100-year-old news headlines from Sept. 1921 editions of The Wilcox Progressive Era in Camden, Alabama

Chincapin nuts.

Today marks the first Friday of the month, so it’s time to take another trip back down memory lane for a look at some of the interesting things that happened in Wilcox County a century ago, way back in September 1921.

In the Sept. 1, 1921 edition of The Wilcox Progressive Era, publisher Stanley Clifford Godbold reported, under the headline “Residence of Dr. T.W Jones Destroyed by Fire,” that the “beautiful home of Dr. T.W. Jones was completely destroyed by fire Tuesday morning when an explosion from an oil stove started the flames. The alarm was immediately sounded, but the flames spread so rapidly that it was impossible to save the house when helpers arrived. Neighboring houses were endangered, but the fact that no wind was stirring no doubt saved them from damage. Dr. and Mrs. Jones have the sympathy of the entire town in their loss. Their home was one of the most elegant in Camden.”

On the front page of the Sept. 8, 1921 edition of The Progressive Era, readers saw, under the headline “Camden Juniors Defeat McWilliams,” that “in one of the most interesting games of the season here last Thursday, the Camden Juniors defeated McWilliams by a score of four to three.

“Johnnie Winters and Clifford Albritton occupied the hill, and both kids had the opposing hitters at their mercy. Winters was relieved by Cater in the seventh, and bunched hits with errors caused his defeat.

“Till’s hitting featured for McWilliams, while Conner’s fielding at short was good for Camden.”

The front page of the Sept. 15, 1921 edition of the newspaper carried an item that let readers know that the “chincapins or chinquapin (Webster says both spellings are correct) are now ripening, and the boys are now gathering them. The chincapins is a species of the chestnut. There are yet many trees on the hills near Bridgeport and also in the Grampions.”

The Sept. 22, 1921 edition of the paper also reported another major fire in the county, this time in Lower Peach Tree. Under the headline “PARSONAGE BURNS,” readers learned that “fire which originated from an oil stove explosion destroyed the parsonage at (Lower Peach Tree) Tuesday morning. The flames spread so rapidly that it was impossible to save anything from the building which was only partially covered by insurance. Rev. Mr. Carpenter, pastor of the Methodist church here, was away at the time of the fire, having left Monday for Florida.”

In the Sept. 29, 1921 edition of The Progressive Era, under the headline “Church Pride at Enon,” it was reported that “on last Sunday, the pastor of the Baptist Church went to his regular appointment at Enon Church in the Fatama neighborhood. A pleasing sight greeted his eyes when he drove up to the church. That band of splendid people had been doing some work on their building. Within two weeks a new roof had been put on, the church re-painted, the grounds well cleaned off and the floor thoroughly scrubbed. The men came together and did the work themselves. To the girls of the church is due thanks for the inside cleaning. The total value of this work is about $350.”

Well, I guess that’s all that space will allow for this month. On the first Thursday of next month, I plan to take a look at the events of October 1921 in Wilcox County. Until then, if you get the urge to research the county’s past yourself, take advantage of the Alabama Department of Archives and History’s excellent selection of old newspapers on microfilm and other resources. Their friendly staff will be more than happy to get you started.