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WEDNESDAY, September 1, 2010 ~ Vol. 14 No. 31

Monroe City, MO

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40 Years Ago, Holy Rosary’s new church in fi nal stages of construction 90 Years Ago

40 Years Ago, Holy Rosary’s new church in fi nal stages of construction 90 Years Ago

January 17, 1919
Directors and offi cers of the
Monroe City Bank elected for 1919
were: J.S. Scott, D.R. Davenport,
J.J. Brown, M.B. Proctor, P.W. Huston,
R.S. McClintic, J.V. Proctor,
William Buckman and Leo Bell,
directors; J.S. Scott, president; J.J.
Brown, vice president; M.B. Proctor,
cashier and J.V. Proctor, secretary.
W.B. Fahy was serving as deputy
U.S. Marshal for the eastern district
of Missouri.

Sgt. Leo Boarman returned after
six months’ service overseas with
an aero reconstruction squadron.
Bailey T. Turner had been discharged
from the U.S. Navy at the
Great Lakes training station. He
went to Shreveport, La., for a visit
with Mrs. Turner, whom he had not
seen since their marriage the previous
fall.

80 Years Ago
January 18, 1929

Temperatures of from six to 10
degrees below zero were registered
in Monroe City the morning of January
13 for the coldest period of the
year.

Vestrymen of St. Jude’s Episcopal
Church parish elected for 1929
were: Harry Strean, Edmund Jaeger,
Robert L. Hawkins, M.C. Hawkins,
Hunter Anderson, L.L. Lane, Miss
Susie McClintic and Mrs. A.A.
Melson.

Members of Edgar McCann
Post No. 263, American Legion,
bagged 555 cotton-tails in a rabbit
hunt staged January 15. The squad
captained by C. Ray Anderson had
the honor for the largest number secured
255. The Henderson Produce
Company shipped a full carload of
rabbits on January 18 to bring their
shipments for the season to the
30,000 mark.

Miss Addine Sandifer and Carl
Adam were married by the Rev. Fr.
Thomas Fox in Hannibal January
16.

70 Years Ago
January 19, 1939
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Bynum
southwest of town observed their
30th wedding anniversary January
6.

Morris Mitchell had a position in
the offi ce of Swift & Co. in Omaha,
Neb.

Directors of the Hunnewell Bank
elected for 1939 were: C. J. Horn,
John Horn, Bryan Griggs, H.K.
Hawker, Tom Hilleary, Peter Rasmussen
and Eldon Lippincott. The
board named Rasmussen president,
Hawker, vice president; Griggs, secretary
and Robert Bates, cashier.
Offi cers and directors of the
Farmers Bank of Edina elected for
1939 were: W.M. Glascock, Charles
Burditt, Blucher Davis, James
Ritchie, Rolla Davis, Dan Easdale,
and Will Wagner, directors: W.M.
Glascock, president; Charles Burditt,
vice president and Rolla Davis,
cashier.

Miss Georgia Karr, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Ed Karr of this city,
was elected president of the Nurses’
Alumni Association of Levering
Hospital in Hannibal.
James Finney, Arlene Krummel
and Kenny Nesbit of the fi rst grade
and Elmo Barr of the second grade
had perfect attendance records for
the fi rst semester of the school year.

60 Years Ago
January 20, 1949

Miss Helen Delaney went to
Peru, Neb., where she had accepted
a position as supervisor and parttime
teacher in the fi fth and sixth
grade of a practice school for a state
teachers college.

The Rev. Marvin Pitney, pastor
of the First Baptist Church, attended
the conference for Baptist ministers
in Jefferson City.

Mr. and Mrs. Buell Berlin north
of Monroe City were parents of a
son born January 17. Mr. and Mrs.
Gilbert Potterfi eld were parents of a
son, Larry Wayne, born January 16.
Dr. and Mrs. E.E. King, III, of St.
Louis were parents of a daughter,
Linda Faye, born January 5. Mrs.
King is the former Harriette Anne
Moyers.

Frank Lockett and Paul Calvert
enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps
and were stationed at a fi eld in Texas.
They enlisted in Hannibal and
went to Jefferson City January 3 for
their physical examinations.

Miss Frances Jean Browne,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F.M.
Browne of Hunnewell, and William
N. Clapper, son of Mr. and Mrs.
R.G. Clapper of Shelbina, were
married January 15 by the Rev. Fr.
E. Connolly.

50 Years Ago
January 15, 1959

The Missouri Division of Health
had issued a practical nursing home
license to the Monroe City Rest
Home, operated by Mrs. Virginia
Kinsey.

A Westinghouse Laundromat
was established in Monroe City by
the Jerry-Don Company of Moberly
in the Medcalf building owned by
Alfred Buckman.

Men of the Monroe City community
planned a fox hunt January 18
starting at the Hereford school.
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Baynum
celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
January 11.

L.O. Kuhlman represented the
Monroe City Businessmen’s Association
at a meeting in Kansas City
January 19. The meeting was to discuss
a new law relating to fi nancing
new businesses in small communities.

Miss Mary Katherine Fessenden
of Palmyra and Donald R. Jarman
of rural Monroe City were married
January 10.

New People: a son, Steven
Wayne, to Mr. and Mrs. Carl Beaver,
January 9; a son, James Edward,
II, to Mr. and Mrs. James Spalding,
January 8; a son, Daniel Joseph,
January 8, to Mr. and Mrs. Harry
Yates; a son, Kevin Kelly, January
8, to Mr. and Mrs. Juett Kendrick;
a son, Loren Frederick, to Mr. and
Mrs. William Joseph Smith, January
6; and a daughter, Rose Laurin,
to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hagan of Atlanta,
Ga., January 7.

40 Years Ago
January 15, 1969

Holy Rosary Catholic Church
is in its fi nal stages of construction
and should be completed in about
six weeks. The altar of Italian marble
was pictured in the News and
weighs 2900 pounds, the top slab
alone weighing 1900 pounds.
The total assets in the Monroe
City Bank was $7,140,200.53
and at the Marion County Mutual,
$3,679,041.00.

Births: a daughter, Deanna, January
12 to Sgt. and Mrs. Michael
Mayer.

Sgt. Howard Willard was discharged
from the army after being
stationed in Mannheim, Germany
since Sept. 1966.

Airman John W. White completed
basic training at Lackland
AFB, Texas and was to be assigned
to Lowry AFB, Colo. for training in
missile electronics.

30 Years Ago
January 18, 1979

Monroe City was digging out
of the “Blizzard of ’79” as several
residents traveled about the area.
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Benson were
held up by the blizzard as they went
to Iowa to visit their daughter, and
a group of residents were trying to
return home from a trip to Hawaii
when their 747 plane could not land
in St. Louis.

Girl Scout cookies were everywhere
in the living room of Belinda
Frosch, Brownie Leader. Monroe
City Girl Scouts sold a total of 251
cases or 3,012 boxes of cookies.

Mr. and Mrs. Julius Garrelts were
to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary
January 28.

Births: a daughter, Bethany
Lynn, January 6 to Mr. and Mrs.
Jerry Mayer of Laconia, N.H.

20 Years Ago
January 19, 1989

The following directors were
elected during the annual stockholders
meeting at the Monroe City
Bank. Elected were: Scott Conway,
John R. Hancock, Robert L.
Hawkins, Jr., Ambrose Quinn, Weldon
Paris, Robert Maddox, John
F. Smith and Michael L. Sparks.
Scott Conway, chairman; Robert
H. Maddox, vice chairman; John R.
Hancock, president, Donald E. Perrine,
vice president and cashier, and
Mark Saunders and Bret Gosney,
assistant vice presidents.

Four thousand dollars was raised
at the auction held for six-year-old
Jimmy McElroy to help pay for his
liver transplant.

Births: a daughter, Molly Marie,
January 6 to James and Colleen
Closser of Hannibal.

10 Years Ago
January 19, 1999

Taken from the fi les of The Lake
Gazette

A crowd of 350 attended the
grand opening of the Madison-Hunnewell
Bank.
Nellie May (Nelle) Shuck, 104
died at the Monroe City Manor Care
Center on January 17. She was the
town’s oldest citizen.

Births: a son, Stone Rennolds,
January 13 to Bridget and Phillip
Potterfi eld; a daughter, Kira Marie,
December 11 to Bob and Angela
Lawler of Maple Grove, Minn.

Snowmen were popping up everywhere
in Monroe City as results
of the recent snow fall.
A long-time coach and teacher,

Dan Mudd, was honored January 30
as the Middle School Gymnasium
was named in his honor. 1648 090114 1/4/2009 nws

Continuing school renovations are result of bond issue

While many take the start of a
brand new year to plan for home
improvement projects, Monroe
City R-1 High School Principal
Chris Redmon refl ects on the completed
gym and chemistry classroom
renovations.

The gym features brand new
electronic bleachers, a refi nished
hardwood fl oor and many new cosmetic
touches.

According to Redmon, the gym
fl oor is usually refi nished every decade.
"It was time to be resurfaced,"
Redmon said. "Usually you want
those things to be done every 10
years for maintenance, to sand
down to a level and restripe and repaint,
and it had gone about three
years longer than that."
Along with renovating the fl oor,
there are now brand new bleachers.
"We replaced those in our gym.
It came with the existing building.
They had been here a while. They
were starting to get unsafe," Redmon
said.

The old bleachers required new
bolts every year to keep them safe.
"It was time to make a move
there. That was probably the biggest
purchase that we did," Redmon
said.

The new bleachers will no longer
require manual labor to unfold
and put up.
"It is easier to get in and out
because they are electronic. They
can move those bleachers without
any help. Otherwise before it took
us getting a group of kids to push
them in," Redmon said.
The only delay in the project
came with the late arrival of the
bleachers.

"If you talk about how long it
would have been down, in probably
a week and a half they would
have been done with everything,"
Redmon said. "It was just spaced
out over quite a bit of time."
The fl oor was fi nished over the
summer break.
"We started school without
bleachers. When the bleacher guys
came, it took them three days to get
done," Redmon said.
The delay in bleacher arrival
was due in part to waiting for a
bond issue to be approved.
The only drawbacks from the
new bleachers are less seating and
added diffi culty when it comes to
cleaning, according to Redmon.
Seating was taken out by the floor
and by the stage to give players
more space to maneuver during
games and improve the fl ow of
walkway traffic.

With any home improvement
project comes additional cosmetic
changes. After all, everything
needs to match.

"In addition to all of that, we
didn't want the walls and surroundings
to look poor. So, we put a new
paint job in. That was professionally
done. It looks extremely nice.
We really dressed that gym up quite
a bit," Redmon said.

With support from the booster
club, new, smaller conference banners
were purchased.
Overall, the gym renovations
have been well received.
"It was much needed and it's had
some good comments by people in
the community and those who have
been in the tournament games really
do appreciate it. I think they recognize
that those tax dollars went
towards at least something that was
worthwhile," Redmon said.

Including the floor, bleachers
and other cosmetics, the project
cost in the range of $85,000 to
complete. According to Redmon,
the bond issue paid for the bleachers
with the rest taken care of from
the annual summer maintenance
budget.

"The floor had to be done. The
bleachers had to be done. From a
safety standpoint, I think we were
buying time every year," Redmon
said.

While students and visiting
teams enjoy the new look, it has
also made a positive impression
among older Panther fans.
"Some of our elderly people really
appreciate the hand rails and
the ease of getting up and down
those bleachers. They have made
several comments to me. We've got
better handicap seating. With the
way those bleachers are constructed
they can move back to create
some slots for a wheelchair. Those
we did not have before," Redmon
said. "The space and comfort level
is quite a bit better."

While the majority of the project
is completed, the only remaining
objective at this point is replacing
the gym doors with doors that have
an improved locking mechanism.
Redmon said this would reduce
traffi c through the gym and reduce
the aging process of the floor.

Redmon hopes to have the new
doors installed by the start of the
next school year and also plans on
replacing some of the upper level
windows to improve heating.
He said the remainder of the
bond issue money for would go toward
new window walls throughout
the school.
Science class
"That was very extensive. We
gutted the entire thing out," Redmon
said.

Everything from the concrete
fl oor to the ceiling was remodeled
in the chemistry class.
A new drainage system was installed.
A brand new chemistry lab
was included.

"Those were inefficient and the
drains were falling apart in the
fl oor. Just old pipes. So that whole
process took quite a bit," Redmon
said.

The chemistry closet rooms
were reconfi gured and rearranged
the storage area with a sliding window
door for the chemistry closet
that provides access to the room.
There is a new emergency eyewash
station now.
There was a new fumigator installed
to replace the unit that no
longer worked.

As the start of school approached,
the high school worked
around the construction.

"Because of the length of the
project, it took us into the school
year. We started off the year with
our science labs and science students
displaced for several weeks.
Our science teachers did a great job
of being in an alternate area and
conducting class," Redmon said.
Now that the remodeling has
been completed, the teachers can
return to a completely revamped
classroom with new resources.

"Our teachers are very appreciative
of what they've got to work
with now," Redmon said. "I think
space wise we are more effi cient.
Equipment wise, it's more useable
where as half of our sinks didn't
drain and gas valves and things of
that nature... all those things from
a safety standpoint are a critical
area."

Along with usual maintenance,
the classrooms were upgraded with
smart boards and lighting that can
be dimmed.

"That's been a big plus to have
that, depending on what they are
showing on the smart board. The
architects did a great job with that,"
Redmon said.

The principal said enrollment
in upper level science courses has
increased in recent.
"This is a good reward for kids
being interested in science. They've
got some good facilities now to
work under.

They had to suffer
through the bad years of waiting to
get to this point and I think they are
very excited to have it. The teachers
are good caretakers of that area.
I'm proud that they've had that ability,"
Redmon said. 1621 090114 1/4/2009 nws

Joplings welcome daughter

Katie Renee Jopling & brother Alexander Papillion, Neb.

Alexander Jopling is proud to
announce the birth of his little sister,
Katie Renee on Nov. 17, 2008.
She was born at Audrain Medical
Center in Mexico at 8:56 a.m. Katie
weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20
inches long. Her parents are Ryan
and Kathy Jopling.

Katie’s paternal grandparents
are Keith and Mary Poelker of
rural Monroe City. Her paternal
great-grandfathers are Ed Schnitzler
and Richard Poelker, both of
Monroe City.

Katie’s maternal grandparents
are Roger and Linda Nelson of
Graham and Robert and Sherry
Fischer of Falls City, Neb.

Her
maternal great-grandparents are
Herschel and Betty Nelson of Graham,
Clara Virtskia of Wymore,
Neb, and Wayne Stollenburg of Pappillion, Neb.
1636 090114 1/4/2009 nws

Wallace Roy Severs dies

Services for Wallace Roy Severs,
Sr. 91 of Perry were held at 11
a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, at the
Bienhoff Funeral Home in Perry
with Rev. Richard Messner officiating.

Burial will be in the Oakland
Cemetery, Monroe City.
Mr. Severs died at 6:17 p.m.
on Jan. 6, 2009 at Monroe City
Manor.

He was born Dec. 28, 1917 in
St. Louis, the son of Ralph A. and
Della Walton Severs Sr. He was
married to Mary Maljevac on Oct.
15, 1938 in St. Louis and she died
on January 25, 2008.

Survivors included one son
and daughter-in-law, Wallace
R. and Carol Severs Jr. of Center;
one daughter and son-in-law,
Shirley M. and Don Dintelman of
St. Louis; one brother, Lawrence
Severs of Springfi eld; and three
grandchildren, Traci and Andrew
Ourth of St. Louis, Clinton Severs
of St. Louis, and Donna and Dan
Jablonski of St. Louis.

He was preceded in death by
one brother, Ralph A. Severs Jr.;
and three sisters, Florence Messner,
Hazel Howard, and Virginia
Ehler.
Mr. Severs was a member
of the Brotherhood of Railway,
Airway and Steamship Clerks Affi
liated AFL-CIO.

He was general
foreman of the Building and Bridge
Department of Terminal Railroad
Association, retiring after 40 years.
His real passion was farming in the
Perry area since 1962. He loved
working on his farm and working
with cattle.

He moved to the Perry
area after his retirement in 1977.
Memorial contributions may
be made to the Immanuel Lutheran
Church, West Ely or First Assembly
of God Church, Hannibal.
Pallbearers were Clinton Severs,
Gary Gregory, Dan Jablonski,
Al Berghager, Andrew Ourth and
Ralph A. Severs, III. 1622 090114 1/4/2009 nws

Memories of depression are fresh as inauguaration looms

On Jan. 20, 2009, Barak Obama
will be sworn in as President of the
United States. His term of offi ce
will begin in a world economy that
is often compared to that which
led to the Great Depression. Like
Franklin Roosevelt, who took offi
ce in 1933 during a time of economic
crisis, our 44th President will
inherit the consequences of previous
administrations’ policies. Like
Roosevelt, he was elected on the
promise of change.
For 80 percent of Monroe County
citizens, the Great Depression
happened before we were born. We
have no memory of the hardships
our parents and grandparents faced
in that era. However, many of
the problems recognized then are
similar to those in today’s downturn.
An understand of history does
seem to be leading the way for the
foreseeable future, but will it be a
change from the policies that pulled
us out of the Great Depression?
Can we spend our way out of the
current recession and avoid the
gloom and doom predicted on a
daily basis by the national media?
According to one on line timeline,
during World War I federal
spending grew three times larger
than tax collections. The government
cut back on spending to balance
the budget in 1920 and a
severe recession resulted. In the
next decade an average of 600
banks failed each year, the value of
farmland fell 30 to 40 percent, and
about 1,200 mergers swallowed up
more than 6,000 previously independent
companies. By 1929 only
200 corporations controlled over
half of all American industry. Organized
labor declined throughout
the decade. “Technological unemployment”
entered the nation’s vocabulary
and as many as 200,000
workers a year were replaced by
automatic or semi-automatic machinery.
In 1924 the stock market began
a spectacular rise. Between
May 1928 and September 1929,
the average prices of stocks rose
40 percent. Trading mushroomed
from 2-3 million shares per day to
over 5 million. The rich got richer
and the poor got poorer. Individual
worker productivity rose 43 percent
from 1919 to 1929; the richest
one percent owned 40 percent of
the nation’s wealth. Taxes on the
rich fell throughout the decade.
By 1929 the bottom 80 percent
of all income-earners were removed
from the tax rolls completely.
As consumer spending declined,
the backlog of business inventories
grew. The railroads suffered a
loss of revenue as the shipment of
freight declined and manufacturing
fell with lower demand. Automobile
sales declined by a third. Construction
was down $2 billion from
that of 1926.
A recession began in August.
The stock market crashed on Oct.
29, 1929. At that time four million
American’s or just three percent of
the population owned stocks. In
contrast, some experts claim that
today nearly 50 percent of Americans
own stock, either in a 401(k)
plan through their employer or private
investments.
During Herbert Hoover’s term
as President, 1929-1933, the Depression
deepened. By February
1930, the Federal Reserve had cut
the prime interest rate from six to
four percent.
Treasure Secretary Andrew Mellon
announced that the Fed would
stand by as the market worked itself
out: “Liquidate labor, liquidate
stocks, liquidate real estate…values
will be adjusted, and enterprising
people will pick up the wreck
from less-competent people.” No
major legislation was passed in
1931 addressing the Depression.
The Fed took no action to increase
the money supply. Over the next
two years the Depression deepened
and spread to other countries.
Franklin Roosevelt promised
the American people a “New
Deal.” He easily defeated Hoover
and took offi ce in 1933. By then
the unemployment rate was nearly
25 percent as opposed to the 7.2
percent reported by the Department
of Labor in December 2008.
During Roosevelt’s fi rst 100 days
in offi ce there was intensive legislative
activity. Part of his plan was
to redistribute wealth from the rich
to the poor. A group of millionaire
businessmen, led by the DuPont
and J. P. Morgan empires, planned
to overthrow Roosevelt with a
military coup and install a fascist
government. They tried to recruit
General Smedley Butler to lead an
army of 500,000 and promised him
unlimited fi nancial backing and a
generous controlled media spin to
unseat the President. The plot was
foiled when Butler reported the
plan to Congress.
The “New Deal” created 42 new
agencies designed to create jobs,
allow unionization, and provide
unemployment insurance. Some,
like the Civilian Conservation
Corps, were short-lived. Social Security,
the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) and Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) are some that remain and
are supposed to help safeguard the
economy.
By 1934 the economy started
to turn around with heavy government
spending. The Gross
National Product (GNP) started
to increase and new jobs meant a
decline in the unemployment rate.
Roosevelt, however, feared an unbalanced
budget and cut spending
for 1937. By summer the nation
was in another recession.
In 1936 British economist John
Maynard Keynes wrote a book
advocating government-managed
economies in times of market distress.
Sweden, Germany and Great
Britain followed Keynesian principals
and began defi cit spending
in preparation for war. The United
States did not follow suit until
1939 when it borrowed and spent
$1 billion to build its armed forces.
Manufacturing shot up a phenomenal
50 percent between 1939 and
1941. Unemployment remained in
double digits until 1941 when the
U.S. entry into World War II created
defense-related jobs. Although
the war was the largest single tragedy
in human history, the United
States emerged as the world’s only
economic superpower.
If defi cit spending helped end the
Great Depression, how much will
it take to turn the current economic
tide? The Obama administration
will also inherit the highest ratio
of Federal debt to Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) since 1955. On
Sept. 30, 2008, the national debt
crossed the $10 trillion mark, or 69
percent of the GDP. The October
3, 2008, bailout bill raised the U.S.
debt ceiling to $11.3 trillion.
It will be left to the next generation
of historians to assess the
success of any changes the new
administration makes. For now, in
what all agree are uncertain times,
perhaps we should take a few of
the almost daily suggestions from
the media to heart and learn how to
cut corners like our ancestors did
in the Great Depression. My personal
favorite suggestion of the past
week is: Learn to bake bread and
grow tomatoes. Country folks can
survive

By Nancy Stone 1649 090114 1/4/2009 nws

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03/29/2009