It Happened HereApril 20, 2016

It Happened Here

Eighty Years Ago

(1936)

Washington County voters turned out in large numbers to make their selections for party representatives in the primary election. In the Republican primary, George A Green defeated H.E. Haun and William Stein for the nominations for Coroner, while Elmo Hassebrock and Ralph L. Maxwell were unopposed for Circuit Clerk and State’s Attorney, respectively.

August Sachtelben was named chairman of a community committee of farmers to aid in administering the new soil conservation and domestic allotment program.

The Home Owners Loan Corporation closed five loans in Washington County totaling $6,850. A total of 11 applications had bed made.

The Oakdale State Bank was allowed to pay a five percent dividend on waived deposits, the first such dividend since the March 1933 Bank Moratorium when depositors waived 20 percent of their deposits amounting to $23,176.90 to allow the bank to resume business.

Ed Schmitt was elected president of the Nashville Board of Education. J.D. Mann and Howard Hohman were elected members without opposition. Oscar L Kirchhoefer was re-elected secretary of the newly organized board.

The high school track team opened its season with victories over Marissa and Percy at Marissa.

Deaths: Herman P. Bouas, 45, of Lively Grove Township; Henrietta Thorman, 75, of Rice; and George William Schwind, 86, of Du Bois.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

(1941)

George A. Barton defeated five-time incumbent H.L. Krughoff for Mayor in Nashville city elections. T.E. Allen was re-elected City Clerk. Jame E. Troutt was elected Treasurer and Charles E. Anderson, L.E. Decker and Henry K. Rather were elected councilmen.

In Ashley, Mayor Stanley G. Berry was re-elected as 497 of the 505 registered voters went to the polls. Charles L. Logan was re-elected Clerk. Eugene Shelton was elected Treasurer. Others re-elected were J.O. Wells, Police Magistrate; W.W. Seibertm Harry A. Spear and Virgil O. Reimer, Aldermen.

George Hermeling defeated A.R. Fricke for Village President in Hoyleton.

Dr. Charles Longwell was elected president of the Nashville Rotary Club.

James K. Williamson and Prentice Hendricks were elected to the Nashville Grade School Board.

H.E. Haun retired as Beaucoup correspondent of the Nashville News. His writing career dated back to 1885 as a correspondent for the Nashville Journal, and Nashville Democrat.

The Main Theatre in Okawville featured “Gone With the Wind.”

Cigarettes were $1.19 a carton at the local Kroger store.

Deaths: W. Walker Patterson, a former resident of Washington County; and Mrs. Christ Toedte, 82, of near Hoyleton.

Seventy Years Ago

(1946)

Thirteen year old Hedwig Prater was critically injured along with her sister in Oakdale when they attempted to light a fire with kerosene.

Nashville firemen helped extinguish a fire in the bath house of the Washington Hotel in Okawville. Damage was not extensive.

Washington County soldiers discharged were: Pvt. Harold T. Campbell of Oakdale; Cpl. Steve E. Chwascinski of Beaucoup; Pvt. William R. Campbell of Oakdale; Motor Machinist Mat Willard H. Boehne of Hoyleton; Motor Machinist Mate Leonard H. Chittenden of Marissa; Flight Officer Paul R. Sherlain of Marissa; Cpl. Leroy Reu of Hoyleton; Motor Machinist Mate William Goerge Breuer of Hoyleton; Electrician’s Mate Albert Dreas of Nashville; Seaman Madison D. Davis of Nashville; Pvt. William A. Downes of Woodlawn; Hospital Apprentice Esther Laura Heseman of Nashville; T/5 Harold F. Steinkamp of Addieville; Pvt. Kenneth L. Kurtz of Nashville; T/5 James C. Reeves of Centralia; Seaman William A. Jolliff of Centralia; Pvt. Joseph Javorchik of Belleville; Private Frank N. Luchinski of Du Bois; and T/4 Albert W.F. Krohne of Okawville.

Deaths: Margaret Ann Mazander, 78, of Elkton; Harry Modzinski, 45, of St. Louis; Gilbert Simons, 58, formerly of Nashville; Charles Michael, 65, formerly of Washington County; and Mrs. J.L. Micholson, 81, of Henderson, Kentucky.

Sixty-Five Years Ago

(1951)

Orville Poirot, Jack Lane and Vernon Nagel were elected Nashville City Councilmen.

Jack May sold the Phillips 66 service station of Ray Reinhardt.

Washington County Sheriff’s Department personnel identified chickens stolen from the Albert Sprehe Jr. farm in Irvington on the farm of Ed Langston of rural Centralia. Langston was arrested and charged.

Washington County was tied for third in the state of Illinois in the number of slot machines on which proprietors paid taxes. The count totaled eight machines.

Prentice Hendricks, Jack Lane, Charles Swain and Frances Maxwell were elected to the Memorial Park District Board.

Daily trips to St. Louis on the Greyhound Bus Lines cost $2 for the round trip. Four buses ran daily from Nashville and also from St. Louis.

Deaths: Irene Gajewski, 36, of Radom; Benjamin Franklin Skillman, 74, of Ashley; Anna K. Meyer, 83, of Oakdale; and Mrs. August Luebke, 64, of rural Venedy.

Sixty Years Ago

(1956)

The Nashville Grade School band received a first-place rating at the district band contest in Cahokia.

Production began at Nashville’s newest industry, an aluminum fabricating company, south of town.

Clayton Ibendahl and Warren Morrison were elected t o the Nashville Grade School Board. Dr. C.S. McCain and Ed Westermeyer were elected to the high school board.

Deaths: Michael Stanowski, 58, of Beaucoup Township; Louis Fruth, 88, of Washington County; Emil Helms, 82, of Plum Hill; and Irma T. Shubert, 84, of Darmstadt.

Fifty-Five Years Ago

(1961)

Gene Driskill was elected Mayor of Nashville. Albert Oexeman, Paul Habbe and Verdell Fox were elected Councilmen.

St. Ann Catholic Church Confirmation class consisted of Richard L. Dalman, Roger H. Greten, Robert L. Grzegorek, Dennis M. Kania, Edwin R. Kitowski, Dennis R. Malawy, Eugene F. Povolish, James R. Schwartzkopf, Mary Ann Geppert, Shirley A. Kostecki, Barbara J. Kozuszek, Dorothy S. Kryzanoski, Sharon L. Malick, Ruth M. Niedbalski, Margaret A. Paszkiewicz, Bertha S. Ryterski, Joyce A. Wheeler, Cary D. Chwarscinski, Gloria J. Czajkowski, Patricia Ann Hawkins, Leona Kozuszek, Angela Marie Luczaj, Caroline Ann Rokickim Walter Belinski, Jerome L. Hoepker, Eugene K. Huge, Gregory T. Pero, Harry C. Pierjok, LeRoy H. Preis, Louis S. Schultz, James V. Tomaszewski, Wilbert R. Wessel, Mary Lena Clark, Patricia Geppert, Dorothy Ann Kozuszek, Barbara L. Kurwicki, Margaret A. Luczaj and Elizabeth K. Schwartzkopf.

Ewald H. Deterding was elected Okawville Village President. Chester Bailey was elected Clerk. Trustees elected were William G. Frank, Aldon Bultman, Robert C. Kuhn and John F. Frank.

Stanislaus Bielatowicz, 62, of St. Louis was killed by a dynamite blast while clearing stumps on his farm in Bolo Township.

Other deaths: Dr. Claude J. Sanders, 78, formerly of Ashley; David Lee Buescher, 7, of Belleville; and Mrs. Herman Lehde, 62, of Okawville.

Fifty Years Ago

(1966)

Nashville increased the price of connecting a property to the municipal water system for $42 to $65. Sewer tap-in fees remained at $12.

P.E. Green and Rufus Hoffman were elected to the Nashville High School Board.

Marilyn Boldt was crowned queen at the Ashley Public School carnival.

Edgar L. Jones, James Jones and Ray Francis were elected to the Nashville Grade School Board.

Deaths: Jennie H. Stevenson, 90, of Oakdale; John R. Alfeldt, 88, of Elkton; Mary Cheesman, 75, of Irvington; Nancy Isabell Miller, 85, grandmother of Mrs. Tony Smith of Nashville; Rudolph Mermeling, 39, formerly of Nashville; Leo V. Horton, 69, a developer of the Cordes oil fields; Finie Emma Cizik, 75, of Tamaroa; and Louise Kelley, 105, of Carrollton.

Forty-Five Years Ago

(1971)

Jim Schrader and Bill Winkelman of Okawville and Bob Habbe of Nashville signed full, four-year collegiate athletic scholarships.

Michelle Habbe of Nashville received the American Legion Auxiliary Award to attend Illini Girls State at MacMurry College in Jacksonville. Qualifications are based on honesty, leadership, good character, scholarship, cooperativeness and good health.

Sgt. Donald Lee Hoffman of Sawyer AFB was promoted for Staff Sgt.

Larry Bultman of Okawville joined the sales staff of Country Companies.

In the eighth annual sweetheart coronation held at the First Baptist Church in East Alton, Dianna Mercer was crowned princess. Her escort was Donald Lewis.

Deaths: Bernice Roethemeyer, 52, of Nashville; Benjamin Huck, 84, of Hoyleton; John B. Schroer, 62, of Oakdale; Emma Stubbe, 98, of St. Louis; Anna Klingenberg, 78, of Okawville; James Hinckley, 77, of Ashley; Bessie M. Koeningsmark, 73, of Irvington; Carrie Juenger, 84, of Okawville; and William Liszewski, 70, of Ashley.

Forty Years Ago

(1976)

The steeple of St. Salvator Lutheran Church in Venedy was repainted and repaired t keep the 134-year old building in top condition.

Kathy Sherman won the Women’s Bowling Tournament at Dale’s Alley in Nashville when she tallied 746.

Bonnie Lou and Connie Sue Silliven, twin daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Elmo Siliven of Oakdale, enlisted in the Army.

The Chancery Office of the Belleville Diocese announced the following clergy appointments: Rev. John Terepka to St. Michael Church in Radom; Rev. Hyacinth Mazuchowski to St. Charles Borromeo Church in Du Bois; and Rev. Robert Gore, appointed chaplain at Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon.

Deaths: Otto Schmidt, 87, of Nashville; Freda Flaxbeard, 79, of Granite City; Nelson Knapp, 75, of Pinckneyville; Lulu Tieman, 82, of Centralia; Robert Meyer, 46, of Elgin; Minnie Rowekamp, 93, of Centralia; Meta Weaver, 77, of Belleville; Joseph Kasban, 86, of Du Bois; Mabel Hermeling, 78, of Normal; and Kate Beelman of Nashville.

Thirty -Five Years Ago

(1986)

Washington County Highway Superintendent Bill Jack reported that three property owners still had not agreed to terms on the purchase of right-of-way for a proposed Radom Road.

Norbert J. Moorleghen retired as Clinton-Washington County Regional Education Service District Superintendent.

The former Forman Memorial Church building at the corner of Mill and Adams in Nashville was demolished.

An eight-pack of 16-ounce bottles of 7-Up was $1.39 and Bardenehier champagne was $2.69 a fifth at All Mart in Nashville.

Deaths: Harold L. Zapp, 54, of Okawville; Ruth E. George, 64, of Tamaroa; August Malawy, 83, of Nashville; Theodore F. Going, 79, formerly of Covington; and Paul Heidsiek, 87, formerly of rural Hoyleton.

Thirty Years Ago

(1986)

Ten graves were found at the site of a nineteenth century cemetery in the middle of a 40-acre field designated as the construction site for the proposed multi-million dollar auto parts plant northeast of Nashville.

Killian Corporation of Mascoutah was granted a $282,562.12 contract for construction of Enterprise Avenue in Nashville.

A 1 ½-hour search by members of the Illinois State Police canine corps found no drugs at NCHS.

Hazel Adams of Nashville purchased Bob and Jerry’s restaurant on East St. Louis Street in Nashville.

Cube steaks were $2.59 a pound and sliced bacon was $1.29 a pound.

Deaths: Neola Velmetter Gorman, 79, of Nashville; Waldo Mueller, 64, of Okawville; Archie Hill, 71, of Tamaroa; Henry G. Zacheis, 80, of Oakdale; Robert Steinhauser, 89, formerly of Nashville; Verlin W. Pitchford, 72, of rural Woodlawn; Blanche Beautrice Chapman, 92, a native of Tamaroa; Ida Elisa Grote, 88, of rural Hoyleton; Raymond Lanser, 74, of St. Louis; Rose Rehg, 91, of Swansea; Forest H. “Bo” Revel, 80, of Sikeston, MO; Marcella Creath, 84, of St. Louis; Sabrina Deering, 86, formerly of Ashley; Sophia L McClurken, 77, of Pinckneyville; Amos R. Bierman, 80, of Centralia; Marion Ratajczyk, 70, a native of Scheller; Laura E. Pries, 83, of Covington; and Arthur Lunnemann, 70, a native of Pinckneyville.

Weddings: Lisa Dianne Koelling and James Ray Quick; Mary Beth Trigg and Brian William Cassity; Glenda Timpe and Samuel Hennrich, and Angela Kemmerling and Bobby Van Buskirk.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

(1991)

The Nashville News mourned the passing of founding publisher, Ed Schmitt, by draping the front page with bold black lines and reproducing the newspaper’s first masthead at the top of the page.

Spec. E4 Jarold Evans returned to where he received his childhood education at the Ashley Grade School and spoke of his duties as a “tank killer” in Saudi Arabia.

Florida yellow sweet corn was selling for 23 cents an ear.

The Irvington Ruritan Club marked its 30th anniversary with 16 of the original members present.

Deaths: Audrey Lillienkamp, 65, of Addieville; Lester Fisher, 74, of Du Quoin; Erna Gramenz, 57, of Steeleville; Carrie Green, 82, of Centralia; Marie Wuebbels, 82, of Germantown; and Michael Novak, 92, of Affton, MO.

Births: Greg and Stephanie Rennegarbe of Addieville, a daughter; Keith and Jill Maschhoff of Nashville, a son; Ronald and Marilyn Aaron of Nashville, a son; Scott and Cynthia Hill of Coulterville, a daughter; and Christopher and Celine Walsh, a son.

Twenty Years Ago

(1996)

Dr. Darrel Keller and William Garlich, DVM, stepped down from Washington County Hospital Board.

Ashley’s water supply was put on restricted status by the EPA due to atrazine contamination.

Fire spread across 160 acres of land owned by Elmer Oelze, Doyle Cohlmeyer, and Virgil Spenner.

Ground was broken for Pitchford Elevator’s new grain storage facility on State Route 127, south of Nashville.

Baked catfish, chicken and dumplings, and meatloaf were on the menu at Oakdale Country Kitchen.

Deaths: Nolan Boester, 33; Ralph Milshewski, 68, of Scheller; Fred Mueller, 91, of Bartelso; Matthew Litteken, 31, of Marissa; Alfred Wienstroer, 82, of Ferguson, MO; Melba Joly, 77, of St. Louis; Roy Jones, 73, of Pinckneyville; and Leonard Vollmer, 78, of O’Fallon.

Births: Mark and Rene Kuzemka of Columbia, a son; Micheal and Kim Schramke, a daughter; Brian and Tosha Jasper of Okawville, a son; and Patrick Turner and Christina Lister, a son.

Fifteen Years Ago

(2001)

Washington County Board defeated a proposal to ban smoking in all county buildings.

A court ruling was expected on the legality of a special use permit issued by the county for Aquila Energy’s proposed power plant in Bolo Township.

Meyer’s Greenhouse and Nursery offered geraniums for $2.35 and double impatients for $1.95.

Leonard Ernsting was killed and Justin Maschhoff was seriously injured when their vehicles collided head-on on State Route 15, west of Nashville. Ernsting’s wife, Griffin, also was seriously injured.

Other deaths: Summer Michael, 84, of Nashville; Violet Pitchford, 95, of Ashley; Helen Triefenbach, 85, of Marissa; Adele Segelhorst, 98, of Tustin, California; Helen Lamr, 94, of East Alton; Clara Fenton; 89, of Belleville; Rodney Montgomery, 81, of Coulterville; and Gustav Rehmus, 80, of Scheller.

Births: Gary and Tracy Kiselewski of Waltonville, a daughter; Keith and Kathy Koch of Okawville, a daughter; Brett and Sheri Stawar of Alton, a son; Jay and Jeannie Suedmeyer of Nashville, a son; William Gozar Jr. and Shannon Knuckles of Marissa, a son.

Ten Years Ago

(2006)

Bishop Edward Braxton of the Diocese of Belleville visited St. Ann School.

Washington County Board discussed the possibility of renting the new location for the Regional Office of Education.

Nashville police topped a team of firefighters for the donkey basketball championship at the Community Center of Nashville.

Chicken breasts were 99 cents a pound and two boxes of breakfast cereal cost $4.

Births: Richard and Vickie Dziaba of O’Fallon, a son.

Deaths: Hulda Uphoff, 102, of Red Bud; Leonora Helbig, 75, of Pinckneyville.

Five Years Ago

(2011)

The Washington County Board authorized the building committee to begin making plans to renovate the county courthouse, giving them a tentative $5-million budget.

St. Michael School in Radom hosted a health fair, with nursing students from John A. Logan College coming up to help run the booths.

Kurt Bizenberger and Steve Eickmeyer began producing farm fresh yogurt from the milk from their Hoyleton Dairy operation.

NCHS FFA members Pete Gutjahr and Alex Musial won State awards for FFA Proficiencies.

Birth: Spencer Dunn was born to Clint and Jennifer Dunn of Nashville.

Deaths: John Barr, 60, of Nashville, April 12; Clara Dreas, 85, of Nashville, formerly of Ashley, April 12; Margaret Harmening, 98, of New Minden, April 17; Nick Borowiak, Jr., 81, of Venedy, formerly of Richview, April 15; Rodney Willard, 56, of Mt. Vernon, April 17; Myrtle Smolley, 103, of Ashley, April 18; Marvin Barkau, 52, of Nashville, April 16; George Althoff, 87, of Wauwatosa, Wisc., formerly of Nashville, April 2; Dorothy Keil, 87, of Red Bud, April 14.