It Happened Here – December 20, 2017

Eighty Years Ago
(1937)

Washington County Clerk John H. Hawkins, 69, announced his retirement at the end of the current term after 30 years in the County Clerk’s office. Treasurer Paul Johnson announced he would be a Republican candidate to succeed Hawkins as County Clerk.

The Nashville American Legion Post bought the property of the late Lizzie Meyer east of the City Hall at public auction for $760.

Frank J. Glenn, principal of Oakdale High School, was seriously injured in an auto accident near Lively Grove.

Two parish buildings at the Catholic Church in Radom were burglarized.

A 14-year-old Nashville boy was caught attempting to retrieve $500 ransom which he had demanded from Dr. F. W. Schroeder.

Deaths: William C. Lorenz, 51, a native of Nashville; Lena Carter, 42, a native of Du Bois; and Frank Shelton, formerly of Nashville.

Seventy-Five Years Ago
(1942)

Sylvester Felts of Du Bois was seriously injured in a rock fall at the Nashville coal mine.

Deaths: Henry W. Sachtleben, 73, of rural New Minden; Veva Brandon, formerly of Nashville; and Emma Windmoeller, formerly of Okawville.

Seventy Years Ago
(1947)

A 20-year-old Mt. Vernon woman was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in her auto east of Ashley.

Other deaths: Albert Schlueter of Nashville; Adam Andrews of Du Bois; Mrs. Henry Sprehe of New Minden; Carl Kerg of Coulterville; William Brun of Hoffman; and Roger Kleiboeker, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Kleiboeker of Wentworth, Missouri.

Sixty-Five Years Ago
(1952)

Fire had destroyed some 2,675 acres of land in Washington County with an estimated loss of $15,000.

A 14-ounce bottle of catsup was 19 cents and pork sausage was 25 cents a pound at the local Daniel Food Store.

Deaths: Henry C. Roethemeyer, 81, of Little Prairie; Olga Doelling, 56, of Addieville; Mrs. Amos Lynch, 52, of Nashville; and John Andrews, 75, of Du Bois.

Sixty Years Ago
(1957)

Tornadoes near Ashley and Du Bois resulted in considerable property damage. No one was injured.

Illinois Power asked for a rate increase to $1.30 per kilowatt hour for the first 17 kilowatts, an increase of 30 percent.

Fire destroyed the office, service station and restaurant of the Turner Motel, five miles east of Ashley.

Two one-pound packages of brown or powdered sugar were 29 cents and bananas were two pounds for 25 cents.

Deaths: James Renwick Piper, 88, of Oakdale; Albert J. Renken, 54, of Addieville; Henry Mueller, 78, a native of Okawville; and Eliza Jane Hendricks, 92, a native of Washington County.

Fifty-Five Years Ago
(1962)

Mrs. Noreta O’Dell of Centralia won the prize for the first birth at the new Washington County Hospital in Nashville. She had a nine-pound son.

Mrs. Joseph Masch of Chester Street in Nashville gave birth to a son at her home without the aid of a physician or anyone else.

Out of county subscription rates for The Nashville News were raised to $3 per year.

A large turkey shattered the windshield of an auto being driven by Mr. and Mrs. E. J. Boeschen while on Route 460 between Ashley and Mt. Vernon.

A six-room house in Addieville sold for $85 at public auction.

Deaths: Louis Zelasko, 57, of rural Tamaroa; Stephen F. Hodapp, 70, of Beckemeyer; Farrell L. Robinson, 39, a native of Ashley; and George Jones of Hoyleton.

Fifty Years Ago
(1967)

An epidemic of bronchitis and chicken pox was cutting into attendance at the local elementary school

Turkeys were 29 cents a pound and hams were 49 cents a pound at the Bracy Food Store.

Deaths: Cecil L. Habbe, 45, of Nashville; Mildred L. (Peithmann) Campbell, 61, of Nashville; Oscar Gilbert, 68, of Nashville; Ella (Nolte) Flaxbeard, 69, a native of Nashville; Laura C. Schmidt) Gaege, 83, formerly of Addieville; Bertha L. (Prange) Frank, 89, of Okawville; and Henry Knecht, 72, of Marissa.

Forty-Five Years Ago
(1972)

An ice storm closed schools throughout Washington County and postponed the annual Okawville/Nashville High School basketball game.
Melburn Rehmus of Du Bois and Herbert Lake of Oakdale were injured in separate corn picker accidents.

Twenty-four deer were killed in the second half of the Washington County deer season, bringing the year’s total to 99.

Men’s suits were $95 each and sports coats were $39.99 and up at Diedrichs Department Store in Nashville.

Deaths: Oliver W. Vernon, 75, formerly of Nashville; Rowley S. McCoy, 58, of Stookey Township; Anthony Vincent Majewski, 67, of Du Bois; Phillip H. Ray, 60, of Denver, Colorado; Ralph William “Tiny” Joellenbeck, 41, of Okawville; Katheryn Sensel, 91, of Ashley; Gertrude Mozelewski, 75, of Nashville; Minnie Johnson, 86, of Hoyleton; Ethan M. Wilson, 68, of Du Bois; Emma Elizabeth Beck, 76, of Pinckneyville; Emma L. Beckmeyer, 85, of Hoyleton; James A. Hake, 58, a native of Nashville; Earl H. Burges, 73, a native of St. Libory; Minnie Schmale, 85, of Hoyleton; and Stanley Zelasko, 70, of rural Tamaroa.

Forty Years Ago
(1977)

A lone gunman, armed with a sawed-off shotgun, held up the Old Exchange National Bank in Okawville and escaped with $4,400.

The Washington County Board granted a 25 cents per hour pay raise to all county personnel.

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Adams sold the roller rink in Nashville to Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Leonard.

A fire at the Alfred Unverfehrt farm southwest of Okawville killed 750 swine.

Fire damaged the Scheller farm home of Edwin Gajewski with a loss of $5,000.

Washington County’s deer kill during the annual season was 156.

A Holland and Richard Kendall of Harrisburg leased the Timbers Restaurant in Nashville from A. W. Hutchings.

Deaths: Lawrence W. Winkelmann, 60, of rural Okawville; Viola Mabel McClain, 84, of Nashville; Edward E. “Jiggs” Weston, 55, of Anna; William Roethemeyer of Nashville; John Wyciskalla, 63, formerly of Scheller; Ben Poleski, 80, formerly of Nashville; Doris Dixie Jahnke, 50, formerly of Woodlawn; Melissa R. Fox, 85, of rural Marissa; Freida R. Fulton, 77, of Tilden; Elisa Schnickedanz, 95, of Lenzburg; and Gergard M. “Tony” Toennis, 57, of Germantown.

Weddings: Betty Stein of Okawville and Mark Pennington of Centralia; Brenda Renth of Mascoutah and Dave Owen of Fairview Heights; Becky Lee Doelling of Nashville and Scott Joellenbeck of Okawville; Veronica Damazyn of Du Bois and Robert Forys of Nashville; Nancy Elaine Bardle of rural Hoyleton and Kenneth Ray Fechtler of Centralia; and Barbara Steward Schuckman and Thomas Rogers, both of New York.

Thirty-Five Years Ago
(1982)

Ruth Hambleton was named Washington County Cooperative Extension Agriculture Advisor.

Harvey Cramer won the Nashville Jaycees’ Christmas lighting contest.

Gary Decker and his wife, Donna, were abducted from a St. Louis, Missouri, shopping center. Their bodies were found the next day in East St. Louis. The two had been shot. Decker was the grandson of Vernon Decker of Nashville.

Hams were $1.79 a pound and fresh turkey was 88 cents a pound at the local Kroger store.

Deaths: Annastasia (Steiger) Bridges, 85, of Okawville; Harold “Skeeter” Miller, 57, a native of Du Bois; Geneva (Burris) Kugler, 82, of Okawville; Nora (Fullerton) McPherson, 95, of Nashville; Shawn Jeffrey Taylor, eight, of rural Okawville; Emilie (Hussmann) Holle, 86, of Hoyleton; and Leona Christine (Kurtz) Hester, 60, a native of Du Bois.

Wedding: Janet C. Bowers of Chesterfield, Missouri, and William M. Hubbard of Catawissa, Missouri.

Thirty Years Ago
(1987)

BCMW had readied 220 Christmas baskets for the County’s needy families.

Deaths: Joseph P. Polczynski, 80, a native of rural Nashville; Emil Arthur Koch, 90, of rural Centralia; Clara Eloise (Harmon) Burt, 68, of Tilden; Ralph J. Shreeman, 69, of Oakdale; Elmer F. Brockmann, 73, of Venedy; James E. Ratajczyk, 62 of rural Scheller; Marilyn R. Hagebusch, 57, of Belleville; Ben A. Woesthaus, 77, of Belleville; Jesse Miller Sr., 77, of Centralia; Reinhold “Hap” K. Lohrmann, 79, of St. Louis, Missouri; Minnie Wessel, 86, of Nashville; and Alyssa Mauren Guenther, eight-month-old daughter of Gregory and Karen Guenther of Fenton, Missouri.

Weddings: Sandra Kay Backs of St. Louis, Missouri, and Richard Phillip Moran of Manteno; and Margaret Mary Brisk of Melleville and Steven Gerard Wienstroer of Lively Grove.

Births: Mr. and Mrs. Mike Schaeffer (MaryAnn Vollmer) of Nashville, a son; Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Harre (Mary Ostendorf) of rural Nashville, a daughter, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Geimer (Joyce Agnew) of rural Nashville, a daughter.

Twenty-Five Years Ago
(1992)

The Arthur J. Lager Monument Co. of Breese purchased the Nashville Memorial Company and the Campbell Paint and Wallpaper Store from Bob and Lois Voelkel.

The Okawville Super 8 Motel offered free lodging on Christmas Eve to anyone visiting a friend or a relative in a nursing home or hospital.

Washington County hunters took 1,083 deer during the two weekends of the season.

The Hornettes, under Coach Dave Fischer, took second in the Kaskaskia Invitational Tournament.

A 20-inch gas range cost $299 and an electric model was $349 at J&R Appliances.

Deaths: Raymond Woker, 81, of New Minden; Robert Duckworth, 48, of Tamaroa; Marguerite Helbig, 70, of Oakdale; Bishop William Cosgrove, 76, former head of the Belleville Diocese; Harold Johnson, 53, of Centralia; John Wham, 90, of Centralia; Harold Mueller, 68, of Okawville; Georgine Kottmeyer, 45, of Shattuc; Chester G. Baugh, 69, of St. Libory.

Weddings: Susan Mathilda Kellerman and Steven Leroy Vickery; Melissa Rolf and Mark Bockman.

Twenty Years Ago
(1997)

Ron Orgzewalla’s countless hours of community service were recognized when he was named Nashville Citizen of the Year.

Dr. Corinne Rao began practicing at Family Medical Center.

The Girolamo family added a restaurant in Mascoutah to its chain of Italian eateries that include Nashville, Centralia, Pinckneyville, Herrin and West Frankfort.

Hunters tagged 366 deer in the second season, bringing the total to 1,173.

A 27-inch color TV was $349 and a four-head VCR was $259 at J&R Appliances.

Deaths: Edward Povolish, 63, of New Minden; Constance Pierjok, 102, of Nashville; William Hiller, 66, of Nashville; Rev. Harold Dude, 90, of Nashville; Wilma Udarholt, 86, of Ashley; Casimir Pranga, 68, of Oswego; Dallas Berry, infant son of Tony Berry of Centralia and Kim Coy of Irvington; Ruth Czajkowski, 73, of Lebanon, Missouri; Weiland Miller, 83, of Mascoutah; Elizabeth Bruce, 92, of Fort Meyers, Florida.

Wedding: Tina Jozwiak and James Dunn III; Sarah Stiegman and Derek Paszkiewicz.

Births: Mr. and Mrs. Todd Hoepker of Apopka, Florida, a son; Dale Peper and Michele Butler of Hoyleton, a daughter.

Fifteen Years Ago
(2002)

Dr. Ken Hill was named Citizen of the Year, saying community service is a part of his job as superintendent of Nashville Community High School District 99.
Andrew Chambers rehabilitated Santa’s House as an Eagle Scout project.

Mark Hale, commander of the Sons of the American Legion, presented a donation to Keith Curran, director of Washington County Vocational Workshop.

Hunters took 495 deer during the second season for a total of 1,605. Over 102,000 whitetails were tagged statewide.

A ribbon was cut at the new location of LA Hair, owned by Angie Dunbar and Linda Schultz.

Hams were $1.99 a pound and pork loins were $2.49 a pound.

Deaths: Lorraine Seavey, 75, of Belleville; Elma Heggemeier, 92, of Okawville; Regina Niedbalski, 89, of St. Louis; Leroy “Bud” Erlinger, 82, of Carlyle; Loraine C. Finke, 87, of New Minden; Sophie Jedlicka, 92, of St. Louis; Ruth Long, 95, of Centralia; Helen Schnake, 84, of Hoyleton; Wilma Dreas, 72, of Caseyville; Sadie Wisniewski, 90, of Bethalto; Donald Baker, 77, of Sun City, Florida.

Wedding: Christy Rees and Matthew Jerome.

Birth: Lincoln and Kellie Woodrome of Mt. Vernon, a daughter.

Ten Years Ago
(2007)

Nashville Community High School was locked down after a threat allegedly connected to student Christopher Sharp forced law enforcement to secure the building. Gerry Boeschen was named Citizen Of The Year by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce.

Births: Sean David Jansen was born to David and Dana Jansen of Plainfield on December 12. Aiden James Spenner was born to Jared and Ashleigh Spenner on December 1. Courtney Christine Riechman was born to Corey Riechman and Larissa Grimes of Ashley on December 10. Ella Marie Neitzel was born to Roger and Debra Neitzel on November 2.

Deaths: Robert W. Reidelberger, 77, of Tamaroa, died on December 16. Marie Meyer, 79, of rural Venedy, died on December 11. Joann Tiemann, 76, of Sparta, died on December 10. Billy Gay, 63, of Richview, died on December 16.

Five Years Ago
(2012)

Trinity–St. John School students stand by as Dan Heggemeier of the Nashville Lions Club hands free movie passes to teacher’s aide Jamie Davis. The Lions gave out passes to the movies for students from first to eighth grade at all three Nashville School: T-SJ, St. Ann’s, and Nashville Elementary. The passes would be enjoyable for the children and would benefit a local business, The State Theater in Nashville.

The Washington County Board met for their December meeting. This was the first regular meeting for the Board’s four newly elected members, including Eric Brammeier, Paul Todd, Leo Barczewski, and Dave Ibendahl. This meeting also was when Board members drew lots to decide who would have two year and four year terms.

By July of 2013, many United States lighting manufacturers will cease production of T12 bulbs and fixtures to comply with new Department of Energy guidelines.

The Washington County Treasurer’s Office made a partial Real Estate Tax distribution to the taxing districts on December 14, 2012. The total of the distribution was $9,101,470.00 which is approximately 50-percent of the total to be collected. Distributions of $7,280,421.00 were made earlier to the taxing districts which was approximately

40-percent of the total to be collected. The total collection to date is about 95-percent of the total of $18,204,005.08.

Hornets beat Carterville and Benton. Hornettes remain unbeaten.

Weddings: Dana Fischer and Eric Mammoser, October 27, 2012

Births: John and Jenny Wienstroer, of Woodland Calif, a son; Kevin and Stacy Cottom, of Ashley, a daughter.

Deaths: Arleen Meller, 78, of Nashville, Frederick Harrl Beatty, 83, of Nashville.

December 12, 2012
(Five Years Ago)

Musicians of Nashville Community High School helped to ring, sing, and play in the Holiday season this past Sunday afternoon for the school’s annual holiday concert, held at 2 p.m. in Assembly Hall.

The Nashville City Council unanimously approved an ordinance at the December 6 meeting which allows the legal use of golf carts or “low speed vehicles” on city streets, barring State Routes 15 and 127.

The Nashville City Council met for their regular monthly meeting on December 6, when they approved the purchase of a used back jetter truck, and approved a bid to modernize lighting in city building’s to be more energy efficient.

Hornettes reel off three straight wins. Hornets split against Gibault and Sparta.

Weddings: Lara Thompson and Scott Wojtowicz married September 29, 2012

Deaths: John M. Kujawa, 46, of Ashley; Sharon L. Jasper, 61, of Okawville