Bit of History - April 7, 2022

The year of 1914 was a big one for the city of Ridgeway.  That was the year that the city built a City Hall and jail and contracted to have a gasoline-powered electric plant build and the city wired for electricity. In the midst of all this, on June 23, 1914, J. H. Shirer and C. S. Stoner came to the board of alderman with a proposal:  if the board would contribute to the cost of building a new bandstand in the park, they would raise the rest of the money via donations.  Per the meeting minutes of the City of Ridgeway Board of Aldermen,  the board considered that proposal and agreed to give $150.  The board appointed three men to serve as the Park Board to oversee construction:  A. A. Guteridge (Chairmen), Ernest Snider and “Mr. Daniels”.  Meanwhile, donations were being collected.  Per an article in the July 2, 1914, issue of the Ridgeway Journal, the old stand had been torn down and the new one started.  One donation was a benefit by the Rex Theater where they donated their proceeds from showing an a one-reel comedy entitled “Those Persistent Old Maids” and a two-reel drama named “The Power of Prayer”.  The program also included orchestra selections, vocal solos, and a male quartette.  At the time of the screening, the town had collected $350 of the expected $450 cost of the stand (about $12,767 today.)  By the August 1 board meeting, the building had been completed to the point of adding the roof.  

Park Bandstand in September, 2022

Bit of History - March 30, 2022

 “Where’s Perry?”  In August 1914, the Ridgeway Journal posted a $5 reward for any information about a printer of theirs named Perry Tschup (pronounced “chupp”) who had gone missing in the night of August 6.  He was described as “22 years old, of small stature, 5’6” in height, weight about 130.  Black hair and eyes, fair complexation, and at the time of his disappearance, had a slight wound over right eye.  Will probably show up in some printing office.”   (Ridgeway Journal, Aug 13, 1914)

That was the last anyone seemed to have heard of Perry in Ridgeway in 1914. I scanned through several weeks of Ridgway Journals after that notice and didn’t find another mention of him despite the $5 reward (about $140 today).  Thanks to the power of the internet, I did find him – in Indiana.  It seems that Perry returned home to Munster, IN where he worked as a printer in the winter and on freighters during the summer.  He entered the Army during WWI and got into a lot of trouble when he assaulted a young woman and ended up in jail.  He pled guilty and was turned over to the military and somehow ended up overseas to serve in the war.  He fought, was severely injured and honorably discharged.  He returned home to his old career as a printer, married, had children and grandchildren, retired from printing to become a farmer, and passed away in 1983 at the age of He died in 1983 at the age of 91. (Sources available upon request.)  I wonder if anyone in Ridgeway ever heard from him again.  I found him only because his name is rather unique and he is mentioned many times in the local papers throughout his life.  

Bit of History - March 23, 2022

We all know that advertising helps pay for the media we enjoy like streaming TV, Facebook and other social sites, radio, magazines, and yes, newspapers such as this one.  

In 1914, advertising appeared throughout the newspaper, including the front page and op-ed pages where we don’t typically see advertising these days.  For example, on the front page of the March 20, 1913 edition of the Ridgeway Journal was an advertisement for seed potatoes by Stoner’s Drug Store.  The next week (March 27, 1913) , a clothing store in Ridgeway named Campbell & Bartlett advertised their little boys’ woolen suits would last twice as long as other company’s suits for boys. Several pages later, in the “Local Mention” column, we learn that Mrs. Bessie Brock of Eagleville came to visit at the Jim Brock home, Otta Richardson went Bethany to visit his sister, Gold Medal Flour was on sale, a baby girl was born to the Inks family  and Campbell & Bartlett could clean that clothing for you to keep it looking good.  I was amused to see that the “social media” hasn’t really changed all that much.

Bit of History - March 16, 2022

In 1914, Ora Fordyce was out hunting on his property south of Ridgeway when he came upon a very unexpected site:  a body of a large reddish-brown monkey  hanging from a tree.  The monkey had a collar attached to long heavy chain that was fastened to a tree limb.  No one had any idea where the monkey came from, but Ora planned to have it stuffed and mounted.  (The Tampa Tribune, Jan 19, 1914)  I checked other sources, but no one reported a missing monkey near Ridgeway.  There was a monkey that went missing about that time from a lab at Johns Hopkins University, but that animal was found and returned. 

Ora had other interesting things happen with animals.  In 1938, his family were featured in the Maryville paper when one of his farm cats, having lost her own litter, adopted seven motherless skunks, and raised them as her own.  (The Maryville Daily Forum, Jul 06, 1936).  Then in 1940, he allegedly hauled a buffalo head back to Ridgeway that had been found just sitting on a pile of snow on Highway 69 between Eagleville and Lamoni, IA.  He installed the head in front of John Adams meat market for all to see.  (The Kansas City Times, Feb 12, 1940).

Ora Fordyce (also known as Orey F. Fordyce) was born in 1885 and grew up near Ridgeway, attending Ridgeway High School.  He owned a farm south of Ridgeway and was an avid hunter and fisherman.  He was also active in community.  If you happen to own a copy of the second volume of “Ridgeway: Then and Now”, there is a very nice story about his life on pages 18 and 19.   

Bit of History - March 9, 2022

Sometimes when I research something I find interesting, I find a fact that needs to be updated.  Such is the case with the Rev. A. J.  Showalter who wrote the music for the hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” in 1887.  Local legend was that this Rev. Showalter was the pastor at the Ridgeway Methodist church from 1901 to 1902.  Sadly, he was not actually the pastor appointed here;  A. J. was also Presbyterian, not Methodist. His initials stood for Anthony Johnson. He published over 130 music books and passed away in Tennessee in 1924.

Mention of Rev. J. A. Showalter in obituary for Rev. Isaac. Chivington, first pastor of the Ridgeway M. E. Church.  Ridgeway Journal, May 19, 1910.

Rev. J. A.  Showalter DID serve as pastor in Ridgeway from 1901 to 1902, coming here from Cainsville.  He is the one pictured with Merrill Grant in the Ridgeway: Then and Now book as well as the Harrison County Bicentennial history book.  I found his name in the Methodist pastoral appointments list published in area papers and thought it was a typo at first, but when I found his name again in 1902 in the papers, I realized that at some point, someone reversed his initials and thought he was A. J. Showalter the composer.  Rev. J. A. died in October 1902 at his home in Ballwin, KS after an illness of several months.

Bit of History - March 2, 2022

Ridgeway's original bandstand which stood in the street on the corner of Main and Cedar Streets, just in front on the building we now call the old Lions Hall.

One of the most iconic symbols of Ridgeway is its bandstand which is located in Centennial Park on the south side of City Hall.  It is a replica of the original bandstand which stood just across Main Street near what is now the old Lions Hall. The old bandstand stood over the town well and had a narrow ladder up to the top where the band played.  They played on Wednesday and Saturday evenings when many people came to Ridgeway to do their trading. 

The Ridgeway Band, taken about 1900.  

I am not sure when the bandstand was built, but it appears on the front page of the Ridgeway Journal dated June 8, 1911 and was a central part of Ridgeway social life. In the April 25, 1912 edition, the Ridgeway Journal had an article about the  Ridgeway Band organizing for that year’s entertainment under the leadership of J. H. Shirer.  They paid for their own practice hall, music and instruments and they planned to play Saturday evenings in the bandstand.  They were described as “A good strong bunch of musicians all of them and the whole bunch are old men in the music line, having played in bands in our city in seasons past.”   The old bandstand was torn down to make way for Route T.  (Bethany Republican-Clipper, Oct. 16, 1985)

Photo from the Bethany Republican-Clipper about the bandstand's construction.

Current band stand in Centennial Park under construction.

The current bandstand was built as an almost exact replica of the old one with the proceeds from the sale of the books celebrating the Ridgeway centennial:  “Ridgeway: Then and Now” volumes one and two.   An image of the old bandstand was used on the cover of the first book and the book committee headed by Alice Jean Allen raised enough money from the sale of the books to build not only the bandstand but also do the landscaping around it.  Centennial Park also includes the bell from the old Ridgeway City Hall and the flagpole was donated by the Ridgeway chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star when the group surrendered their charter and joined the Cainsville group.  

Current bandstand, taken 2021

Bit of History - February 23, 2022

Thank you to Betty P. who gave me a large stack of Ridgeway school newspapers titled “The Owl”.  The paper was put out every two weeks by the publications class.  In the February 18, 1955, edition, the Delta Lamba Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi sorority announced their picks for queen of the Heart Dance.  Queen candidates were Shirley Buis from the 8^th grade, freshman Nita Provin, sophomore Janice Hogan, junior Zoe Baker, and senior Dorothy Nible.  The candidates’ pictures were all hung in Meek’s Café with a heart.  A penny in the heart counted as one vote and the candidate with the most votes would be the queen.

In the class news:  the girls’ glee club was learning “Chop Sticks” and “Velvet Shoes”; the latter piece was going to be one of their two songs for the Maryville music competition in April.  In addition to the girls’ glee club, there were several students going to the competition to do vocal solos.  Martin Taylor planned to do a trombone solo and Dale Pontius was going to perform a trumpet solo.

The paper closed with the “Owl Hoots” gossip column that hinted at several school romances and gave this wise definition:  “Birthday – when a girl wants her PAST forgotten and her PRESENT remembered.”

Bit of History - February 16, 2022

After the Ridgeway Journal shut down after the death of its owner/editor C. C. Cline in 1941, a man by the name of Frank E. Scovil, a former printer for the Kansas City Star, decided to try his hand at running a Ridgeway newspaper in 1942 St. Joseph News-Press, Apr 5, 1942)  He had earlier declined to purchase the Ridgeway Journal and the Journal’s printing equipment had all been sold, so he had to bring in his own equipment.  He ran a contest to pick a name and six Ridgeway youth entered.  Marvin Williams won with the name “Courier” but after discussion with the others, the “Ridgeway Star” was born.  (Stanberry Herald – Headlight, Apr 16,1942.) There is not another mention anywhere of this paper, so one can assume that it didn’t stay in business long.  There would not be another paper in Ridgeway until Roger Anderson and Paul Johnson started the “Mercury-Herald” in the Anderson family home in 1949. 

Bit of History - February 9, 2022

Moving on from Ridgeway HS football to basketball in honor of Ridgeway’s homecoming, I am going to take a moment for a little family pride as well.  The Ridgeway Owls basketball team of 1946-47 was probably one of the best Ridgeway ever had.  My father-in-law, Marvin Scott, played on this team as guard during his senior year.  The Owls had a great article written in the St. Joseph Gazette,  published Feb. 26, 1947, at which time they had won 24 games without a single loss.  Miller Brown coached the team.  The article mentioned that Darryl “Doc” Dale, Jim Whistler and Frank Anderson all played offense, George Tuggle played center and guard and Bill Clayton played guard as well as Marvin.  Other members of the team included Roy Lee Brown, Roland Rucker, Kenneth Pierson, Curtis Follette, Kenneth Wise, Kenneth Ingham, Everett Hammack, Dean Pierce, Marvin Williams and Clair Poynter as student manager.

Coach Brown didn’t want to name any stars on the team but talked about how they all played together to make a winning team.  They did work well together; the opposition teams only averaged 25-30 points per game.  The Owls won 31 games that season and four tournaments before losing their only game in the postseason play.  Over 100 fans traveled to see the Owls play their game in St. Joseph.  (Ridgeway: Then and Now, Vol. II, page 120)  

Bit of History - February 2, 2022

I found a few things about the Ridgeway High School football team.  The earliest news items that I found was from 1907 where Ridgeway beat Bethany 5-0 (St. Joseph News-Press, Oct 28, 1907) and suffered their first loss of the season to the Athletic Club of Grant City 5-0 (St. Joseph News-Press, Nov 30, 1907).

The most interesting game, though, was the “Football Circus” played in Albany at the start of the 1947 season. Similar to the Basketball Carnival played the previous December, all nine teams in the Grand River Conference played.  They were divided into North (N) and South (S) groups, and they each played for one quarter with five quarters in the game.  Grant City (N) played Stanberry (S) for the first quarter, Bethany (N) played the second quarter against King City (S), Ridgeway (N) played Maysville (S) in the third, Princeton (N) and Albany (S) battled it out in the fourth quarter and Gallatin (S) played against a team made up of Bethany and Grant City players for the fifth quarter.  (Albany Ledger, Sep 11, 1947)

The purpose of the game was to give all the teams a little extra income and allow the coaches a chance to see their competition in action.  The South team won the game 13-0.  An estimated 2000 spectators watched the game and nearly 300 athletes played. (Tri-County News, Sep 19, 1947)