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

U.S. Senator Oscar W. Underwood

22 YEARS AGO
JULY 15, 1999

Board of Ed. looks for new alternative school location: As the summer passes by, the Monroe County Board of Education is still looking for a permanent location for its alternative school.
At its regular meeting Thursday of last week, the board learned its $225,000 bid on property at Drewry Road and Vanity Fair Drive has been turned down. Interim Superintendent Dennis Mixon said the owners have apparently decided not to sell the three commercial buildings.
The board will now try to put the school on property it owns next to Monroe County High School. The alternative school is currently in the old Monroeville Outlet Mall.

Monroeville pounded its way to the District 7 Babe Ruth all-star tournament championship for 15-year-olds Thursday with a 9-3 win over Atmore at Veterans Park in Monroeville. Monroeville cruised through the tournament, recording wins over Evergreen (16-6) and Atmore (9-4 and 9-3).
(Top players on Monroeville’s team included Mark Beasley, Russell Bryan, Ben Busby, Trey Dobson, Morgan Hutcherson, Bret Pate, Jeremy Reeves, David Steele and Jeff Wasden.)

The Monroeville Area Chamber of Commerce will be holding interviews for the 1999-2000 Mockingbird Court Tues., Aug. 17, beginning at 9 a.m. Mockingbird Court members serve as hostesses at official city and county functions and act as goodwill ambassadors for Monroeville and Monroe County.
(Members of the 1998-1999 court included Lisa Corbett, Jessica Sawyer, Belinda Tucker, Jennifer Turk, Danielle McQuieter, Jessica Averett, Mona Scruggs, Kelli Myers, Rachel Rich, Trishia Seales, Karyl Ann Hobbs and Taryn Kilpatrick.)

47 YEARS AGO
JULY 18, 1974

Firemen honor Pickens: Monroeville Volunteer Fire Chief Wilbert Pickens gets a plaque and a fishing reel Monday from fellow firemen honoring him for 35 years of service with the department. Pickens has been chief since about 1968. Making the presentation are Fire Capt. Glenn Gladwell and Assistant Fire Chief Eddie Everette.

South Monroe All-stars: The South Monroe County Little League All-Stars will travel to Butler tonight (Thursday) to meet Jackson in the opening round of the District 6 single-elimination tournament at eight o’clock. (Members of the team were Johnny McDonald, Tommy Watson, Jeff Blanton, Mitch Hammock, Jeff Tatum, Craig Smith, Jeff Brown, Chuck Black, Ted Watson, John Lindsey, Steve Calhoun, Jeff Nicholas, Jeff Kilpatrick and Charles Kofflinos. Grafton Coleman was the team’s manager, and Haywood Croley was coach.)

Officers of Masonic lodge: These men were installed last Thursday as officers of the Masons’ Alabama Lodge No. 3 of Monroeville. They are Tom Lemons, treasurer; Cecil White, senior warden; G.C. Ellis (Bill Sky), worshipful master; Robert Champion, junior warden; Alphis Wiggins, junior deacon; Woodrow Ikner, senior deacon; D.D. Mims II, secretary; Floyd Harper, marshall; Melvin Downs, chaplain; Clinton Ryland, tyler; Wilbert Pickens, senior steward; and Clyde Boulware, junior steward. The aprons worn in this picture have secret significance to Masons.

72 YEARS AGO
JULY 21, 1949

Pete Black of Beatrice recently purchased the Standard Service Station in Monroeville and took over its active operation Tuesday of this week.
Mr. Black is a former student at the University of Alabama. He is unmarried.
He will continue to live in Beatrice and commute between there and Monroeville.

Monroeville broke even in league games played last week, losing to State Farm last Thursday night, 9-6, and coming back to win over Perdido Tuesday night, 7-2.
Monroeville’s win over Perdido kept them in second place by a one-game margin. The locals now have a 13-8 won-loss record as compared with Perdido’s 11-3 record.

Shoe Store Here To Open Shortly: A tentative opening date of Aug. 5 has been set for Monroe County’s first shoe store.
Incorporated and with a number of local businessmen holding stock, the store will be located in the building which formerly housed the Jitney-Jungle grocery store on the west side of the square.
An X-Ray fitting machine will be a feature of the store, according to an announcement from Les Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the group. The “Family Shoe Store” has been chosen as the name for the enterprise, Mr. Johnson stated.

Establishment Of Agent Awaits Commitments: Definite commitments on the amount of shipping from this area will have to be made by local businessmen before a fulltime agent can be established at the West Monroeville railroad station. This information was contained in a letter to Sam Fleenor, local Chamber of Commerce secretary, from H.H. DeBerry of Memphis, superintendent of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, who made a survey of Monroeville July 6 to consider the establishment of an agent here.

97 YEARS AGO
JULY 17, 1924

Mr. G.B. Sellers reports the first open boll of cotton this season, discovered on July 10. Mr. Sellers’ 50 or 60 acres promising a fine yield, there seems to be no good reason why he should not capture the usual prize for the first bale this year.

Rev. Grant Gafford, pastor of the Methodist congregation at Beatrice, was a visitor to Monroeville the first of the week. Mr. Gafford’s congregation have recently erected a comfortable parsonage at Beatrice at a cost of approximately $2,000, and his family are comfortably domiciled therein.

L.J. Bugg, Esq., returned Friday from New York where he had been for two weeks in attendance on the Democratic national convention. Mr. Bugg states that the Alabama delegation gave loyal and active support to Senator Underwood, but the odds were too strongly against him.

Mr. W.T. Davison of Bay Minette was a visitor to Monroeville last week. Mr. Davison removed from this place to Baldwin County more than 50 years ago, but had not revisited the old town for many years, hence there are few people now living in the community whom he remembers.

Mr. O.M. Cook of Burnt Corn, who has followed the Auburn Method with his cotton crop, using the home mixed fertilizer of acid, soda and potash, left his cotton thick and is poisoning. He has one of the best crops in the county.

121 YEARS AGO
JULY 19, 1900

Representatives of a number of the Masonic Lodges of the county met in the hall of Monroeville Lodge last Friday for the purpose of reviving the Conference or Association organized some years ago. The attendance was not as large as expected on account of the weather, notwithstanding, the occasion was not void of pleasure and profit to those present. It was determined to hold quarterly meetings hereafter. After appointing officers and committees, the Conference adjourned to meet with Enon Lodge at Hollinger on Thursday evening before the third Sunday in September, when it is hoped there will be a full attendance.

S.A. McDuffie has been appointed postmaster at Monroeville, vice J.S. Harrengton, resigned. Thus it will be seen that Monroeville is to have a Republican postmaster for the first time in her history. Not even in the days of Reconstruction was such an appointment forced upon this Democratic community.

Mr. William M. Gaillard of the firm of Hearin & Gaillard, cotton factors, of the Gulf City, was here this week circulating among his many friends. Mr. Gaillard is a native of this county, having been reared at Claiborne, but this is the first visit he has made to the old home in 25 years, so closely has his business confined him to the city, and he noted many changes in the familiar scene of his childhood. His friends are glad to know that his house is rapidly building up a prosperous and lucrative business among the merchants and farmers of the district.

Col. B.L. Hibbard went to Thomasville Monday in response to an invitation to deliver an address on the 18^th inst. on the political issues of the day. Mrs. Hibbard bore him company to Mobile where she will visit friends.