Here are a few Ridgeway news items from the Bethany Republican-Clipper from 1968.
Mayor Cliff Carson announced that the city would start taking bids for two oxidation ponds to replace the old cess pond. One would be located southwest of Ridgeway on the Charles Luper farm and the other would be built on the Dolyn Lacy property east of town. The city had gotten a federal grant to help with the costs which were estimated to be about $18,000. At the time, the city had about 175 users of the water and sewer systems and new users were being added from existing homes and newly constructed buildings. The water for Ridgeway came from a 3 ½ acre lake northwest of town and a pump located on East Big Creek was used several times to refill it when it got low. (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Jan 10, 1968).
There were two big changes in Ridgeway businesses then. The first was that the Consumer’s Grocery store was closed and sold at auction. Joe Hayes had been the general manager and Harlan Hammack was the grocery manager. That left only Scott’s Grocery as “the only full-line grocery in Ridgeway, although the Ridgeway Locker carries some grocery items.” The second was that the Polley Bro.s Elevator, owned by Keith, Kenneth and Junior Polley, was sold to Consumer’s Oil, based in Maryville. The new owners announced that “many of the favorite feed and fertilizer products would be continued in stock.” (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Jan 10, 1968)
The “Big Sweep”, an annual event, was announced for April 20, 1968. It was the official kick-off day for the Ridgeway Community Betterment Association program. All the organizations in the area were invited to help clean up Main Street “in the shopping area” and to also help clean up the pair. The year before, over 100 people “moved in on Main Street with brooms and shovels to remove every bit of dirt.” The Garden club and W.S.C.S provided refreshments and the Betterment committee members gave out zinnia seeds to the workers. (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Apr 17, 1968)
CLOSING: Hope you all have been staying warm! According to my weather app as of Sunday afternoon, it should start warming up to the 40s this weekend. Hopefully it will melt off this snow. Have a great week and as always, please be sure to send me any news items by Sunday evening. Thank you for reading!
