Bit of History - September 4, 2024

From the Ridgeway Journal dated August 31, 1916: Over the “Ridgeway Journal” banner was a reminder to all: “Harrison County Fair at Ridgeway, October 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 1916”. The interesting thing about the date line was that the typesetter didn’t redo the whole line from the week before, but just replaced the date and issue number in a different font type.

The Ridgeway School was scheduled to open its new academic year the next Monday, Sept 4. They had added new equipment and books and would have all the same teachers as the year before with two exceptions. The high school offered four units (years) of English, four of math, three of science, three commercial subjects and two years of Latin. A student completing the full course could then enter any state university.

The W. C. T. U. (Women’s Christian Temperance Union) held a “silver medal contest” to raise money for prizes for the baby contest they were planning to sponsor at the Harrison County Fair. Among the entries in the contest: “An Angel in a bar-room”, “Ugly Sam”, “Strong Drink is raging” and “Pat’s Bondsman”.

Mrs. H. A. Dale was given a surprise going away party by her neighbors and friends. A piano recital was to be held the next day by the pupils of Miss Orpha Whis’er at the Christian church. The Rex Theatre was showing the photo play “The Yaqui”, a film about life in “old Mexico”.

Bit of History - August 28, 2024

On the west side of Main Street just south of Cedar are several empty lots (and I am using the plat map to count the lots).  If you look closely at the ground, a section of the tile floor of the old Farmers National Bank, earlier known as the Commercial State Bank, is still part of the landscape.  

The Commercial State Bank chartered in 1908 and opened for business in January 1909.  The bank’s primary competitor was the First National Bank of Ridgeway just down the street.  In May, the bank purchased lots 1 and 2 of Block 23 from Mrs. Lugenia Witt for $1800.  The lots had previously been occupied by a rental home and the Ridgeway Photo Gallery.  A handsome, two-story brick building was built on those lots and the new bank was open by December 1909.  

The bank wasn’t the only business that occupied the building at the time.  The rooms of the upper floor were rented out at different times to several dentists, a real estate agent, an attorney, and an osteopathic physician, and the Woodman lodge for their band to have rehearsals.

The Commercial State Bank remained in operation until 1925 when it was reorganized into the Farmers’ National Bank of Ridgeway.  The building burned in January 1979 after Farmers National Bank moved into their new building on Cedar Street, destroying the Echo Insulation Co, a neighboring building formerly occupied by the Farmer’s Store and a car owned by Mrs. Frances Woody.  (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Jan 31, 1979).

Bit of History - August 21, 2024

The 1892 election was not just one in which a new president and Missouri governor would be elected, but one where the voters of Harrison County would decide if the county seat would be moved from Bethany to Ridgeway.  There were good reasons for the move:  Ridgeway was more centrally located in the county.  If someone who lived in the northern parts of the county wanted to come to the courthouse, they couldn’t travel by train to Bethany and return home the same day.  They would have to pay for overnight lodging as well to conduct their business, whereas if the courthouse in Ridgeway, they could sleep in their own beds that night.

Ridgeway’s location on a “high, dry and level piece of land” was also considered an asset: “A better location for a city can not be found and she already has the foundations laid for one of the finest towns in north Missouri.”

To sweeten the pot, the citizens of Ridgeway planned to donate the new courthouse and jail.  As the existing courthouse had been valued at $18,000 which could then be sold, this would have been a net increase to the Harrison County assets.  (Ridgeway Journal, November 3, 1892).

Despite all the efforts, Ridgeway lost out on the county seat in 1892.  The editors of the Ridgeway Journal blamed the citizens of Ridgeway for not making enough of an effort to “let the voters know how matters really stood.” “Had Ridgeway and vicinity exerted the proper effort, victory was easily within their reach.”  (Ridgeway Journal, November 10, 1892).  It wasn’t the last effort Ridgeway made to obtain the county seat as they would try again in 1912 with considerably more effort.  One must wonder what Ridgeway would have been like now if either of those elections had been won.

Bit of History - August 14, 2024

In honor of the Lady Bobcats starting their new season, I wanted to find out more about the start of girls’ softball in Ridgeway.  In 1934, the Y. M. C. A decided that softball needed to be promoted through the state and they divided the state up into 16 districts.  Harrison County was included in the district headed up by Cameron, which also included ten other surrounding counties.   The Y. M. C. A.  published a set of rules for the game, which mostly used the same rules as baseball with some differences.  Among others, the changed included setting the length of bats to 34 and no willow or fungo wood bats were allowed.  There were to be ten players per team, bunting was an automatic out and stealing wasn’t allowed.  Gloves were optional.  

Both boys’ and girls’ teams were formed.  C. C. “Twister” Smith was working to get Ridgeway to become the headquarters of a district association so that an elimination tournament could be held there.  To accomplish this, the Ridgeway field was improved and lights added.  Twister was an enthusiastic supporter of girls’ softball.  To get community support in 1938, he brought in teams from other towns such as Des Moines, St. Joseph and Kirksville.  The Greenwood Electrics of Des Moines played here twice against the Anderson Typewriter girls of St. Joseph. These exhibition games were very popular and brought in hundreds of spectators who each paid a dime to watch the players battle it out on the field.  

Bit of History - August 7, 2024

Over the years, stories of a strange animal, referred to as a “What’s-It” popped up several times.  In 1970, the creature was spotted by Kenneth Rucker, who described it as “almost identical to California panthers”, yellowish in color and “stands almost as tall as a big hound” with a short neck, pointed ears and a long tail.  He also said it “screams at night with a high, shrill call that resembles a woman’s cry”.  

Similar “What’s-Its” creatures were seen in 1938 when its tracks were found on Judge Frank Rinehart’s farm about 4 miles north of Ridgeway.  His neighbor, Albert Polley, saw it from about 75 feet away, but wasn’t able to identify it.  He thought it was about 4 feet long, with a long tail.  Several others saw it as well.

Yet another sighting of these strange “What’s-It” animals happened in 1952, mostly around Bethany where it was seen by Dee Taylor, who described it as “It’s not a panther.  It’s got a track that is something like a badger, but it’s not a badger because it is slim with a long tail”.  There was no pad in its foot like a dog or cat would have and the track was about an inch to 1 1/2 inch wide.   

Bit of History - July 31, 2024

One hundred years ago today (July 31, 1924), the Ridgeway Journal had these items in the paper for people to read and enjoy:  The pastor of the Methodist church lamented that Sunday School attendance was down considerably from the previous week and wanted to know where everyone was.  The Rex Theatre was showing the film “Way Down East” Both the Hardware store and the Furniture store changed ownership that week.  The Women’s Christian Temperance Union held a program at the Methodist Church.  The Ridgeway Produce Co reminded the public that they closed their doors at midnight on Saturday until Monday morning.  People wanting to buy chickens for Sunday dinner needed to get them on Saturday as S. D. Rardin would not open up to sell chickens on Sunday morning. 

The Ridgeway ball team, named “McHugh’s Colts” won their game against a team from Pleasanton IA by a score of 5-2.  

That year was also an election year and there were several political ads in the paper.  Republican candidates Sam Baker and Lt. Gov. Hiram Lloyd both wanted your vote in the Republican primary. (Spoiler alert:  Sam Baker won the primary and went on to be Missouri’s 36th governor.) More interesting was an ad by A. C. Flint, a candidate for Harrison County Sheriff who warn that the “klan” was working hard to take over the government, including county government but Mr. Flint had never “taken any oath to obey somebody in Atlanta, Georgia, nor will I be influenced by somebody who has.”

 

Of greater concern to Ridgeway area residents was a quarter page ad taken out by the three sellers of coal:  the Atlas Lumber Co, the Miner & Frees Lumber Co and the Ridgeway Elevator, to inform their customers that they would no longer accept credit for coal purchases.  Coal would have to be paid for at the time of purchase.  Per the ad, sales of coal had only a very slim profit margin and the additional bookkeeping for charge accounts caused the sellers to take a loss, hence the change in policy. 

Bit of History - July 24, 2024

By the time that Ridgeway was founded, horse-drawn machinery for harvesting hay had been in use for some years, replacing the much harder method of hand cutting the hay with a scythe.  Of course, the local shop keepers had all the equipment they needed to get the job done.

To cut hay, a farmer might use a horse-pulled sickle mower.  Two dealers advertised in the Ridgeway Journal in 1891 that they had these mowers for sale, T. H. Taylor, who also sold buggies, wagons, carts, harness, binders and twine and would do repairs as well.  My favorite ad was from Peasley & Mirgon, as they detailed the features of their mower in a poem: “We have a Mower to sell, of course, That beats all the others on the force.  It has a spring beneath the bar, that makes it run without a jar; It cuts so clean and runs so light That it needs no work to keep it right…” (Ridgeway Journal, Jul 3, 1891). 

A farmer in 1891 probably raked the hay with a dump rake, which looks like the horses are pulling a large comb with curved teeth.  The operator had to stop every so often and dump the hay out of the rake before continuing.  Later in the 1890s, a farmer could buy a side delivery rake which would pick up the hay and leave it to the side of the row.  

I didn’t find balers being advertised anywhere in Harrison County in the 1890s but did find one mention of a hay baler that was destroyed in a fire in 1893.  The next item about a baler was an farm auction ad in 1902 offering a half-interest in a hay baler.

If you really want to go down a rabbit hole of interesting videos, do a search in YouTube for “horse drawn hay harvesting” or “horse drawn farming”.  If you want to correct any of my information or if you have any stories of farming in Ridgeway that you would like to share, please let me know or stop by the computer repair shop one afternoon.

Bit of History - July 17, 2024

On many of Ridgeway’s street corners you may find a square concrete post which served as a street signpost.  Sixty of these neat little posts were created by members of Ridgeway’s FFA chapter in 1967.  The FFA and 4H members then set most of them into place.  They were painted and stenciled by members of the Future Homemakers of America and Community Betterment members.

“Many residents are finding out for the first time which street they have lived on during the years.  They show pride in the neat, new markers.”  (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Sept 9, 1967).

The current Ridgeway Community Betterment members have an on-going project to clean, repaint and re-stencil the signposts.  If you would like to help restore this bit of history back into usefulness, please contact Shelly Lovitt or watch the RCBA Facebook page @RidgewayCBA for announcements about times they will be painting.

Bit of History - July 10, 2024

From the pages of the Ridgeway Journal, July 10, 1891:  J. H. Goodwin, the “Ch Town Con”, asked “Did you know that it was contrary to the ordinances of the village of Ridgeway to run horses in the incorporation? It is all the same, so please do not do it any more.”  

A group of ex-Union soldiers met on the Fourth of July to organize G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) post at Ridgeway.  They voted to organize the post and chose C. F. Fransham as chairman and L. L. Sellers as secretary.  The next order of business was to secure a charter and find a hall for meetings.  All old soldiers were requested to join as charter members.

The editor commented that the weather was quite variable: “It came nearer turning to winter again this week. In going up the street you would probably meet a person in their bare feet and the next perhaps would have an overcoat on.”

M. D. Shamblin (the agent for the railroad) noted that he sold 110 tickets for the July 4 12:55 train to Blythedale.  I didn’t find what was happening at Blythedale that generated so much interest that people chose to go there over attending the Ridgeway 4th of July celebration instead. 

A Reverend Little and his wife were due to arrive in Ridgeway soon to hold a “protracted meeting”.  They were bringing a tabernacle with them. They had been to Ridgeway before and “did a great deal of good.  There is plenty of room in Ridgeway for such work.” 

Bit of History - July. 3, 2024

In June 1935, Ridgeway residents were notified that their city water supply was shut off until further notice.  The city well, which had been supplying the residents with water via the waterworks since 1926, was undergoing repairs as the “pump at the well has been unable to raise enough water to fill the bowl and keep an emergency supply of water in store.”  Faulty valves were thought to be the problem.  A crew was pulling the pipe when the pipe got stuck, then tore loose, causing 480 feet of 5-inch pipe to drop to the bottom of the well, or so it was hoped.  New pipe was brought in from Oklahoma and installed without any interference from the missing pipe, so it was assumed the pipe did, in fact, drop clear to the bottom, a distance of some 1200 feet.

The city workers hoped to have the well operational again within a week, but the repairs still didn’t fix the lack of water, so work resumed on making new repairs. They had to order a new valve from a town in Illinois, but it immediately chewed up the leathers upon installation.  After some issues with buying new leathers, four sets of new leathers arrived by train and the crew tried again.  The next attempted also resulted in the leathers being destroyed.  After a break and a few hours of sleep, they installed another set and installed the pump finally with success – “water was on tap once more”. 

“The city was dependent upon wells for a water supply for about ten days, when the fire hazard never was greater.  Luckily, there was no call for the fire department.”  Mayor Leazenby estimated the cost of the repairs to be about $500. (Ridgeway Journal stories June 6 – 13 – 20, 1935.)