Today in History for June 22, 2017

Excel, Ala. Masonic Lodge.

June 22, 1772 - Slavery was outlawed in England.

June 22, 1757 – English lieutenant and explorer George Vancouver was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England.

June 22, 1775 - The Congress issued $2 million in Continental currency.

June 22, 1807 – In the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair, the British warship HMS Leopard attacked and boarded the American frigate USS Chesapeake. This was one of the incidents that led up to the War of 1812.

June 22, 1813 – During the War of 1812, after learning of American plans for a surprise attack on Beaver Dams in Ontario, Laura Secord set out on a 30-kilometer journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon.

June 22, 1839 – Cherokee leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge and Elias Boudinot were assassinated for signing the Treaty of New Echota, which had resulted in the Trail of Tears.

June 22, 1841 – The City of Mobile, Ala. deeded the Jewish Rest section, also known as the Old Hebrew Burial Ground, of Magnolia Cemetery to Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim, the oldest Reform Jewish congregation in the state of Alabama. Jewish Rest is the oldest Jewish burial ground in Alabama. The Jewish Rest section was full after only a few decades and led to the establishment of two additional Jewish cemeteries in Mobile, the Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery for the Reform congregation and the Ahavas Chesed Cemetery for the Conservative congregation.

June 22, 1844 – Children’s book author Harriett Mulford Lothrop was born in New Haven, Conn.

June 22, 1861 – During the Civil War, Pro-Union men met in Greenville, Tennessee, to pledge allegiance to the United States.

June 22, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Bayou des Allemands, near Algiers, La.; near White Oak Swamp and in the Shenandoah Valley around Strasburg, and Winchester, Virginia; and at New Creek, West Virginia.

June 22, 1862 – During the Civil War, a Federal combined arms operation began from Ship Island, aboard the steamer, Creole, to Pas Christian, Mississippi.

June 22, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Thirty Sisters of Charity arrived at Fortress Monroe, Va. to administer to the sick and wounded of the Federal Army of the Potomac.

June 22, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Aldie and Dover, Virginia, as the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia continued its northern movement; near Birdsongs Ferry on the Big Black River in Mississippi; at Hill’s Plantation along Bear Creek, Mississippi; at Greencastle, Pennsylvania; and in Powell Valley, Tennessee.

June 22, 1863 – During the Civil War, the siege at Vicksburg entered Day 35.

June 22, 1864 - Union General William T. Sherman sent Union General Andrew J. Smith on an expedition to destroy Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his cavalry. Smith left LaGrange, Tenn. the same day.

June 22, 1864 - Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant attempted to capture a railroad that had been supplying Petersburg, Va. from the south, and extend their lines to the Appomattox River. The Confederates thwarted the attempt, and the two sides settled into trenches for a nine-month siege.

June 22, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at White River Station on the White River in Arkansas; and at Snead’s Ferry and another at Swansbororough, North Carolina. Fighting also took place near Zion Church and at Culp’s Farm in Georgia, and an engagement occurred near the Jerusalem Plank Road in Petersburg, Va.

June 22, 1865 - President Johnson declared the Federal blockade of the Southern states, in existence since April 1861, at an end.

June 22, 1865 - Brig. General Stand Watie surrendered the Cherokee, Creek, Seminole and Osage Battalion at Doaksville in the Indian Territory.

June 22, 1868 - Arkansas was re-admitted to the Union.

June 22, 1898 – German novelist Erich Maria Remarque was born in Osnabruck, Lower Saxony, Germany. His most famous novel, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” was published in 1929.

June 22, 1903 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell was born in Carthage, Mo. He went on to play his entire career (1928-1943) for the New York Giants. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947.

June 22, 1903 – Repton Mayor W.S. Oliver visited Evergreen, Ala. on this Monday.

June 22, 1906 – Screenwriter Billy Wilder was born in Austria and he ended up producing and directing such movies as “Double Indemnity” (1944), “The Seven Year Itch” (1955), “Some Like It Hot” (1959) and “The Apartment” (1960).

June 22, 1910 – Amasa Coleman Lee married Frances Finch. Their daughter, Harper Lee, would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

June 22, 1911 – The Conecuh Record reported that a Federal grand jury had indicted nine of Conecuh County, Alabama’s best-known farmers for conspiracy to commit peonage. They were J.E. Dean and two sons, T.L. Brantley, W.T. McCrory, S.S. Kendrick and Steve Hanks and his two sons. They surrendered to the U.S. Marshal at Mobile and were released on bond.

June 22, 1915 – The weather bureau thermometer in Evergreen, Ala. on this Tuesday reached 104 degrees during a heat wave that hit Conecuh County.

June 22, 1915 - Around 10 p.m. that night, a “windstorm of considerable intensity” and rain struck Evergreen, Ala. and did “considerable damage to property and crops.” The front and back end of the livery stable building of R. Millsap Jr. was demolished. A house on Pecan Street being built by J.R. Smith was “raised from its pillars” and a number of trees were also uprooted.

June 22, 1915 – On this Tuesday night, John Salter and Robert Watkins, who had just completed a two-year term at the Banner mines for burglary, arrived in Evergreen, Ala. on the No. 3 train. They would later confess to the brutal murder of Martha Lassiter, the attempted murder of Wiley House and the robbery and burning of House’s residence near Burnt Corn on June 23, 2015.

June 22, 1916 - Alabama author and Poet Laureate Helen Norris was born in Miami, Fla.

June 22, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that the Armor Lodge Knights of Pythias had conferred the rank of Page upon one candidate. They also elected officers for the ensuing term.

June 22, 1916 – The Conecuh Record reported that Ray Tucker of Montgomery was at home for a few days recovering from typhoid fever.

June 22, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that the following officers had been elected at Tunnel Springs Lodge No. 578 for the following year: F.S. Dailey, worshipful master; C.J. Jackson, senior warden; R.L. Lewis, junior warden; T.A. Nettles Sr., treasurer; W.S. Nash, secretary; F.D. Morrison, senior deacon; T.A. Nettles Jr., junior deacon; and J.J. Jernigan, tyler.

June 22, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that the following officers had been elected at Burnt Corn Lodge No. 489 for the following year: Jas. K. Kyser, worshipful master; Wm. G. Hairston, senior warden; Enoch M. Salter, junior warden; Henry H. Brantley, treasurer; Ajax O. Brantley, secretary; Hugh C. Fountain, senior deacon; Francis C. Thames, junior deacon; Henry J. Roberson, tyler; Thomas H. Salter, John H. Waters, stewards; and Isaac S. Ridgeway, chaplain.

June 22, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that the following officers had been elected at Excel Lodge No. 655 for the following year: Riley Kelly, worshipful master; William Bradley, senior warden; R.C. Brown, junior warden; G.W. Salter Sr., treasurer; J.S. Williams, secretary; Lee Cohron, senior deacon; Julius Wright, junior deacon; J.E. McNiel, E.C. Wasdan, stewards; John Roley, tyler; and L.B. Cohron, chaplain.

June 22, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that the following officers had been elected at Beatrice Lodge No. 691 for the following year: Wm. M. Hestle, worshipful master; J. Neal Andress, senior warden; Julius J. McMillan, junior warden; Stephen D. Andress, treasurer; Walter McPherson, secretary; Aaron P. Majors, chaplain; Wm. A. Marshall, senior deacon; Leslie J. Robbins, junior deacon; John Sanders, Mack Helton, stewards; and Wick W. Riley Sr., tyler.

June 22, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that Dr. C.B. Simmons was in New York taking a special course in dentistry.

June 22, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that Journal employee E.M. Salter “was laid up for a few days this week with sickness.”

June 22, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that good rains had “visited all sections of the county heard from within the last week, proving of great benefit to growing crops. The rain came just in the nick o’ time to assure maturity of corn in many instances.”

June 22, 1916 – The Monroe Journal reported that Judge W.G. McCorvey had returned from the Democratic national convention in St. Louis. The Judge reported that the convention was “harmonious and enthusiastic throughout.” He had “not yet explained to the satisfaction of his suffrage friends how it came about that one Alabama vote was recorded against the equal suffrage plank of the platform.”

June 22, 1916 - Callie Faulk was taken to Selma on this Thursday for a surgical operation. “Her many friends are pleased to learn that the operation was successful and latest intelligence from the sanitarium where she is being treated indicates that her condition is improving,” The Monroe Journal reported.

June 22, 1917 - Dr. McConnico, a Wilcox County native and then one of the most prominent physicians of Montgomery, was scheduled to be in Camden on this Friday to address the citizens of Wilcox County at the Grammar School Auditorium at 4 p.m. Every man, woman and child in the vicinity was urged to be present. A chapter of the Red Cross society was to be organized as part of the war effort.

June 22, 1933 - Germany became a one political party country when Hitler banned parties other than the Nazis.

June 22, 1933 – Evergreen’s baseball defeated Ft. Deposit on this Thursday in Evergreen in both ends of a double bill, the second game of which Doc Jones pitched a shutout. The site for this game was transferred to Evergreen from Ft. Deposit so that a protested game could be replayed. Evergreen won the first game easily behind the five-hit hurling of Skin Hyde, by a score of 16-2, while the second game was a close and tightly played affair, resulting in a score of 4-0, Doc Jones pitching for Evergreen.

June 22, 1937 - Alabama native Joe Louis defeated James J. Braddock at Chicago's Comiskey Park to become the first black heavyweight boxing champion since Jack Johnson in 1908. Born near Lafayette as Joseph Louis Barrow, the "Brown Bomber" held the world heavyweight title until 1948.

June 22, 1939 - Joe Louis defeated Max Schmeling in 124 seconds.

June 22, 1940 - Confederate soldier William George Riley died and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Evergreen, Ala. Born on Sept. 12, 1842, he was the brother of Monroe Guards commander Thomas Mercer Riley.

June 22, 1940 – France was forced to sign the Second Compiègne armistice with Germany.

June 22, 1941 – Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.

June 22, 1944 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill.

June 22, 1948 - At a regular meeting in the Masonic Hall on this Tuesday night Greening Lodge No. 53, A.F.&A.M., elected officers for the coming year. The new officers were as follows: Worshipful Master, Claude L. Murphy; Senior Warden, A.K. Williams Jr.; Junior Warden, Reuben F. Hyde; Treasurer, F.L. Cardwell; Secretary, W.G. Jones; Senior Deacon, Alfred A. Long; Junior Deacon, H.H. Johnston; Tyler, Robert Z. Wells. Appointed officers were Senior Steward, W.C. Trawick; Junior Steward, Truman Hyde; Marshal, T.J. Mills; and Chaplain, Aubrey Dean.

June 22, 1949 – Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren was born in Oklahoma City.

June 22, 1949 – Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep was born in New Jersey.

June 22, 1953 - The Indians regained their first place position in the Monroeville Little League by downing the Yankees, 5-3, on this Monday night while the Red Sox gained another victory by edging the Senators, 1-0. Indian pitcher, Simmons, gave up only five hits to the Yanks as they traveled to the plate 24 times while losing hurler, Pugh, allowed the Indians seven hits in 24 times at bat. Winning Red Sox hurler, Dunn, allowed the Senators five hits for 23 times at bat while Senator pitcher, Weatherford, gave up only one hit to the Red Sox in 17 tries.

June 22, 1955 - Clarence Rivers, 30, former janitor at the Monroe County Courthouse, was being held in the Monroe County Jail on this Wednesday on charges of aiding escape of two prisoners from the jail building early on the afternoon of Fri., June 17. Monroe County Sheriff E.E. Nicholas stated Rivers was arrested Sat., June 18, after investigation provided conclusive evidence he had purchased a hacksaw blade used by escapees John Lee Bettis, 26, and A.C. Tucker, 53. The two men used the implement to saw away a portion of an iron bar in a rear bottom-floor window of the jail, the Sheriff said, making a small hole used in their flight at 2 p.m. Fri., June 17.

June 22, 1960 – Two “children” of Albert II, the first monkey projected into space, came to Evergreen, Ala. as part of the Civil Air Patrol’s second annual air show at Middleton Field.

June 22, 1962 – Members of Greening Masonic Lodge No. 53 in Evergreen, Ala. were scheduled to attend Evergreen Baptist Church together in observance of St. John’s Day. Rev. Staples was slated to preach the sermon.

June 22, 1964 – “Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown was born in Exeter, New Hampshire.

June 22, 1964 - The U.S. Supreme Court voted that Henry Miller's book, "Tropic of Cancer," could not be banned.

June 22, 1967 – The Evergreen Courant reported that in Junior League baseball action the Orioles beat the Pelicans, 18-2; the Yankees beat the Giants, 4-2; the Chicks beat the Orioles, 7-2; the Dodgers beat the Giants, 5-2; the Dodgers beat the Yankees, 27-2; and the Chicks beat the Orioles, 7-6. Players involved in those games included Johnny Andrews, Dwight Bennett, Daniel Byrd, Mark Daniels, Larry Darby, Jerry Daw, Kenny Dittman, Lonnie Finley, Sammy Garrett, Billy Hall, Steve Hall, Bruce Hutcheson, David Majors, Gary McInvale, Jerry Peacock, Keith Pugh, Travis Sims and Charlie Ward.

June 22, 1969 - Judy Garland died in Chelsea, London from an accidental overdose of prescription sleeping aids. She was 47.

June 22, 1969 – The Cuyahoga River caught fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to water pollution, and spurring the passing of the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

June 22, 1971 - In a major engagement near the Demilitarized Zone, some 1,500 North Vietnamese attacked the 500-man South Vietnamese garrison at Fire Base Fuller.

June 22, 1972 – The Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Ala. was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

June 22, 1972 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Richard R. Brown, a native of Conecuh County, had accepted the post of headmaster of Sparta Academy. He had been athletic director and head basketball coach at North Florida Junior College in Madison for seven years. Brown held a B.S. degree from Troy State University with a double major in history and social science and a minor in physical education; an M.S. degree in physical education from the University of Southern Mississippi and an additional major at Florida State University in administration-supervision. Brown had had experience in teaching and administration on the junior high school, high school and college levels. During the four years he was head basketball, football and track coach at Madison (Fla.) High School, his teams won the North Florida Conference title in football three years, the title in basketball four years, in track three years and the district title in track two years. He was elected High School Basketball Coach of the Year in 1958. A frequent speaker at athletic banquets and civic clubs, Brown was elected Florida Junior College Coach of the Year in 1965. His basketball teams set national all-time scoring records. The 1972 team broke its own national scoring record by averaging 115.3 points per game, winning 24 games and losing six. Brown had had two losing seasons in 17 years of coaching and had produced many four-year college athletes in football and basketball.

June 22, 1972 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Andrew Harvey, 35, had been charged with the murder of Calvin Crenshaw, according to Sheriff James (Shorty) Brock. Action had been waived to the grand jury and bail was set at $5,000. According to Chief Deputy Bill Kent and Deputy Marshall Jones, Crenshaw was shot about 9:30 p.m. on Sat., June 17, at Harvey’s wife’s apartment in the housing project off Magnolia Avenue in Evergreen. Kent and Jones were assisted by the Evergreen Police Department in investigating the shotgun shooting.

June 22, 1972 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Fred Stevens had been elected Chairman of the Board and President of the Corporation of Sparta Academy. Charles Burt was vice-chairman and vice-president. John Nielsen had been elected treasurer and Mrs. Barbara K. Register was secretary. Other members of the board of directors of the private school were Alton Johnson, Frank Pate, Wayne Hutcheson, Eugene Darby, James Street, Eldon Scott, Dr. Carl Wilson, John Law Robinson, William Ward, James S. Cook, James Ansley and Bill Johnson.

June 22, 1972 – The Evergreen Courant reported that interest and activity were increasing in the election for Mayor of the City of Evergreen and of five members of the City Council. The election was set for Tues., Aug. 8. Up to this date, the race for mayor had drawn three candidates, dentist Joe Hagood, businessman Coy Harper and cosmetologist Robert Moorer.

June 22, 1972 - South Vietnam’s 21st Division, decimated by repeated attempts to relieve An Loc, was replaced by the 25th Division. At the same time, U.S. helicopters flew 18th Division troops to positions south of An Loc to replace badly battered 9th Division troops that had also been trying to get to the city.

June 22, 1977 - John N. Mitchell became the first former U.S. Attorney General to go to prison as he began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. He served 19 months.

June 22-July 2, 1978 - An interdenominational Beulah camp meeting was to be held at the Beulah Camp, 1-1/4 miles south of Highway 84, between Excel and Repton. The services were scheduled each day with prayer time at 7 a.m., morning preaching at 10:30 a.m. and afternoon preaching at 2:30 p.m. The Rev. Mack Hamby was the president of Beulah camp.

June 22, 1978 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Navy Seaman Recruit Jonas Claiborne of 421 Magnolia Ave. in Evergreen had completed recruit training at the Naval Training Center, Orlando, Fla. A 1974 graduate of Evergreen High School, he joined the Navy in April 1978.

June 22, 1978 – This day’s edition of The Monroe Journal featured a front-page picture by Max McAliley that showed a recent aerial view from the southeast of the Alabama River Pulp Co. plant then under construction on the Alabama River at Fountain. The $284-million plant was designed to produce 1,000 tons a day of high-grade bleached kraft pulp. The main building, visible in the photo, was about 1,200 feet long. The tall structure left of the building housed twin digesters, and a giant smoke stack was behind the main building.

June 22, 1978 – The Monroe Journal reported that Repton had taken a slight lead in the South Monroe Babe Ruth League standings during the previous week as it defeated two opponents and tied another in a game that had to be called because of a time limit. Other teams in the league included Frisco City, Uriah and Excel. Top players for Repton included Jerry Waters, Terry Waters, Tom Watson and Tray Wilson. Top players for Frisco City included Tommy Agee, Brian Baggett, David Byrd, Jerome Richardson and Percey Riley. Top players for Uriah included Jeff Brooks, George Dinc, Mark Fralick, Eugene Garrett, Frank Griffin, Chris Harrison, Greg Middleton and Johnny Nichols. Top players for Excel included Phil Bowen.

June 22, 1978 – The Monroe Journal reported that nearly 100 Army National Guardsmen from Jackson, Monroeville and Evergreen had returned from their annual 15-day training period at Camp Shelby, Miss. A contingent of the 778^th Maintenance Co., commanded by Capt. Freddie Smith, spent the two weeks providing direct support maintenance for the summer camp units. The 778^th had a wide range of direct support maintenance tasks while at camp.

June 22, 1979 – Defensive tackle Troy Archer, 24, of the New York Giants died in a traffic accident in North Bergen, N.J.

June 22, 1981 - Mark David Chapman pled guilty to killing John Lennon.

June 22, 1984 – A one-room house, belonging to Jake Rivers, on Winston Avenue in Monroeville was destroyed by fire on this Friday at 6:45 a.m.

June 22, 1990 - Billy Joel became the first rock artist to perform at Yankee Stadium.

June 22, 2002 - Darryl Kile of the St. Louis Cardinals was found dead in his hotel room in Chicago, Ill.

June 22, 2005 - Aruban police detained and arrested Paulus van der Sloot, Joran van der Sloot's father, for questioning in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, 18, of Mountain Brook, Ala. He was eventually released on June 26, 2005.

June 22, 2012 – Episode No. 19 of the first season of the television show, “The Dead Files,” featuring the King Plantation House at Uriah, Ala. originally aired on the Travel Channel. In this episode, titled “A Widows Rage,” paranormal investigators Amy Allan and Steve DiSchiavi traveled to Uriah to investigate reports of paranormal encounters in an old Civil War-era antebellum mansion plantation house where the then-owner said she thought her life was in danger from being physically attacked by an evil spirit of a man who also resided there who had attempted a demonic possession of her so he could kill the residents. Steve's investigation revealed that construction began on the home in the late 1850s by Dr. William (Doc) King, but was never entirely finished at its original site at Packard’s Bend due to the outbreak of the Civil War. During the mid-1960s new owners moved it from Packard’s Bend on the Alabama River to its current location in Uriah. Steve also discovered that most of the King family members died of yellow fever in the mansion. Amy discovered that one of the King girls wanted to kill the lady of the house.

  

June 22, 2013 - The Evergreen Heat captured Conecuh County, Alabama’s first ever state championship at the Alabama Sports Festival’s 16-and-Under youth basketball tournament in Hoover. Players on the team included Jahod Booker, Keyshawn Roache, Ceauan Smith, Azavian Ingram, Matthew Likely, Mikyie Dees, Tyrell Riley and Latreal McCreary. In addition to the team’s gold medal finish, Roache was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. The team’s coaches were Earnest Boykin and Bryan Boykin.