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 1900, The Hillsboro Press-Gazette reported that another chapter in the Carl Hirn case had come to a close when the defendant was sentenced to nine years in the Ohio Penitentiary. He had been convicted in early December of manslaughter.
Kaufmann & Baer on West Main Street in Hillsboro advertised that “Rock and Rye was good for coughs, croup and colds,” and was so delicate that children could use it without danger. The store also boasted of having the leading brands of hard whiskey like Lynchburg, Old Hollyhock, Oscar Pepper and Rocky Fork.
A new grocery opened in the Masonic Temple building, featuring a fine line of staple and fancy groceries. Some of the items on sale at years’ end included fancy New Orleans molasses for 45 cents a gallon jug, canned corn for 7 cents a can and fancy new mackerel, just 9 cents a can or three for a quarter.
Three fires in two days was a record as the year came to a close, with prompt action of the fire department keeping things from getting out of control. First was a fire in the summer kitchen at a home on Hazel Street, followed by another house fire in the evening on Reece Corner. The next day another house caught fire on High Street. All three blazes were said to have been caused by a defective flue in the fireplace.
This week in 1940, the Hillsboro Press-Gazette reported that a Harriett man escaped injury when his car struck a bridge railing north of Hillsboro on SR 73. The man was returning from Detroit, where he had spent Christmas at the home of his daughter.
A rare albino raccoon was the reward of some late night hunters in the Hardins Creek area. The local game warden told the paper that he had seen only three other albino raccoons in the past year and “these freak specimens are of less value than the regular raccoon.”
The Hillsboro A & P Food Store wished everyone a Merry Christmas, and holiday specials included 8 O’ Clock coffee, the 3-pound bag only 37 cents, soft twist A & P bread was three loaves for 23 cents and Yukon Club ginger ale in a three quart bottle was ready for Christmas party drink mixing for only a quarter.
A Greenfield man was sorely embarrassed when a little woman confronted him after finding a greeting card she told him to mail to an ailing friend … nine years before. She told The Press-Gazette she found the card when she was preparing to cut up his old coat for carpet rags. He said he remembered placing it in his pocket on his way to work, then promptly forgot about it.
The Hillsboro Business Men’s Association retail merchants division wished everyone a Merry Christmas, encouraging all to visit the downtown Hillsboro merchants during the holiday season and in the new year.
This week in 1980, the Hillsboro Press-Gazette reported that first-year teachers in the Hillsboro City School District would earn a starting salary of $10,800 a year. The board of education unanimously approved a $600 raise for new teachers effective Jan. 1, 1981.
The unemployment rate in Highland County narrowly missed being in double digits. The number of jobless held steady at 9.8 percent with the number expected to increase in the new year due to rising interest rates and a worsening recession.
At the snack bar inside G.C. Murphy’s in the Highland Plaza Shopping Center, the soup and sandwich special was just $1.57, and the afternoon feature was chocolate brownie shortcake for 79 cents. The offer was good through Jan. 4, 1981.
At Jerry Haag Motors, a $300 rebate was being offered on the purchase of a new ’81 Chevy Chevette. The little car that “would drive you happy” could be financed for 48 months at 16 percent interest.
This week in 2000, The Times-Gazette reported that in the Kroger Holiday Classic, a last-second shot sank McClain High School’s hopes in the basketball final. Madison-Plains foiled the Tigers’ hopes for a three-peat by a score of 46-45, hitting the game-winning bucket with only two seconds left on the clock.
Meanwhile, Miami Trace handed Hillsboro a 69-47 defeat, with the Indians’ record slipping to 3-4 in the new season.
Greenfield’s Jenna Free was told she could make the short drive from the campus of Ohio State University to the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association Convention in Columbus to compete for the title of Ohio Beef Queen. Free was the current Highland County Beef Queen and would contend with 21 other queens from across the state on Jan. 6.
Reach Tim Colliver at 937-402-2571.
