125 Years Ago: 1901
In Maryville citizens were focused on improving their residences and businesses by repairing and remodeling them. This work included Nat Sisson building a barn for a cost of around $2,000. W.C. Ellison’s residence on West Second was getting a new kitchen and bathrooms. E.L. Hart and B.F. Anderson, both on North Market, had painted their houses. The Andersons had built a large veranda along the east front, as well. At the First National Bank, galvanized cornice was to be added around the top of the building at an estimated cost of $400, depending on the number of workmen’s necks broken while installing the ornamentation.
The city council met to decide whether or not bonds would be issued to pave the streets. This meant that the people would be able to decide by vote if they want the bonds to pass.
The second annual banquet of the Young Republicans of Missouri took place. It was believed that the meeting would be a failure because it was postponed two times, but instead residents were impressed by the packed turnout.
The county court granted a request to extend the city limits of Guilford in order for the town to include a new addition to the southeast.
Maryville Seminary celebrated its 29 graduating students with a ceremony and speech by Reverend Matt Hughes from Kansas City.
Ladies summer corsets made out of cool, light netting were advertised for 23 cents, women’s hosiery available in stripes, polka dots, and other designs for 10 to 75 cents a pair. Ladies silk gloves were 35 cents and trimmed hats were 98 cents.
A local man posted an announcement in the paper that he would not pay any bills accumulated by his son. He said that his son lived on his own and had been working for the past three years and was responsible for his own bills.
75 Years Ago: 1951
Mary Jane Taylor, in Wisconsin, was visited by her two sons, Birnie Taylor from Savannah, Missouri and Henry Taylor from Guilford, Missouri. They went to visit her because she had just turned one hundred and eight years old. That was major achievement because she was known to be the oldest women in that state.
Nodaway County’s third annual swim team resumed again for the summer. It was sponsored by the Red Cross Chapter. The first round of swimmers was set to travel to Bedford, Iowa at the Lake of Three Fires for instruction.
Maryville farmers had learned that they needed to wait three to four days to replant their corn after their fields had anhydrous ammonia applied to them. Many farmers were worried about when they were going to be able to start planting again if they got the fertilizer sprayed on their ground. A professor of soils helped explain that they only needed to wait a few days.
Livestock producers in Nodaway County had started to express their concern over the possibility of cattle and sheep bloating on the rank legumes growing in many of their different pastures. Many cases of bloat had started being reported in different parts of Nodaway County. Some ways in which that could be prevented were by providing dry roughage, not putting hungry cows on lush pastures, and avoid turning cattle on wet grass.
50 Years Ago: 1976
The Maryville Family Guidance Center Advisory Board voted to attack the problem of alcoholism. They believed it to be one of the major drug problems in the United States. They would be offering an alcoholism counselor for the next couple of months to help those that were going through alcoholism.
A special state board of arbitration ruled against a proposed change between the North Nodaway and Worth County school districts. The board ruled that the boundary change was not necessary. Residents on the western edge of the former Sheridan School District, which was merged into Worth County effective for the coming school year, had petitioned to be included in the North Nodaway district because they were closer to the school in Hopkins than in Grant City.
The Nodaway County Ambulance District Board renewed its contract with the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments for bookkeeping services. The ambulance district would pay $2,000 for their bookkeeping. The board also discussed the budget for the coming year. Of the total $134,000, $114,000 of the funds would come from the district’s 15-cent levy and the rest would come from fees. Sixty percentage of the budget would go to salaries and benefits, leaving $29,000 for capital improvements.
The Nodaway County clerk was busy sorting through 1,140 pages of names included on a petition seeking a statewide vote on a 1/8-cent sales tax for the Conservation Department. The 1,140 pages were for the signatures of residents of the 6th Congressional District. The local county clerk had to go through all of them to identify the Nodaway County addresses and verify that they were all registered to vote before returning the list to the Secretary of State.