It Happened Here – November 30, 2016
It Happened Here
Eighty Years Ago
(1936)
Two youths of Clarmin were being held in the Washington County Jail in Nashville on charges of setting fire to the Clarmin schoolhouse.
Dr. E.H. Reinhardt and Dr. G.A. Green installed a gas machine at their dental office for use in minor surgery and extraction of teeth.
Grocery prices had roll butter for 35 cents a pound and oysters for 35 cents a pint.
Amos Oexeman, 17, of New Minden was killed when he was struck by an auto along the highway south of New Minden.
Other deaths: Christine Zapp, 73, of Nashville; Samuel Jack, 86, of Beaucoup John Meyer, 68, formerly of Nashville; Leonard Kult, 56, of Bolo Township; and William Darrow, 76.
Seventy-Five Years Ago
(1941)
William Robinson, 26, of Ashley was the driver of a Trailways bus which overturned in St. Louis, injuring 20 persons, two seriously.
Nashville businessmen were investigating proposals for a show factory and locker plant in the city.
Two women, dressed as gypsies, robbed an elderly Nashville resident of approximately $8.
Backs Department Store in Nashville advertised occasional chairs and tables for $4.95.
Bernard Pinski, 20, of Nashville was killed while hunting.
Other deaths: Barney Szmanski, 75, of Bolo Township; William Richmond, 69, of Irvington; and Charles Newman, 69, of Richview.
Seventy Years Ago
(1946)
A coal strike resulted in the federal government issuing a dim out order for the city of Nashville. Commercial establishments were prohibited from lighting window displays and advertising signs after 6 p.m.
Hazel Haun of Nashville was a victim of scarlet fever.
Deaths: Ewald Doelling, 46, of Addieville; Lydia Doerr, 65, a native of Washington County; Annie Thorman, 72, a native of Covington; Bernard Halbig; Helen Doelling of Okawville; and Mrs. Charles Holforty, a native of Nashville.
Sixty-Five Years Ago
(1951)
St. John Lutheran Church in New Minden dedicated an annex to its school.
A pound of coffee was 83 cents at Ahlf’s General Merchandise Store.
Deaths: Caroline Eigenrauch, 88, of Nashville; Theresa Koch, 87, of Santa Rosa, CA; John Zetsche, 68, of Okawville; Antonina Jankowski, a native of Washington County; and Henry Bartelsmeyer, 77, a native of Hoyleton.
Sixty Years Ago
(1956)
Nashville City Council approved the construction of a railroad spur over Kaskaskia Street to the Nashville Milk Company.
Local grocery prices had bananas at 9 cents a pound and ice cream at 79 cents a gallon.
Deaths: Gradwell Sears, 59, of Nashville; Henry Cunningham, 72, of Nashville; Ida Kettler, 84, of Nashville; Fred Meyer of Okawville; and Floryan Pijut, 40, of St. Louis.
Fifty-Five Years Ago
(1961)
Dr. William Lesko moved into his new medical building on the corner of South Washington and Adams Street in Nashville.
The Mary Belle Dress Shoppe announced its grand opening on the south end of Nashville.
A set of Norma Christmas lights was $2.19 at Karl Gewe’s hardware store in Nashville. An automatic pop-up toaster was $9.88.
Deaths: Mary Rixmann, 91, of Beaucoup; Allen McCoy, 78, a native of Nashville; Robert Bryan, 75, of New Minden; Meta Brandhorst, 70, of Nashville; Elizabeth Williamson, 77, of Nashville; William Wiechert, 60, of Stone Church; and Jackqueline Sue Schneider, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Schneider, formerly of Nashville.
Fifty Years Ago
(1966)
Burglars broke into the Hoyleton State and Savings Bank, but left without any money.
The Hoyleton Lumber Yard was burglarized with the loss of $25 and $150 damage.
Fire destroyed a flatbed truck full of hay north of Nashville.
Varsity basketball cheerleaders at Nashville High School were Brenda Ladendecker, JoCindy Schmale, Connie Roethemeyer, Margie Paszkiewicz and Marilyn Michael.
The State Theatre in Nashville Featured Alfred Hitchcock’s “Torn Curtain.”
Deaths: John Nowicki, 40, of Woodlawn, killed in a traffic accident; James Dintelman, 56, of Nashville; Harry Lehde, 48, of Addieville; Lester Seering, 49, a native of Stone Church; August Schnitker, 83, of Hoyleton; Goldie Qualls, 72, of Ashley; Johanna Hagemeyer, 86, of Addieville; Evelyn Hoffman, formerly of Nashville; and Mrs. Rolf Warner of Larchmont, NY.
Forty-Five Years Ago
(1971)
Washington County hunters bagged 63 deer is the first three days of the annual season.
Pam Auld of Oakdale of Oakdale won the DAR Good Citizen Award at NCHS.
State police raided the Village Inn in DuBois and issued seven tickets to underage drinkers.
Shoplifters at the Owens Jewelry Store in Nashville pocketed $380 in cash along with several diamond rings and settings.
Alphonse Lamczik of Ashley was awarded a plaque for his record-setting 128.5 bushels of corn per acre.
Deaths: Florence Stricker, 55, a native of Richview; Albert Gajewski, 69, of Scheller; Joseph Czajkowski, 89, of Ashley; Charles Giacomo, 84, of Coulterville; Eunice Stockwill, 79, of Ashley; Emma Heseman, 89, of New Minden; Joseph Pierchnik, 84, of Nashville; Minnie Vogelpohl, 79, of Nashville; William Irwin, 44, formerly of Irvington; and Louis Riechman, 67, formerly of Irvington.
Forty Years Ago
(1976)
The first half of shotgun deer season resulted in a total of 138 white tails being turned in the local check station.
Michelle Janssen was crowned homecoming queen at NCHS.
John Pero, Jefferson County Extension Agricultural adviser, was cited for his leadership in rural resource development.
Deaths: Alvina Barkau, 86, of Affton, MO; Walter Krysnoski Sr., 59, of St. Clair Township; Victor Deering, 79, of Titusville, FL; and Charles Doerr of Nashville.
Thirty-Five Years Ago
(1981)
NCHS football coach Don Hawkins was named Southern Illinois Coach of the Year by the Evansville, Indiana, “Courier and Press” after a 9-2 season.
H.J. Meyer, executive vice president of the First National Bank of Okawville, was honored for 60 years of service.
Chicken fryer parts were 49 cents a pound and sandwich bread was 29 cents a loaf.
Donald Schaeffer, 39, and John Silgar, 50, both of Centralia, were killed in a truck-auto accident on Route 161, west of Shattuc Road.
Other deaths: Wilbert Karmeier, 73, of Nashville; Richard Bordewisch, 58, of Nashville; Ethel Lehde, 80, of Addieville; Emma Reinhardt of Okawville; Marcel Klasing, 57, of Okawville; Edward Meyer, 82, of Oakdale; Angie Stonum, 95, of Oakdale; Albert Maschhoff, 74, of Venedy; Pearl Witzel, 68, of Centralia; Ludger Schilling III, three months, of New Athens; Ray “Buster” Peterson, 76, of Woodlawn; and Willard Summers, 67, formerly of Ashley.
Weddings: Nancy Shubert and Patrick Ganz; and Sheila Henseler and Danny McElvain.
Thirty Years Ago
(1986)
The Ashley School District Board of Education discussed an all-day kindergarten program.
Roy Glasscock was hired as chief of police at Okawville.
Deaths: Minnie Groennert, 84, of Okawville; Ollie Fitzgerald, 100, a native of Nashville; Edna Campbell, 83, of Nashville; Genevieve Ruffino, 78, of Pinckneyville; Gladys Frost, 97, a native of Richview; Virgil Heggemeier, 78, a native of Cordes; Vera Ragland, 65, of Nashville, TN; and Robert “Chick” Fritz, 72, of Mascoutah.
Wedding: Carol Brostmeyer and Donald LePere.
Twenty-Five Years Ago
(1991)
Nashville Golf Course superintendent John Forys resigned after 15 years on the job to accept a position as grounds superintendent of the new Okawville golf course.
A Mt. Vernon company donated over $1,000 in special computer equipment to allow Todd Heckert, a quadriplegic, to use a computer at the Johannisburg Grade School.
Radom Jaycees won first place in the Mississippi Valley Jaycees “Meeting The Challenge” contest for sponsoring the annual Haunted Hayride.
Major damage was done to a car driven by Nick Huge of Richview when it struck some cattle on State Route 177.
The Nashville Girl Scout Fund Raising Campaign was successfully completed with a total of $1,300 collected.
Republican State Rep. Candidate Maryann Mode, 44, of Okawville was killed in an auto accident after her Mustang convertible drifted across the center line of State Route 15, west of Nashville, and struck a pickup truck.
Other deaths: Edgar Murdock, 85, of Salem; Jill Justice, 33, of Okawville; Allan Prusz, 93, of Phoenix, AZ; Edwin Fark, 78, of Centralia; Richard Przygoda, 66, of DuBois; Lorrell Nowland, 84, of Jerseyville; and Roy Mueller, 75, of St. Louis.
Births: Dale and Mary Lou Lake of Lively Grove, a daughter; Rick and Sara Rawls of Nashville, a son; Stanley and Vicki Pryzgoda of Tamaroa, a son; Stephen and Diann Brammeier of rural Okawville, a son.
Twenty Years Ago
(1996)
Angry residents complained of youths from Hoyleton Children’s Home causing trouble in that community.
A portrait of the late Dr. Charles Longwell was dedicated to Washington County Hospital. He was remembered as a driving force behind the hospital’s creation over 30 years before.
Okawville residents were drinking water received from Washington County Water Co., saying it tasted much better than that previously supplied by the village.
Washington County hunters tagged 694 deer in the first half of the firearm deer season.
Deaths: Doris Wendling, 49, of Nashville; Alex Rybacki, 92, of Radom; Reinhold Beckmann, 71, of Okawville; Mary Terveer, 80, of St. Libory; Christine McKinstry, 92, of Pinckneyville; Dina Riechman, 85, of St. Louis; Clara Kellerman, 96, of New Albany, IN; Leo Gill, 81, of Oakdale; Paul Lombardo, 39, of Nashville; and Helen Quandt, 79, of Centralia.
Wedding: Nicole Bryant and Michael Harre.
Births: Jason and Danielle Buettner of Nashville; Edward and Kathleen Rulevish of Scheller, a daughter; Todd and Norma Armstrong of Charleston, W.VA, a daughter.
Fifteen Years Ago
(2001)
Santa Claus arrived by horse-drawn carriage to greet youngsters at the courthouse square, courtesy of Nashville Chamber of Commerce.
Gene Paskiewicz retired as utility foreman after 36 years with the City of Nashville.
When repairs were being made at the Mule Barn in DuBois, a brick dated 1871 was discovered.
The county’s unemployment rate of 2.9 percent was among the lowest in the state.
A stone identifying Beaucoup Cemetery was donated by Tony Lehde and Neva Fulton in memory of their mother, Frances Lehde.
Henry Finke, 62, of New Minden was killed by a bull on his dairy farm Thanksgiving Day.
Other deaths: Stanley Zewiski, 90, of Nashville; Christine Dunnigan, 36, of Collinsville; Lisa Strubhart, 34, of Addieville; Thomas Torrens, 90, of Pinckneyville; Isal Taliaferro, 83, of Okawville; Lloyd Taylor, 75, of Tamaroa; Daniel Oexeman, 31, of Korea; Martin Westerman, 92, of Marissa; Alvina Engelmann, 84, of Belleville; Sr. Mary Gajewski, 90, of Shrewsberry, MO.
Wedding: Kasey Weston and Jeffrey Watts.
Births: Clint and Robin Diedrich of Chesterfiled, MO, a son; Gary and Stacy Wright of Nashville, a son; Scott and Jan Tate of Salem, a son; and David and Susan Gutjahr of Coulterville, a daughter.
Ten Years Ago
(2006)
Six-term Washington County Treasurer Bill Windler reflected on his years of service as he prepared to turn over the office to Rhonda Groennert.
Dr. Keith Jenkins joined the staff of Washington County Hospital Rural Health Clinic.
The county’s jobless rate was 3.1 percent.
Deer hunters tagged 1,054 whitetails in the first part of the firearm season.
Former Richview Township Clerk Sheila Niederhofer was honored for her many years of service.
About $250 was stolen from concession receipts at the Community Center of Nashville.
Births: Terry and Christina Krewinghaus of Venedy, a son; Glenn and Gina Eberhart of Nashville, a son; Aaron and Monica Piasecki of Nashville, a daughter; Josh Inman and Kailie Frieman of Ashley, a son.
James “Jim Bob” Weihe, 49, of New Minden was killed in a motorcycle accident north of Nashville.
Other deaths: Mary Sodko, 84, of Carlyle; Raymond Kraudel, 82, of Belleville; Frances “Mickey” Edwards, 71, of Irvington; Helen Treu, 88, of Nashville; Gene Povolish, 56, of Nashville; Alberta Wienstroer, 93, of Nashville; Marie Beckmann, 87, of Okawville; Rodney Neuhaus, 43, of Ashley; Kenneth Moyer, 51, of Okawville; and Everett Deason, 84, of Okawville.
Five Years Ago
(2011)
A request for a one-percent increase in sales tax was approved by the Nashville Community high School Board, the Nashville Primary School Board, and the West Washington Unit school board and was bound for county voters’ ballots in March, 2012.
“Family Business Agenda” magazine named Rainbow Ranch in Plum Hill as one of the 100 oldest family companies.
First season firearm deer harvest totals were down in Washington County with 754 deer tagged, compared to 799 tagged the previous year.
The Washington County Hospital Board did not act to spend a $347,000 grant from the state, instead postponing action for a later date.
Birth: Neely Henderson was born on November 7 to Rob and Kerry Henderson of Nashville.
Engagement and Anniversary: Allen Buss and Anne Emig announced their plans to wed on December 17. Dean and Mary Louise Haege celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on November 24.
Deaths: Olga Haake, 97, of Nashville, November 26; Virginia Mattingly, 63, of Ashley, November 26.
