125 Years Ago: 1901
The Elmo and Burlington Junction baseball teams competed against each other on the diamond in Burlington Junction. This was anticipated as the best game in the season because both teams had been playing well.
Some of the “best talent” in Hopkins gave an Old Folks Concert at the Methodist Episcopal Church. The program was made up of old-time melodies including one song called “The Old House at Home.”
Nodaway County had 28 rural free delivery routes that made up 690 miles and serviced 3,200 families or a total of 16,000 people.
A passing train set fire to Horace Jones’s hay field north of Parnell and destroyed four racks of good quality hay.
During a meeting of the G.A.R. Sedgwick Post #21, it was deemed necessary that the final resting place of all old soldiers be marked so that those people could be found more easily and remembered each year. The government furnished headstones to those who were entitled to them.
M.J. Halferty exhibited a piece of cottonwood that had caught fire to show the power of the sun’s rays. He had cleaned out the eave spout at his house and put this piece of wood in the end to prevent birds from filling it when it eventually caught fire from the direct sun rays.
75 Years Ago: 1951
Playtime miniature golf course and driving range was opened by Manford Fisher and Jack Yeo. The course was located on the east side of Highway 71 south of Maryville.
The Maryville fire department was called to Burntwood Inn on South Main St. when grease on a kitchen stove caught fire. Luckily, no damage was done.
A state-owned mobile x-ray unit arrived on Northwest Missouri State University’s campus for a day. The unit had been making the rounds of Nodaway County, and 1,663 people already had visited the unit before it arrived in Maryville. The unit was located in town for six days and provided free x-rays to the public.
The First Church of Christ Scientists in Maryville sent money to a national fund set up by the church to provide flood relief for those suffering from a recent flood in western Missouri.
Maryville golfers won the Interlinks Golf Association Meet at the Maryville Country Club with a total score of 555 strokes. A total of 48 players from four towns participated in the tournament. Some of the local standouts included John Pierce, Bill Ward, Ryland Milner, Wayne Wilson, and Buck Wiles.
A fire of an undetermined origin extensively damaged a wooden shed at the rear of the home of Ross Mongold. Firemen used auxiliary water tanks and a booster pump to put out the fire.
Maryville Mayor Clyde Roberts and Police Chief Charles Kalstrup issued a second notice to property owners regarding the cutting of weeds. It was noted that high weeds on vacant lots and other properties created traffic hazards.
50 Years Ago: 1976
A lawsuit was filed for $50,000 in damages against the Daily Forum and one of its reporters. The suit alleged that in the May 4th issue, the plaintiff was referred to as a Muslim from Lebanon, and, as a result, the plaintiff was defamed and exposed to the public’s contempt and ridicule.
A fire broke out in the basement of The Pub building on North Main Street. The fire started at about 1:53 am, supposedly by an electrical box. Firemen said that $3,000 in damage was caused by the fire and another $3,000 from the heavy smoke.
William T. Garrett, retired former chair of the Department of Biology at Northwest Missouri State University, was awarded a distinguished service certificate by the Colorado Chapter of Nature Conservancy.
A large crowd was drawn to Nodaway County Courthouse for the second annual Candidate’s Night, sponsored by the Maryville League of Women Voters and the Nodaway County Farm Bureau. Twenty-two candidates attended and made presentations about their background and their qualifications.
The Farmers’ Home Administration approved a $96,500 loan and a $89,000 grant for Elmo to complete a sewer system. It had been a long fight, dating back to 1949, to have a finished sewer system in the town.
A Beef Grooming and Showmanship Clinic was held at the George Dalbey farm, southwest of Burlington Junction. There were different demonstrations of the proper ways to clip, trim, wash, groom, and show cattle.