Editor’s note — We’re continuing our tradition of taking a look back each Saturday at some of the important, interesting or even odd events as they were reported during the same week throughout the years, along with interesting advertising features from back in the day.
This week in 1877, the Highland Weekly News reported on an impending railroad crisis, with the fate of the Columbus & Maysville Railroad resting on whether an additional $23,000 could be raised to authorize construction. The paper reported it would take a total of $65,000 to build the railway from Hillsboro to Sardinia.
In news from Pricetown, rain was needed with the corn and late potatoes cut short, corn estimated at half crop, and other crops reported to be doing well with plenty of apples and pears on the trees.
A Grand Temperance Picnic was scheduled for the following week at the Rose Bush School House, in Calvin Spence’s grove, six miles northeast of Hillsboro. Prominent speakers from Hillsboro, Greenfield, Leesburg and other places were to be in attendance.
The Danville baseball club was to have played the Highland team, but Highland failed to show, with the paper reporting Danville “revenged themselves” for the disappointment by playing the “77’s,” a junior club recently organized, by a score of 38-4.
Spargur Bros. announced a grand closing sale, with tremendous markdowns for the next 60 days on dress goods, cassimeres, cottonades, fancy goods, shoes, hats and more, at their store in the first floor of the Masonic Temple.
A late night fire on Saturday caused $2,300 damage to a large barn owned by Col. William Trimble at his residence on the east side of Hillsboro. The structure was a total loss and had no insurance to cover damages, and though fireman were on the scene within minutes with their steamer fire engine, they could do nothing for a lack of water.
This week in 1934, the Greenfield Republican reported a Wilmington man who escaped from the Clinton County Jail two weeks prior bumped into the wrong guy on Olive Street in Greenfield when Marshal Homer Cherry slapped the cuffs on William Morris. He was taken to the Greenfield jail.
The local Howitzer company, part of the 147th Ohio National Guard unit stationed in Greenfield, returned after a two-week shoot-em-up at Camp Perry on the shores of Lake Erie, with the company given the highest rating for both preparedness and accuracy of any Howitzer company in the state.
At Kroger in Greenfield, a 25-pound sack of cane sugar was $1.09, a pound can of Jewel coffee was 19 cents, Campbell’s pork and beans were four cans for 17 cents, and a bar of Ivory soap was a nickel.
A sixth anniversary sale was underway at the Greenfield Furniture Co., with a three-piece bedroom suite for $39.96, a three-piece mohair living room suite at $54.56, and for the dining room an eight-piece suite was $49.96.
At the Fayette Theatre, Joan Blondell and Stuart Erwin were starring in “Make Me a Star,” with Marion Nixon and Ralph Bellamy appearing in “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” the following week.
This week in 1955, the Hillsboro Press-Gazette, in a headline, stated “Mowrystown Druggist Charged on Two Dope Counts Thursday.” Joseph Carl pleaded innocent to two charges of selling morphine tablets to a Ross County physician, and was released on $2,000 bond.
The 1955 draft quota for Highland County was five and the five men chosen by Selective Service were ordered to report for induction on Sept. 6.
What would now be classified as distracted driving nearly cost a 25-year old Hagerstown, Md. his life when he wrecked his 1949 Buick on U.S. Route 50 east of Boston. The state highway patrol reported that Robert Rubisill was eastbound and was reading a road map when his car went off the road and hit a guardrail, demolishing the car and damaging 30-feet of guardrail.
Charges of shooting with the intent to kill were filed against a Hillsboro man for allegedly coming home drunk, suspecting his wife of seeing another man, and upon finding the house locked, he broke a window to gain entry. He and his wife argued and fought over the gun, with it going off and hitting her in the chest and collarbone. She was reportedly slightly improved at Highlands Community Hospital while he was in the Highland County Jail.
It was back to school time at Kaufman’s Bargain Store in Hillsboro, with boys sport shirts 97 cents, gym shoes for boys and girls for $1.98 to $5.98, and overall pants in size four to 14 $1.19 each or two pair for $2.25.
On the back to school note, the Highland County school districts reported they expected 6,626 students to enroll for the 1955-56 school year, a big increase over 1954 figures. School was scheduled to start Sept. 6.
Nolan’s Radio Service, next to the theatre in Hillsboro, reminded everyone that it did repair on TVs and radios, plus small appliances and electric clocks, and only used RCA and Sylvania tubes.
Showing at the Colony Theatre was Walt Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp,” the first cartoon feature filmed in cinemascope, with admission for adults of 65 cents and children 25 cents.
This week in 1982, the Hillsboro Press-Gazette reported on a new law raising the drinking age in Ohio to 19 was taking effect, with 18-year-olds no longer able to buy 3.2 percent beer.
The paper showed a picture of 18-year old Melinda Forsythe of Sardinia, the 1978 Grand Champion Steer winner at the Ohio State Fair, with her Reserve Champion Steer at the 1982 fair.
Hillsboro Dry Goods was going out of business with a big moonlight sale. Everything in the store was marked down, but during the special three-hour sale, shoppers could take an additional 10 percent off their purchase.
The Hillsboro High School class of 1927 came from far and wide for a 55th anniversary reunion at the Elks Club. Fourteen members responded to the class roll with fascinating facts about their lives since graduation.
Radio Shack invited customers to get started in home computing with a TRS-80 home computer for $999. The system came complete with keyboard, monitor and a 16-kilobyte memory.
A teenager from Milford was seriously injured in a car-pedestrian accident on U.S. Route 62 south when he chased a cat across the busy highway. The 15-year old boy was taken to Highland District Hospital and later transferred to Bethesda Hospital with head injuries and compound fractures to both legs.
There was no postseason play for the Cincinnati Reds as the Major League standings had them solidly in last place in the National League West Division, 23 games behind the first-place Dodgers.
Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.
