It Happened HereOctobeer 19, 2016

It Happened Here

Eighty Years Ago

(1936)

Tillie Heggemeier moved her flower shop to the Watts building on East Court Street in Nashville.

The City of Ashley was to vote on obtaining general obligation bonds for construction of a waterworks system.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

(1941)

Navy Day was to be celebrated in Washington County. Joseph Campbell was chairman.

Herman Kretschmar, 92, of the Original Springs Hotel in Okawville entered a claim in Philadelphia to the $20 million estate of his father, John Kretschmar.

William Friend of Okawville was elected secretary and A.H. Maschhoff of Hoyleton was elected to the executive committee of the Group Nine Illinois Bankers Association.

The body of William Topping, 72, was found by two local school boys beneath the L&N railroad trestle east of Nashville. Topping had apparently fallen from the trestle and broken his neck.

Other deaths: Mrs. Dan Pence, formerly of Nashville; James Kaley, 61, of Nashville; and Mrs. Henry Reinkensmeier, 87, of Covington Township.

Seventy Years Ago

(1946)

Richard Windler advertised expert radio service at the Gamble Store in Nashville.

Lava soap was six cents for a medium bar.

Deaths: Dr. T.G. Tibby of Oakdale; Mrs. W.R. Coleman, formerly of Ashley; Martha Czernecki, 24, of Beaucoup; and Herman Wernecke, 69, of Okawville.

Sixty-Five Years Ago

(1951)

Cast members for the Nashville High School play, entitled “Let Me Grow Up,” included Patricia Miller, Lois Murphy, Patty Sue Hasemeier, Marjorie Gewe, Jimmy Harre, John Hines, Pauline Rixman, Joan Spencer, Betty Polczynski, Winona Campbell, Jane Stutsman, Norma Jean Schaeffer, Patsy Berry, Nancy Newman, Morris Kaufman, Wesley Pitchford, Charles DeFend and Doris Hildebrand.

Kay’s Cafe in Nashville was sold to Mrs. Dan Piglowski.

The convention of the Southern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod was held in Hoyleton.

Deaths: Henry Holzhauer, 66, of Nashville; Alexander Pikul, 43, of Nashville; Alwine Charlotte Sprehe, 69, a native of New Minden; and Sadie Balderston, a native of Washington County.

Sixty Years Ago

(1956)

Judge Joseph Maxwell shot six groundhogs in one day to bring his total for the year to 50.

Three pounds of ground beef cost $1. Ten pounds of fish
was $1.45.

Deaths: Susan Ludwig, a native of North Prairie; Alma Schoensky, 78, formerly of Washington County; Melvin Brown; Ida Keller, 79; Arthur Ray of Richview; and Carl Brinkman of Okawville.

Fifty-Five Years Ago

(1961)

The first Nashville High School Homecoming has Christopher as the football opponent.

Burglars obtained about $100 in cash from the vault at the Okawville High School.

Three tomato plants in the yard of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Eigenrauch of Okawville were over 10 feet tall and still growing.

Deaths: Conrad Coulter, 71, of Kansas City, MO; and Lawrence Young, 60, a native of Richview.

Fifty Years Ago

(1966)

A plan to improve Nashville’s fire warning system was approved. Each section of the city would be equipped with a warning signal of a different tone.

Plans were announced for Rather’s Laundry to move into a new building.

William Huge Jr. advertised house painting for $2 an hour.

Deaths: Karl Hildebrand, 55, of Nashville; Anthony Smith, 78, a native of Beaucoup; Gleason Scanlan, 59, of Oregon; Edmund Baker, 80, of Centralia; Dr. Cameron “Cap” Harmon, 90, former president of McKendree College in Lebanon.

Forty-Five Years Ago

(1971)

A number of minor thefts and break-ins had occurred around Ashley.

Oil was discovered in Section 17 of Plum Hill Township.

Deaths: Dr. Robert Dancy of Mt. Vernon.

Forty Years Ago

(1976)

Oakdale Grade School purchased a 24 by 36 foot building from Marissa School District to be used for the kindergarten class and library.

Kroger advertised a fully cooked whole ham, 19 to 22 pounds, for 69 cents a pound.

The Topper Restaurant building was purchased by a land trust and the business, formerly operated by Bill Seyler, was owned and operated by Ray Caplinger.

Deaths: Erwin Lehde, 60, of Nashville; Clara Robaczewski, 55, of Chicago; William Beckman, 70, of New Memphis; Helen Bejma, 43, of Tamaroa; Gordon MacVean, 73, of Sea Island, GA; Edwin Kehrer, 71, of Mt. Vernon; Theodore Schulte, 78, of Venedy; and Kathryn Weber of Murphysboro.

Thirty-Five Years Ago

(1981)

Gina Watts was crowned Homecoming queen at NCHS.

William and Charlene Wilkey purchased Speck’s Car Wash in Nashville.

Spare ribs were 99 cents a pound and large eggs were 79 cents a dozen.

Ernest Meadows of Valier pled guilty to a charge of reckless homicide in connection with a traffic accident that claimed the life of Father Paul Bruening, pastor of St. Ann Catholic Church in Nashville.

Deaths: Sally Breeze, 87, of Richview; Bertha Brune, 83, of Nashville; Gemette Seabaugh, 49, of Cape Girardeau, MO; Anita Ebbs, 68, of Centralia; Cordelia Schmidt, 84, formerly of Okawville; Esther Gerding, 95, formerly of Nashville; Edward Bathon, 81, of St. Louis; and Raymond Brinkmeyer, 80, of Okawville.

Weddings: Jill Roethemeyer and Neil Haake; Regina Paszkiewicz and Steven Droege; and Gayle Russell and Brent Cates.

Thirty Years Ago

(1986)

The annual Mass of Thanksgiving Harvest Service was held at the John and Mary Ann Krus farm in Bolo Township by Diocese of Belleville Bishop James Keleher.

The Alfred Meier farm near Okawville was being used as the set for a five-part public television series, “American by Design.”

Ellen Krohne was honored as Woman of the Year by the Washington County Business and Professional Woman’s Organization.

Whole chicken fryers were 49 cents a pound and ground beef was 98 cents a pound.

Deaths: Emma Rathert, 90, of Nashville; Ella Stegman, 75, of Okawville; Meta Maschhoff, 82, of Hoyleton; Chesley Woodside, 90, of Swanwick; and William Kerr, 83, of Fort Wayne, IN.

Wedding: Brenda Briggs and Michael Hanson.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

(1991)

A $44,225,529 budget was proposed for Washington County, up more than $500,000 from the year before.

Ashley Mayor Mike Hogan resigned. Hogan had been living in Nashville for several years.

Whole fryers were selling for 49 cents a pound.

Georgia Gundlach of Richview won an Oldsmobile Cutlass on the Illinois Lottery’s TV game show, “$100,000 Fortune Hunt.”

The Illinois Department of Transportation was building a new salt dome at the highway shed north of Nashville to store up to 1,500 tons of salt.

Jennifer Tomaszewski was chosen as the NCHS Homecoming Queen.

Deaths: Virgil Triefenbach, 63, of Marissa; Josephine LaCicero, 70, of Du Bois; Leo Forys, 83, of Ashley; Eleanor Dick, 84, of St. Louis; Harriet Stonecipher, 92, of Centralia; Helen Strike, 78, of St. Louis; Earl Siebert, 79, formerly of Okawville; Joseph Koy Jr., 72, of Dix; Elsie Dreczka, 85, of De Kalb; Albert Leimkuehler, 93, of Springfield; George Schubert, 54, of Stanton, CA; and Fern Baldridge, 90, of Irvington.

Weddings: Brenda Stein and Leon Averbeck; and Rhonda Dintelman and Allen Stein.

Births: Lindsey Lietz of Nashville, a son; Tom and Laurie Bahre of Coulterville, a daughter; Thomas and Jane Scheller, a daughter; and Dennis and April Barsos of Nashville, a daughter.

Twenty Years Ago

(1996)

Tyler Burcham was guest soloist with the Centralia Philharmonic Orchestra.

Pat Bielong became the third generation of his family to earn a living as a mechanic when he opened Precision Auto and Truck Service.

Divers searched the Kaskaskia River west of Okawville for a safe stolen from the Eagle’s Nest. Two suspects were in custody in the burglary. About $3,500 in cash and other items were stolen.

A new group, Friends of the Nashville Public Library, was seeking members.

Whole fryers were 59 cents per pound and ribeye steaks were $3.99 per pound at Kroger.

Deaths: Ruth Newcomb, 92, of Irvington; Charles Laughhunn, 64, of Centralia; Mary Ketchum, 81, of Centralia; David Tucker, 66, of LaPorte, IN; William Hayden, 71, of St. Jacob; Rose Mayer, 83, of Belleville.

Weddings: Dana Varel and Brian Patton; Susan Jones and Kevin Reitz; Erin Finney and Daniel Bassen; Carmen Short and Richard Grzegorek.

Births: Rodney and Kristine Schaeffer of Trenton, a daughter; Tom and Debra Perjak of Nashville, a daughter.

Fifteen Years Ago

(2001)

Stephanie Niedbalski was crowned queen of the NCHS Homecoming.

Washington County Board donated $4,000 to Washington County Senior Services to help keep open the Radom Nutrition Site for 14 people who ate their daily.

Burning leaves in the City of Nashville was allowed any day from 10a.m. to sunset.

Miller Plumbing and Heating offered a gas furnace checkup for $39.

Deaths: Benton Bevil, 67, of Richview; Imagene Chwascinski, 71, of Beaucoup; Theodore Eater, 88, of Nashville; Vincent Musielak, 85, of St. Louis; John Loos, 76, of Pinckneyville; Dorothy Rippinger, 80, of Posey; Russell Carter, 86, of Saddle Brooke, AZ; E.C. Carter, 77, of Irvington; Vera Chapman of Ft. Myers, Florida.

Wedding: Amy Heiman and James Ford Jr.

Births: David and Christy Kirchner of Nashville, a son; Derek and Jennifer Bleisch of Okawville, a daughter; John and Robyn Graham of Doylestown, PA, a son; Allen and Stacy Wright of Nashville, a daughter; and Rick and Chris Gibson, a daughter.

Ten Years Ago

(2006)

Bill Jack’s 30-year tenure as Washington County Highway Engineer came to an end, and Amy Tomaszewski Maurer took over the job.

Barry Morris resigned from NCHS Board and took the job of maintenance director at the school, succeeding Paul Kellerman, who retired.

NCHS Hornet golfer Ryan Keller finished 8th in the Class A State Tournament.

Shaina Rennegarbe’s 8th place finish helped the Okawville Lady Rocket golfers capture 5th place in their first ever state tourney appearance.

The new fire station in Du Bois was dedicated.

Owners P.J. And Brenda Colston held a grand opening at Oakdale Market.

Births: Jason and Beth St. John of Jackson, MO, a daughter; Brad and Amy Detering of Salem, twin sons; Paul and Beth Welte of Nashville, a daughter; Edward Sterns and Kirstyn Bury of Oakdale, a son.

Deaths: Helen Graham, 89, of Du Quoin; Betty Thornburgh, 88, of Swansea; Melvin Helbig, 88, of Lively Grove; Ortheldo Peithmann, 88, of Farmer City; Wanda Goodner, 77, of Ft. Myers Beach, FL; Catherine Sij, 37, of Rogers, AR.

Weddings: Cathy Lehde and Jonathan Pettibone; Barbara Turner and Scott Barr.

Five Years Ago

(2011)

A report by animal warden Bob White to the County Board detailed only 13 dogs euthanized in the county, and animal fines and fees topping $13,000 for the year.

The Nashville Hornettes Gold Team finished their season as runners-up in the state of Illinois.

The Roland Barkau Memorial Golf Course reopened its doors under the management of Plum Creek Golf Course LLC.

Washco Low Lifes Greg Porter, Mark McCowen and Sean Clark prepared for a concert at Pop’s in Sauget.

Engagement and Wedding: Jenna Marie Finne and Daniel William Barratt were wed on July 8; Melissa Majewski and Frank Leffner planned to wed on November 5.

Deaths: John Martin, 71, of Pinckneyville, October 14; Levi Gardner, 21, of Coulterville, October 9; Arthur Collmeyer, 70, of Incline Village, Nev., Sept. 28; Zelda Cook, 57, of Nashville, formerly of Centralia, October 17.