Ridgeway News -- November 4, 2026

START PLANNING NOW for the Jingle Mingle and Parade of Lights and Cruise on Saturday, December 5.Ridgeway will start the Christmas season with Jingle Mingle and a Parade of Lights on Saturday, December 5. The festivities will start at 3 pm with games, snacks, letters to Santa, story time and more. Santa has been invited to drop in for a visit about 3:30 pm and will help light the city Christmas Tree at 5 pm.

After the tree lighting, all are invited to join in a new tradition: the Parade of Lights & Cruise. Decorate your side-by-side/UTV, car, truck, tractor, or other vehicle with lights and Christmas décor. The vehicles will be judged and the winners will be announced during the tree lighting. The winners and Santa will lead everyone else down Main Street in a lighted parade. Side-by-sides / UTVs are then invited to continue onward for a Cruise and poker run. Flyers with times and rules are available on Facebook.

SCHOOL NEWS: The Ridgeway R-V school district has a position open for a part-time bus driver. This person will drive student athletes and their coaches to sports events. For more information, contact the school at 660-872-6813.

The JH East Bobcats basketball teams will play tomorrow at 6 pm at North Harrison. They play against North Harrison and Princeton. The boys’ game will follow the girls. Good luck, Bobcats! Next week on 11/13, they will play in the North Mercer tournament; times to be announced.

SOCIETY: The RCBA Scrapbookers will meet on Saturday, November 7 at Paula’s Sewing Corner from 10 am to noon. They have been working together to create a scrapbook of the various RCBA events and activities over the years. Everyone is invited to join in the fun!

The community sewing group will meet just once this month on Monday, November 16 from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Ridgeway Baptist Church. All are welcome to join in service to sew quilts and other items for both local and faraway missions. You do not need a sewing machine or experience to help – there is plenty to do for all!

The Ridgeway Baptist Church will have a fall revival November 8 – 11. Ron Ratliff will speak on Sunday morning with a carry-in dinner and Sunday evening. Casey Joyce will speak Monday and Tuesday evenings and Tim Wilson will preach Wednesday evening. The services will start at 7 pm each evening.

The Baptist Church will also host a lunch for veterans on November 11 at 11:30 am.

Kirkley Chapel will hold their annual Lord’s Acre Sale & Dinner on Saturday, November 14 at the Ridgeway School gym. The meal will be served from 11 am to1 pm with the sale following.

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

Nov 7 – RCBA Scrapbooking, 10 am to noon, Paula’s Sewing Corner, 408 Main St.

Nov 8-11 – Revival, 7 pm, Ridgeway Baptist Church

Nov 11 – Veterans’ Lunch, 11:30 am, Ridgeway Baptist Church

Nov 12 – RCBA Meeting, 6:30 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

Nov 14 – Kirkley Chapel Lord’s Acre Sale & Dinner, 11 am – 1 pm, Ridgeway School gym

Nov 16 – Community Sewing Group, 1pm to 4 pm, Ridgeway Baptist Church

Nov 16 – Board of Aldermen meeting, 6 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

Dec 5 – Christmas Jingle Mingle & Parade of Lights, see schedule posted to FB

Dec 7 – Bingo, 6:30 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 -- November 4, 2026

A few items from the front page of the November 16, 1922 edition of the Ridgeway Journal:

An article titled “Voted Against Amendments” detailed the results of the proposed amendments on that year’s ballot. Only two of 19 passed: an initiative to allow women to vote in Missouri (which was already included in the federal constitution) and an amendment to “maintain public roads with automobile license money.”

The Ridgeway Board of Aldermen published a letter “To Whom It May Concern” requested those groups that used the city hall for their events take “as much interest in cleaning it up after the affairs as they take in getting it ready for the different functions”; to not throw city property in the alley where it could be stolen and “When light bulbs are broken, they should be replaced by those responsible so there will be plenty of light for the next gathering.”

The Rex Theatre announced it would show “The Trail of the Axe”, starring Dustin Farnum, “it is a story of the great outdoors, the scene being the magnificent forests of northern California, and Dustin Farnum has a role in which he is given ample opportunity to display his physical prowess.”

Ridgeway News -- October 28, 2026

Ridgeway News – Paula Scott (660-872-5288, Paula@scottacres.com)

ELECTION DAY is this coming Tuesday, November 3! Don’t forget to vote if you haven’t already done so! Every election and every vote is important!

Congratulations to the winners of the annual Trunk-or-Treat Halloween costume contest! There were 95 trunk-or-treaters and 21 trunks participating in the event this year. Thank you to all who came, especially our volunteer judges and all who sponsored trunks for the evening’s fun!

BINGO: The Ridgeway Community Betterment Association will again host Bingo this coming Monday, November 2 at 6:30 pm in the Ridgeway Community Room. The theme will be “Hunting Season” and participants are encouraged to wear their camo and hunter orange. There are always three winners per game and lots of prizes for all ages. A free-will donation will be accepted for snacks and cards and donations of snacks are appreciated.

SAVE THE DATE: Ridgeway will start the Christmas season with Jingle Mingle and a Parade of Lights on Saturday, December 5. The festivities will start at 3 pm with games, snacks, letters to Santa, story time and more. Santa has been invited to drop in for a visit about 3:30 pm and will help light the city Christmas Tree at 5 pm.

After the tree lighting, all are invited to join in a new tradition: the Parade of Lights & Cruise. Decorate your side-by-side/UTV, car, truck, tractor, or other vehicle with lights and Christmas décor. The vehicles will be judged and the winners will be announced during the tree lighting. The winners and Santa will lead everyone else down Main Street in a lighted parade. Side-by-sides / UTVs are then invited to continue onward for a Cruise and poker run. Flyers with times and rules are available on Facebook.

SCHOOL NEWS: The Ridgeway R-V school district has a position open for a part-time bus driver. This person will drive student athletes and their coaches to sports events. For more information, contact the school at 660-872-6813.

The 7^th and 8^th grades are selling Rada Cutlery for their fundraiser for their future Prom and Senior Trip. Contact a member of their class or wait for them to come door to door. The sale will end October 30.

SOCIETY: The Ridgeway United Methodist Church is holding their annual Lord’s Acre Dinner and Sale on Saturday, October 31. Lunch will be served from 11 am to 1 pm and participants are welcome to browse the tag sale. In addition, they are raffling a $250 Walmart gift card; you need not be present to win. Contact a member for more information or to purchase a ticket.

The RCBA Scrapbookers will meet on Saturday, November 5 at Paula’s Sewing Corner from 10 am to noon. They have been working together to create a scrapbook of the various RCBA events and activities over the years. Everyone is invited to join in the fun!

Kirkley Chapel will hold their annual Lord’s Acre Sale & Dinner on Saturday, November 14 at the Ridgeway School gym. The meal will be served from 11 am to1 pm with the sale following.

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

Oct 31 – RUMC Lord’s Acre Sale & Dinner, 11am – 1 pm, Ridgeway United Methodist Church

Nov 2 – Bingo, 6:30 pm, Ridgeway Old Hall (across from City Hall)

Nov 3 – Election Day

Nov 7 – RCBA Scrapbooking, 10 am to noon, Paula’s Sewing Corner, 408 Main St.

Nov 12 – RCBA Meeting, 6:30 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

Nov 14 – Kirkley Chapel Lord’s Acre Sale & Dinner, serving 11 am – 1 pm, Ridgeway School gym

Nov 16 – Community Sewing Group, 1pm - 4 pm, Ridgeway Baptist Church

Nov 16 – Board of Aldermen meeting, 6 pm, Ridgeway Community Room

Dec 5 – Christmas Jingle Mingle & Parade of Lights, TBA

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 -- October 28, 2026

This time of year, the papers are full of stories about the upcoming election and in 1910, the Ridgeway Journal was no different. There were at least eleven amendments on the ballot that year, but the most contentious item was Amendment 10 for the prohibition of the manufacture of alcoholic beverages except for medicinal or religious purposes. Rev. J. H. Burrows, a pastor in Cainsville, strongly endorsed the 10^th amendment in an article in the October 27, 1910 edition of the Ridgeway Journal.

Burrows wrote this opinion at the end of his guest editorial urging voters to pass the 10^th amendment: “If prohibition is beaten (God forbid) then the pendulum will swing backward into the shades of crime and lawlessness run riot. Reader, it is up to you, and for the first time in the history of this grand old commonwealth you have a chance to hit this traffic square on the head by putting prohibition into the organic law of Missouri. Will you do it? God grant that you may.”

Though Ridgeway voted to go “dry” by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, none of the eleven amendments on the ballot passed that year statewide. (Columbia Missouri Herald, Nov 11, 1910 and Ridgeway Journal, Nov 10, 1910.)

Bit of History -- October 21, 2026

Amid all the details of various Halloween parties happening around town described in the November 2, 1933 edition of the Ridgeway Journal was a notice that the Palace Theatre was going to show “Back to Nature”. This show would reveal “authentic scenes and incidents at one of the largest and most famous nudist colonies”. It was said that it was a “revealing disclosure of actual conditions in the colony.” The audience was restricted to age 16 and up.

I hoped to find a follow-up to this story to see if it was well attended or if anyone protested the showing, but no additional information seems to have been published.

Bit of History -- October 14, 2026

From the front page of the Ridgeway Journal dated October 9, 1930:

The newly organized Chamber of Commerce was enthusiastic about a new “gravel highway” that was being built . They were planning to celebrate in late October after the road was completed. The group had several projects planned but ”We do not like to mention some of the projects because a failure to land them might look like the committees had failed in their attempt, when it is really a fighting chance for anyone.”

The “Weekly School Notes” mentioned that 46 students were enrolled in band that year, but so many of them were beginners that the band was divided into junior and senior bands as “it is disadvantageous. to the older students as well as the beginners.” The first edition of the Owl was distributed: “While we are somewhat disappointed in its appearance it represents some real hard work. We are hoping to make a great improvement next time.”

Two of S. F. Funks sows produced a whopping 25 piglets between them and all survived “although five of them are being raised by hand.” The paper suggested that if they continued to do well, he had two chances to enter a “ton litter contest.”

Bit of History -- October 7, 2026

From the front page of the Ridgeway Journal dated October 19, 1933:

Displayed in the Journal’s windows was a collection of “abnormal garden products”. The produce included a giant bean measuring thirteen inches. Its origin wasn’t included, but some thought it was a variety of “Dollar Bean” and another was sure it came from South Africa. There was also a display of ever-bearing strawberries, a "Porto Rican" sweet potato weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces grown by Mrs. Lewis Morris and a stalk of corn that was 9 feet tall grown by Tom Tuggle.

Two cars side swiped each other on the “narrow bridge on the gravel highway west of town” at the bottom of Witt Hill. Each driver thought the other had cleared the bridge “and the error was not discovered until both cars were at the bridge.” Despite careful driving on both drivers’ parts, the “fenders clashed and both cars were damaged.”

“OLD TIMER” wrote a sad editorial detailing the rumors that the owner of Curley’s Bakery planned to move the business to Bethany. Old Timer was quite concerned about rumors that Curley was selling loaves of bread in other towns for 5 cents per loaf, less than the eight cents per love (two for 15 cents) that he charged to Ridgeway customers. But Old Timer was sure that was something that “Curley” would never do: “We know he would give the "home folks" the best end of the bargain, if possible, and so we know there is no truth in the rumor that Curley is selling for a higher price in Ridgeway than elsewhere”.

The Women’s Christian Temperance Union reorganized after having lapsed after the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, is taking on new life throughout the nation now that strong drink is about to resume its sway.”

Bit of History -- September 30, 2026

 Kim K brought me several of the original Ridgeway Community Betterment Association scrapbooks from the late 1960’s.

 In the 1969 scrapbook are pictures and a newspaper article about the construction of the first apartments for the elderly built in Ridgeway. Included are images of the Ridgeway Rental House Corporation board of directors, construction and the finished residences. The Bethany Republican-Clipper reported that the board received a $30,000 load from the Farmers Home Administration. (April 2, 1969) Each apartment would be 576 square feet with a living room, kitchen, bath, bedroom and utility room and have electric heat and appliances. By the time construction was completed in September, the four apartments already had residents waiting for them.

Bit of History -- September 23, 2026

From the front page of the Ridgeway Journal dated September 14, 1922:

Members of the Buchanan County Medical Society might have been slightly confused by two items. The first announced that a free clinic was being offered by the Noyes Hospital in St. Joseph during which members could receive free services for “diagnosis, treatment or operation” on September 19 and 20 In the Methodist Church notes, the same announcement was made, but the clinic was to be held at the Ensworth Hospital in St. Joseph. It is possible that clinics would be held at both, but that was not clear.

The Methodists also “closed its 41^st year of organized activity for the Master.” Of the original eleven trustees, three were “supposed to still be living”. They included John Opdyke, Jap Travis and Morris Sellers.”

The 1922 North Missouri District Fair was considered to be “success despite the fact that rain Friday night and Saturday put a finish to the program and the fair ended with the racing and free attraction Friday afternoon.”

The Rex Theatre was showing “Beyond the Rocks”, starting Gloria Swanson

Bit of History -- September 16, 2026

From the pages of the Ridgeway Journal in September 1932:

In both the September 15 and September 22 issues were a set of three pictures of babies and young children with the headline: “Do You Remember Them Then?” The mystery was solved in the September 29^th issue with this explanation: “The baby pictures which have appeared in the last two issues of the Journal have been recognized.” They were all members of the Ridgeway class of 1919 and were identified as Gemma Rakestraw, Joseph Loveless and Paul Grant in the pictures published on the 15^th and Garland Arvin, Garland Frost and Paul Grant again on the 22^nd. There were 14 in their class, but only eight had baby pictures available. The paper promised to print their senior portraits but I was unable to find them reprinted in the paper. However, you can find their class composite on the Ridgeway School website in the Alumni pages. The school website is www.ridgewayr5.net.