125 Years Ago: 1901
Hyslop & Co. in Elmo recently sold to Mr. Andrews who was one of the oldest and most qualified merchants in northwest Missouri. Despite this change, Andrews promised that the operations of the business would not change for patrons of the store. It was also announced that Mrs. Cloud would be running the millinery part of the business.
A political convention for the upcoming election was held in Lincoln township in Nodaway County.
In a rather dramatic story, one of Si Seley’s horses got its shoe caught in the railroad tracks. This brought the team to a sudden stop, which threw Seley over the dashboard of his rig. He managed to hold onto the reins and miraculously escaped with no broken bones, just a broken dashboard.
In other horse news, Charlie McIntire added new rigs and new stock to the Red Barn, making it a first-class livery. Interested customers were asked to give him a call at the telephone number 29.
Professor George Pat Wright, who was the principal of the Graham public school and candidate for county commissioner, visited Hopkins to get to know the people there. However, the Hopkins newspaper expressed doubt that its residents would vote for Wright and would instead choose their local man Professor R.E. McCann for commissioner.
75 Years ago: 1951
Mrs. Mandell Sunderman hosted the Bridge Club on Friday evening. All the members and one guest attended the evening gathering.
Teacher examinations were held for people wishing to become teachers in the public schools of Nodaway County. The exams took place in the administration building at Northwest Missouri State College. The examination schedule was: Friday at 9 o’clock: Language arts, Friday at 1 o’clock: Social studies, Saturday at 9 o’clock: Natural science, Saturday at 1 o’clock: Special subjects. The exam papers were then sent to the state department of education for grading.
Guilford Democrats and Republicans scheduled candidates nominations for Washington township offices for Saturday afternoon, March 17, at the high school auditorium. Those currently in office were Robert Stephens, Bert Riimel, Marvin Weathermon, May Skidmore, and Elmer Wise.
Miss Nell Parsons, the Nodaway County welfare director, spoke at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club. She explained the operation and functions of the local welfare office. To show the amount of assistance that was needed to help the needy people of Nodaway County each month, she presented the payroll of the local office for the month as follows: 1,006 old age assistance recipients with total grants of $43,806; dependent children cases involving 163 children with grants of $3,287; 14 permanently and totally disabled recipients with grants of $610; 24 general relief cases involving 50 people with grants of $737; 18 emergency relief grants with a total of $360; and, 9 blind pensioners receiving $360. She also included 81 children receiving assistance under child welfare and 40 pending applications.
50 Years Ago: 1976
A learning disabilities workshop aimed at helping high school aged children with disabilities becoming acclimated into the mainstream of society was held at the Maryville High School cafeteria. The workshop was sponsored by Maryville’s R-2 vocational work study program. The goal was for it to be a meeting ground to share ideas between all parties involved with children and their futures.
The Maryville City Council began action to rewrite a city ordinance that was being challenged on an appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court. The ordinance was about keeping livestock within the city limits. This was challenged in an appeal to the Supreme Court last week by Robert D. Nagle. Nagle had been convicted in violation of the ordinance in municipal court and then saw the conviction upheld on an appeal to circuit court. The ordinance stated that livestock could not be kept within the city limits if a complaint was filed by a property owner who lived within 300 feet. At the City Council meeting, the city attorney suggested that the Council should either get rid of the complaint section of the ordinance or just ban allowing livestock in the city. The Council decided to move forward with rewriting the ordinance.
The administration of the North Nodaway School announced they would be making major changes before the opening of 1976-77 term. The middle school, grades 5 to 8, would be moved to Hopkins, and the kindergarten through fourth grade would be at the Pickering school building. This consolidation of resources would help save the school around $20,000.