Sunday, December 19, 2021

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

23 YEARS AGO
DEC. 17, 1998

Firefighters leave parade to respond to call: The Monroeville Fire and Rescue Department cut short its parade route Saturday. It was called to a fire.
The Christmas parade was in full swing, with firetrucks’ sirens wailing around the downtown square when they came in.
Fire trucks left the parade and responded to a residential fire at Gerald Melton’s house at 5 Short Drive. The kitchen fire caused smoke damage.

Panthers get sweet victory: Excel collected its second victory in varsity boys basketball Friday when the Panthers dealt Sweet Water a 52-49 loss in Sweet Water.
Matt Moore converted a three-point field goal with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter that would’ve given the Panthers a 52-49 lead, but the goal didn’t count.
“I asked for a time out right about the time he let the ball go, and the official gave it to me,” said Excel head coach Brad Moore.
After the time out, Excel threw the ball in bounds, ran the clock down to five seconds before Keith McKinley sank the game-winning three-pointer.
(Other players on Excel’s team included Bobby Brown, Greg Crosby, Jake Kelly, Jonathan McMillan and Wesley Qualls.)

Officer hired to round up doggies: The Monroeville City Council hopes it ended complaints about stray animals by hiring an animal control officer at its regular meeting Tuesday night.
Patricia Woodfin will go to work sometime after the holidays and will begin her duties gradually. Council member John Rice, who is on the city’s personnel committee, said Woodfin will coordinate her work through the police department.

48 YEARS AGO
DEC. 20, 1973

Kiwanis taps Heard and Neuschwander: The Monroeville Kiwanis Club last Thursday named George Heard as Monroeville Man of the Year and Donald Neuschwander as Monroe County Farmer of the Year for 1973.
Heard, who moved here in 1965 from Brunswick, Ga., was described by Man of the Year committee chairman George Thomas Jones as one of numerous people who have moved to Monroeville and “immediately put their shoulder to the wheel… and gone to work to make Monroeville a better town.”
Heard, 53, is director of industrial relations for Vanity Fair Mills.
Neuschwander, cited by the Farmer of the Year committee chairman Albert Nettles for the dairy operations on his 460-acre Hidden Acres Farm at Vocation, also is not a native of the county.

The Frisco City Whippets won the Frisco City Christmas Tournament last week, winning three straight games. Members of the team are Lewis Lambert, Melvin Lawson, Calvin Banks, Pat Banks, Ronnie Maye, Roy Maye, Jasper Lambert, Wayne McGinnis, Randy Coleman, John Martin, Albert Lambert, Maurice McGinnis and Coach Curtis Harris.
Taking home the second-place trophy in the Frisco City Christmas Tournament were the J.U. Blacksher Bulldogs, who lost only to Frisco City, the tournament winner. Members of the team accepting the award were Jerry Ferrel, Mason Stabler, Ronald English, Melvin Shoemoe, Ben Rhodes, Charlie English, Mitchell Norris and Al Lambert.

73 YEARS AGO
DEC. 16, 1948

Monroe County Bank Will Be Remodeled: The staid old Monroe County Bank Building is in for a facelifting.
Officials of the bank announced Wednesday that a remodeling program will get underway some time in the early spring of 1949, resulting in a near-complete renovation of the structure.
John B. Barnett Jr., cashier, said the remodeling work will include removal of the present tin-shed type of awning circling the building, installation of completely new fixtures in the bank and construction of a modern fireproof and burglar-proof vault.

MCHS Cagers Trip Repton Five 54-18: Monroe County High School rolled over Repton, 54-18, in its second basketball game of the current season, played on the Repton court Tuesday afternoon.
Brent Metts, forward, paced the MCHS shooters in the feature event, racking up 19 points. Burt, forward, led the Repton team with eight points.

Local Soldier’s Body To Be Returned Home: Relatives of William Joseph “Billy” Fountain have been notified by the War Department that his body has arrived in San Francisco and will be brought to Monroeville at a later date for burial. Mr. Fountain was killed in a plane crash in China during World War II.

Santa Claus is coming to town! The old gentleman will arrive here by plane about 10:30 next Thursday morning (Dec. 23) and will travel by fire truck from the Monroeville airport to the Court House lawn in the center of the Monroeville business area, where he will begin his conferences with the various children in this area.

98 YEARS AGO
DEC. 20, 1923

NO PAPER NEXT WEEK: No paper will be issued from The Journal office during Christmas week. Printers, like other mortals, require a little relaxation occasionally, and the holiday season affords an appropriate time for such indulgence since everyone’s mind is occupied with individual enjoyment.

Mr. J.C. Whitcomb, editor of The Evergreen Record, paid The Journal office a fraternal call while in Monroeville Wednesday.

The dwelling of Mrs. Seymour, which has been recently remodeled, is nearing completion and will be one of the neatest and most attractive in the city.

Among the postmasters recently commissioned by the department are William Giddens at Jones Mill and Zada Jackson at Vredenburgh, both in this county.

Miss Lois Young, a returned missionary from China, gave a very interesting address in the High School chapel Monday morning relative to her work in China. Miss Young has been a teacher for several years in a mission school at Hauchfee, China, supported by the Southern Presbyterian church, and is spending a brief furlough with relatives in Alabama.

UNION CHRISTMAS SERVICE: All congregations of the town will unite in special Christmas service at the Baptist church at 11 o’clock next Sunday morning. Rev. J.L. White, pastor of the Methodist church, will deliver the sermon on the occasion and a special musical program will be rendered by the joint choirs.

127 YEARS AGO
DEC. 20, 1894

Mr. James McNeil Jr. died very suddenly on the 12th inst., while rafting logs on Flat Creek. While engaged at work with some other men, Mr. McNeil was suddenly stricken down and died in a few minutes. He leaves a wife and five small children.

Mr. Peter G. Simensen, a native of Norway, and son-in-law of Mr. W.S. Wiggins Jr. of Repton, died in Mobile on the 12th inst., and was buried at Monroeville on Saturday.

We are requested to announce that there will be a Christmas Tree at the Court House on Monday evening, Dec. 24. Everybody invited to participate.

The brick work of the courthouse annex is about completed, and the carpenters are busy on their part of the job.

The Monroeville Academy will close for the holidays with entertaining exercises at the Academy on Friday evening, Dec. 21. The program for the entertainment has been carefully prepared, and its execution will afford an evening of rare enjoyment. The public is cordially invited to attend. The curtain will rise at 6 p.m.

A great many fine porkers have been slaughtered in every neighborhood during the cold snap. More attention is being given every year to the raising of hogs in Monroe. The farmers are becoming convinced that this can be successfully and profitably done.

To each and all of its readers, The Journal wishes a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

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