Ridgeway News -- May 20, 2026

CITY NEWS:   The City-Wide garage sales are on the calendar for June 26-27. If you are planning a sale and would like to be added to the list, please stop by the city hall office and fill out a sign up sheet or email ridgewaycba@gmail.com for a copy. The lists will be available the week before the sales. You are responsible for your own advertising.

The Ridgeway Community Betterment Association is working hard to plan this year’s 4^th of July to celebrate the 250^th birthday of our nation. They need volunteers to help prepare, serve and clean-up this year’s post parade lunch. They are also asking for families or groups to sponsor an old-fashioned game in the park such as three-legged races, tug-of-war, horseshoes or similar games in the afternoon after the meal. For more information, please contact a board member or email ridgewaycba@gmail.com.

As you are getting ready for the garage sales, put aside your old electronics for the E-Waste Recycling Day! The Ridgeway Community Betterment Association, City of Ridgeway, Ridgeway Technical Services and Virgil T’s are co-sponsoring an electronics recycling event on Saturday, August 8 from 9 am to noon outside the Old Ridgeway Hall. A list is available of what items will be taken for free, what items require a fee and what items will not be accepted – please contact Paula Scott at 660-872-6500 or email ridgewaycba@gmail.com for more information.

SCHOOL NEWS: The Ridgeway Owls will celebrate the last day of school on tomorrow (May 21) with awards assemblies and early dismissal. The Preschool through 5^th grade assembly will begin at 8:30 am, the teacher / staff awards at 9 am and the middle school/high school awards assembly will begin at 9:30 am. The students will be released for the summer at 12:45 pm. Happy Last Day of School!

Summer school will begin May 26 and run through June 12 from 8am to 1 pm for kids in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. The theme this year is Spy Academy and students will have lunch provided at no cost.

Don’t forget to keep watch out for kids on bikes and on foot who may not be watching for cars!

CLOSING: With the end of school, news in Ridgeway gets a little sparse, so if you know of any events or plans around town that you would like to see shared with others, please send me the details by Sunday evening! Thank you for reading! Wave to your neighbors!

Upcoming Events

May 21 – Ridgeway R-V Last Day of School, Award Assembly, 8:30 am, 9 am, 9:30 am

May 25– Community Sewing Group, Ridgeway Baptist Church, 1pm – 4 pm

June 1 – Bingo! 6:30 pm in the Ridgeway Community Room

June 6 – RCBA Scrapbooking, 10 am to 12 pm, Paula’s Sewing Corner, 408 Main St,

June 8 – Ridgeway Community Betterment Assn meeting, 7 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

June 15 – Board of Aldermen meeting, 6 pm, Ridgeway Community Room,

June 26-27 – Citywide Garage Sales – Sign up forms available at City Hall and 408 Main St.

July 4 – Ridgeway 4th of July Celebration

Aug 8 – Electronics Recycling event, 9 am – noon, Old Ridgeway Hall.

Ridgeway News Updates

To send in an item for the Ridgeway News or subscribe to the email list, send an email to RidgewayCBA@gmail.com. Emailed copies are sent out Friday mornings at 6 am.

You can find every Bit of History item as well as flyers for upcoming events on the RCBA website: ridgewaycba.blogspot.com

For the most current updates, follow RCBA on Facebook! Find it by searching for @RidgewayCBA.

Bit of History -- May 20, 2026

BIT OF HISTORY: Among the many social groups that once were active during Ridgeway’s history was a group that called themselves the Merry Matrons (MM). This was a social and service club where the rules (at least at the beginning) was that they would not accept “more than 20 members and no one over 40 years of age and all must be married”, according the description in the “Ridgeway: Then and Now” centennial book (page 36.) The marriage rule was broken only once, but a “mock wedding was held to make it legal” and the age limit was eventually dropped: “The age of a member is no longer limited by years, but by capabilities.”

There is a little discrepancy about the year the club started. The club history and the centennial book both give the first meeting as occurring in November 1932, but the Ridgeway Journal wrote about the first meeting happening in November 1933.

The members met twice monthly and took turns hosting the group. During their meetings, they quilted, crocheted or did other hand crafts, talked and shared a meal. They also gave of themselves: “donations to the Red Cross, Heart and Cancer funds, gave a bench and a table to the city park, took Christmas baskets to the needy and sent cards, flowers and gifts to the members in the hospitals.”

The group continued to meet until 2009 when they had dwindled to just 5 members. At the December meeting that year, three members and two guests met at Becks Convenience store for lunch. They voted to disband and applied their remaining funds, $21.39 to the cost of their lunch. They noted that Eleanor Rinehart had been a member for 73 years.

Ridgeway News -- May 13, 2026

CITY NEWS:   The Ridgeway Board of Aldermen have rescheduled their May meeting to tomorrow evening (Thursday, May 14) at 7 pm in the Ridgeway Community Room. All Ridgeway residents are welcome to attend.

The City-Wide garage sales are on the calendar for June 26-27. If you are planning a sale and would like to be added to the list, please stop by the city hall office and fill out a sign up sheet or email ridgewaycba@gmail.com for a copy. The lists will be available the week before the sales. You are responsible for your own advertising.

The Ridgeway Community Betterment Association is working hard to plan this year’s 4^th of July to celebrate the 250^th birthday of our nation. They need volunteers to help prepare, serve and clean-up this year’s post parade lunch. They are also asking for families or groups to sponsor an old-fashioned game in the park such as three-legged races, tug-of-war, horseshoes or similar games in the afternoon after the meal. For more information, please contact a board member or email ridgewaycba@gmail.com.

Thank you to Brooklyn Scobee for keeping our Little Free Library nice and stocked with new books! If you haven’t visited the library, it is located on the City Hall porch. There are plenty of adult books and kids books in the lower level also! Take a book, leave a book if you can!

SCHOOL NEWS: Congratulations to 2026 Ridgeway graduate Zyler! Good luck on the next chapter of your life and all it has to offer!

Preschool graduation will be held on Thursday, May 14 at 5:30 pm. Congratulations to the littlest Owls as they move up into elementary school!

The Ridgeway Owls will celebrate the last day of school on May 21 with awards assemblies and early dismissal. The Preschool through 5^th grade assembly will begin at 8:30 am, the teacher / staff awards at 9 am and the middle school/high school awards assembly will begin at 9:30 am. The students will be released for the summer at 12:45 pm. Happy Last Day of School!

SOCIETY: Congratulations to Mary Scott on her graduation last Saturday from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg!

CLOSING: If you know of any events or plans around town that you would like to see shared with others, please send me the details by Sunday evening! Thank you for reading! Wave to your neighbors

Upcoming Events

May 14 – Ridgeway R-V Preschool Graduation, 5:30 pm

May 14 – Board of Aldermen meeting, 6 pm, Ridgeway Community Room,

May 21 – Ridgeway R-V Last Day of School, Award Assembly, 8:30 am, 9 am, 9:30 am

May 25– Community Sewing Group, Ridgeway Baptist Church, 1pm – 4 pm

June 1 – Bingo! 6:30 pm in the Ridgeway Community Room

June 6 – RCBA Scrapbooking, 10 am to 12 pm, Paula’s Sewing Corner, 408 Main St,

June 8 – Ridgeway Community Betterment Assn meeting, 7 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

June 26-27 – Citywide Garage Sales

July 4 – Ridgeway 4th of July Celebration

Ridgeway News Updates

To send in an item for the Ridgeway News or subscribe to the email list, send an email to RidgewayCBA@gmail.com. Emailed copies are sent out Friday mornings at 6 am.

You can find every Bit of History item as well as flyers for upcoming events on the RCBA website: ridgewaycba.blogspot.com

For the most current updates, follow RCBA on Facebook! Find it by searching for @RidgewayCBA.

Bit of History -- May 13, 2026

0ne hundred years ago, there were 16 graduates in the Ridgeway School class of 1926. You can find their class picture on the Ridgeway school website in the alumni section. (www.ridgewayr5.net). Some are smiling; some are serious. The girls all have their hair bobbed in the 1920’s fashion; the boys are all in suits. Many of their surnames can still be found in current Ridgeway families. Among the graduates was gifted athlete Cecil “Twister” Smith, who would go on to become a beloved Ridgeway coach and teacher.

Their senior play, titled “A Poor Married Man”, had been given at the Rex Theatre to a “well-filled house”. “The play was a three act farce comedy, and was muchly enjoyed, considering the generous applause given at every possible cause.” The class collected a proceeds of nearly $80. (Ridgeway Journal, May 6, 1926)

The seniors had also enjoyed their Senior Walk-out. They took a day trip “to Arkel Ford where they spent the morning fishing and taking pictures.” After a hearty picnic lunch, they went to Brooklyn Falls. About 3:30 pm, they headed back to town where “they were treated to brick ice cream and cookies at Ham's Cafe.” They were accompanied by “post graduates and their sponsor, Miss Gross.” (Ridgeway Journal, May 6, 1926)

The honors of valedictorian were shared by two graduates, Thelma Bartlett and Helen Linthacum. They each presented an address during graduation. Gertrude Dale was the salutatorian.

Bit of History -- May 6, 2026

BIT OF HISTORY: Long before even Harrison County was incorporated, the Yankee Ridgeway Cemetery was already providing a place where loved ones could be laid to rest. It was located along the old Point of Lorraine trail which, according to Yankee Ridge cemetery board president Carol Emry, “ran diagonally across the cemetery from northeast to southwest.” According to a 1993 article in the Bethany Republican-Clipper, there were “several people buried on this ridge”. They were probably homesteaders on their way to Kansas. Emry said “There was a spring one fourth of a mile east of the cemetery where they stopped to repair their wagons and rest their horses and get ready to go on.” There was also a post office where they could get their mail.

One man buried four sons in the cemetery after they passed away from diphtheria. According to Emry, the father was a stone mason. He went to the quarry and “hewed out head and foot stones and cut their initials in them”. Those gravesites can still be found in Yankee Ridge.

Yankee Ridge presumably got its name “from a group of English settlers who moved into the area just before the Civil War. Since the settlers were Union sympathizers, the trail became known as Yankee Ridge Road and the cemetery took the same name.” (Bethany Republican-Clipper, January 6, 1993)

Bit of History -- April 29, 2026

Beginning January 1956, the Ridgeway Lions Club sponsored the “Missouri-Iowa Talent Show”, a monthly event in the Ridgeway field house. It was held on the second Monday of every month for a year and the “four top acts to broadcast over KIOA, Des Moines.” The grand final winner would be featured on Channel 7, KWWL-TV in Waterloo, IA. (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Jan 4, 1956)

The winner of the January contest was four year-old Pamela Maxwell, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roe Maxwell. In addition to getting to be on the radio, she won a table top radio set. Riggs Smith took second place by playing a baritone solo and Sharon LaFollette took third with her vocal number. They each received a wrist watch. The article also noted that the first grand winner, Brenda LaFollette would be on television on March 10, 1956 on station KWWL. (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Jan 11, 1956)

Bit of History -- April 22, 2026

In the April 27, 1911 edition of the Ridgeway Journal, the editors proudly announced that the Journal was celebrating its 20^th anniversary of publication. “For twenty long years the Journal has worked faithfully in the newspaper vineyard to advertise Ridgeway and make it the business place and well known town that it now is;”

The Journal was founded in April 1891 by C.M. and Frank Jaqua. “They published the paper together for a few years when C. M., purchased his brothers interest.“ C. M. Jaqua published the paper alone until 1906 when he sold it to Frank Dougtherty and moved to Warrensburg to take over the paper in that town. The paper changed hands several times in the next few years and in 1911, it was owned and operated by F. M. Spragg and Son. “The present owners have found publishing the Journal to be a pleasant and interesting as well as a satisfactorily remunerative work, and have tried to make each issue interesting and welcome by its many readers.”

The Ridgeway Journal remained in publication over 50 years. It continued to operate under various editors until December 1941 when publication ceased after a valiant attempt to keep it going after the death of its owner/editor Celebe C. Cline.

Bit of History -- April 15, 2026

 The Scott Grocery opened in 1948 and in 1956, moved to its final location on the corner of Pine and Main Streets. Originally owned by his parents, Dean and Edith Scott, Berl and Christine Scott operated the store until Berl retired in 1990. In 1996, a replica of the old store was constructed as part of the Farm Land U. S. A. exhibit in the Agricultural Hall of Fame. The exhibit was designed and named by Harold Adkins, a “Mt. Moriah native who served for 12 years as executive director of the Agricultural Hall of Fame.”

Berl helped to set up the Scott General Store at the exhibit. “’I have some ideas how I would like it to look’, said Scott.” He donated several things from his store and a commercial ice box from the old Ridgeway Farmer’s Store and an old antique butcher block from the Farmer’s Store in Mt. Moriah. (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Dec 27, 1995)

I looked at the Agricultural Hall of Fame website and while there are no pictures of the store on their website, there is a short video which lists Scott’s Grocery as part of Farm Land U.S.A. The Hall of Fame reopens to visitors on April 25. If you have seen the exhibits in recent years, or plan to go down there, please let us all know if Scott’s Grocery is still there.

Bit of History -- April 8, 2026

Do you remember the day the old Ridgeway water tower “Tin Man” came down? The old tower was built in 1923 during Ridgeway first city-wide water and sewer project. It stood for over 80 years and was referred to as “Tin Man” most likely due to its pointed cap and round bottom. In October 2004, however, a new water tower with an “ellipsoidal” shape was constructed to replace the Tin Man as it was “no longer feasible to maintain and did not meet OSHA regulatory requirements for worker safety" and “was of riveted construction with lead-based paint”. The water was switched over to the new tower in December and in February, 2005, the old tower was taken down.

To bring it down, the Steelsmith Tank Company “cut the tank in half” and removed the bolts from the tower’s leg braces. “The technique, known as ‘Rocking the Tower’, ensures the tank folds up when it hits the ground.” “As the tank hit the ground, chunks of ice emerged from inside and scattered around the humbled remains.” (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Feb 16, 2005 pp 1, 4)

The Ridgeway students chose the black and gold colors for the new water tower to celebrate their school colors. (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Oct 13, 2004, p 17)

Bit of History -- April 1, 2026

In Ridgeway’s early days, dressing up for Easter was an event in itself. It was a time to show off your Easter finery and especially your new hat. But in 1909, the weather made wearing those new hats a bit difficult. “While the day was one of comparably clear sunshine and not an extra chilly one, a regular Kansas wind made it very disagreeable one to be out of doors.” On Saturday, the weather was fair, but “On Saturday afternoon, the barometer, which had been pointing to fair weather, took a sudden turn and chased itself rapidly back to the point which reads ‘stormy’ in good big letters.”

Sunday started with the wind: “the storm commenced on Sunday morning in the shape of a gale of wind which kept it up throughout the day until after midnight”. At midnight, it started to rain heavily with intervals of snow and sleet. This continued until around noon on Monday when “the clouds broke away and sunshine prevailed once more.” (Ridgeway News, Apr 15, 1909).