It Happened HereJune 29, 2016

It Happened Here

Eighty Years Ago

(1936)

Fire of unknown origin destroyed the granary, tool shed and hen house on the Louis C. Meier farm near Okawville.

Voters in District 21 voted to rebuild the Fairview School, which has been destroyed by fire, at the cost of $600.

Wheat was selling for 92 cents per bushel as the local harvest began.

The Nashville Beauty Shop advertised an oil wave special for the 4th of July for $2.50.

Deaths: Herman Boeschen, 72, of Nashville; Christina Kuhlman, 71, of Nashville; and Augusta Steffen, 79, of Nashville.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

(1941)

Francis Maxwell was awarded a general scholarship to the University of Illinois.

The retail sales tax was scheduled to drop from three precent to two percent.

Deaths: Lizzie Ross, 72, of Nashville; Mrs. William Jaspering, 50, of Addieville; Anna Pries, 80, of Nashville; and Harold Kurtz, 34, of Covington.

Seventy Years Ago

(1946)

The War Department listed 24 Washington County men as having been killed in World War II.

The Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church in Addieville observed its 75th anniversary.

Ed Lincoln was knocked unconscious for nearly two hours when stuck in the chest by a foul ball during a softball game in Nashville.

Ione Beckman was appointed public guardian of Washington County by Governor Dwight Green.

Attorney P.E. “Jack” Green was appointed public administrator of Washington County.

Area soldiers discharged included: Staff Sgt. Orville Rueter of New Minden; Coxswain Wilford Huge of Nashville; Staff Sgt. Edward Kubicki of Du Bois; Pvt. Hugh Malott of Tilden; Cpl. Carl Hoffman of Du Bois; Storekeeper Orlin Luessehneide of Venedy; Coxswain John Voytas of Coulterville; Seaman Remingious Kramper of Venedy; and Machinist Mate Charles Schindelar of Ashley.

Deaths: Owen Doelling, 29, of Addieville; Clifford Brandhorst, 48, of Beaumont, TX; Robert Logan of Ashley; Mrs. Thomas Richardson of Richview; and Mrs. Walter Meentemeyer, 50, of Covington.

Sixty-Five Years Ago

(1951)

Pat Miller, a junior at Nashville High School, attended Illini Girls State at MacMurray College in Jacksonville.

Illinois State Police raided four taverns and seized 18 slot machines. Raided were Club 21, Mellein's at Venedy, Pike's Skyline and South End in Okawville.

Mr. and Mrs. Adam Starczinski and three daughters arrived in Washington County from their native Poland as part of the displaced family program.

Gerhard Haake delivered the first load of wheat to the Huegely Elevator in Nashville. Market price was $2.14 a bushel.

The Illinois Supreme Court reversed lower count decisions and ruled in favor of Oakdale District 1 in a compensations suit filed by John Markham resulting from the leg injury suffered when he fell from a scaffold while working in one of the rooms.

Mr. and Mrs. Roy Schlechte bought the Schmale store in Addieville.

Deaths: Mrs. Charles Brink, 75, of Hoyleton Township; James McClay, 85, of Oakdale; Mrs. Herman Zacheis, 66, of Nashville; Mrs. John Lebke, 63, of Frogtown; George Newman, 52, of Richview; and Emma Kroeger, 69, of Centralia.

Sixty Years Ago

(1956)

“Flame of the Islands” with Yvonne DeCarlo and Zachary Scott was the movie at the State Theatre in Nashville.

Local grocery prices showed watermelons at 99 cents each and bananas, 2 pounds for 25 cents.

Deaths: Anna Sieling, 87, of Nashville; Alvina Decker, 81, of Pilot Knob Township; Arthur Collmeyer, 69, of New Minden; Edwin Sprehe, 26, of Posey; and Lena Maschhoff of Hoyleton.

Fifty-Five Years Ago

(1961)

Charles Huegely was named president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Nashville.

Local grocery prices showed 2 pounds of ground beef for 89 cents a whole fryers at 25 cents a pound.

Deaths: Walton Eade, 86, of Nashville; William Blake, 100, of Nashville; Lawrence Fox, 56, formerly of Washington County; Fred Martin, 74, of Ashley; Mrs. L.F. Korte, 77, of Alton; and Paul Wessel, 57, of Peoria.

Fifty Years Ago

(1966)

Fire destroyed almost five acres of wheat on the farms of Leroy Heggemeier, Morey Stieg and land rented from Fred Beckman southwest of Nashville.

Zenas Reuter was named supervisor of the new municipal golf course and announced plans to retire from Reuter's Variety Store. He had been in the retail business for 30 years.

Herb Pries was re-elected chairman of the Republican County Central Committee, and Verne Frieman of Oakdale was elected chairman of the County Democratic Central Committee for the eighth straight year.

Adam Robert Weiss was hired as a guidance counselor at Nashville High School.

Deaths: Mrs. Ferrol Hileman of Nashville; Waldo Finke, formerly of Nashville; William Katon, formerly of Nashville; Mary Madeline Brehm, 67, of Nashville; Elda Harre, 68, of Hahlen; Lulu Lamar, 86, of Nashville; Oltmann, 77, of Addieville; Stephen Dressler, 61, of Scheller; Mrs. Martin Schlake, 80, formerly of Frogtown; and Marie Tiemann, 94.

Forty-Five Years Ago

(1971)

Deaths: Benjamin Trost, 82, formerly of Addieville; Edward Hamme, 78, formerly of Elkton; Anna Thompson, 89, of Centralia; Col. Hilbert F. Muenter, 66, a native of Hoyleton; August Kampe, 76, of Okawville; August Mense, 78, of St. Libory; Anthony Milloshewski, 63, of Scheller; and Dolly Scanlan, 84, of Litchfield.

Forty Years Ago

(1976)

Sister Louise Schubert, OSF, of Tamaroa celebrated her silver jubilee of religious profession as a Franciscan Sister of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Air Force Capt. Richard Setzekorn of Ashley was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross in Southeast Asia as the flew a mission to remove Army personnel from an area under enemy fire.

Eighteen-year-old Alice Demick of Freeburg, who suffered from aplastic anemia and underwent a bone marrow transplant operation in April in Seattle, WA, was released with a clean bill of health.

John Wojtowicz, 22, of Caseyville was killed near Radom when a tractor overturned on him while trying to pull out his vehicle that was stuck.

Other deaths: Margaret Gewe, 87, of Nashville; Leo Zelasko, 83, of Tamaroa; William McKinley, 74, of Toledo, OH; Mary Harre, 84, of Chester; Mary McCauley, 85, of Coulterville; and Cherry Whipple, 35, formerly of Tamaroa.

Thirty-Five Years Ago

(1981)

Contestants in the Miss Washington County contest were Kim Obermeier, Vicki Boehning, Kelly Willig, Carol Brink, Katherine Segelhorst and Brenda Bourbon.

The 90-year-old Addieville mill and elevator were destroyed by fires two days apart.

James Heiple, 14, of Coulterville drowned in the new Coulterville reservoir.

Other deaths: Fred Eickmeyer, 73, of Hoyleton; Stanley Banaszak Jr., 33, of Madison; Mildred Trinkle, 60, of Salem; Otto Becker, formerly of Addieville; Mabel Schnake, 93, of Pleasant Grove; and Kenneth Hampton, 59, a native of Du Bois.

Wedding: Lisa Quirin and Larry Johnson.

Thirty Years Ago

(1986)

Vicky Holle, Wendy Sandheinrich, Paula Hausler, Becky Ahlers and Angie Skibinski were candidates for Miss Washington County.

Nashville received $586,000 from the Illinois Department of Transportation to build a rail spur to the new auto parts plant.

Deaths: Rev. Ralph Grote, 74, of Hoyleton; Leona Mazander, 83, of Nashville; Vernon “Pete” Dinkelman, 71, a native of Washington County; Ralph Huelskoetter, 71, of Venedy; and Gertrude Hummert, 96, of St. Libory.

Weddings: Karen Bemis and Victor Hoffman Jr.; Mary Beth Kula and Dallas Kellerman; Rhonda Sigman and Mark Greten; Charmaine Rhodes and Thomas Smith; and Patricia Engele and Daniel May.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

(1991)

Kirk Rueter, a left-handed pitcher from Hoyleton, signed a contract with the Montreal Expos.

CSX Transportation announced its intent to abandon 53.97 miles of railroad lines in Washington, Clinton, Jefferson and St. Clair counties.

Nashville City Council passed an ordinance with a $500 fine for playing a radio or other device too loudly from a car between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

A 6 ½ ounce can of Star-Kist tuna sold for 49 cents and Gatorade was $2.19 for a 64 ounce container.

The last weekly bingo a St. Ann Parish Center in Nashville was set for June 28.

Freshman legislator Terry Deering (D-Du Bois) passed his first bill though the General Assembly. It dealt with allowing customers to public water districts to elect trustees instead of having them appointed by the county board.

Deaths: Alice Kelle, 85, of Nashville; Hugh Davies, 91, of Vergennes; Celeste Steinhauser, 89, of St. Louis; Edwin Mayer, 85, of Escondido, CA; and Mae Fisher, 98, of Venice, FL.

Wedding: Donna Baker and Gregg Klie.

Births: Makr and Paula Heberer of Okawville, a son; Kevin and Janet Seyler of Nashville, a daughter; Tom and Linda Malinski of Missouri, a son.

Twenty Years Ago

(1996)

Ground was broken for the Hoyleton facility of Farmers and Merchants National Bank.

Fire Chief Bob Hower and Irvington firefighters were enhancing their capabilities by rehabilitating old equipment from other departments.

Lt. Cmdr. William McCool, grandson of Edward and Opal Huck, was selected to the astronaut program.

Volunteers were refurbishing the gym at Oakdale Grade School and repainting the Viking ship on the wall.

American flags were selling for $13.99 for a 2×3 foot size and $27.99 for a 4×6 foot model at Lee's Variety.

Deaths: Carl Brown, 85, of Nashville; Robert Comper Sr., 66, of Central City; Amelia Small, 78, of Carbondale; Lester Gilbert, 86, of Okawville; Ethel Brakemeyer, 79, of Fairview Heights.

Wedding: Lisa Gaebe and Stephen Clark III.

Births: Steve and Janet Mueller of Tustin, CA, a daughter; Tobin and Holly Brown of Okawville, a daughter; Michael and Jill Todd of Raleigh, NC, a son.

Fifteen Years Ago

(2001)

Nashville Grade School Superintendent Tom Dahncke said “wait until next year” after learning the district would not receive a $4.4 million state grant for a new primary school.

Okawville School District was concerned about the loss of $50,000 in school maintenance funds from the state.

The staff at Ashley Public Library was preparing to move into its new building.

Jim Arrington, former Okawville police chief, helped capture a man suspected of robbing a bank in New Minden.

“Pearl Harbor” was the feature at the State Theater.

Deaths: Nellie Green, 81, of Centralia; Anna Easley, 79, of Salem; Melvin Lange, 89, of Nashville; Charles “Tom” Lister, 76, of Forsyth, MO; Walter Grote, 76, of Hoyleton; Hulda Kroeger, 86, of Centralia; Marie Grabowski, 89, of St. Louis; Ivan George, 60, of Tamaroa; Lee Helms, 65, of Naperville; Ellen Stocking, infant daughter of Scott and Robbyn Stocking of Irvington; and Lavonne Thomas, 67, of Bonita Springs, FL.

Wedding: Jamie Meyer and Steven Browne.

Births: Christopher and JoAnna Roberts of Nashville, a son; David and Chastity Meyer of Nashville, a son; Brian and Michelle Mense of St. Libory, a daughter; Rich and Angela Garren of Irvington, a son; Jack and Melissa Dahner of O'Fallon, MO, a son.

Ten Years Ago

(2006)

Kirchner Properties, LLC received zoning approval for a new warehouse on Mockingbird Road.

Renovations were underway in the offices of Circuit County Clerk Tom Ganz.

Tractor pulls and a rodeo were on tap at the 63rd annual Washington County Fair.

Sheila Niederhofer of Richview was named managing directors of South Central Illinois Mass Transit District.

NCHS senior Lucas O'Rear committed to play basketball for the University of Northern Iowa.

Births: Dean and Monica Dancer of Oakdale, a son; Randy and Susan Pfeiffer of Haubstadt, IN, a son.

Deaths: Bertha Grote, 102, of Nashville; Janette Barkau, 71, of Nashville; Lawrence Patton, 88, of Pinckneyville.

Wedding: Keith Richter and Brenda Kolweier.

Five Years Ago

(2011)

Accused murderer Clay Maxwell came to a court appearance with a new attorney and a new pathologist.

The NCHS Board discussed policy in the student handbook which banned public displays of affection.

The Washington County Fire Service Honor Guard was formed in order to honor the sacrifices of firefighters and other first responders.

Judicial leaders of the 20th circuit gathered in Washington County when portraits of Circuit Judge Francis Maxwell and Illinois Supreme Court JusticesRalph L. Maxwell, Byron O. House and Lloyd Karmeier were unveiled.

Andrew Wesseln was born on June 3 to John and Tabatha Wesseln of Pinckneyville.

Alfred and Betty Volz of Highland celebrated their 65th anniversary. Dale and Vernita Storck celebrated their 50th anniversary.

Deaths: Perley Toedte, 95, of Knoxville, Tenn., formerly of Nashville, June 20; Daulton Oeltjen, 54, of Nashville, formerly of Stone Church, June 20; Col. George Sherman, 92, of Troy, June 20; Helen Wiese, 92, of Carlyle, formerly of Nashville, June 20; Anthony Pedtke, 75, of DuBois, June 22; William “Bill” Fred, 74, of Hoyleton, formerly of Benton, June 24.