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 1880, the Highland Weekly News reported that Robert Stickney’s Big Show and Imperial Circus was coming to town by rail on Wednesday, July 14, featuring a monster menagerie, a world of wonders museum and senorita Evalitta Carriata’s flight into the clouds.
In news from Marshall, it was reported that Dr. Blair had been pretty busy with sickness in the area, and people were warned to be on the lookout for Mr. William Lewis’ “mad dog,” with the writer advising that the safest plan for anyone seeing a long-tailed, speckled hound named “Poor Tray” coming at them was to climb a tree and let the frothy-mouthed mongrel pass.
In police court, the paper reported that a man from Flat Run, described as “being half crazy,” was locked up and kept off the streets, three others were each charged with being drunk and disorderly and Marshall Willetts reported that Hillsboro was fairly quiet with the exception of a row at the Buckeye Saloon.
The new railroad schedule of the Columbus & Maysville railway showed that trains would run daily except Sunday, and on Columbus time, which was seven minutes faster than Cincinnati time, and four minutes faster than Hillsboro time.
This week in 1931, the Hillsboro News-Herald reported that citizens of the county enjoyed a fine program at the recent Chautauqua, describing the program of the Hillsboro Redpath Chautauqua as unusually good, with the lecture by Mrs. Adalin Macauley being most enjoyable.
Twenty-six Hillsboro Boy Scouts left by school bus for the nation’s capital, and were expected to spend 10 days sightseeing before being welcomed into the Oval Office of the White House to visit with President Herbert Hoover.
At Strain’s Market, a 12-pound bag of flour was 27 cents, hand-sliced breakfast bacon was 22 cents a pound, Jack Frost sugar in a 25-pound sack was $1.29 and a wide selection of candy bars were three for a dime.
Showing Friday and Saturday at the new Bell’s Theatre in Hillsboro was the submarine drama “The Seas Beneath” starring George O’Brien and Marion Lessing. Coming up Sunday through Tuesday was the romantic drama “Five and Ten” with Marion Davies and Leslie Howard.
Page six featured a four-picture spread entitled “Pictures and Story of Seven Caves, Beauty Spot of Highland County,” which had originally appeared in the previous week’s Columbus Dispatch.
It’s the car you’ve been waiting for, or so said the ad, for the new 1931 Plymouth, at Ramsden Auto Sales on West Main Street in Hillsboro. It was described as a free-wheeling car with hydraulic brakes and easy shift transmission, and was $535 delivered.
This week in 1963, the Hillsboro Press-Gazette reported “the muskies were getting husky,” and were closing in on state records at Rocky Fork Lake. Miamisburg angler Ray Saunders was pictured with a 30-pound, 4-ounce muskie that measured over 47 inches. The state record was 52 inches with a weight of 30 pounds, 6 ounces.
Delayed by rain after an early start, Highland County’s wheat harvest was well underway with a bumper crop forecast. One elevator operator was quoted as saying some averages were from 40 to 65 bushels per acre.
Town & Country Center Farm Bureau in Hillsboro had a neat way to beat the heat: free ice cream with the purchase of a freezer or refrigerator. Throughout the month of July, buyers received one-half gallon of free ice cream with each cubic foot capacity. For example, a 21-cubic foot chest freezer, which sold for $259, would get the buyer 10½ gallons of ice cream for free.
Six members of Hillboro’s Cub Scouts Den 1 paid a visit to the television studios of WLWT in Cincinnati to appear on Lt. Art Mehring’s children’s safety program “Signal Three.” One of the scouts, Kenneth LeFebvre, was chosen to do a live commercial for Partridge weiners.
Coming up for the weekend at the Colony Theatre was “Jason and the Argonauts” plus the biggest teen musical on earth “Just for Fun,” which featured Bobby Vee, The Crickets, Freddy “Boom-Boom” Cannon, Johnny Tillotson and The Tornados.
There was big triple feature showing at the Twi-Lite Drive-In, at the “Y” of U.S. 62 and SR 321, with Kirk Douglas starring in “Town Without Pity,” followed by Robert Mitchum and Jack Webb in “Last Time I Saw Paris.” To wrap up the early morning hours it was Brigette Bardot at her naughtiest in “La-Parisienne” with Charles Boyer.
This week in 1988, the Hillsboro Press-Gazette reported on an object that fell from the skies and punched a hole in the roof and ended up drilling an eight-inch hole in the ground at a home under construction near the Rocky Fork Golf and Tennis Center.
Old-fashioned days were underway at the Hillsboro Great Scot, with Coca-Cola products just 77 cents for a two-liter bottle, fresh made in store cole slaw was 79 cents a pound, Kahn’s hot dogs were 89 cents a pound package and Velvet natural flavor ice cream was 99 cents a half gallon.
Three Hillsboro-area girls took part in the 42nd Buckeye Girls State on the campus of Ashland College. Patricia Lerch, Stephanie Roush and Julie Stephan joined 1,300 other girls in learning about the functions of government.
Long-time postal worker Dick Wagner called it quits after 28 years in Hillsboro and nearly 31 total years with the U.S. Postal Service. Postmaster Wendell Harewood said Wagner’s plans were to retire and enjoy life at his residence on SR 124 with his wife Betty and daughter Rebecca.
Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.
