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Clay County 50 Years Ago Page 5 Each week the Clay County Leader is publishing an exert from the newspaper of 50 years ago. Thanks to the Leader for allowing us to use these tidbits of Clay County's past. Judy Davidson sends the articles each week. Many thanks to Judy! January 4 County office candidates include Ewell Taylor for Prec. 4 commissioner, F.F. Greer for justice of the peace and Jim H. Mitchell for county treasurer. Clay County Farm Bureau announces a meeting at the Hut. Families are invited to bring cookies and games. Winners of the Kiwanis Club Christmas decorating contest are Cecil Donnell, Felix Watson and Tim Chadwick. About 105 attend a dance held at the Hut for college students home for the holidays. Blackeyed peas with bacon, two for 25 cents at City Food Store. January 10 FM 1197 will be extended 10.5 miles from Hurnville to Standfield. Following numerous complaints, the city police department asks residents to call with the identify of persons shooting air rifles in the city limits. McDonald brothers stage show, one night only at the Dorothy Theater, featuring Egg Head and Stinky from the KSWO-TV Southwest Jamboree. Henrietta voters head to the polls for a $50,000 bond election to buy a new fire truck, remodel the fire station and city hall and retire $10,000 in bonds with a higher interest rate. Philco 21-inch TV at Bob Meeks Service Station, $199.95 with free demonstration. January 17 Complete remodeling of the First Christian Church auditorium is under way, the first step in a two-year building program. The chamber of commerce is investigating the possibility of making a sound movie about Henrietta and Clay County. Dedication for the new Henrietta pump station from the Little Wichita River to the city reservoir is held. The station cost $28,000 and pumps 6.5 million gallons per day. 24-ounce Bema grape jelly, 33 cents at Nolen's Grocery and market. January 23 Bad weather postpones the annual Henrietta Kiwanis Club banquet. Bill Womack is to be the new president, and Earl Hoggard, former pastor of the Henrietta First United Methodist Church, is scheduled guest speaker. The Vashti committee for the community center meets to make plans to raise funds and construct a facility. New slides ae being installed at the playground at Petrolia School to go with the new swings. Some 1,454 bales of cotton are ginned at Byers, up from 668 bales the previous year. Johnson's Baby Lotion, in a new unbreakable bottle, 59 cents at City Drug. January
30 With the Jan. 31 poll tax deadline approaching, only 1,800 of about 3, 000 permits have been issued. The county tax office announces it will be open on Saturday for payment of poll taxes, plus substations in Bellevue, Byers and Petrolia. The Mothers March on Polio announces it will call upon all Henrietta residences with porch lights on from 7-8p.m. to aid in the discovery of a polio vaccine. Hamburgers, 20 cents at the Dairy Maiden, open on Sundays. February 6 Bellevue voters face a bond election to build a home economical cottage and vocational agriculture shop. No tax increase is anticipated. The 97th District Court handles 406 cases during 1953, most ever for the court, including 92 criminal cases. In addition 24 grand juries were commissioned and $34,881 in child support payments was collected. Continental Trailways announces it will locate a 24-hour bus station at the St. Elmo Hotel in Henrietta. The Mother March against polio raises $740.00 in Henrietta. Sliced bologna, 41 cents a pound at the A & P. February 15 Bellevue voters approve $30,000 in school bonds 138-37 and two related items by similar margins. Yates Motor Co. receives a highway safety award for the loan of an automobile to Henrietta High School for drivers training. Jiggs Mayo purchases the Petrolia Gulf Station formerly owned by Harold Gee. 1951 Chevrolet four-door, really clean, good tires, $225.00 at Moore-Crisp. February 22 Henrietta
girls
face
Springtown
at
Alvord
to
decide
which
will
go
to
the
regional
basketball
tournament. February 28 Henrietta
girls
receive
the
District
9-A
district
basketball
championship
trophy
after
defeating
Chillicothe
76-42 March 4 Henrietta
girls
nose
out
Springtown
44-42
to
advance
to
the
regional
basketball
tournament. March 14 The
Lo
Boy
announces
it
has
served
more
than
30,000
hamburgers
since
opening
6
months
ago.
A
new
in
door
dining
room
has
been
added. March 19 Oil
producer
and
prominent
Wichita
Falls
citizen
Bobby
Burns
is
killed
in
a
car
crash
near
Henrietta
after
returning
from
a
well
near
Bluegrove. March 27 The
Vashti
community
center
committee
announces
it
has
secured
enough
funds
to
purchase
the
Lum
Lovett
building,
which
will
be
moved
just
north
of
the
Baptist
Church. April 5 Mrs.
G.E.
Lumpkin
is
elected
president
of
the
Clay
County
Federation
of
Women's
Clubs. April 15 Clay County youth plan for the annual project show. Entries include beef, and daily cattle, rabbits and poultry, including special exhibits of parakeets, pheasants, fancy chickens and chinchillas, and a show for sheep and hogs. Events will be held in the Agriculture Building (now the senior citizens center). Dr. Robert Hurn is elected president of the Henrietta School Board, succeeding Beckham Guthrie. John Bevering and J.H. Mayo are elected to the Petrolia School Board. Hoover Aerodyne vacuum, $69.50 at Moore's. April 23 Grand
Champions
in
the
county
project
show
include
Bobby
Zachry
of
Stanfield
in
beef,
Don
Lawrence
of
Byers
in
swine,
Gabe
Davis
of
Bellevue
in
dairy,
Lauren
Daniel
of
Henrietta
in
rabbits
and
Bobby
Lee
of
Standfield
in
poultry.
April 28th Among
the
recommendations
for
the
city
cleanup
effort,
a
mobile
unit
with
loud
speaker
to
encourage
residents,
and
spray
with
DDT
after
the
cleanup. May 5 An
Oklahoma
woman
working
as
a
waitress
of
the
Henrietta
Cafe
dies
when
a
fire
guts
a
15-unit
rooming
house.
Other
residents
evacuate
safely. May 13 Top
graduates
for
the
Henrietta
Class
of
1954
are
Evelyn
Graves
and
Betty
Petrie.
Midway
top
grads
are
Nedra
Crump
and
Shirley
Shores.
Victor
Allen
and
Joe
Edd
Collins
lead
the
Petrolia
grads. May 27 Byers
Boy
Scout
Troop
96
participates
in
the
area
camporee. June 2 T.D.
Chapman
of
Petrolia
announces
he
is
reopening
the
Petrolia
Variety
Store
and
adding
a
cash
grocery. June 9 Ronnie
Hughes,
11,
of
Byers
is
honored
with
a
Boy
Scout
certificate
of
merit
for
walking
four
and
a
half
miles
in
the
dark
to
summon
help
for
an
automobile
accident
which
seriously
injured
his
mother,
father,
brother
and
grandfather. June 21 Plans
to
celebrate
the
50th
anniversary
of
Byers
are
made.
Pioneers
who
were June 27 Researchers
looking
for
the
first
gas
well
in
Texas
near
Petrolia
in
1907
�2004 The Clay County Leader
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