From Our Files
From Our Files
100 years – Sept. 6, 1923
In hiding since June 25, 1915, dodging here and there, dreading the sight of every officer, unable to communicate with friends and relatives, and with the dread restlessness and uncertainty that accompanies every fugitive, Jim Lawrence, who escaped from the Missouri Penitentiary, walked into town Sunday evening and surrendered himself to Sheriff Howell.
During the storm last Saturday morning, lightning struck the barn of J. L. Pogue, a prominent farmer of Oak Grove. Mr. Pogue had built a new barn in recent years, making the mistake of connecting it to the old one by means of a driveway. Both barns burned, also a crib. As the barns were full of hay, they burned so rapidly that very little was saved except the livestock.
One of the town’s famous landmarks, the White House Hotel, was totally destroyed by fire about 2 o’clock Tuesday morning. The structure was practically a mass of flames when the alarm was given and practically nothing of the furnishings was saved.
Despite a threatening day and occasional small dashes of rain which materially decreased the crowd, the Labor Day Picnic given by St. Michael’s Church was a distinct success, financially as well as socially.
75 years – Sept. 9, 1948
One of Fredericktown’s best known and most-beloved citizens, John L. Schulte, passed away last Sunday at his home on West Main Street following a comparatively short illness. He was 75 years of age.
Wednesday of last week was Grow Grass Day at the Ed Sanders farm on highway 70 west of Fredericktown and included in the activities of the day was the building of a pond. A portion of the crowd, estimated at 2,000 people, gathered on the bank of the demonstration to watch the bulldozer shaping the pond.
The strike at the St. Joseph Lead company properties throughout this area continued this week with no immediate relief in sight.
Sgt. George L. Montgomery of the Highway Patrol, formerly of Fredericktown, was cruising along the highway near Poplar Bluff last Thursday when he heard someone preaching. He fumbled with his radio equipment to bring it in clearer but it wasn’t there. The officer finally located the noise, a sound truck just behind his patrol car. He stopped the truck and found it contained three Arkasas-bound, Michigan evangelists. They had been enthusiastically discussing religion as they drove along the highway and didn’t know the sound equipment was turned on.
50 years –Sept. 6, 1973
Construction has begun on a $225,000 senior citizen housing project at Marquand. The project is being built east of the business district. The community non-profit organization will build five fourplex apartment buildings and a community activities building for the use of residents.
After more than 1,750,000 calls, The Democrat-New’s tele-news service has been temporarily halted. The phone news service is in Jefferson City for repairs and the service will be continued as soon as the machine is returned.
You press the middle valve down, the blood goes down and around and comes out here – in print out form and it tells your physicians if anything’s amiss in the analysis of your blood. This instrument –known to technicians as the SMA-12 Jr. – is an auto analyzer recently installed at Madison Memorial Hospital, the only “rural” hospital in Missouri to have such quality control of blood chemistry profiles. There are, of course, such machines in St. Louis, Cape Girardeau and Memphis.
Mrs. Ernest Wilkerson of Route 3, Fredericktown brought in two large vegetables from her garden. The cucumber measured 22 inches long, while the tomato weighed three and a half pounds.
25 years – Sept. 9, 1998
At approximately 4 a.m., Tuesday morning, firefighters from all over East Central Missouri responded to a blaze of the Little Tikes plant in Farmington. By 5 a.m., the fire had consumed much of the Little Tikes plant. The firefighters included the local departments, as well as those from St. Francois County, Washington County, Jefferson County, and St. Louis County. According to early reports, the fire started in the shipping department and moved to the manufacturing area. The skeleton crew on during Labor Day tried to put out the fire with fire extinguishers, but was unsuccessful. The cause of the fire was still undetermined at press time. Little Tikes employs approximately 700 people, including more than 150 from Madison County.
July 1, 1998, a historic restoration began in Fredericktown. The old railroad depot, owned by Paul Vance, began a project to restore the depot to its former magnificence and cornerstone of activity in the first developed part of Fredericktown, known as North Town.
The Fredericktown Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee selected the home of Wendell and Mindy Moore at 514 Newberry as the Yard of the Month for September. Second place went to Mr. and Mrs. England at 601 Newberry. Third was Rob and Missy Skaggs (314 E. College). Honorable mention was Barbara Sargent (507 S. Mine La Motte).
Fredericktown Chamber of Commerce held a Ribbon Cutting, Friday, the first day of business for Advanced Design Florists and Gifts (125 East Main).
