Old newspaper excerpts from The Monroe Journal newspaper of Monroe County, Alabama

11 YEARS AGO

SEPT. 6, 2007

School bus stolen from Beatrice lot: Beatrice Police Chief Ray Norris is investigating his first case and it’s a big one – a big, yellow case with seating for over 70 people.

According to Norris, sometime between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday a Monroe County school bus was stolen from a vacant lot across the road from J.F. Shields High School.

The bus, No. 98-20, is left in the lot as a spare in the event one of the other buses that run the Beatrice route breaks down, Norris said. The keys to the bus were hidden in it, he said, and the person who stole it found them and drove through town.

The bus was recovered by Norris and Monroe County sheriff’s deputies at the intersection of Alabama Highway 21 and Turnbull Road, he said, and the keys were back where they were originally hidden.

Excel wins 22-14: Five in a row.* That’s how many times Excel has now beaten Frisco City in the county’s biggest rivalry with Thursday night’s 22-14 victory.

Of course, the * is for last year when Excel lost 12-6, but Frisco had to forfeit the game.

(Standout Excel players in that game included Marcus Anderson, Nick Booker, Johnny Flores, Greg Hollinger, Nathan Hooks, Shelby Jordan, Morgan Murphy and Josh Waters. Standout FCHS players included Scotty English, Ephraim Johnson and Kiara Love.)

The 24^th annual Peterman Station Arts & Crafts Festival will be held Sat., Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Peterman. The event is sponsored by the Peterman Historical Society.

21 YEARS AGO

SEPT. 4, 1997

New postmaster: Betty Coker was sworn in as the new postmaster in a special ceremony on Wed., Aug. 27, at the Frisco City post office. On hand for the occasion are Willie Trawick, manager of Post Office Operations, Mobile; Mrs. Coker; and Frisco City mayor Billy McCrory; Jim Coker, husband of the new postmaster; Jim Hoobler, Atmore postmaster; Dick Gardner, retired postal rural carrier; and Willie Dorsey, postmaster of Monroeville.

Despite a 37-19 loss to Sparta Academy, coach Tim Carter saw several bright spots in the Volunteers opening game of the season.

“I liked our players’ effort but our inexperience showed,” Coach Tim Carter said. “We threw the ball well and our specialty teams did a lot better.”

Quarterback Craig Sigler was 5-of-14 and threw for 93 yards.

(Other standout Monroe Academy players in that game included Wesley Booker, Josh Boswell, Ashley Hayward, Josh House and Chris Majors.)

Radley’s to open with new look, menu: When Radley’s Deli reopens for business, it will do so under the same ownership of the McCall family, as for the last 14 years, but with a whole new look and name. The restaurant will now be known as “Radley’s Deli & Bistro.”

The reconstruction has been underway for two weeks and the plans are for the restaurant to reopen in a couple of weeks if all construction goes as planned. According to Michael Reinardy, the new manager, not only the décor will be changing, but the menu will too. The restaurant will offer many of the same items on the lunch menu, but the dinner menu has completely changed.

31 YEARS AGO

SEPT. 3, 1987

Catfish restaurant now open: David’s Catfish House, located on U.S. Highway 84 at Ollie, opened for business Tuesday.

The owners and managers of the restaurant, Mr. and Mrs. David Ross, are natives of Waynesboro, Miss., but have recently moved to Monroeville.

The couple own another David’s Catfish House, located in Waynesboro. According to Ross, this is the first expansion for the business, which is four years old.

Wilson wins 99^th; Bulldogs move up to top spot in poll: The Repton High School Bulldogs will attempt to hold on to their No. 1 ranking, and at the same time, present head coach Hugh Wilson with his 100^th football victory tomorrow (Friday) when they tangle with Conecuh County High in Repton at 7:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs defeated A.L. Johnson High 43-8 Friday at Thomaston to record Wilson’s 99^th win during his 13-year term at Repton. The win moved the team from No. 4 to No. 1 in the Alabama Sports Writers Association poll of top 1A teams this week.

(Top players for Repton that season included Robert Douglas, John Gulley, Jeffrey Lee, Lonnie Lee, Brian Nelms, Mark Nettles, Robert North, Derrick Owens, Leon Rudolph, Carl Stanton, Luke Waters and Tyrone Zigler.)

The newly reorganized Monroe County Museum & Historical Society is busy planning activities and gaining new members.

According to Susan Davis, who has been named head of the group, the society meets at 2 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month. She said the society will be selling quarterly editions about Monroe County’s history. The first edition will be available at the end of September and will feature the Claiborne area.

41 YEARS AGO

SEPT. 1, 1977

Church on the move: St. John’s Episcopal Church of Monroeville was moved Monday from its original location on North Mount Pleasant Ave. to a lot behind the Nicholas-Whetstone Clinic. The 55-year-old church was moved to the larger lot to allow for room for growth. Moving the church along Pineville Road to the bypass required many power lines to be lifted out of the building’s way. The Rev. Thomas A. Powell is pastor of the 70-member congregation.

Blacksher pounds Conecuh: The J.U. Blacksher High School Bulldogs made an offensive show of Friday night’s game with Conecuh County High School in Castleberry. The Bulldogs scored 42 points, more than any other local team, while holding Castleberry to 12.

Greg Harrison led the rushing with 89 yards in 15 carries. Jimmy Pipkin led the defense with five tackles and one assist.

(Other top Blacksher players in that game included Harry Akins, Richard Burgess, Greg Fralick, Darrell Ikner, Allen Mack, Craig Smith, Ricky Smith and Russell Smith. Keith Cardwell was Blacksher’s head coach.)

New childcare center to open in Frisco City: Peter Pan Child Care Center, operated by Virginia Matheny, will open in a new location Tuesday.

The center, which will provide an early education learning program as well as day care, will be located in the old VFW building on Highway 21 in Frisco City.

Mrs. Matheny will be assisted by Mrs. Linda Lowery and Miss Shebby Maughon. Mrs. Matheny lives in Goodway, where she has conducted a playschool for the past year.

51 YEARS AGO

SEPT. 7, 1967

MONKEY BUSINESS BY POLICE – Members of the Monroeville Police Department had some monkey business on their hands last Saturday morning. This little fella (a small monkey) being held by Chief O.D. Godwin broke his leash and left home. Roy Brown and Larry Godwin caught the monkey on top of a house on the east side of Monroeville. The owners of the monkey came to the police station and claimed him but not before the policemen had a little entertainment from the animal.

Capitalizing on Thomasville’s mistakes, the Monroe County High Tigers turned two of these into touchdowns and dropped the Clarke County team, 14-0, in the opening game of the season for both schools last Friday night.

Senior halfback Edward Philen led the Tigers in rushing with 42 yards on eight carries, followed by Kenneth Kilpatrick’s 35 yards on 14 carries.

(Other standout MCHS players in that game included Butch Andress and Wayne Turberville.)

Harris Completes Artillery School: Army Pvt. Curtis E. Harris, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Harris of Uriah, completed eight weeks of training in air defense artillery at the Army Air Defense School, Ft. Bliss, Texas, Aug. 17.

He was trained in firing and maintaining air defense missiles. Instruction included tactics of air defense weapons systems, function of nuclear warheads, electronics and missile repair.

Pvt. Harris graduated from Troy State College in 1965 with a B.A. degree.