colorado River adjacent to the Hwy. 77 bridge in La Grange.

The James Dick Piano Workshop Fellows – a group of University of Texas piano students who planned to make music their profession, along with UT instructor Dick – was presenting a concert at the First Presbyterian Church on June 27.

Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. Plagens celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on June 19 at the American Legion Hall in La Grange. On June 12, their actual anniversary date, a Mass with renewal of vows was said at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in La Grange with Father Harry Mazurkiewicz officiating. The couple was married at St. John’s Catholic Church in Fayetteville with the late Rev. Frank Matusik officiating. Mr. and Mrs. Plagens owned Harry and Lynn’s Restaurant on Hwy. 159 near Rutersville, close by their home.

John C. Marburger, the chairman of the Fayette County Democratic executive committee, reluctantly accepted the resignation of Alfred H. Blume as committee secretary. Mr. Blume had served as secretary and keeper of the records for 30 years. He was named to that office in 1942 when John A. Kerr Jr. was executive committee chairman. Judge E.A. Arnim followed Mr. Kerr as chairman in 1944, serving until 1960. Mr. Marburger was then appointed to fill that vacancy and still held the post in 1972.

The Rev. Donald W. Elzey, the pastor of St. John Lutheran Church at Warrenton and Waldeck Lutheran Church, tendered his resignation to become pastor of the Llano-Castell Parish. During Rev. Elzey’s ministry, the two Fayette County churches had been remodeled, paid off debt and consolidated congregational efforts.

USAF Cadet 2nd Class Scott Smith was stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, where he was receiving three weeks of training on F-4 jet fighter planes. Cadet Smith, who had completed his second academic year at the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colo., was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Smith of La Grange.

The descendants of Joseph and Frances Coufal staged their sixth annual family reunion at the Industry Fire Station with 97 members and friends present.

The 82nd annual reunion of the Leshikar-Shiller families and their descendants was held at the American Legion Hall in La Grange. Approximately 100 relatives from across Texas and out-of-state attended.

The Schroeder Drug Demons of La Grange annexed two key South Central Texas Amateur League victories in their battle for a higher playoff berth in the north zone of the circuit. On Saturday, the Demons rode a two-hit, 15-strikeout hill masterpiece to a 2-1 win over the Shiner Clippers. On Sunday, they measured the Flatonia Wildcats, 5-1, when Paul Czerwinski fashioned a seven-hit, 15-strikeout mound performance

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