News compiled by Ginny Leap from past issues of
Switzerland County newspapers.
10 YEARS AGO
Two Switzerland County sisters and their husbands will hold a joint celebration of both couples 50th wedding anniversaries on Saturday, June 23rd. James Brown and Marjorie Brindley exchanged wedding vows on June 15th, 1951, in Uniontown, Indiana, with Reverend Walter Mosley officiating. Less than one month later, Lewis Rucker and Ruth Brindley were married on July 3rd, 1951, at the chapel at Camp Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Chaplain Chalman presided over the ceremony. A reception honoring both couples will be held Saturday, June 23rd, at Brushy Fork Baptist Church near Pleasant.
Gayle and Alma Boldery of Milton, Kentucky, will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary on Saturday, June 23rd. The couple was married on June 23rd, 1961, in Milton, Kentucky. Gayle Boldery retired from the U.S. Shoe Corporation, and now farms. Alma Johnson Boldery works at Milton Elementary School. A reception hosted by the children will be held Saturday, June 23rd, at the Milton Firehouse.
20 YEARS AGO
Diana L. Keith of Vevay received her Masters of Social Work degree from the Indiana University School of Social Work on May 12th. She is currently employed as a staff therapist with Lifespring Mental Health Center at their Scott County office.
Lewis and Ruth Rucker will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary July 3rd.
Trooper Stanley B. Tressler of Vevay, was presented an Indiana State Police Silver Star Award recently for heroic action taken in helping to rescue the driver of a tractor-trailer which had crashed and was on fire.
30 YEARS AGO
Ben Macrander, 70, has set tobacco for the last 64 years, and what he says he enjoys most about tobacco is “smokin’ and chewin’ it.”
The winner of the recent Switzerland County 4-H Fair Board horse pull was a team owned by Herb Gilkison of Versailles, Kentucky, driven by Bobby Steel. The Gilkison team set a new record, pulling 3,950 pounds, 27 1/2 feet.
40 YEARS AGO
Missile Technician Chief Jessie R. Curtis, son of Mrs. Gladys J. Kincaid of 504 Walnut St., Vevay, and the late Noble F. Curtis, retired from the U.S. Navy June 1st after 20 years of active duty. During his career he served on destroyers, survey ships, airborne early warning vessels, and submarines.
Barry Works, son of Mr. and Mrs. Norris Works of route 2, Vevay, attended the Farm Boys Forestry Camp at Versailles State Park June 13th-19th as Switzerland County’s camp representative.
Deborah L. Kinman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Kinman of route 1, Patriot, was among students making high honor grades and named to the Vincennes University dean’s list for the spring semester.
50 YEARS AGO
Six 1929-30-31 Model A’s passed through Vevay Saturday as part of the Model A Restorers Club tri-state regional “Tin Can Tour” Saturday and Sunday at Clifty Falls State Park. Members of the group passing here were from Cincinnati, Dayton, and Hamilton, Ohio. John C. Jackson, regional M.A.R.C. director, headed the group.
Alvin Cole has resigned as Switzerland County auditor to accept a position with the Indiana State Board of Accounts. With a year and one-half remaining in Cole’s four-year elected term of office, Goebel Brown was selected by the commissioners to fill the vacancy created by Cole’s resignation.
Some 200 additional telephone lines have been installed in Vevay by the Ohio River Telephone Company, Inc., local office director K. L. Hastings announced last week. Hastings stated that the new lines will take care of the city west of Ferry Street. The 200 one-half mile lines are the equivalent of 10 miles of telephone lines.
With two weeks of local Little League baseball play completed, the Cards and Reds are tied for league leadership with identical 2-1 won-lost records. The Yanks and Tigers follow with 1-2 marks.
Efforts are being made locally to originate a fast-pitch softball league in Vevay with all games being played at the Kiwanis Park. Murray Vincent, Vevay High School athletic coach and director of local Little League and American Legion baseball will serve as coordinator of the league.
60 YEARS AGO
Agloria Agnes Asbury, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Delmar Asbury of near Bennington, fell and broke her arm Thursday while riding on her bicycle. She was taken to Dr. Copeland where her injury was taken care of and she is now getting along nicely.
The head of a ground hog was brought to this office Tuesday with four tusks, each two or more inches long. The two lower tusks ran straight out from the jaw and one of the uppers, more than three inches long, curls upward like a mastodon. The animal was killed by Paul Chase on the Kibbe Bliss farm in Posey Township.
Marvin E. Pavy of Bennington will receive an A.B. degree in bacteriology and Ralph W. Tilley of Vevay, a B.S. degree in business from Indiana University in commencement exercises to be held there June 18th, at 10 a.m. in the Memorial Stadium. The graduating class numbers 3,048 students in addition to 587 students who were given degrees in February.
Robert Griswold, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Griswold, of near Bennington, who graduated from Vevay High School in May, enlisted recently in the Navy. On Monday he went to Louisville from which point he left for a training center.
Randall Brown, year old son of Mr. and Mrs. James Robert Brown, is recovering at his home near Vevay after several days spent in the King’s Daughters’ Hospital in Madison, where he was taken for treatment after swallowing a quantity of fuel oil. The little boy had evidently gotten the oil from a leaky stove in the living room.
70 YEARS AGO
Friday the 13th took an early morning toll at the William Furniture store on Ferry Street, when a large M. and L. truck backed into the sign that projects over the sidewalk at the front of the store. The window casing was splintered and the large show window shattered when the sign was forced through it.
Mr. and Mrs. John Scudder, who were seriously injured by an angry bull at their home on Bethel Ridge last week, are steadily improving from their injuries.
Howard N. Humphrey, well known businessman and former County Recorder, passed away in Christ Hospital, Cincinnati Monday at the age of 52 years. He has been ill with heart trouble for two days before his death.
Inaugurating its diamond anniversary year, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, America’s oldest school, devoted exclusively to music, at its 72nd annual commencement exercises awarded Honorable Mention in the Dan Beddoe Prize in Oratoria Singing presented by Phi Beta Delta Delta chapter to Harold R. Griffith, son of Reverend and Mrs. Fred Griffith of this place.
80 YEARS AGO
Officials of the city power house last Friday found nine sticks of dynamite on the bank just west of the mail building. Any thought of intentional harm is doubted by those at the power plant, who advance the theory the sticks were mistakenly thrown out for rubbish.
Sunday’s Indianapolis Star contained a picture of Mrs. A. J. Porter, formerly of Vevay, founder and secretary of the Riley Hospital Cheer Guild.
The following officers of the 150 field artillery attended the regimental school held at the armory in Indianapolis during the weekend: First Lieutenant H. S. Humphrey and H. G. Kolb; Second Lieutenant F. E. Brown and Capt. J. K. Danglade.
Lightning which came in on a radio aerial wire set fire to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Stoops near Vevay, Sunday afternoon.
Rosemary, six-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Rochat of Rising Sun, sustained a deep cut on her forehead Sunday evening when she fell as she was leaving church services at Fairview with her parents.
90 YEARS AGO
William, the 18-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Brown of Ghent, became the first drowning casualty, when he drowned there Wednesday afternoon while swimming with a group of friends.
Mrs. E. T. Riggs was painfully injured Friday afternoon when her hair became entangled in an electric fan. It was found necessary to take a number of stitches in her scalp.
The body of a man was found in the Ohio River Tuesday evening about one mile below Patriot. From the appearance of the body foul play is indicated.
The drought from which the crops have been suffering was broken Saturday evening when a fine rain visited the county.
Rev. and Mrs. James McCallum, and Eva Anderson, spent the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. F. L. Haskell before departing for the west. They will sail for China.
100 YEARS AGO
Misses Elizabeth Brockschlager and Beatrice Babcock narrowly escaped drowning when thrown on the shore by waves from the mail boat.
Last week hail cut down the tomato plants around here.
A tenant house on the old Brown farm at Jacksonville was destroyed by fire June 13th.
The Graham Confectionery was rushed last Saturday to its full capacity. They ran out of ice cream about 9 p.m.
120 YEARS AGO
Professor Glenn Culbertson has received the degree of master of arts from Hanover College. Professor Culbertson has been employed by the King of Siam as a teacher.
A storage barn belonging to wharfmaster J. E. Williams was struck by lightning during a storm and entirely destroyed.
Professor C. R. Melcher and Professor W. R. J. Stratford, both declined the superintendent of the Vevay schools. Professor Amie L. Trafelet was elected superintendent of the schools.
Professor R. L. Thiebaud, Vevay, was elected principal of the Patriot schools.
140 YEARS AGO
Miss Alice B. Shaw of Vevay graduated from the Wesleyan Female College in Cincinnati Thursday.
The board of County Commissioners at their session last week appointed William Smith of Vevay, school examiner for the county for a term of three years.
The County Commissioners at their meeting Tuesday granted the city of Vevay permission to use the cellar under one of the fire proof vaults of the courthouse as a prison.
William C. Froman has been appointed for Jefferson Township to succeed E. F. McMakin.
150 YEARS AGO
The rebels last week evacuated Harper’s Ferry, and destroyed the Government buildings, the costly railroad bridge and six carloads of provisions. There are now over 40,000 Union troops in northern Virginia.
“A military company was organized according to law in Vevay last night. Good for old Vevay-the-loyal Union active feeling is not entirely “squelched” yet in our community. How long will it be before our county has her regiment organized.”
The Louisville papers exonerate Captain David of all blame in his actions on his trip to Louisville Saturday night last. The Louisville Democrat says: “The steamboat Prioress came to our wharf on Sunday morning with a large quantity of bacon and pork shipped by Powell McEwen and Company of Madison, Indiana, a portion of which was discharged up on the wharf at our city. Captain David, of the boat, demanded that the consignees should give him a written guarantee that the meats were not to go over the Nashville road.
Failing to get this, he reloaded the freight and returned to Madison with it. The people of Louisville did not interfere, one way or another. Capt. David of his own free will and accord, reloaded his boat and took the pork back to Madison and Powell McEwen and Company have more pork on hands today than they expected.
An earlier account in the same newspaper stated that “Madison bacon was smuggled into Louisville. On her recent trip the “Masonic Gem” brought to our city 199 casks of bacon, 90 tierces of hams, 100 barrels of pork. A flat boat with 900 barrels of pork and another flatboat with 88 casks and 30 tierces of bacon, all shipped by Powell, McEwen & Company at Madison, also arrived here. This pork, or a portion of it at least, was taken to the house of Guthrie White and Company, where the name of the Madison firm was erased and their own firm name put on, and then it was ready for the southern market.”
Robert P. Jones has been appointed surveyor of the Port of Madison, Indiana.
The “Major Anderson” (named in honor of the hero of Sumter), the new steamer just built by the Cincinnati and Louisville Mail Company passed up by this place on her first trip about 2 a.m. on Friday. She was built and equipped at Jeffersonville and Louisville, for the summer trade, at a cost of $50,000. Her length is 250 feet, water wheels 28 feet in diameter and with 600 bushels of coal aboard she draws less than two feet of water. She was under the immediate supervision of Major Z. M. Sherley, president of the company, and her power is sufficient to give her speed. The interior finish is elegant and ornamental. She is in the hand of Captain Hildreth and Cardinal Byington.