The World’s Fair, runaway car and Lynchburg protests

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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 1904, the Hillsboro Gazette reported that the cornerstone of the First Baptist Church had been laid a month prior on June 4, with exercises “appropriate for the occasion.”

The Hillsboro baseball team won two games at the fairgrounds, defeating Lynchburg 8-1 and New Vienna 5-1.

The Hotel Kramer, J.B. Carlisle, proprietor, advertised rooms to rent at $1 to $1.50 a day, at the flop house on West Main Street in Hillsboro.

It was advertised as the “World’s Fair Route,” and one could board a train in Hillsboro and take in the St. Louis World’s Fair on the Baltimore & Ohio line. Season tickets were $17.50, 60-day tickets were $14.50, 15-day tickets were $13 and coach was $9.50 roundtrip. Trains left Hillsboro at 7:50 a.m. with arrival in St. Louis at 8:30 p.m.

At the New Cash Grocery, formerly Co-operative Supply Co., fancy New York cream cheese was 14 cents a pound, breakfast bacon was 10 to 15 cents a pound, and coal oil for lamps was 13 cents a gallon.

This week in 1940, the Hillsboro Press-Gazette reported that during the services held a month earlier for Memorial Day, a pair of veterans of the War Between the States were guests of honor. Mr. Garrett, 93, Belfast and Mr. Chestnut, 98, New Market.

Assistant Hillsboro postmaster Perry McCoppin narrowly escaped injury when a car jumped the curb and smashed into the building and through a plate glass window. Mildred Morgan, the owner of the 1940 Buick, said she was still trying to learn how to drive with a clutch.

At the Colony Theatre, Ann Sheridan was starring in “It All Came True.” Thursday was Family Day with all seats just a dime with Noah Beery Jr. in “Passport to Alcatraz” along with chapter three of “Terry and the Pirates.” Coming Sunday was Irene Dunn and Cary Grant in “My Favorite Wife.”

A total of 44 new passenger cars and trucks moved off dealer’s lots in May. Ford and Studebaker led the list of Highland County purchases, with Chrysler a close third.

A new Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp had opened on the Shaw Bros. farm between Hillsboro and Samantha on U.S. 62. More than 125 veterans of World War I were in the camp.

In the 1940 census, Hillsboro gained 672 persons in the past 10 years, with the county population growing by 1,666 since 1930. Hillsboro was still a village at 4,712 people, while Highland County’s population stood at 27,082.

This week in 1956, the Hillsboro Press-Gazette reported that a big crowd was at Rocky Fork Lake State Park for the Fourth of July weekend, with an estimated 20,000 people enjoying the fun and sun.

A preliminary sketch was on the front page of the eight permanent, new buildings that were planned for the Highland County Fairgrounds.

The new Bobb Bros. mill was completed at Leesburg with the facility set to open on July 11. The new bins were 105 feet tall and were located on the site of the old Dewey Bros. grain elevator which was destroyed by fire on Nov. 2, 1952.

At the Colony Theatre, they were described as “Rich! Spoiled! Beautiful!” They were “Three Bad Sisters,” starring Marla English, Kathleen Hughes and Sara Shane.

At Steen’s IGA, instant coffee was 99 cents for a six-ounce jar, two cans of Autumn Queen pork and beans were 35 cents, and a carton of cigarettes, all brands, was $2.02.

G.C. Murphy’s was “the family store with so much more,” and their weekend specials included colorful Parakeets for $1.29 each, and a three-speed portable record player that was sale priced at $19.99.

There was to be a new sound on the radio dial. WSRW was set to go on the air on July 15 from sunrise to sunset every day featuring music, news and sports.

This week in 1985, the Hillsboro Press-Gazette invited everyone to celebrate “the long anticipated, first ever Festival of the Bells,” scheduled for July 4-6 in Hillsboro.

A C.S. Bell No. 1 farm bell was going to be given away during the new celebration, and it was on display in the window of Gordon’s Auto Supply in Hillsboro. During the Saturday evening festival parade, WCPO’s Uncle Al and Captain Windy would be riding on the First Security Bank float.

A temporary restraining order was granted against Mowrystown Grain, Inc. after it was discovered the company had a net worth deficit of $90,000.

The latest James Bond thriller “A View to a Kill” was showing at the Colony Theatre, with Steven Spielberg’s “The Goonies” coming the following Wednesday.

A summer sale was underway at the Hillsboro Radio Shack, where programmable cordless phones with a 16-number auto dialer were $89.95, and Beta L-750 or VHS T-120 videocassettes were $6.88 each.

“Waterless” Lynchburg was in an uproar after suffering water supply problems due to a dispute between the village and the Highland County Water Company, coupled with the town’s lake of stored water. Some residents staged a protest march, holding signs and demanding water service.

Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.

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A look back at news and advertising items through the years

By Tim Colliver

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