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.)

Ridgeway News -- October 21, 2026

TRUNK-OR-TREAT: The annual Halloween costume contest and Trunk-or-Treat night will be on Saturday, October 24. Registration for the costume contest will begin at 4:30 pm and will close at 5 pm with no late registrations accepted so that the contest can run smoothly. The costume contest begins at 5:00 pm with the Family/Group category being judged first. The individual contests are divided by age with three winners per group: Birth – age 3, Preschool through Kindergarten, 1^st through 3^rd Grade, 4^th through 6^th grade, and 7^th grade through adult. Trunk-or-Treating begins after the contest.

RCBA is asking for community members to join the fun of Halloween by decorating a trunk and handing out treats during the annual Trunk-or-Treat event. The event will take place along the west side of Main Street starting at City Hall on Saturday, October 24 about 5:30 pm. Average youth attendance is about 110. Participants are asked to back their vehicles in so that their trunks will face the sidewalk. Your help is greatly appreciated! If you would like to provide a trunk, please text or call 660-425-4900. Trunks will be judged and a prize award for the best trunk!

BINGO: The next Bingo night will be 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 junior high basketball teams will play Friday at Tri-County. Games begin at 6:00 pm. Good luck, East Harrison Bobcats!

You can still order Krispy Kreme Donuts from a Ridgeway HS Senior through tomorrow. Contact one or Mrs. Wallace to order. Donuts will be delivered on October 30.

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 community sewing group will meet Monday, October 26, from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Ridgeway Baptist Church. All are welcome; you do not need a sewing machine or experience to help.

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.

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 24 – Trunk or Treat, Ridgeway City Hall

* 4:30 – 5 pm – Costume Contest Registration

* 5 pm – Halloween Costume Contest

* 5:30 ish to 6 pm – Trunk or Treating

Oct 26 – Community Sewing Group, 1pm - 4 pm, Ridgeway Baptist Church

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 – 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 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.

Bit of History -- September 2, 2026

From the front page of the Ridgeway Journal dated September 3, 1931:

The Lewis Cafe building, owned by L. Y. Spragg, caught fire during the early hours of the previous Wednesday morning. Ridgeway fire fighters were called out early enough that the fire was brought under control quickly, despite the fact that the fire bell didn’t “function as it should and a lot of people didn’t even hear it.” The fire originated in the kitchen and was first detected by Mrs. Lewis who lived over the Cafe. “Presumably it caught from a defective flue or was the result of electric wiring.” After the fire, the Lewis family moved to the Linch Graham property.

After the fire, the editor wished that “the next time Ridgeway has a fire, it would happen before bedtime or about time to get up in the morning.” He would rather sleep than have to roll out of bed to fight a fire which “is not a pleasant pastime.”

“Two aeroplanes” flew around Ridgeway but “did not stop long enough to get acquainted.” They were from Trenton and also stopped in Blythedale.

The editor, Fred M. Sanderson, wrote a long column describing a trip he and his family took to see friends and family back home “in the county of Ray.” They stopped in Knoxville, Morton, Orrick and Lawson, visiting and collecting gifts of produce and chickens along the way. They enjoyed their visit, especially getting to see their youngest grandson.

The First National Bank, which had closed permanently eight months earlier, announced a second dividend of 15% which was to be paid to depositors. This was in addition to the 40% which had been paid earlier. “This is considered to be very good management on the part of the receiver, W. J. Gebhard.”