The years 1930-1931 were a very hard time for one Ridgeway business man. Orin P. Bennet, the owner of a general merchandise store along Main Street, was having a great deal of trouble keeping his business open and had to sue some of his customers to get them to pay their accounts so he could pay his bills. As he was sitting in front of his store one evening in July 1930, a man that that he was suing stopped by and wanted to talk. John McIntosh, 25, was a field hand and O. P. Bennet was suing to have his wages garnished to pay off his account. The two men stepped around the corner where McIntosh punched Bennet, breaking his jaw. Bennet also had three broken ribs from being kicked and a head wound from hitting a piece of metal as he fell.
McIntosh was charged with felonious assault, but his trial had to be delayed as Bennet could not testify with his jaw wired shut. During the delay, Bennet’s wife, Grace, passed away in September while recovering from an appendectomy, leaving him and their son Clark. Then the First National Bank failed in December, causing more problems with his business. McIntosh was finally tried and convicted in January 1931 and fined $75. A “stay of execution” was entered until the next circuit court term in May. I didn’t find anything more about the trial.
The following July, O. P. Bennet’s general merchandise store closed its door permanently and its stock auctioned off. In addition, at least three of his properties went into foreclosure and were scheduled to be auctioned on the court house steps. But he was a survivor. In 1933, he worked with the Soil Erosion Service purchasing blue grass seed and organizing the workers. He eventually started another store and married Gladys Chapman, gaining a step-son. He was a member of the Board of Aldermen and active in the community until his death in 1945.
