Bit of History - June 26, 2024

In November 1937, A. J. Milligan had a bad day.  While walking up town one day, he skidded off the sidewalk and into the street.  Hours later, he discovered that his pocket watch was missing from the trousers’ fob pocket where he usually kept it.  

The watch was a gold lady’s hunting case model, purchased in California and given to him by his sister and he was quite sentimental about it.  (Note:  a hunting case model is a pocket watch with a full lid over the glass face.)  “Under such circumstances there was but one logical thing to do – put an ad in the classified column of the Journal.  Classifieds always get results.”  So, he placed the following ad in the Ridgeway Journal on November 18, 1937: “LOST – Lady’s size gold watch, tied with piece of shoestring.  A. J. MILLIGAN.”  Then he waited. “A blast of music by the orchestra will indicate a lapse of five days.”

He returned to the Journal office to report his results, smiling as he showed the editor his watch.  When the editor asked him who found it, “I did,” said Mr. Milligan.  “It was in another pair of pants at home.  When I shucked my other pants, I forgot to transfer the watch to the ones I put on.” 

“Moral:  Classifieds always get results.”  (Ridgeway Journal, November 25, 1937.)

Bit of History - June 19, 2024

On Sunday, August 21, 1955, farmers in Harrison County were invited to the Stanton Hallock farm two miles south of Ridgeway to participate in an aerial tour of the county.  For a small fee, they were treated to a 50-mile plane ride that lasted about thirty minutes.  They were encouraged to bring a camera to “take pictures from the air of the old home place or that north 40 which has been giving trouble”.  There were six four-passenger planes and the “Flying Farmers” (farmers who owned and flew their own private planes) were also welcome to participate.  The Ridgeway Lions Club had a stand to serve food and drinks to attendees. (Harrison County Times, Aug. 18, 1955).  Picnickers were invited as there were lots of shade trees and free ice water available.

Sponsored by the Soil Conservation District of Harrison County, the purpose of the event was to educate farmers about soil conservation.  “It was stated that the effects of soil erosion are plainer when seen from above.”  (Webb City Sentinel, Aug 18, 1955.) 

The exhibits included soil and tissue testing, pest weed and grasses, a seed display by the S. W. Harrison F. F. A. chapter and an exhibit on legumes by the Cainsville F. F. A.  Bud Phillips of King City demonstrated aerial spraying for weeds and insects.  The planes and pilots were provided by the St. Joseph Flying Service.  

Bit of History - June 12, 2024

In 1926, seven years after Governor Frederick Gardiner signed the act that would make the sale, manufacture and transport of alcohol illegal statewide.  However, instead of “drying out” the state, crime rates went up as many people turned to the illegal production and sale of alcohol.

Even in Ridgeway, people were arrested for the possession of alcohol.  In 1926, Harrison County Sheriff J. B. Manifold, Deputy Sheriff John York and Ridgeway officers raided the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Winkler.  Prosecuting attorney L. R. Kautz obtained a search warrant from Justice B. P. Sigler after he had decided that liquor was being kept in the home.  They found two gallons of ethyl alcohol, two pints of “medicated alcohol meant to be used for external use” (aka rubbing alcohol) and eight pints of “bottled in bond whiskey” in the bottom of a piano in the front room of their home.  The Winklers were not home at the time, but a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Winkler was being sought.  He owned a restaurant in Ridgeway which had been searched the previous week, but the officers found nothing of significance there.  

Art Ham, who owned a café in town, also had his home and business raided by the officers when the Winkler restaurant was searched and “alcohol mopped up oc(?) the kitchen floor, where it had been poured as the officers began their search” of the café.  Both Winkler and Ham were expected to be charged for possession of intoxicating liquor, a lesser offense than the sale of intoxicants.

Bit of History - June 5, 2024

Here are a few interesting items from the Ridgeway Journal dated June 5, 1919: 

 The Ridgeway Methodist Church was planning “Indignation and Protest Day” in conjunction with Methodist churches nationwide to “take action against President Wilson’s request to Congress to for the repeal of the wartime prohibition” of the sale of alcohol. Everyone was encouraged to meet the next Sunday for a sermon titled “Booze in Politics” and sign a petition to urge Congress to continue Prohibition. Meanwhile, the Christian Church members were thinking of holding a fall revival and were asking for suggestions for a good speaker.

It had been a rainy week with 8 inches of rain from the previous Saturday through Tuesday, flooding the Big Creek and Grand River and damaging crops in the bottoms. 

 Residents were reminded to keep their grass and weeds cut and to not throw grass in the streets, per the city ordinance and told “the next notice of this nature will be at your expense.” 

The Rex Theater was showing a new “photoplay” titled “Oh, You Women”, a silent film about a soldier returning from World War 1 to find the women running things in town and the men at home tending the babies and doing housework.

The state of Missouri announced the results of the new “Farm Census”. Statewide, there were 277,244 farms and a total population of 3,293,335. Harrison County had a population of 20,466 and 3,377 farms. 

 E. Newton Carter, the county school superintendent, announced an examination would be given to determine Harrison County’s representative to the State Fair in Sedalia. The exam would cover Agriculture, History of Missouri and Arithmetic. Only boys ages 12-17 were eligible to take the test.

Bit of History - May 29, 2024

On Tuesday, May 30, 1905, the city of Ridgeway held a service commemorating “Decoration Day”, a day set aside to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.  Rev. W. F. Kenny of Gilman delivered the address and Elzumer Scott was in charge of the song service.  C.F. Hey and A. R. Dunagan made up the committee in charge of decorating the soldiers gates.  The program was expected to be held at the Methodist Church in the afternoon and those “who can will go to the cemetery to decorate the graves of departed soldiers”.  Rev Powell, pastor of the Methodist Church, preached the Memorial Sermon the following Sunday.

According to an article on the Veterans’ Administration website titled “The Origins of Memorial Day”, Major General John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR),  an organization of former Union soldiers, declared May 30 as “Decoration Day” was a tradition started soon after the Civil War as a way to honor the fallen of both the Union and Confederate armies. The date was believed to be have been chosen so that “choicest flowers of springtime” throughout the nation to decorate the graves and General Logan urged  “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance”. After World War I, the tradition was expanded to include all soldieries who had died in American Wars and in 1971, an act of Congress declared that the last Monday in May would be a national holiday known as Memorial Day.

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Bit of History - May 22, 2024

On Saturday, June 30, 1956, nine year old Terry Tripp and his mother, Mrs Gene (Clarice) Tripp were visiting the home of his grandmother, Mrs. R. E. Tripp.  While his mother sat on the front porch, Terry decided to practice his tree climbing skills.

About 8:15, “‘I heard a crack and saw a flash’, said Mrs. Tripp.  ‘I knew at once what had happened.’”  Terry, up in an old cedar tree, had come in contact with a power line.  His mother found him hanging over a limb, bleeding from his nose.  She thought he was dead until he moaned.  Then, despite her fear of heights and the lowest tree branches were higher than her head, she said “I never climbed a tree in my life, but I did then….When I heard him moan, that sent me up the tree”. She grabbed him by his belt and dropped him into the arms of his aunt Lois Tripp.  They flagged down a neighbor, A. B. Whitely, who drove the family to Ridgeway to see Dr. Lake Brewer.  Terry regained consciousness on the trip.  Dr. Brewer sent him to Noll Memorial Hospital for treatment of several burns on his body, but he did recover. (Bethany Republican-Clipper, July 4, 1956). 

Bit of History - May 15, 2024

In 1933, newly inaugurated President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive order that all the nation’s banks would close until further notice.  The national bank holiday was necessary so that people would not run to the banks to withdraw all their money and cause financially sound banks to collapse, similar to what happened to the First National Bank of Ridgeway in 1930.  

According to an article in the Ridgeway Journal on March 9, 1933 titled “Business Almost as Usual in Ridgeway”, the national closing of the banks barely caused a ripple in Ridgeway.  The Farmers National Bank remained open on the Saturday that people first started the run on the banks in larger cities and only closed on the Monday due to the executive order.  The bank was in “sound financial condition”.  Some merchants were prepared, but “not all Ridgeway merchants or others had laid in a supply of money of various denominations” and had to resort to “scurrying around to get the necessary small change to handle their daily business.”

Other businesses had to change their practices due to the bank’s closing.  Armour and Swift immediately announced they would no longer buy eggs, not having storage space for them and unable to sell them to their customers in the cities.  Egg prices dropped to 5 cents per dozen.

The bank holiday began on March 6 and ended on March 13 for the federal reserve banks and on March 15 for all other banks which then had to apply for a license, per an article in Wikipedia.  Two thousand banks didn’t reopen, but thankfully for Ridgeway customers, the Farmer’s National Bank announced that they were “open for the usual transaction of business” in an ad in the Journal on March 16, 1933

Bit of History - May 8, 2024

 In 1930, five Women’s Club  joined together to open a public library in Ridgeway.  Located at first in a corner of Stoner’s Drug Store, the library charged five cents to read a book “which should enable most anyone to read all the good books they desire.”  The clubs who sponsored the library were the Entre Nous, Delphian, Worth While, P. E. O. And O. E. S. Chapters.  As a non-profit,  they asked for donations of “any books you care to give them.”

While not frequently mentioned, the library did remain in operation until at least 1932.  In January 1931, they received a large donation of books from the pastor of the Methodist Church, Rev. C. E. Reed.  “By this gift, Rev. Reed most certainly displays the greatest interest in the educational development of our community”. The library was growing and there was a mention that the library would move from the drug store to a larger, unspecified space, but in 1932, they were still located in Stoners’.   In addition to donations from individuals and the Bethany Library, the Ridgeway library also received 50 new books from the “traveling library” (which I think was a program from the Missouri State Library system.). (Ridgeway Journal articles from May 15, 1930, Jan 19, 1931, Oct 22, 1931 and Feb 4, 1932.).  There was no additional mention of the library after 1932.

Bit of History - May 1, 2024

From the Ridgeway Journal dated May 2, 1907:  The Ridgeway Christian Church announce they would be holding Special Consecration Meetings on May 5.  The members had made a number of improvements at the church including new paint and paper and new concrete walks around the building.  They earnestly asked members to attend that Sunday and bring a dollar to help defray the cost of the improvements.

The editors of the Journal felt that more of an effort should be made for “Decoration Day” which was coming up soon and that a “speaker of prominence to make the address of the day and a month’s time in which to make arrangements for an excellent musical program is none too much.”  

Ridgeway citizens were “kindly asked on May 1, 1907, within fifteen days from the date of this notice to clean up your premises” including barns and back alleys of “all old rubbish and manure” and to move it all out of town to “insure the health of its occupants”. Failure to comply could mean that one would be “looked after by the marshal” and fined the amount it would cost the city to do the work.

Amongst the ads were one from A. L. Hughes that he had money to loan as a representative of “one of the largest and oldest loan companies in Harrison County”.  Neff & Co had just gotten their spring line of men’s and boys clothing.  I. M. Reeves had “Moon Buggies” for sale and Miner & Co was selling paint for spring spruce-ups.  Maple & Ellis sold the complete line of Edison phonographs for and Irene Michaelis had all the newest hat styles in her millinery shop and would take produce as well as cash.   

Bit of History - April 24, 2024

In the April 12, 1900 edition of the Ridgeway Journal, the editors lamented that “Ridgeway had not celebrated the Fourth of July for a number of years.”  Many people had been disappointed the year before and the editor wanted to know “now what is to be done this year?” The editors went on to suggest that if a celebration was to be had, “start the committees to work; if not let the people know it and other towns will, undoubtedly, make arrangements for celebrations of their own.”

Whether it was because of the editorial or just in-personal prodding, Ridgeway did have a grand 4th of July celebration that year.  The June 28, 1900 issue of the paper detailed as many of the plans as they could considering that they couldn’t obtain a copy of the program.  Twenty-five businesses had agreed to take part in the grand parade “and it is likely the parade will be the finest ever seen in this section of the country.  After the parade, the festivities continued in the park with an oration by the Honorable E. B. Lytle, music, literary exercises, and reading of the Declaration of Independence.  The Silver Toned Jubilee “singer and cakewalkers” of St. Joseph were expected to be there to give a grand open air concert and cake walk.  There was also to be “unlimited sports of various kinds” in the afternoon.  Readers were told to watch for “bills for particulars” as the editors were sorry that they couldn’t give a complete program.