Clay County, TXGenWeb
Project
Clay
County 50 Years Ago Page 4
Each week the Clay County Leader
is publishing an exert from the newspaper of 50 years ago. Surprisingly
the dates for 1951 and 2001 are the same. Thanks to the Leader
for allowing us to use these tidbits of Clay County's past.
Judy Davidson
has graciously offered to take over submitting this column to
the Clay TX site after Bage's passing.
March 17
Henrietta School Board election
will fill positions held by Bechman, Guthrie, Carl Zachry and
Ben Whitaker.
County Commissioners approve
the sale of land at the Pioneer Grounds to the VFW for construction
of a post home.
Henrietta Ministerial Alliance
schedules an Easter sunrise service at the Bill Fields place
on the Wichita Falls highway.
Marine Cpl. Andrew Smith
of Charles calls from San Francisco to say he is on his way home
after 11 months in Korea.
Keepsake diamond ring $200
from V.C. Farley
March 19
Ten rolls of copper wire stolen
from JAC Electric is recovered north of Thornberry where thieves
tried to burn it and two suspects are arrested near Borger.
R.T. Saling, Jr. is reelected
VFW post commander with Conner Fletcher as senior vice commander
and Leon Bell as junior vice commander.
A special meeting to discuss growing
castor beans is scheduled in Bluegrove.
Federated clubs of Clay County
hold their semiannual meeting at the Charlie Baptist Church.
Mrs. R.A. Garrison is president.
Tires four for $49.95, as little
as $1.25 per week at Meeks Station.
March 26
Lone Star Gs announces a 13 cent
per MCF rate increase for areas outside Henrietta and notes rates
have not been raised in 25 years and were lowered 10 cents in
1942. An increase for city residents was approved previously.
Bob Meeks is notified of
approval to become local distributor for Goodyear Tire and Rubber
Co. products.
The Power Commission in Washington
issues a temporary permit for Lone Star Gas Co. to store natural
gas at the New York City field. Pipeline construction is estimated
at $1,144,617.
Bellevue voters approve city
water bonds for $60.000 for a distribution system by a 100-58
vote. It will be connected to the artesian well drilled the previous
summer. A private water system serving 35 homes will be sold
to the city.
Work nears completion on
the new Edwards Public Library.
Ralco sewing machine, $89.50
with attachments at Moore's Hardware. 1937 DeSoto coupe, $67.50
at Joe Mayo Motor Co.
April 1
The New Edwards Public Library
is dedicated in Henrietta, a gift from Dr. A.B. Edwards and his
sons Bryant and Kirk.
Henrietta FFA livestock judging
team places third at the Wichita Falls District Contest. Team
members are Luther Lyde, Leo Durham and Wilson Scaling.
Ground is broken and Henrietta
VFW members plan work days to prepare to lay the foundation for
the new building. Membership drive results in 104 post members.
Countywide dairy meeting is planned to discuss dairy problems.
Beef roast 37 cents a pound at
Park's Grocery
April 13
The Clay Co. Federation of Women's
Clubs serves as hostesses for opening week of the Edwards Public
Library.
Byers makes national news when
the city's water supply lake runs dry. A nearby spring was tapped
and a pipeline laid but it proved insufficient to alleviate the
situation. Water usage is limited to a 1-2 hours a day.
Troy Douthitt Jr. is sworn in as
Henrietta mayor. Rex Davis is reelected Bellevue mayor. Beckham
Guthrie is named President of the Henrietta School Board.
A farm ownership meeting gives
information that family living expenses rose from $1,009 in 1947
to $1,403 in 1952 while farm operating expenses increased from
$1,847 to $4,540.
Admiral TV sets, 17 inch, $1179.95
and up at Hill Motor Co.
April 18
An announcement for the annual
Clay Co 4-H and FFA project show says that more than 100 "boys"
will be showing their animal projects.
In his column Jack Wettengel
says he has learned that Henrietta city water is harmful to plants
and conducive to gallstones.
Doris Anderson of Henrietta
Floral Co. is among six designers invited to demonstrate before
350 florists at a meeting in Oklahoma.
The annual Hymn Festival
of combines choirs of Clay Co. churches is announced.
Pvt. Robert L. Groves of
Petrolia is wounded with the U.S. Marines in Korea.
April 27
Leftover clothing from the library
rummage sale is divided among area churches for local relief
and shipment to Korea.
Sandra Guthrie is crowned
queen of the annual Henrietta High School junior-senior banquet.
Jackie Pieratt of Byers wins
individual high point judging honors at the annual Clay County
project show
Henrietta band members Johnny
Mummer and Joyce Hill receive Division One rating in student
conducting at the annual ban festival in Denton.
May 1
C.C. Elkins returns to Henrietta
to open a sheet metal shop with Leon Bell Plumbing.
Mrs. J.W. (Katherine) Douthitt
is chosen as the Texas woman of the distinction for Henrietta.
Project show trophy winners
include K.W. Adair of Byers for hogs, Gene Davis of Bellevue
for dairy, Monty Barnett of Bellevue for beef, Boyce Hurley of
Henrietta for poultry and Robert Estes of Byers for rabbits.
Total assets at the First
National Bank of Byers, $967,368.
Nylon hose 75 cents to $1.49 at
John's Dry Goods.
May 9
Ten two-bedroom homes are completed
in the Rodgers Addition in Henrietta in the $7,000 range.
Lawton Flinn of Bellevue
is elected president of the Clay County School Board.
Try outs for Henrietta band
mascot are set for first graders.
Examination are set for Petrolia
post master at a salary of $3,465.00 a year.
Working man's lunch, 50 cents,
hamburger, 20 cents at Big Jim's Cafe.
May 17
Henrietta fireman will play two
games of donkey basketball. Admission is 50 cents and 25 cents.
Congressman, Frank Ikard
is the speaker for the annual JAC Electric Co-Op meeting.
Wakley Mobley is named the
new drum major for the Henrietta High School band. The band is
expected to increase to 68-piece band, up from 58.
Marine Pfc. Robert (Sam)
Groves of Petrolia is wounded in Korea.
Samsonite luggage, $17.50-$25.00
at Moore's Hardware and Appliance.
May 24
Johnny Cunningham is valedictorian
and Ernes Deen Thompson is salutatorian of the Henrietta Class
of 1953.Top Midway graduates are Nell Fuller and Joan Goad.
James Mayo is elected new
Henrietta fire department chief.
Damage from a hail storm
in Bellevue is estimated at $10,000 to $15,000. Every composition
roof in the city has damage, according to reports, and several
chickens are killed.
Miss Peggy Smith of Denton County
is named new Clay County home demonstration agent.
City marshal C.M. Peden announces
tickets will be issued for violating the one-hour parking ordinance
on Omega St. between Henrietta and Graham St.
May 30
Twenty-four Henrietta senior class
members return from the senior trip to Houston and Galveston
A hearing is set with the
Board of Engineers in Austin for the city of Henrietta's application
for an additional 1,459 acre-feet of water from the Little Wichita
River.
American Legion and VFW plan joint
Memorial Day services at Hope Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. Sunday.
Royal Theater to show newsreel
pictures of the Waco and San Angelo tornadoes.
Young parakeets, $5 each
from Opal Kelley.
June 2
Henrietta High School homemaking
department makes plans for summer preschool for two weeks at
$1.00 per we for kids-5.
Henrietta Kiwanis Club sets
summer program for boys and girls through July.
Sheriff Nix warns motorist
to lock their cars after a 1941 Ford is stolen near the Royal
Theater, left unlocked with the keys in it.
The VFW announces a final
drive to raise the last $5,000 need to complete its new building.
6-12 Insect Repellent 49
cents at City Drug.
June 9
O.L. Nolen is elected superintendent
of Petrolia schools, coming from Collinsville.
Extreme drought conditions
result in Henrietta residents being asked to refrain from
watering shrubs and bushes between 6 and 10 p.m. and to shut
off all taps if they hear the fire siren.
The National Press Club presents
President Eisenhower a pair of Olsen Stelzer boots.
The No. 7 southbound train
to Fort Worth will pass through Henrietta an hour earlier at
2:20 p.m. and mail will leave the Henrietta post office at 2:00
p.m.
Large post office box drawers
increase from $1 to $1.50,the first increase since 1907.
June 23
County Clerk C.E. MORTON sends
79 names to the Secretary of State to Register as notaries in
Clay Co.
A list of ranchers who own
sprayers is compiled at Henrietta City Hall to be contracted
in case of grass fire.
Mrs. J.T. Lyles, former teacher
at Midway, is hired to teach in Henrietta Ward School.
Weldon Wright, native of
Charlie, is named the new pastor of First Baptist Church in Henrietta.
" Invaders from Mars"
at the Royal Theater.
July 10
The Dorothy Theater undergoes renovations
in preparations for the new 3-D movies.
Edward Reynolds, 16, Tioga
whose father Fred once operated a filling station in Henrietta,
rides 100 miles by horseback from Tioga to visit his uncle, W.T.
Jackson.
Pleasant Mound Free Will
Baptist Church holds a dedication for its new tabernacle.
The Drought Relief Group
is selected for the county and includes county agent J.H.Miller,
First National Bank president Ernest Lamb, Ray Gill, president
of the Clay County PMA, and Byers farmer J.C. Payne.
Building lots in the Rodgers
Addition, $600.
July 17
Mrs. Doyle Wells becomes the first
woman to become assistant cashier at the First National Bank
of Henrietta.
Bumper stickers promoting
the Clay County Pioneer Reunion are distributed by boosters.
Myrle Jackson, Claude Zachry
and Frank Obermier attend the 25th anniversary FFA convention
in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Unsliced smoked jowl, 39 cents
a pound at City Food Store.
July 16
Mrs.
LaVerne Keith of Pecos is the new manage of the St. Elmo Coffee
Shop and announces the specialties will be steak and fried chicken.
County agent J.H. Miller
urges the planting of late feed crops after many areas of the
county receive abundant rains.
Sheriff Nix announces anyone putting
firecrackers in the mail boxes will be turned over to the proper
authorities. It is a federal offense.
Doris Miller, 17, of Halsell is
named queen of the Clay County Farm Bureau.
Men's shortie pajamas, $2.95 at
the Fashion Shop.
August 13
Petrolia First Baptist Church vacation
Bible school has an average attendance of 100
Chamber of commerce announces
a $50- bond for the first bale of cotton and $25- for the second.
Restrictions on watering
grass are lifted but persons are reminded to turn off all spigots
when the fire siren is sounded.
A TV set is installed at
the St Elmo Coffee Shop.
Three-quart ice cream freezer,
$8.75 at Claude B. Gates Store.
August 20
The State Liquor Control Board,
assisted by local law enforcement, raids three Henrietta residences
and files charges of sale of beer and liquor in a dry area and
possession of liquor for sale in a dry area. Fines range from
$100-$200. Fifty-five pints of whiskey are seized at one location
and several cases of beer at the others.
Telephone service is restricted
to emergency calls as local operation joint a system wide strike.
The Clay County Riding Club
is organized with 45 charter members under the direction of Troy
Foree, to help promote the Pioneer Reunion.
Clay County Wheat Farmers
approve the national quotas for 1954 by a 127-15 count.
"It Came From Outer
Space" in 3-D at the Dorothy Theater.
August 28
The state director of the bureau
of sanitary engineering, speaking to a meeting of the North Texas
Water Works Association in Henrietta, commends the city on its
modern sewage disposal facilities and condemns outdoor privies
as having killed more persons then bullets.
Chamber President B.L. Womack
calls a meeting to discuss a trades day, with the drought and
other factories affecting local business.
The Southwestern Bell open
house for the new Henrietta facility is postponed by the operators
strike.
Henrietta's newest business,
the Lo Boy hamburger stand on East Omega, announces a grand opening.
School lunch at Henrietta,
30 cents.
September 7
The largest class on record enters
Henrietta schools as 96 first graders report, part of a total
school enrollment of 753.
Henrietta merchants plan
a Customer Appreciation Day.
Word is received that prisoner
of war Jesse Lee Sizemore of Henrietta has been released by the
North Koreans.
George Wright, four miles
north of Petrolia, brings in the first bale of cotton in the
county.
Chicken in the basket, 39
cents at the Dairy Maiden.
Sept 14
Price of box seats at the Pioneer
Reunion rodeo is lowered to $2 per seat plus 40 cents tax, available
for one seat for one night or up to all six seats for all three
nights. Grand stand tickets are also reserved and are $1
plus 20 cents tax.
Doodle Zachry and Alan Graves
are named co-captains of 1953 Bearcats.
Derel Ray Seigler, 14, Midway
4-H is awarded an all-expense paid one-week trip for the City
National Bank.
Potatoes, 3 cents a pound
at City Food Store.
Sept 22
The Christian Church announces
a two year remodeling project.
About 60 members of the Clay
Co. Riding Club, the high school band and other boosters plan
to visit 25 towns in two days to promote the Pioneer Reunion.
Thornberry school opens with an
enrollment of 41.
Toilet tissue, seven rolls
for $1 at City Drug Store.
September 28
Prizes for the Pioneer Reunion
rodeo queen will include a pair of Olsen-Stelzer boots. The 10
candidates include one from each of the county's 10 communities.
The new Henrietta grade school
football team announces a six-game schedule for the 35 7th and
8th graders, coached by Tyra Roper.
Jessie Lee Seizemore receives
a hero's welcome, including a key to the city, after returning
as a POW from Korea.
Kenneth Slagel, Southwestern
Life Insurance Co. representative, earns a trip to San Francisco
for the company's convention.
Central heating unit, $268.90
plus installation from Lone Star Gas.
October 2
The Charlie Home Demonstration
Club float wins first prize of $60.00 in the Pioneer Reunion
parade HD division.
Southwestern Bell requests
higher telephone rates for Henrietta with $3.25 for a four-party
line, $5.00 for an individual line and $9.00 for a business.
The last increase was in August 1952.
Several churches report good
attendance for Pioneer Sunday.
A new wide screen is installed
at the Royal Theater, 25' 7" wide compared to the old screen
14' 2".
Canned goods, four for $1
at the A&P.
October 12
Frank Broday of Dean Dale is elected
chairman of the Nine Man Board.
Clay County Farm Bureau with 181
members sets its annual membership drive.
E.J. Lee, Drouth Committee chairman,
announces Clay County has been placed back on the list of counties
eligible for emergency feed supplies.
High temperature Thursday, Oct.
1, is 100 degrees.
Dearborn gas heaters $24.95 to
$49.95 at Moore's Hardware.
October 19
Harold Lowry opens the new Humble
service station at 135 East Omega. L.J. Gentry and Sons constructed
the building.
An instructor from the Singer sewing machine company plans a
demonstrations at the high school home economics room.
Norris Christy and Bill Jones will represent Byers at the National
FFA convention.
Edwards Library collects rummage for it annual sale.
Bufferin 53 cents at the City Drug (36-count).
October 26
Stanley Browning of Bellevue shows
the champion hog at the district show in Iowa Park.
VFW Auxiliary meets in the new post home for the first time.
Chief operator Sadie Brockman is honored for 30 years with the
telephone company.
Henrietta church plans a religious census of the community.
Sunmaid raisins, two-pound bag 33cents at Nolen's.
November 1
Congressman Frank Ikard will be
the principal speaker at the annual Kiwanis Club banquet.
Clay County Memorial Hospital records seven births from Oct.19-28,
including four on the 28th.
The annual Ward School Halloween carnival is announced for the
Agriculture Building, including a spook parade and crowning of
the Halloween queen.
American Legion plans a formal dedication of its new flag pole.
Vienna sausage, 3 for 25 cents at City Food Store.
Henrietta PTA plans a pie supper
with Jim Maddox and G.W. Akin as auctioneers.
Henrietta Cub Scouts plan a paper drive, collecting old newspapers,
corrugated cardboard and other waste material. $16 trade-in for
four tires at Bob Meeks Station on a new set of B.F.Goodrich
tires.
November 13
The new Henrietta phone directories
are mailed and include a classified "Yellow Pages",
section for the first time.
The community wide Thanksgiving service is planned for 10 a.m.
on Thanksgiving Day.
The organizing of a PTA in
Byers gives every 12-grade school in the county a chapter.
Chenille spreads, $3.98 at
J.F. Alcorn's.
November 19
Pete Moore is elected president
of the chamber of commerce with J.A. Beaty first vice president
and Harry Olsen second vice president.
Sen. Lyndon Johnson pays an early
morning visit to Henrietta.
Turkeys, 57 cents a pound at Parks
Grocery.
December 1
Jerry Jack Moore scores a last
second touchdown for the Kittens in a 19-12 loss to Crowell.
A telephone directory error
omits the First Christian Church, whose number is 771.
The Jolly church begins a
project to add classroom space.
Frank Wetsel sells his furniture
business in Bellevue to 'Rev. W.W. Swim.
Sixteen-piece dinnerware starter
set for four, $14.95 at Moore's Hardware.
December 8
A fire around midnight destroys
the Royal Theater. Final feature was "Half a Hero"
with Red Skelton.
The fire also threatened the Olsen-Stelzer
Boot and Saddlery Co.
Anyone caught fishing, hunting
or gathering pecans without the permission of the land owner
will be prosecuted, announces Sheriff W.O. Nix.
Kiwanis Club will sponsor
Christmas decorating contest with prizes of $15, $10 and $5.
Christmas parcels should
be mailed by Dec. 10, Henrietta post master Lem Ashinhurst advises.
Home freezer $229 at Moore-Crisp.
December 15
Burnside Implement Co. sets a John
Deere Day celebration for its new location at 315 N. Bridge St.
The Clay Co. Hereford Breeders
sale brings an average $375 for 39 bulls and $125 for heifers,
President Charles Mayfield said. Harry Scaling buys the top bull
for $665.
Donald Noll becomes the first
candidate for the 1954 election, announcing he will seek another
term as county school superintendent.
Clay Co. trapper bags 31 coyotes
in November.
Electric popcorn poppers, $4.75
at Henrietta Pharmacy.
December 23
A bond election for $50,000 in
improvements to the city hall and fire station and to buy a new
fire truck is called for Henrietta.
G.W. Akin of Prec. 3 resigns
unexpectedly as county commissioner to take a private business
position. W.F. Callaway is appointed as replacement.
A free movie party for children
is scheduled at the Dorothy Theater with cartoons, a serial and
Walt Disney feature, and the chamber is to give out special treats.
First Christian Church will
be kept open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 6-9 p.m. for
the viewing of a painting by Harry Olsen of the story of Christ.
Save $100 on a TV set at
Shaw's Electric, 21" model for $225.
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