Bit of History -- August 27, 2025

From the front page of the Ridgeway Journal dated August 28, 1941: The list of teachers assigned to Harrison County rural schools was published. The list included 89 schools, not counting bigger districts like Ridgeway or Bethany. “An enrollment of 1,100 is expected, average for this district. An additional 125 will be studying seventh and eighth grade work.” The county superintendent was D. V. Culp. He announced that two schools had closed from the previous year and the children would be reassigned to other schools. He also said there would be no change in textbooks.

Rural school teachers would have the opportunity to further their own education by taking courses offered by the extension center in the court house assembly room. Classes were offered every two weeks and included: Geography 104, Conservation of Our Natural Resources, with study of the movement to further their wise utilization; Education 142, History of Education in the United States, a survey of European backgrounds and our educational development in the colonial period.

I found Dorothy Polley, former Ridgeway R-V teacher and writer of this column in the list, but I can’t make out the name of the school where she was to teach. You may find names of teachers and schools you recognize in the list. You can find the complete list on the RCBA Facebook page (search for @RidgewayCBA) or on their website at RidgewayCBA.blogspot.com. Both will have the article posted Friday morning by 6 am.

Bit of History -- August 20, 20205

A funny little feature story published in the Ridgeway Journal on August 9, 1934, Hershey Goodwin and his cow famous nationwide. Hershey kept his cow in a pasture on the northwest side of town and every morning and evening he would drive in his “motor car” to milk her. He would then honk his horn to call her. “No matter where bossy is in the pasture or whether she can see Mr. Goodwin or not, she heads at once for the southeast gate to be milked.” Mr. Goodwin didn’t explain how he trained her to come at the sound of his horn but “several veracious witnesses attest that she does”

The news wires picked up this little story and over the next couple weeks, the Journal staff got letters from Ridgeway folks in far off cities telling how they read about the cow in their local papers. People first read about the cow in Des Moines and the story spread nationwide: “Mrs. Sam Whitehead received a letter from a friend in Shreveport, Louisiana, in which she related seeing the story of Mr. Goodwin's cow in their local paper, and telling how surprised she was to see an item under a Ridgeway date line down in Louisiana.” Mr. Goodwin got a letter from Long Island, NY from someone who had read about his cow and Dr. Lake Brewer got a letter from Raymond Kearny of New Jersey who found the story in the New York Evening Sun and “was surprised to see an account of Hershey Goodwin's cow under a Ridgeway head line.” (Ridgeway Journal, Aug 30, 1934.) 

Bit of History -- August 13, 2025

In 1899, the Ridgeway school was scheduled to open on September 4.  Superintendent Mark Burrows placed an advertisement in the Ridgeway Journal on August 31, 1899 touting all the improvements that had been made to the school and what students could expect from their education:   “The High School course of study has been extended into a full four years' course. Over $200 has been spent in improving the library.”  The state had increased the requirements for teacher certificates so that a student who wanted to become a teacher needed to take literature and algebra to be able to earn a second grade teaching certificate.  To earn a first grade certificate, the student also had to take a one branch of science, which may be either botany, zoology, physics, or physical geography; and in one branch of history, either ancient, mediaeval, modern, or English.”  

The students had to pay $1.75 per month for their tuition which was “lower than that of any school offering equal advantages.”  The article went on to describe the subjects that a student could expect to study over the course of the four years which would enable prospective teachers the knowledge they needed to pass the certification exam to teach.  

Bit of History -- August 6, 2025

From August 31, 1911 edition of the Ridgeway Journal:  

The A. G. Scott family (no relation) held a huge family reunion in the Ridgeway city park.  Sixteen brothers and sisters were able to get together for the first time since their mother had passed away fourteen years earlier. “Six states were represented, as it were, by those who came from a distance. There was Charley from Chicago, Illinois; Ota from Towner, Colorado,: Minnie from Chase, Nebraska: Zenith from Washington, D. C. Edna, from Indianapolis, Indiana, and Eva from Topeka, Kansas, the balance of the family living ere There are sixteen in all and every one is enjoying the best of health.”  The next day, 140 more family members joined them for a day of picnicking, games, music and stories from Uncle Bill Graham who told of how “he had marched into the battle of Gettysburg to the tune of "Smithton" which they had just played” and if the call came again, he would gladly join up again to serve his country. 

The afternoon had a variety of entertainment including a family ball game in which Ol Scott “in a heartrending effort to make a home-run, went on on all fours between third and home, his wind about gone.  He made a brave effort to reach the goal on his hands and knees but put out ten feet from the plate.”  There was also “an interesting foot-race between Aunt Rachel Robb, age 82,  Kenneth Scott, age 12. Mrs. Robb easily won, and undoubtedly holds the record for one of her age.”

Altogether it was a great day for the family and made many memories.

Bit of History -- July 30, 2025

The August 8, 1953 edition of the Bethany Republican-Clipper carried a story about the no-good, very bad day for the Wesley V. Hallock family in Ridgeway.  This poor family had three separate accidents to family members within four hours, resulting in three separate trips to the Reid Hospital in Bethany.

The first trip to the hospital was for Mrs. Hallock after she was bitten by a dog.  Later, her son William, age 6, was playing “airplane” with a visitor, Elaine Johnson, age 9. “Elaine lay on her back, William Stanley took his seat on her feet, and she propelled him into the air. The final landing was not perfect, and both bones of William Stanley's right arm were broken.” The family headed to the hospital a second time to have the bones set.  

The third trip to Reid Hospital was for son Gary Hallock, age 10, who “was caught between a truck being backed by his father, and the hot engine of a tractor”.  The poor boy suffered painful I burns down his back, but thankfully no broken bones.  He was able to come home after being seen.