Ridgeway News -- July 15, 2026

CITY NEWS: The Ridgeway Community Betterment Association would like to thank those organizations who helped to make last week’s 4^th of July lunch and other activities possible: Smithfield Farms, Walmart, Hy-Vee, Ridgeway Assembly of God Church, Ridgeway Baptist Church, Ridgeway United Methodist Church, Morris Chapel and Kirkley Chapel! More thank yous go to Nicole Trammell for sing the anthem, the veterans for leading the parade and putting up all the flags around town, Danny and Phyllis Claycomb for serving as Grand Marshals, Toby and Kierra Polley for handing all the sound and music for the events, the volunteers who came out to help set up, serve and clean-up after the meal, all those who helped organize games in the park, the Ridgeway Baptist Church for the cupcakes and donation of the Threads of Freedom quilt and of course, the Ridgeway Fire Department for the fabulous fireworks display!

MEETING: The Board of Aldermen are scheduled to meet on Monday, July 20 at 6 pm in the Ridgeway Community Room. Residents are welcome to attend. If you have an item for the agenda, contact city clerk Brooklyn Scobee in the office during business hours.

E-WASTE RECYCLING: If you have a pile of old electronics, bring them to the old Hall on Saturday, August 8 between 9am and noon during the E-Waste Recycling Day sponsored by RCBA, Ridgeway Technical Services and Virgil T’s. Many items can be recycled for no additional charge; some things like old cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs and printers or copiers will be charged a fee. There is also a list of items that will not be taken. More details will be provided at a later date.

BINGO: The August Bingo night will be Monday, August 3 at 6:30 pm! The theme this month is “Hometown Picnic” and RCBA will serve hamburgers, hotdogs and desserts including homemade ice cream. There are always three winners per game and lots of great prizes for all ages. Free-will donations are accepted for cards and snacks and dessert donations are appreciated.

SOCIETY: The sewing group will meet on July 27 from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Ridgeway Baptist Church. All are invited to join the work and fun! You do not need a sewing machine or experience, only a willing heart and hands. They are planning more patriotic quilts.

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!

Upcoming Events

July 20 – Board of Aldermen meeting, 6 pm, Ridgeway Community Room,

Aug 3 – Bingo, 6:30 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

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

Aug 10 – RCBA meeting, 7 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

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 -- July 15, 2026

In the July 21, 1927 edition of the Ridgeway Journal, an entire page was devoted to printing the details of the proposal to sell the Ridgeway Light Plant to Missouri Power & Light for the “sum of $30,000”. “This means securing 24-hour service to patrons and this property to become taxable, and cost of light service not in excess of present rates.” There were several ordinances for residents to consider and a notice of a special election to be held on August 9.

The light plant, built in 1914 and operated by the city, made a small profit each month, but not enough to replace equipment as needed. The sale meant that residents would enjoy 24-hour service at the same rates they currently paid. The sale also meant that the city could pay off two loans totaling $19,000. The old Light Plant provided power to the city water pump and the street lights at no charge, but if the sale was approved by Ridgeway voters, “and these two services will run from ninety to over hundred a month under the new order of things if the plant is voted sold.”

The editors reminded voters to “read the ordinances carefully and play the cards anyway you choose when it comes time to vote. The proposition has two sides and it will soon be up to the voter which side he wants to win.”

The sale of the electric light plant was approved by Ridgeway voters 187 to 37. It still needed to be approved by the Public Service Commission before it could take effect. Mr. P. B Schuss, “one of the transmission company’s men” told the Journal that “the citizens of Ridgeway had done even more of a favor than they realized by voting the sale of the plant and that he was sure that would not have a future regret.” (Ridgeway Journal, August 11, 1927, p 1)

Ridgeway News -- July 8, 2026

CITY NEWS: The Ridgeway community came out in force on Saturday to celebrate the nation’s 250^th birthday. Thankfully, the weather was overcast and not as hot as originally feared, so it was very enjoyable.

The day was full of activity and started with the annual parade led by our veterans. They proceeded alone to City Hall where they stopped and stood at attention while Nicole Trammell beautifully sang the national anthem. After that, the rest of the parade started down Main Street. Danny and Phyllis Claycomb were this year’s Grand Marshals and they rode in a vintage truck driven by Doug Dale. There were approximately 85-90 entries in this year’s parade. Congratulations to the Hendren Family for winning Best Float!

After the parade, the Ridgeway Community Betterment Association served lunch in both the old Hall and the Community Room, They estimated that they served over 300 hundred people. They had asked for donations of desserts and people came out with so many great looking, tasty treats!

After lunch RCBA hosted family games in the park. Pastor Dwight Schell opened the afternoon’s activities with a prayer, then the children were invited up to help the adults say the Pledge of Allegiance. Then, adults and kids had fun playing corn hole, bubbles, tug of war and other games. It was also a great time just to see and visit with others. The park activities ended with Pastor Schell pulling out the winning ticket for the Threads of Freedom quilt raffle. Pat Maritato of Blythedale won the quilt! He was so excited about winning it that he and his wife came right down to the park to pick it up.

The day ended with the fireworks display by the Ridgeway Fire Department at the school. It was an incredible display that rivals the show by any larger city and was enjoyed by everyone who came for it. It was a great way to celebrate our nations’ birthday!

RCBA MEETING: The Ridgeway Community Betterment Association will hold its monthly business meeting on Monday, July 13 at 7 pm in the Ridgeway Community Room. They will continue planning for events for the remainder of the year, including August’s Bingo night and the electronic waste recycling event. If you are interested in helping with any project or event that RCBA sponsors, please consider coming to the meeting or letting a board member know where you would like to volunteer.

SOCIETY: The Ridgeway Assembly of God Church is holding an old-fashioned camp meeting revival on July 9th, 10th, and 11th at 6:30 PM and July 12th at 10:00 AM. There will be good preaching, good southern/bluegrass gospel music, and good food following the service. If you're coming east on A, it's the first road to your right, then 2 blocks. If you're coming north on T, it's the second road to your left, then 3 blocks. The congregation hopes to see you there!

BIT OF HISTORY: Did you see the Peasley wagon that I wrote about last week in the parade or up by the City Hall before the parade? Roger Bayless brought it for the parade and Kristi Reeder pulled it. Dale Pontius, who sold the wagon to Roger, told me that the green paint on the wagon is original. If you would like to see pictures of the wagon as well as any of the pictures from this year’s 4^th of July activities, please go check out the RCBA Facebook page. Just search for @ridgewaycba and you should find it.

Due to all the activity this weekend and a very busy week personally, I have no Bit of History for you this week. I hope to have something for you next week!

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!

Upcoming Events

** No Bingo or Scrapbooking due to the holiday!

July 6 – Community Sewing Group, 1 pm – 4 pm, Ridgeway Baptist Church

July 9-11 – Camp Meeting Revival, 6:30 pm, Ridgeway Assembly of God Church

July 12 – Camp Meeting Revival, 10 am, Ridgeway Assembly of God Church

July 13 – RCBA meeting, 7 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

July 20 – Board of Aldermen meeting, 6 pm, Ridgeway Community Room,

Aug 3 – Bingo, 6:30 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

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 -- July 1, 2026

Per the Ridgeway: Then and Now centennial book, Joe M. Peasley opened the first blacksmith shop in Ridgeway about 1880. First known as Peasley and Heizer, they built wagons, buggies and carriages and did general blacksmithing and horseshoeing. They also built school wagons in later years . From 1890 to 1892, he partnered with J. B. “Jack” Mirgon. When their partnership broke up, he renamed the business as Peasley & Co and later as Peasley Manufacturing. His shop was a large two story building. “The lower part was the blacksmith shop and the upper part, which had a ramp, housed the wagon, buggy and repair shop”. It was located long Cedar Street, on the west side of the alley behind City Hall. Joe Peasley remained in business until the 1920s.

One of Peasley’s wagons is still in existence. It was owned by the family of Dale Pontius for many years and was sold to Roger Bayless in 2016. It can be pulled by horses or a vehicle. The wagon is wooden, painted green and has Peasley written on the side. Look to see if Roger brings it to the Fourth of July parade this Saturday!

Bit of History -- June 24, 2026

 The Ridgeway City Park has always been a vital part of the community events. In 1929, S. C. Spence and J. P. Stanley were in charge of the task of “securing of the concessions” for the park spaces. As of June 27, the park was nearly full of vendors for that year’s Fourth of July celebrations, which helped to fund the festivities. “These concession rights usually pay for about a third of the expenses of the celebration, but this year, they are exceeding all previous records.” The offerings included “everything from a general stand to a popcorn right, including a ‘juice spot”, the latter meaning of course a place to buy the lemonade of reddish hue”. The writer added “Concessions make a big celebration and if that phrase is true this year, the celebration is to be an extra big one”.

The last line is just as true for this year as it was in 1929: “Come and bring all your neighbors.” (Ridgeway Journal, June 27, 1929.)

Bit of History -- June 17. 2026

While we have some pretty heavy storms lately, another “fierce wind storm” hit Harrison County on June 16. 1973 caused a lot of damage all over the county. “The storm destroyed barns, damaged homes and uprooted trees in an area extending from the New Hampton vicinity to Cainsville.”

“The worst damage seemed to be concentrated in the Ridgeway area.” Mark and Barbara Reeder’s new mobile home, set in place only two days before the storm in its new location in the north part of Ridgeway near the railroad tracks “was overturned twice by the wind and was shredded apart.” Barbara was inside the home when the storm came up. She “landed across the railroad tracks where she was able to escape from the debris of the trailer.” She suffered cuts to her right hand and knee and was taken to Noll Memorial hospital for treatment. Later she was found to have additional injuries and was taken to the Missouri Methodist hospital in St. Joseph.

In addition to the Reeder home, Mrs Clayton Polley, the Ridgeway correspondent at the time, reported that “the railroad depot was demolished and the porches of the Alma Craig and Ethyl Lobba homes were severely damaged.” (Bethany Republican-Clipper, June 20. 1973, p 1)

Bit of History -- June 10, 2026

On July 4, 1882, “some miscreants obstructed the railroad” between Bethany and Ridgeway. They covered the track with wood, poles and brush and it was assumed they intended to cause an accident. “The scoundrels who did it evidently intended to wreck the excursion train down at night”. They had forgotten about the two five o'clock trains which saw the obstruction “in time to prevent accident and removed” everything from the tracks before continuing onward.

The criminals piled more brush on the track again after those trains left, hoping the next train wouldn’t see It and hit it. “The excursion train down that night contained at least 500 people from Bethany, and points west, and had an accident occurred the loss of life would have been terrible. The excursion train men were notified to run very slowly and keep a sharp lookout and did so, not running faster than ten miles per hour at any time coming down.” There was no accident and all the passengers must have arrived home safely. The scoundrels must have gotten away with their evil deed as there was no follow-up article. The editor did feel that “No punishment is too severe for such wretches.” (Bethany Republican, July 6, 1882)

Bit of History -- June 3, 2026

In 1900, the Ridgeway board of education awarded the contract to build the new school to Wm. Peatman of Centerville, Iowa. The total amount of the contract was $7045. A second contract was given to a St. Joseph firm to provide the “steam heating outfit for $1, 100” bringing the total cost of construction of $8,145, the equivalent of $322,910.46 today. The Journal was “not able to give a complete description of the proposed building, etc” as the contracts had only been approved the day before.

The local residents appreciated the hard work of the board: “It is the general opinion that so far the directors have done a good job and virtually secured an $10,000 building for a trifle more than $8,000.” The editor added “Now a good man should be secured to see that the work is done right and according to the plans and specifications. Then Ridgeway will have a school building second to none in any town her size in this part of Missouri.” (Ridgeway Journal, June 28, 1900)

 

Bit of History -- May 27, 2026

A few items from the front page of the Ridgeway Journal dated May 28, 1930:

Commencement exercises for the Ridgeway class of 1931 were held on Friday, May 15^th. The attending crowd was so large that the building “would not hold all of them” and some were not able to come in to watch the ceremony. There were thirty-four graduates that year, “this being a very large class for a school of this size.” The commencement address was given by Dr. Dildine “from the college at Maryville” and the valedictorian speech was given by Roberta Nible. Her speech was printed in the paper as well.

The Memorial Day program was published in the paper that week. The service was to be held in the City Park. The Ridgeway band and the scout troops were to meet at the Methodist church for the park to the park. The program included the song "America", an invocation by Rev Stanley, the scouts' Pledge to the flag, a speech titled "The Mission of America" by Rev. Reed and music by the Ridgeway Band.

The Burlington Railway Company announced changes to the train schedule that would allow Ridgeway to get both morning and evening mail delivery as well as the afternoon newspapers. The Ridgeway band announced that they were ready to start their summer concerts if the local businessmen wanted their services. The Yankee Ridgeway Cemetery board published their annual financial statement showing that they had moved from being $7.23 in the red to $7.27 in the black for the year. They would also hold Decoration Day services and officer elections that Sunday.

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.