It Happened Here – September 13, 2017
Eighty Years Ago
(1937)
Paving on the highway, between Stone Church and St. Libory, was completed, shortening the distance to St. Louis, MO, by seven miles.
A Lincoln sedan driven by Mrs. William Rixman of Hoyleton knocked one car of a moving M&I freight train off the tracks at the Meinert crossing north of Nashville. Neither Mrs. Rixman nor her passenger, Mrs. August Wolter, were injured.
S. R. Ferguson opened a radio service shop in the Buckeye Hotel basement.
A 16-foot corn stalk grown by August Hohman was on display at the Courthouse.
Deaths: Henry A. Reither, 83, of Nashville; Peter Bieser, 82, of Nashville; Henry William Engelhardt Poehler, 62, of Plum Hill; and Frank Stanoski of rural Nashville.
Seventy-Five Years Ago
(1942)
The Washington County Board voted to place the Glackin Act (which provides funds for tuberculosis cases) before the voters in the November election.
The Washington County Board changed the polling place in Nashville Precinct No. 1 from the restroom at City Hall to the engine room at City Hall.
Petitions being circulated in Irvington and Richview townships called for option elections outside of municipalities to prevent the sale of liquor at roadhouses.
“I Married an Angel” with Jeannette McDonald and Nelson Eddy was playing at the State Theatre in Nashville.
Deaths: Marie Kuhn, 85, formerly of Nashville; and Elise Lueker, 37, of Granite City.
Seventy Years Ago
(1947)
William Nehrt sold his blacksmith shop to Jewell Richards after operating it for nearly 20 years.
The Nashville City Council granted Illinois Bell a replacement franchise to operate in the City replacing an agreement that had been in effect since 1897.
Albert Gilter opened a doughnut shop in Mascoutah. Ottomar Gutzler took Gilter’s place at the Homer Hasemeier shop in Nashville.
Local grocery prices included a No. 10 can of hominy for 10 cents and spare ribs at 39 cents a pound.
Deaths: Henry Barkau Sr., 90, of Okawville; and Johanna Catherine Borrenpohl, 80, of rural Washington County.
Sixty-Five Years Ago
(1952)
Sneed’s Cafe was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Hahn of Waterloo and renamed Hahn’s Cafe.
Robert Small purchased the Ford agency in Summer, IA.
Ten athletes at Nashville High School were ruled ineligible by the Illinois High School Athletic Association because they played outdoor basketball on organized teams at the local park during the summer.
Nashville voters approved the establishment of a municipal natural gas plant by a vote of 646 to 102.
The Rural County Youth held a street dance near the Courthouse in Nashville.
Reverend Edwin Arentsen was named pastor of the Catholic parish in Lively Grove.
Kenneth Markwardt bought Leo Toman’s Standard Oil Service station.
Deaths: Ignac Kozuszek, 62, of Posen; Rose Rezba, 53, of Elkton; Lester Edward Lueking, 37, of rural Hoffman; Hannah Baldridge, 61, of Berwyn; Helena Martha Carson, 89, of Oakdale; and George C. Rowekamp, 46, of Centralia.
Sixty Years Ago
(1957)
Wilbert J. Hohlt was named a senior member of the law firm of House and House when Justice Byron House withdrew from active practice following his election to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Deaths: John Skortz, 83, of rural Ashley; Frank Chesnek Sr., 84, of rural Woodlawn; and Gilbert Cross, 74, a native of Nashville.
Fifty-Five Years Ago
(1962)
Erection of a new VFW post was begun on the site of the former post building in Nashville.
Candidates for queen at the annual Okawville Wheat Festival were: Alice Eigenrauch, Charlotte Lehr, Helga Marschall, Judy Klosterhoff, Betty Lou Bultman and Lois Marquard.
Deaths: Amanda W. Kramer, 66, a native of Irvington; Nora Palek, a native of Washington County; Herman G. Warma, 67, of O’Fallon; Mrs. Herman G. Warma, 65, of O’Fallon; and Robert Satterfield of St. Louis, MO.
Fifty Years Ago
(1967)
The Nashville City Council approved a zoning ordinance and increased the water and sewer rates about 10 percent. The minimum charge for 2,000 gallons of water was raised from $3.12 to $3.40. Rates for natural gas were reduced five percent to $2.00 for the first 1,000 cubic feet.
A $15,000 trailer stolen from the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on the opening day of the state fair was found in a wooded area three miles southwest of Irvington.
Nashville High School football cheerleaders were Susan Doelling, Nancy Green, Jo-Cindy Schmale, Brenda Ladendecker and Connie Roethemeyer.
Deaths: Ely Seyler, 83, a native of Nashville; Wayne D. Alsup, 21, of rural Woodlawn; Augusta (Leffner) Kowalski, 65, a native of Ashley; Dr. Walter L. Doelling, 76, a native of Stone Church; Josephine (Grzechowiak) Skortz, 86, of Radom; and George J. Sandheinrich, 84.
Forty-Five Years Ago
(1972)
A three-month strike at the Frozen Food Lockers in Nashville was settled.
Posen won the Tri-County softball league with a 12-3 record.
Local grocery prices included: five, one-pound loaves of white bread for $1 and three eight-ounce mugs of margarine for 79 cents.
Deaths: Florence Minnie Weigel, 90, of Addieville; Rosie Pinski, 80, of Nashville; Virginia May Tarr, 90, of Ashley; Nick Bernard Boczek, 84, of Du Bois; Philip Treifenbach, 83, of rural Marissa; and Hadley H. Hempen, 23, of New Baden.
Forty Years Ago
(1977)
The 147-acre farm of the late Mr. and Mrs. Leo Buescher in Venedy sold for a record $2,500 per acre.
Contestants for Miss Okawville Fair Queen were: Susan Schuessler, Judy Haege, Sharon Greten, Jane Hunter, April Gunter, Jeanne Morris, Colleen Klasing, Michelle Schmale, Deb Segelhorst and Linda Lake.
Casmir G. Betlejewski, 67, of Northwoods, MO, drowned in the Washington County State Lake.
Other deaths: Gustav F. Dries, 85, of Hoyleton; Amos H. Meyer, 72, of Nashville; Rolla S. Marlow, 81, of rural Tamaroa; Gertrude Nickrent, 61, of Du Bois; and Herman N. Husmann, 83, of rural Centralia.
Thirty-Five Years Ago
(1982)
Lucy Olson of Nashville was honored as the 2,000th resident admitted to Friendship Manor Nursing Home in Nashville.
Deaths: Roger Allen Maschhoff, 35, of rural Kell; Walter Elliott, 89, formerly of rural Oakdale; Lydia M. (Bruhn) Hassenbrock, 77, of Nashville; Derek Richard Kehrer, eight, of Farmersville; and Melvin L. Meyer, 74, of St. Louis, MO.
Wedding: Bridget Renne Mathes and Rodney Glenn Jones, both of Nashville.
Thirty Years Ago
(1987)
Okawville Fair Queen candidates were: Becky Ahlers, Pam Obermeier, Jill Lake, Janet Eade, Cheryl Pietsch, Jamie Stevens and Dana Fults.
The Washington County Board agreed to provide health and medical insurance for all County employees.
Deaths: Ted T. Paszkiewicz, 67, of rural Nashville; Raymond L. Kasban, 70, of rural Du Bois; Howard Eade, 84, of Nashville; Michael M. Luczaj, 94, of Nashville; Raymond R. Kurtz, 63, of Tamaroa; and Cecil R. Woodside, 84, of Swanwick.
Wedding: Pauline Agnes Bartnicki of Nashville and John Allen Pratt of Richview.
Twenty-Five Years Ago
(1992)
Daulton Rohde, retired mail carrier, was selected grand marshal of the Oakdale Parade.
Washington County Board budgeted $2,500 for senior citizens to help cover a deficit caused by state and federal funding cuts.
Miss Okawville Fair contestants were Dannyel Degenhardt, Stacy Vogt, Tiffany Schuessler, Tina Kuhlengel, Stephanie Randoll and Khrisine Scanlan.
An 18-ounce porterhouse steak could be enjoyed at the Eagle’s Nest for $9.95.
Deaths: David Seyler, 62, of Nashville; Jeremy Hug, 15, of Radom; Wilbur Grathwohl, 70, of Hoyleton; Billie Decker, 58, of Nashville; John Copple, 77, of Walnut Hill; Margaret Vogelpohl, 82, of Nashville; Nina Willmor, 85, of Mt. Vernon; and Elmer Pearcy, 78, of Charleston.
Wedding: Sonja Koch of Okawville and Rob Heckert of St. Elmo.
Births: Mr. and Mrs. Pat Mueller (Michelle Caplinger) of Huey, a daughter; Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Wiese (Rebecca Boreup) of Carbondale, a daughter; Mr. and Mrs. Robert James (Elizabeth Galloway) of Hoyleton, a daughter; and Mr. and Mrs. Keith Elliott (Jane Oexeman) of St. Louis, MO, a son.
Twenty Years Ago
(1997)
The minimum wage in Illinois increased from $4.75 to $5.15.
Miss Okawville Fair contestants were Patricia Whitlock, Jamie Meyer, Erin Borrenpohl, Dusti Stearns, Mandy Reves, Christine James and Dawn Malick.
David Meyer, county board member, was elected first vice-president of Southwestern Illinois Metropolitan and Regional Planning Commission, a group that advised local governments on development decisions.
Roger Grodeon was named postmaster in Oakdale.
Batman and Robin was the feature at the State Theater.
Illinois State Trooper James Turner, 32, formerly of Nashville, and his infant son, Dylan, were killed in a seaplane crash at Kentucky Lake.
Other deaths: Maurice Benedict, 70, of Nashville; Adam Buretta, 86, of Ashley; Julia Raban, 84, of Belleville; Edward Sturgeon, 73, of Richview; Thelma Shine, formerly of Ashley; Paul Prelitz, 93, of Tamaroa; Florence Nehrkorn, 72, of Scheller; and Donald Doggendorf, 60, of St. Louis.
Weddings: Monica Tomaszewski and Samuel Kempland; and Tiffany Schuessler and Todd Charles Parker.
Birth: Brad and Becky (Rennegarbe) Crine of Mulberry Grove, a son.
Fifteen Years Ago
(2002)
After 12 years of work, the Village of Richview broke ground on its new sewer system.
Police mounted an eight-hour air and ground search for a man who carjacked a woman in Kentucky and left her locked in the trunk of her auto northeast of Okawville. She dialed 911 on her cell phone, and police were able to locate her by tracking the signal to a cellular tower.
Nashville Kroger placed first in customer service in its zone with a score of 99.71 out of 100.
Marv Asher opened his Concept Photography studio in the old St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.
A ribbon was cut at the opening of Moose Lodge 2560, south of Nashville.
Okawville Fair queen candidates were Jamil Borrenpohl, Erin Morgan, Lacey Christ, Lesley Zapp, Jennifer Carr, Ashley Shubert, Jenny Heckert and Mollie Kuhlengel.
Deaths: Nick Rude, 21, of Nashville; Armin Heseman, 83, of St. Charles, MO; Mark Kottmeyer, 42, of New Minden; Cordelia Smith, 82, of Belleville; Virginia Rice, 74, of Du Quoin; Irene McCaughey, 97, of Hermitage, MO; Charles Garrison, 45, of Carlyle; Marvin Davies, 76, of Nashville; and Neva Kroeger, 83, of Covington.
Births: Bill and Karen Burke of Nashville, a daughter; Stephen and Tricia Dinkelman of Waterloo, a son; Jason and Kristy Brink of Nashville, a son; Kurt and Kim Heckert of Okawville, a son; and Keith Kurwicki and Erin Keating of Nashville, a daughter.
Ten Years Ago
(2007)
Travis Volz joined The Nashville News as Sports Editor.
“Daddy Day Camp” was featured at the State Theater in Nashville.
Schools from around the area observed 9/11 as a time of remembrance with a moment of silence and prayer.
Deaths: Erwin A. Weihe, 80, of Hoyleton; Sharon Thielbar, 56, of Elmhurst; Betty J. Wallace, 65, of New Minden; Catherine A. Scherle, 86, of Centralia; JoAnn E. Oexeman of Willowbrook; Ronald C. Metcalf, 64, of Ashley; C. Christopher Fain III, 49, of St. Louis County, MO; and Ione G. Weeke, 81, of Nashville.
Birth: Pat and Laura Bielong of Nashville, a son.
Weddings: Kristy Boester and Jeff Neff; Rose Pflasterer of Tilden and Keith Addison of Nashville; and Mandy Elizabeth Johnson and Thomas Andrew Kerwin.
Five Years Ago
(2012)
The thirtieth annual Oakdale Reunion was held.
The first annual Nashville Community Center Reunion was held, with crowds coming out despite torrential rains and tornado sirens.
The Nashville City Council approved a proclamation against texting and driving.
Brian Heckert was named secretary of the Million Dollar Roundtable.
“Cycling Volunteer” Andre Block passed through Nashville on his journey from Virginia to St. Louis, where he planned to see his son.
Birth: Lily Mae Czerniejewski was born on June 25 to Joshua and Erin Czerniejewski of Radom.
Society: Loretta Weihe celebrated her 101st birthday on September 19; Michlena “Lena” (Pierjok) Lupa celebrated her 105th birthday on September 16; Robyn Stanley and Adam Pieszchalski announced their engagement; Kristina Brehm and Douglas Jeffers announced their engagement; Katie Rufener and Holden Kurwicki announced their engagement; Alyssa Eade and Clinton Harre announced their engagement.
Deaths: Jerry Rixmann, 63, of Hoyleton, September 6; Nancy Ann “Gigi” Fletcher, 62, of Austin, Texas, August 8; Gary George Taylor, 65, of Nashville, September 6; Betty Jean Frazer, 80, of Nashville, September 4.
