Bit of History -- March 18, 2026

Sometimes to get an idea for this section, I flip through the Ridgeway: Then and Now centennial book.  On page 3 of the book is a picture of several men working on clearing a train wreck. The caption reads:  “Wreck on the Railroad north of Ridgeway in 1903 or 1904.”  I searched for quite a while to find the story on this (there is nothing more mentioned in the book) and I don’t think I found the right article, but I did find this little item about a wreck near Blythedale in the Feb 15, 1906 edition of the Bethany Republican.  The incident also rated an article in the Feb 15 edition of the Ridgeway Journal.   

While the northbound freight train was running between Ridgeway and Blythedale in February 1903 “at the usual rate of speed”, one of the oil cars exploded without warning, “throwing blazing oil over the entire train.”  The next tank car caught fire as well, “as did two cars of merchandise, an empty box car and the way car, all of which were quickly consumed.”  Four men were injured in the wreck with “painful, but not serious burns and bruises. The explosion was so sudden and unexpected that it was with great difficulty that they escaped with their lives.”  The cause of the explosion was not found at the time of the article.  

“A large crowd from Blythedale and surrounding country were attracted to the scene of the wreck, which was quite an expensive one to the railroad company.”

The engine, tender and the next car were not derailed during the accident but there were several small fires that had to be extinguished before they were pulled away to safety.  The engine pictured in the centennial box appears to be off the tracks, so I don’t think this accident is depicted there.

Bit of History -- December 3, 2025

In 1920, the Ridgeway Journal dedicated an entire page of its December 20 holiday edition to stories about the Ridgeway school. The reporter from the Journal who wrote the article didn’t have a by-line so I have no way of know if the reporter was male or female.

The reporter visited every school room and described the room and what the students were doing that day. In room 1, the reporter was delighted by the décor: “the dainty curtains at the windows, the well chosen pictures on the walls, the string of Japanese lanterns and the flowers in the windows.” In every classroom, the students were hard at work with lessons in reading, arithmetic, geography, and more. The reporter also noted that “in all the rooms visited, the ample lighting, heating and good ventilation and single seats contributed to comfort and the pictures, flowers and curtains pleased the eye and the books added a charm of their own.”

“While we are proud of every branch of our school, yet we look with especial pride upon our High School.” In addition to the general education classes such as algebra, history, English and Latin, the high school provided teacher and business education with classes in typing and shorthand and prepared many students for college educations. As of the date of the article, seventeen Ridgeway graduate were enrolled in higher education with nine at Missouri State University, three in the University of Kansas, two in the Kirksville normal school (now known as Truman State University) and three in the Warrensburg normal school (now known as the University of Central Missouri.) The article then went on to describe the education program and the business courses. It ended with “The people who are now enjoying the benefits of the school should be, and are, very grateful not only for the persistent efforts of the various school boards which suggested and the people who voted for our magnificent school building, but to the efficient and unending efforts of the various teachers who have from time to time had charge of the different departments.”