It Happened Here – October 4, 2017

Eighty Years Ago
(1937)

The annual list of County school teachers included: H. S. Winkler, Geneva B. Kugler and Marjorie Snow at Okawville High School; Rudolph Brink at New Minden; Frank J.

Glenn and C. A. Stevenson at Oakdale High School; and Ina B. Setzekorn at Chapel Hill School in Du Bois Township.

An agricultural survey in Washington County showed 30,000 bushels of apples, 80,000 bushels of peaches and 20,000 bushels of pears were grown in the county.

Strawberries and grapes were also significant crops. A thousand acres were being planted in a new crop, soybeans.

A 24-pound sack of flour was 89 cents and a 10-pound sack of corn meal was 28 cents.

Deaths: Henry W. Barkau, 50, of Addieville; Alford C. Stanton, 52, of Richview; and Irene Nolting, 37, of Nolting Station.

Seventy-Five Years Ago
(1942)

A five-day freeze on the sale of rubber boots and men’s rubber footwear was ordered by the rationing board.

The first years of Aid to Dependent Children in Washington County showed 30 families and 82 children received $12,663 in payments.

An early frost brought an end to the tomato canning season in Nashville. On the final day 180 bushels were brought in from Ashley and Richview.

Pork sausage was 29 cents a pound and Gold Dot oleo was 16 cents a pound.

Deaths: Mrs. W. R. Rountree, 82, of Nashville; Thomas J. Martin, 92, formerly of Nashville; Minnie Anna Huge, 78, of Centralia; Anna B. Saul, 67, formerly of Centralia; and Thomas Pasley, 78, of Mt. Vernon.

Seventy Years Ago
(1947)

C. R. Jones of McLeansboro opened a “Skate-A-Way” pavilion on the west edge of Nashville.

A doll factory opened in Nashville.

Death: Martha Jane McClurken, 75, of Oakdale.

Sixty-Five Years Ago
(1952)

Doris Rabenort was elected president of the senior class at Nashville High School.

Voters in Oakdale School District No. 1 defeated a proposition to build a new schoolhouse, 169 to 88.

Rosemary E. Bowers of Du Bois was appointed to the graduate college faculty at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

State authorities raided 10 establishments in Washington County and seized 26 gambling machines and a total of $2,177.25.

Bert Meyer bought Leo’s Marathon service station in Nashville.

Deaths: Victor Kubiak of rural Ashley; Gustav H. Riechmann, 60, of Wamac; Henry Ohlemeyer, 80, a native of Oakdale; Otis C. Wollbright, 53, of Peoria; Virginia Curtis, 26, of rural Ashley; and J. S. Kringer of Tamaroa.

Sixty Years Ago
(1957)

Carl K. Kabat, OMI, pronouned his final vows as a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate.

Robert Hake, 21, of North Prairie was gored by a Holstein bull.

Judy Ann Klamm, six, of Huegely became the county’s first polio victim of the year.

Mr. and Mrs. Louis Behrman of rural Nashville were featured in an article on nutria ranching.

A 17-inch largemouth bass jumped into the boat of James Lehde while fishing at Beaucoup pond.

Deaths: Lydia Beatty of Nashville; Anna Newman, 88, formerly of Nashville; Ben Koester, 69, of Okawville; Annie Mae Shaw, 52, of Okawville; and Fred Charles Pape, 83, a native of Nashville.

Fifty-Five Years Ago
(1962)

Mr. and Mrs. Albert Krohne bought the Original Mineral Springs Hotel in Okawville from the estate of Thomas H. Rogers.

Deaths: Bertha C. Holzhauer, 74, of Nashville; Frank H. Swain of Beaucoup; Lulu Barton, 85, a native of Irvington; G. H. Sachtleben, 85, of Plum Hill; Hugo Schuessler, 74, formerly of Okawville; SFC Milton C. Hawks, 38, of Rolla, MO; Elmer Krausz, 60, of New Baden; and Lydia Lehde, 72, of Okawville.

Fifty Years Ago
(1967)

Fire of an undetermined origin destroyed a large metal barn on the Martin Schrieber farm in Covington Township.

Chuck steak was 59 cents a pound and pork roast was 39 cents a pound.

The Goodwill Industries truck was scheduled in the area.

Deaths: Henry Klingenberg, 90, of Plum Hill; William Lunte, 83, of Addieville; Catherine (Miller) Cunningham, 88, formerly of Nashville; Mary (Brinkman) Hoelscher, 76, a native of Plum Hill; Ebenezer M. Duquid, 76, formerly of Oakdale; Gus G. Koelling, 60, of Hoyleton; and Clarence A. Gutermuth, 56, of Sparta.

Forty-Five Years Ago
(1972)

Vandals drained 40,000 gallons of water from the Ashley water tower.

Mrs. Ronnie Bartling was severely burned in a gasoline explosion at her home in Nashville.

Deaths: Adolf Reinkensmeyer, 78, of Covington; Otto William Koch, 86, of Oakdale; Maggie Benedict, 83, of rural Hoyleton; Harry Muelken, 79, of Okawville; Reverend William B. Weltge, 82, formerly of Du Bois; Brett Michael Jaremba, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Jaremba of Du Bois; Oliver D. Kraus, 62, of New Athens; Ralph Wittmaier of Ballwin, MO; Louis Dublo, 73, of St. Louis, MO; and Minnie Schrieber, 88, a native of Covington.

Forty Years Ago
(1977)

Deaths: Alvina Martha Gerling, 86, of Pilot Knob Township; Ida Elizabeth Sieckman, 68, of Ashley; Sophia Eva Skortz, 65, of Scheller; Louie C. Piper, 70, of rural Woodlawn; Mildred P. Miche, 78, of Okawville; and Clem Roy Cook, 69, of Ashley.

Thirty-Five Years Ago
(1982)

Local merchants removed Tylenol from their shelves after seven deaths were reported in the Chicago area resulting from cyanide-laced capsules of the drug.

Ninety-six percent of the property taxes had been paid in Washington County.

Deaths: Minnie Katherine (Witte) Thompson, 82, of Nashville; Harry A. Greten, 76, of Lively Grove; and Henry L. Hoppe, 79, formerly of Plum Hill.

Weddings: Pat Elliott of Nashville and Doug Harre of rural Nashville; and Lea Jane Martin of rural Marissa and John Tracy Powers of Coulterville.

Thirty Years Ago
(1987)

Eric Campagna bowled a perfect 300 game at the Nashville Bowl.

Haier Plumbing and Heating of Okawville was the low bidder for extension of a Nashville waterline to a proposed McDonald’s Restaurant site north of Nashville. The bid was $88,908.

A two-liter bottle of Diet Coke was 69 cents.

Deaths: Henrietta L. (Setzekorn) Rehmus, 71, of rural Du Bois; Ruth May (Pannebecker) Schmale, 62, of O’Fallon; Amos J. Toensing, 69, of Okawville; and John Vernon Angel, 82, of Clearwater, FL.

Weddings: Cheryl Lynn Gallassini of Centralia and Wayne Alan Harre of Nashville; and Susan Stephanie Conner of Madison, SD, and Reverend John Godfrey Enwright of Knob Noster, MO.

Twenty-Five Years Ago
(1992)

The Interstate Commerce Commission denied the CSX Railroad’s request to abandon its line between Venedy and Woodlawn.

Enrollment figures showed 245 at Nashville Primary School, 279 at the Middle School and 527 at NCHS.

Gary Zimmerman and Beth Bourgeois collected a pickup truck-load of food for victims of Hurricane Andrew.

TV dinners were 99 cents and peanut butter was $1.49 at Save-A-Lot.

Deaths: Minnie Roethemeyer, 91, of Irvington; Lewis “Spike” Vogelpohl, 86, of Nashville; Raymond Adkins, 81, of Ashley; Ivan Whittenberg, 84, of Nashville; Philip Koesterer, 73, of Mascoutah; Robert Kerr, 90, of Cape Girardeau, MO; and Helen Miller, 63, of Goreville.

Births: Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Sottile (Vicky May) of Kirkwood, MO, a son; Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Deering (Crystal Kirgan) of Du Bois, a son; Christine Lester, a daughter; and Mr. and Mrs. Richard Sanders (Beverly Wagner), a son.

Twenty Years Ago
(1997)

Ground was broken for a $220,000 facility for Washington County Cooperative Extension Service.

After 37 years as a family business, Stan Stiegman announced his closing of his Shell service station.

Bobbi Smith was sworn in as postmaster in Hoyleton.

First National Bank of Woodlawn was robbed for the second time in less than a month, possibly by the same man.

The county’s unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, while the state average was 4.4 percent.

An open house was held for Sammi Jo, Matthew and Alyssa, triplets born to Cassie and Tim Schnitker.

The Derrick Restaurant offered a Sunday brunch for $5.75.

Deaths: Harold Connaway, 33, of Mt. Vernon; Leslie Tubbs, 82, of Hoyleton; and Lorvin Mattmiller, 90, of St. Charles, MO.

Wedding: Beth Kozuszek and Shawn Heape.

Births: Dean and Kerri (Adams) Huge of Nashville, a daughter; Steve and Mary (Liske) Klasing of Addieville, a daughter; and Joe and Jamie (Grafton) Jones of Richview, a son.

Fifteen Years Ago
(2002)

Enrollment in Washington County schools dropped by 36 to 2,798, with NCHS at 582 students and Nashville Grade School at 558.

Mark Ide was the new owner of Friendship Manor Health Center.

Okawville Village Board authorized a new village website at a cost of $1,522.

The first nine months of 2002 saw 25 inches of rain, four inches below normal.

Ground chuck was 99 cents a pound, and three 12-packs of soda cost $8.

Deaths: George Gundlach, 76, of Richview; Cornelius-Sieving, 76, of Nashville; Thomas Pokorney, 79, of Nashville; Fred Baltz, 87; Esther Nottmeyer, 79, of Hoffman; Stanley Andrews, 89, of Du Bois; and Opal Thompson, 83, of Pinckneyville.

Ten Years Ago
(2007)

The Nashville News was taken over by new owner Family Media, Inc., of Miami, OK, who purchased the paper from former owner Richard and Connie Tomaszewski.

Liz Emge was crowned the Nashville Community High School homecoming queen during the halftime of the previous Friday’s homecoming game.

Ground was broken for the Prairie State Energy Campus.

The Nashville Elementary School Board approved a balanced budget.

The Memorial Park Board approved installing raised parking curbs near the ball diamonds.

An auditor’s presentation at Washington County Hospital stated that they were headed in the right direction, with two consecutive profitable months.

A mission group from St. Paul’s United Church of Christ traveled to Biloxi, MS, to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Hornets runners won the Chester Invitational, while Hornettes Runners placed second.

The Nashville Middle School Junior Hornettes softball team advanced to the second round of the state tournament.

The Nashville Hornets Golf Team picked up a third place finish in the River-To-River Conference Tournament.

The St. Ann’s/Trinity St. John’s Softball team finished their season 11-4 overall, including a second place finish in the Region V Class S softball tournament.

At Holzhauer’s, a 2008 Ford Mustang was priced at $17,995, while a 2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser cost $10,995.

Kroger had Pepsi product 24 packs for $4.99 each, boneless pork loins for $1.99 per pound, Hen turkeys for $0.79 per pound, and Campbell’s Chunky Soups at 4 for $5.

Wedding: Jennifer Lynn Rapp and David James Rozhon.

Anniversary: Roger and Sara Hake of Nashville celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

Engagements: Ashley Mueller and Kyle Johnson; Brandi Bowdler and Nathaniel Wilkins; and Tiffany Maschoff and Kevin Hink.

Births: Sean Michael Abernathy Jr. was born to Sean Abernathy and Kaci Wreath of Nashville; Hanna Louise Schmidt was born to Dan and Rachel Schmidt of O’Fallon; Dana Renee Watkins was born to Joseph and Rebecca Watkins of Mt. Vernon; Avery Mae was born to Robert and Trisha Boehm of Mascoutah; and Rudra Kuja was born to Alicia Meier and Krishan Knoles of Flagstaff, AZ.

Deaths: Mary Marlene Coy, 68, of Nashville; Inez Franklin, 87, of Overland Park, KS, formerly of Nashville; Brian Ruppert, 35, of Orion, formerly of Coulterville; Helen Hutchings, 80, of Pinckneyville; Kathleen Ledwig, 88, of St. Charles, MO; David Sanders, infant son of Timothy and Tracy Sanders of Ashley; and Gladys Boester, 80, of Nashville.

Five Years Ago
(2012)

A line of violent storms blew through Washington County. A tornado was spotted in Okawville, sirens rang out in Nashville, and the still-under-construction home of Tyler and Angela Hackstadt was knocked over by high winds.

Washington County Hospital unveiled a new capital improvement plan, which included renovations to patient rooms and the nurses stations.

The Nashville Optimist Club held a chili cook off at NCHS, just before the Hornets football game versus Pinckneyville.

Birth: Brooklynn VanNatta was born on August 29 to Andrew and Kendra VanNatta of Nashville.

Society: Five generations of Sarah Jane Clark’s family gathered together; Michael A. Nikrant and Tammy S. Bruner announced their engagement; Andrew and Dorothy (Kasban) Lamczyk celebrated their 50th anniversary; Lindsey Greten and Darren Bailey were married on May 27; Nicole Ostendorf and Seth Swoboda were married on June 2.

Deaths: Vincent “Scotty” Hug, 71, of Centralia, September 26; Dorothy Mae (Hutchings) Frederking , 91, of Nashville, October 1; Deloris Kallas, 75, of Salem, formerly of the Radom/DuBois area, September 27; Elvira Louise Arnsmeyer Brown, known as Louise Brown, 96, formerly of Nashville, died April 28, laid to rest August 15; Fred John Schorfheide, 88, of Collinsville, born in Addieville, September 27; Thomas R. Leffner, 43, of DuBois, September 20; Sally (Liszewski) Delia, 77, of O’Fallon, Mo., September 8.