Bit of History - May 1, 2024

From the Ridgeway Journal dated May 2, 1907:  The Ridgeway Christian Church announce they would be holding Special Consecration Meetings on May 5.  The members had made a number of improvements at the church including new paint and paper and new concrete walks around the building.  They earnestly asked members to attend that Sunday and bring a dollar to help defray the cost of the improvements.

The editors of the Journal felt that more of an effort should be made for “Decoration Day” which was coming up soon and that a “speaker of prominence to make the address of the day and a month’s time in which to make arrangements for an excellent musical program is none too much.”  

Ridgeway citizens were “kindly asked on May 1, 1907, within fifteen days from the date of this notice to clean up your premises” including barns and back alleys of “all old rubbish and manure” and to move it all out of town to “insure the health of its occupants”. Failure to comply could mean that one would be “looked after by the marshal” and fined the amount it would cost the city to do the work.

Amongst the ads were one from A. L. Hughes that he had money to loan as a representative of “one of the largest and oldest loan companies in Harrison County”.  Neff & Co had just gotten their spring line of men’s and boys clothing.  I. M. Reeves had “Moon Buggies” for sale and Miner & Co was selling paint for spring spruce-ups.  Maple & Ellis sold the complete line of Edison phonographs for and Irene Michaelis had all the newest hat styles in her millinery shop and would take produce as well as cash.