It Happened HereSept. 21, 2016

It Happened Here

Eighty Years Ago

(1936)

Workers at the Clarkson Mine located the abandoned oil well drilled in 1890, which was flooding the mine shaft.

The Frank Elevator south of the L&N railroad tracks in Okawville was razed.

Ear corn was $1.15 a bushel and oats were 60 cents a bushel.

The Washington County Board approved a tax levy of $16,000. The County budget for the next fiscal year was set at $50,125.

Deaths: Minnie Beckmeyer, 77, of Irvington; Gertrude Schuette, formerly of New Minden; Angeline Pinski, 2 ½, of Posen; and Jo Ann Martin, 3-day-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Martin of Beaucoup.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

(1941)

Clothing and jewelry valued at $50 was stolen from the Philip Reinhardt home southeast of Nashville.

The Washington County budget was adopted at $53,900.

You could buy an innerspring mattress at Hahne and Hileman in Nashville for $8.95.

A No. 2 can of hominy was 5 cents and brooms were 29 cents each at the Daniel Food Store.

Deaths: Frank Finke, 51, of Addieville; and Joseph Columbus, 83, of Du Bois.

Seventy Years Ago

(1946)

Paul Broyles, operator of the Marathon Service Station in Nashville, was robbed of an undisclosed sum of cash by two men.

Charles Vernor sold his restaurant in Nashville to Leroy Clark of Mt. Vernon.

Area soldiers discharged included: Lt. Lyle Soeteber of Oakdale; Aviation Machinist Virgil Brinkman of Hoyleton; Pvt. Benjamin Chwascinski of Beaucoup; Cpl. Martin McClay of Oakdale; and Cpl. John Evilsizer of Nashville.

Stanley Adams, 64, was killed when he was electrocuted while investigating a well on a new home site west of Nashville.

Other deaths: Dr. Louis Schroeder, 79, formerly of New Minden and Addieville; William Heitkamp, 76, of Venedy; Mae Ochs, 72, of Okawville; Charles Pierce, 35, brother of Mrs. Delane Miller of Nashville; and Ed Kaufman, 72.

Sixty-Five Years Ago

(1951)

Charles Robbins was elected president of the senior class at Ashley High School.

Wesley Pitchford was elected president of the senior class at Nashville High School.

Sylvia Dingwerth was crowned queen of the Okawville Wheat Festival.

Three rolls of toilet tissue were 38 cents and a can of Milnot was 11 cents.

Deaths: Mrs. Louis Bernreuter, 85, of Nashville; Barney Beelman, 63, of St. Libory; Henrietta Brueggemann, 75, of Carlyle; James Wilson, 84, of Coulterville; Walter Roettger, 49, a native of Venedy; and Harvey Norris, 79, of Nashville.

Sixty Years Ago

(1956)

Construction began on a new $28,104.68 addition to the Nashville Grade School building.

Lightening struck a chimney on the First National Bank in Nashville.

Two 14-year-olds and a 12-year-old boy from the Hoyleton Children’s Home ran away, stole a car and were eventually caught in Kentucky. The stolen car belonged to Paul Fark. They also robbed a service station and several church collection boxes to finance the trip.

R.H. Blumhorst of Venedy won the Washington County bid to haul coal to the courthouse for $6.65 at ton.

A No. 2 can of hominy was 10 cents and kraut was 2 cans for 23 cents.

Deaths: Alvina Kasten, 74, of Nashville; Theodore Koelling, 73, of Hoyleton; Catherine Dick, 84, of Nashville; and Adelaide O’Bryant, 82, of Ashley.

Fifty-Five Years Ago

(1961)

A Ferguson 35 tractor was damaged by fire at the Fred Prusz farm southwest of Nashville.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Nashville celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary.

Deaths: Emma Hackstadt, 74, of Plum Hill; John Bartnicki, 67, of Posen; Fred Huber, 65; and Vanda Hoffman, 71, of Du Bois.

Fifty Years Ago

(1966)

The Nashville Parent-Teacher Association voted to suspend its organization for one year.

A total of $100 cash was taken from the Albert Vogt home north of Nashville by burglars.

Ricardo Barboza was elected president of the senior class at Nashville High School.

A $15,000 combine, 4,000 bales of hay and other property were destroyed in a fire at the Bowers on Route 51.

Burglars stole $548 worth of office equipment and $54 worth of kitchen supplies in a burglary at the Johannisburg School.

Early soybean yields were a disappointing five to eight bushels per acre.

The annual county budget was approved totaling $239,430.

First National Bank of Nashville advertised its top interest rate of 5 percent guaranteed on 12-month time certificates of $1,000 or more.

Deaths: Phillip Dalman, 53, of Du Bois; Susie Siebert, 76, formerly of Du Bois; William Williams, 90, of Swanwick; and Luther Hutchings, 58, of Coulterville.

Forty-Five Years Ago

(1971)

Nancy Poirot became a stewardess for Delta Air Lines.

Four busses daily left Nashville for St. Louis and five returned each day. Meier’s Market was the Greyhound bus stop.

U-pick apples were $3 a bushel.

Nashville High School cheerleaders were Pat Habbe, Lynn Holston, Robin Beek, Sharon Boehne and Shelly Mierkowski.

Deaths: Martin Koester, 75, of Nashville; Mary Ann Gaebe, 59, of Okawville; Michael Ledwig, 60, formerly of Radom; Sister M. Vincenta Piotrowski, 75, a native of Round Prairie; George Schaeferle Sr., 95, of Marissa; William Krause, 77, of O’Fallon; Edna Vandenberg, 73, of Nashville; Sophie Wiener, 90, formerly of Nashville; Mildred Henry, 63, of Mt. Vernon; and Bernhard Wahoff, 83, of St. Louis.

Forty Years Ago

(1976)

Jacinda Hackstadt won the title of Junior Miss at the Okawville Fair and Wheat Festival.

David Reynolds from the Irvington Top-Notchers 4-H Club received a blue ribbon superior rating at the Illinois State Fair with his entomology project.

Deaths: Roland Ledendecker, 57, of Nashville; Pauline Jurkowski, 68, of Du Bois; Addy Bott, 92, of Marissa; Setta Roper, 91, of Nashville; Raymond Luczaj, 59, of Edelstein; Albert Kracht, 78, of Nashville; Marian Rose, 59, of Troy; and John Geppert, infant son of Raymond and Shirley Geppert of Nashville.

Thirty-Five Years Ago

(1981)

Adrian Baum, 29, a Nashville police officer, announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for sheriff of Washington County.

John Skorczewski opened a dental office in Nashville.

A 16-ounce loaf of white bread was 38 cents and fryer parts were 49 cents a pound.

Charles Hughes of Ashley won first place in the pork cookout contest at the Du Quoin State Fair.

Deaths: Max Wisniewski, 67, of Ashley; Don Thompson, 57, of Nashville; Mabel Doelling of Stone Church; John Kwiatkowski, 67, of Radom; Alma Gerling, formerly of Okawville; Theodore Rice, 80, of Tamaroa; and Velma Glover, 76, of Tamaroa.

Weddings: Teresa Kozuszek and Brian Resch; and Susan Weihe and Steven Rommelman.

Thirty Years Ago

(1986)

Kim Koch was crowned queen of the Okawville Wheat Festival.

Patricia Guinzy resigned as alderwoman in Ashley.

Ground beef was $1.18 a pound and pork roast was 89 cents a pound.

Deaths: Edna Frieman, 69, of Oakdale; John Biby, 72, of Columbia; Augusta Harre, 78, formerly of Nashville; Carl Spotanski, 83, of Ashley; Rose Wisnewski, 82, a native of Posen; Melvin Nobe, 73, of Okawville; Gene Hohman, 64, a native of Nashville; and Harold Tonsing, 75, a native of Addieville.

Weddings: Janet Patton and Kevin Sabo; Michaelle Janssen and Michael Brost; Kathryn Doelling and Paul Bergkoetter; and Nancy Holtgrewe and Jon McKerracher.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

(1991)

Ashley Grade School was running deficit of $49,318.47 in its education fund.

Washington County Hospital was showing a year-to-date profit that was under budget by $75,752 because revenues from Medicare/Medicaid program declined.

Victoria Frank was crowned Miss Okawville Fair of 1991.

The Nashville High School “Nashville Music Boosters” held their first official meeting with dues set at $5.

Lisa Meyer of Belleville spoke on the experiences of her intern year at Eden Seminary. She spent eight months in Botswana where rural people live in mud huts with thatched roofs.

Deaths: Catherine Lake, 90, of Lively Grove; Phillip Kabat, 76, of Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO; Erna Frederking, 74, of Addieville; Leta Lee, 80, of Du Quoin; Orval Walker, 77, of Covington; Richard “Ritchie” McCowen, 25, of Mt. Vernon; Fred Koser, 81, of Batchtown; Raymond Hohlt, 84, of Millstadt; and Earl Murray, 76, of St. Charles.

Weddings: Sheila Nicholson and Timothy Page; Denise Godbey and Michael Kinzel; and Gerri Krietemeyer and Norman Theiss.

Births: Chris and Jennifer Heggemeier of Nashville, a son; and Bill and Patty Lints of Nashville, a daughter.

Twenty Years Ago

(1996)

Jessica Nottmeyer was Miss Okawville Fair and Melissa Frederking was junior miss.

In the wake of a fatal accident on State Route 15, east of Nashville, Rev. Chuck Trent of Ashley was leading a petition drive to ask the Illinois Department of Transportation to straighten some of the many curves on the stretch of highway.

Deaths: Ruth Teel, 94, of Nashville; Esther Weeke, 87, of Okawville; Norma Marquard, 68, of Venedy; Joshua Moore, 16, of Ashley; Frances Smith, 87, of Lively Grove; Lillie Freimuth, 83, of Centralia; Mary Cook, 86, of Nashville; Paul Taylor Jr., 14, of Tamaroa; Myrtle Gladson, 71, of Marissa; Herbert Dintelman, 91, of Oakdale; Iva Bridges, 83, of Tamaroa; Kenneth Reinhardt, 67, of Du Quoin; Myrtle Gale, 88, of Freeburg; Betty Rollinson, 68, of Irvington; Ruth Leichtle, 64, of Scheller; Donda Hawkins, 58, of Richview; Sami Fields, infant daughter of Thomas Fields and Edra Minor; and Arthur Lemons, 85, of Scheller.

Birth: Anthony and Laura Garlich of Beverly, KY, a son.

Fifteen Years Ago

(2001)

Patriotic fervor surged in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Lee’s Variety Store sold 694 American flags in just 3 days after the attack.

The tragedy touched Washington County as a cousin of Mark Couleas was killed in the WTC, while Monica Hatch’s niece escaped injury.

Cheryl Borrenpohl was crowned Miss Okawville Fair, and Junior Miss was Macey Weinstroer.

Help was sought from the county board to save the Radom Nutrition Site as federal funding cuts put that senior citizen service in jeopardy of closing.

Nashville News correspondents Barb Meier (Okawville) and Marjorie Patton (Oakdale/Elkton) were featured in an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Felicity Rixmann, a native of England, became a U.S. citizen.

Deaths: Henry Ryterski, 80, of Nashville; Cheryl Finke, 36, of Chatham; Lorraine Steinkamp, 77, of Okawville; Raymond Sherman, 90, of St. Louis; Veronica Barciszewski, 80, of Ashley; Jakob Kelly, infant son of Christopher Kelly and Morjan Keller of Nashville; and Lawrence Knapp, 85, of Tamaroa.

Weddings: Amy Sachtleben and Ryan Blumhorst; Kellie Dellamano and Christopher Hutchings; and Sara Tomaszewski and Greg Nattier.

Birth: Jim and Stephanie Daiber of New Memphis, a son.

Ten Years Ago

(2006)

Nicole Ostendorf was crowned Miss Okawville Fair, and Kathryn Lohman was the Junior Miss.

Stories from local men including Art Furuya, Charles Auld and Stanley Sanders were included in a book on World War II written by Bill Nunes.

Enrollment in Washington County schools continued a decade-long decline by dropping 105 to 2,495.

Louise Campbell was honored for 50 years of teaching Sunday school at Nashville Assembly of God.

Births: John Jr. and Jennifer Kennedy of Okawville, a daughter; Anthony and Tasha Bury of Nashville, a son; Kevin and Kari McCasland of Savannah, TN, a daughter.

Deaths: Rick Davis, 56, of Du Bois; Isaac Maggard, 80, of Oakdale; and Edna Knox, 89, of Centralia.

Weddings: Laura Norton and Ben Wiechert; Crystal Frisch and Gregory Alfeldt; and Jennifer Gray and Kyle Sandheinrich.

Five Years Ago

(2010)

Elizabeth Engele was crowned Miss Okawville Fair queen.

The Hoyleton Lions Club collected donations to aid the people of tornado-stricken Joplin, Mo.

Judge Richard Aguirre ruled that the arrest of Clay Maxwell for the murder of Lauren Castellari was illegal but had not yet ruled on whether the evidence collected following the arrest was admissible in court.

The County Board approved the building design for the new judicial center, along with a $4-million budget.

Births: Elaina Gail was born to Nathan and Brandi Wilkins of Breese on June 13; Brilynn Bejma was born on September 1 to Frederick and Mandy Bejma of Mt. Vernon.

Engagement, weddings and anniversary: Angela Patton and Joshua Maschhoff were engaged; Maria Meyers and Jeric Burns were wed on May 20; Jessica Fann and Mitchell Holtgrewe were wed on June 18; Bridget Wilhelm and Jordan Brink were wed on August 13; Janelle Kuhn and Andrew Pfeiffer were wed on June 25; Leo and Helen Witges of Scheller celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary on July 11.

Deaths: Joe Smelter, 99, of Tamaroa, September 13; Sharon Rusiewski, 58, of Nashville, Sept. 13; Leona Mierkowski, 88, of St. Charles, Mo., Sept. 17; Janet Stewart, 59, of Nashville, Sept. 20.