Bit of History - January 29, 2025

Here are a few stories from the front page of the Ridgeway Journal dated January 25, 1912:

The Improvement Club was working on a plan to bring college courses to local farmers.  They had applied for Ridgeway to have one of several short courses offered by the College of Agriculture in Columbia.  The club was one of the first to apply and stood a good chance of getting the course, but needed at least 25 farmers to agree to pay $2.50 for the class and attend each of the five days of the course.  Courses included subjects such as poultry raising, dairying, soils, crops and stock judging.

The Journal spotlighted the live stock broker firm Polly, Lair, Rankin and Reaksecker as a “firm any town in the United States should be proud of.” They had shipped 27 car loads of stock to city markets from Ridgeway, Grant City and Blythedale the week of the article.  “They are on their horses riding in most parts of the country every day” looking for livestock to sell.   

The editor felt the need to remind people “don’t expectorate in public places”.  While at the Methodist church one evening, he had noticed one gentleman coughing and expectorating (spitting) on the floor.  Later, the editor was told that this person was “threatened with tuberculosis” and was exposing everyone in the church to the disease.  “In most places it is a misdemeanor publishable by a good fine”.  He felt that all should be welcomed in the churches and public places, but if contagious people couldn’t use a handkerchief and burn it when they got home, they should not be out and about.

Young people and farmers alike were invited to attend the “last number of the High School Lecture Course” at the Methodist Church, an illustrated lecture on Birds.  The lecture would include 150 colored slides and was given by Prof. John E. Cameron of Maryville.  “Prof. Cameron will have something to say about the value of bird in agriculture.” 

A practical joke was played on Ridgeway resident Lincoln Graham when he surprised his brother Earl  n Auburn Indiana with a visit.  The brothers hadn’t seek each other in five years.  As payback for the surprise, Earl arranged for the sheriff to arrest Lincoln.  The sheriff told Lincoln that his “appearance coincided with a fugitive’s description wired to Auburn last evening.”  The arrest was made near the Cook barber shop and may have gone on a bit longer, but someone “snickered and the whole plot was revealed.”  The victim joined in the laughter and was “one of the first to see the joke.”

Bit of History - January 22, 2025

From the pages of the Ridgeway Journal dated January 14 and January 28, 1926:

Mrs. J. J. Reed held a “vanishing luncheon” which included 5 guests as part of a fundraiser for the lyceum course.  Each guest paid fifty cents for the luncheon and agreed to host a luncheon themselves for four guests, each paying 50 cents.  “So the number of guests at each luncheon decreases each time by one although the number of luncheons increases.  In the end, 325 people will have been entertained”.  They hoped to raise $163.00 for the Lyceum fund if the chain wasn’t broken.

A thirteen year old boy, Vernal Killough, accidentally shot himself in the foot while hunting on the John Leazenby farm west of town.  Fortunately, Mr. Leazenby found him only a few minutes later and he was taken to a St. Joe hospital on the early morning train the next day for the shot to be removed.  He was recovering nicely at the last report.

Hiram Scott sold 10 spring pigs at the St. Joseph market for over $353.  He’d had two sows that produced 18 pigs and selling all of them gained hime $748 which would be over $13,339 in today’s money.

The Journal editor and owner Bill E. Schwarzel wrote several items about what was going on at the newspaper.  The offices were repainted by local painter Herschel Goodwin over a span of four weeks as the “old home paper had to come off the press on time”.  All the equipment had to be pulled out from the walls, then put back so that the paper could be printed.  

Another item reminded people that while the Journal always appreciated news submissions, it couldn’t handle them after 6 pm on Tuesdays “because we have but one linotype and it must finish its work each week on Wednesdays in order to get the old home paper on the press in time to routes out of Ridgeway.”  “If more of our good friends that have news items for us would remember to bring them in on Tuesday of each week, how happy everyone would be.”

In another item, the editor lamented that “everyone has colds” but he still had to get the paper out even though his staff and family were out sick and two of his employees had quit, but “such is life in a print show.”.  He then asked if “some of our good friends” who could help “while the editor gave his cold a rest everything would be lovely.”

Bit of History - January 15, 2025

One hundred and twenty-five years ago this month, the church building that houses the Ridgeway United Methodist Church was dedicated as part of a three-day long district conference.  The program included devotional services, literary programs, sermons and a revival.  The pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Ridgeway in 1900 was Rev. O. P. Kutzner.  He served the Ridgeway circuit which included Yankee Ridge, Morris Chapel, Pleasant Valley and Hazel Valley for three and a half years during which the current building was built.  He was then appointed to the Cainsville circuit where he served for 9 months until he passed away from complications of typhoid fever.  One of the Ridgeway church’s stained glass windows was dedicated to his memory.  

Rev. J. A. Showalter preached the first evening of the conference.  He would be appointed as Ridgeway’s pastor after Rev. Kutzner.  Some of the history has him confused with A. J. Showalter, who wrote the hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”.  

The Methodist church was originally formed in 1880, worshipping on a corn crib located behind where the New Ridgeway Hotel now sits.  “The bell used in the corn crib at the time the church was organized is the one used in the Methodist church today, so the story goes.”  The first church building was completed and dedicated in 1881, but by 1898, the congregation had outgrown that first church building and needed something bigger.  The current church was built at a cost of $3000 and was dedicated debt-free at 2 pm on January 24, 1900.  Bishop J. N. FitzGerald of the St. Joseph district preached the dedication sermon.  (Sources:  Ridgeway Journal,  Jan 18, 1900 and “100th Anniversary, Ridgeway United Methodist Church”)

The drawing in the Ridgeway Journal has the image reversed – the bell tower is shown on the right side of the church when it is actually on the left.  The program in the paper also noted that “Those who come through St. Joseph will notice there is only one train out to Ridgeway and it leaves the Union Depot at 10:05 a.m.”.

Bit of History - January 8, 2024

The biggest news in the January 13, 1916 issue of the Ridgeway Journal was a fire that destroyed four commercial buildings on the east side of Main Street and threatened several buildings and a home south of them.  The fire was discovered about midnight on Thursday, January 6.  The origin of the fire was never discovered because by the time it was found, two buildings, the Leazenby building and the Wymore building, which was occupied by the Noble meat market, were already in flames.  The other buildings lost included the W. W. Johnson building, occupied by the Campbell Cash Grocery and the Frank Harrison Building.  All four were reduced to ashes.  Had there been a high wind that night, several homes and businesses south of the burning buildings, including the Journal offices, were in danger.  The destroyed businesses were located on the east side of Main Street where the old Lions Hall and the Fire Department now stand.  Thanks to Ed Yeater and the bucket brigade, the bandstand which “had a close call”, was saved.

These were some of the oldest buildings in Ridgeway at the time. The Harrison building had been moved to Ridgeway from Lorraine’s business district and was vacant at the time of the fire  The Leazenby building had just been vacated by C. E. Switzer who was “indeed a lucky man” to not have lost his own business in the fire.  

Ridgeway still had no fire department and relied on the bucket brigade to help quench the flames.  “The attendance at the fire was slight.  Many of our citizens did not arrive on the scene until the buildings were all reduced to ashes while a larger per cent of the population had ‘pleasant dreams’ through it all”.  The article went on to say that “Every succeeding fire makes it more apparent that Ridgeway needs adequate fire protection.”  and “Plenty of room on Main Street for some good brick buildings.  Who’ll be the first to start the building movement.”

All four businesses had no or inadequate insurance. Noble Brothers were considering starting over as soon as they could find a building.  H. G. Campbell was undecided at the time, but was back in business by the end of February and looking for new and larger quarters.  A. C. Mintoyne had a small tin shop and living quarters at the back of the Campbell store and lost most everything.  He also had no insurance and lost about $200 in tools and household goods.  

Bit of History - January 1, 2025

The following items appeared in the Ridgeway Journal dated January 6, 1938.  

The Ridgeway basket ball team were planning to play in the Bethany tournament January 13, 14 & 15 of that year.  To accommodate this change in their schedule, they were trying to reschedule a game with King City, which was to be their first conference game of the season.  The junior high basketball team was planning a tournament to be played at Ridgeway in February 1938 and “prospects are that a number of teams will be entered in this tourney.”

 In Ridgeway school news, the week of Jan 6 was the last week of the first semester with exams at the end of the week and grades coming out the next Wednesday.  The school planned to drop the advanced algebra and salesmanship classes and offer advanced arithmetic and commercial law instead.  

The school bus drivers evidently enjoyed the winter vacation “more than either the teachers or the students did”.  Bad weather during the break made “the roads nearly impassable...One of the drivers was heard to remark that the superintendent surely picked the proper time to have vacation.”  By the time that the school resumed, the roads were dry and in good shape “to start the New Year right.”

Wedding bells rang with the marriage of Miss Ivel Mae Lobba and Max Provin on “Wednesday morning of last week.”  They were married at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Reeder with Mr. Reed officiating.  

An “Athletic Carnival” was to be held on Jan 11 in the school gym.  Attendees would see wrestling, boxing and even fencing exhibition.  This event had to be postponed to Feb 1 (due to weather maybe?) and if it was held, no results were published in the Journal.