From Our Files-Week of Sept. 13
From Our Files
100 years – Sept. 13, 1923
Through the explosion of an oil cooking stove, Henry Stortz and family lost their home and practically all their clothing and furniture last Saturday afternoon. The home is located immediately south of the College dormitory. The explosion had no more than occurred when the whole kitchen and rear part of the house was a mass of flames.
The enrollment in the four upper grades of the High School is now 198, decidedly larger than last year at this time.
A great many people locally observed the eclipse of the sun Monday afternoon of this week. It was one of the prettiest eclipses observed here for many years, a large section of the surface being hidden and the clear day making observation easy. Several of the older people remember the total eclipse of the sun in 1869. About two o’clock in the afternoon, so they say, it got dark almost suddenly. Stars could be seen as though on a clear night. Cows came in, dogs sensed something wrong and barked, chickens went to roost, and a great many people believed the end of the world had come. That is the last total eclipse visible in the Mississippi Valley.
Numerous visitors to Fredericktown comment on the beautiful flowers and well-kept grounds around the Fulkerson Bros. filling station.
75 years – Sept. 16, 1948
“Red” Schoendiest, Pete Reiser, Yogi Berra, and a team of other major and minor league players will play in the last game of the local baseball season at Memorial Park on October 18 when they meet the Fredericktown Boosters. The barn-storming team made a similar appearance at Farmington’s lighted field last year and played to a capacity crowd. Other players expected in the lineup are Joe, Elmer and Julius Schoendiest, Chuck Diering, Joe Gargagiola, and pitcher Kurt Krieger of Columbus and Joe Linneman, another minor league player.
It became generally known this week that Everett Osborne, for many years with Sterling Ivy’s Men’s Store, will soon open a men’s store of his own. It will be located in the new building across the street from the Wayland Motor Co.
A restraining order was issued this morning by Judge Houser against the mass picketing at the Mine La Motte properties of the St. Joseph Lead Co. Several hundred men are lining the streets of Fredericktown awaiting an order to return to work.
A meeting of the school boards of all the districts in Madison County last Thursday morning resulted in a six-man Madison County Board of Education being formed.
50 years –Sept. 11, 1973
Much of the City Council’s time Monday night was spent in reading and listening to various ordinances that were brought up for consideration. At the conclusion of a very heavy agenda, the Council adopted several ordinances and began annexation procedures of approximately 80 acres of land east of town, including the land for the proposed new Brown Shoe plant and the site for the proposed R-I High School.
The Retail Merchant’s Assn. has embarked on a three-year program to replace the present Christmas decorations for the downtown area. It is estimated it will take $1,700 to replace defective lights for this year.
It took four times, but the residents of R-I School District Tuesday approved a $1,250,000 bond issue for the construction of a new senior high school. The total vote totals were 1,424 for to 619 against.
Miss Susan Wilson currently has approximately 20 girls enrolled in twirling classes that are taught on Saturdays at Fredericktown High School. It is the hope of many of these young girls to one day march in front of the FHS band, like their instructor.
25 years – Sept. 16, 1998
The council began annex procedures of 47.18 acres owned by the Robert E. Green Marital Trust, as well as portions of State Highway Z, Highway 72, U.S. 67 and business 67. Mayor Phil Wulfert assured the City’s only intention at this time is to annex the highway property. “This annexation includes no private property,” Wulfert said.
Greg and Tammy Edwards lost their home on Madison County Road 401, due to a fire, Tuesday morning, September 15. The fire started in their nine-year-old daughter Lisa’s room and destroyed everything in her room and her brother Josh’s, 11, room.