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

Old Monroe County Courthouse

SEVEN YEARS AGO
MARCH 24, 2016

National landmark plans for museum: During the Monroe County Commission meeting Tuesday morning in Monroeville, the commission was asked to support an effort to have the old courthouse declared a national historic landmark.
Pete Black, business development manager at Parsons & Whittemore, said he and Sandy Smith, executive director of the Monroeville-Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, are the lead people on the project.
“The old courthouse has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973, which is symbolic locally, but we’re not on the National Historic Landmarks list, which is symbolic nationally,” said Black.

Sanders is new Hall of Fame coach: In making his acceptance speech into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame, Coach Jerome Sanders described Monday night as the “greatest moment in my life.”
The former basketball coach at J.F. Shields High School in Beatrice was one of 11 inductees at the 26^th annual ceremony and banquet at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery.
In 18 years at Shields, he compiled a record of 360 wins while losing 160 for a winning percentage of almost 70 percent. His 2004, 2005 and 2007 boys teams won state championships and his 2003 and 2010 teams finished runners-up.

New court clerk sworn in: Lucy Moorer receives the oath of office for Municipal Court Clerk from Monroeville Mayor Mike Kennedy as Councilmen Anthony Thomas and Tom Lomenick watch during a recent council meeting at City Hall.

32 YEARS AGO
MARCH 28, 1991

County Oks next phase of restoration: Plans for the next phase of restoration work on the Old Courthouse were approved by the Monroe County Commission at its Tuesday meeting.
Bill Chance, chairman of the restoration committee, updated the commission on the clock and dome repair that is nearly complete and described the work to be done next: scraping and painting of exteriors, entranceways, halls, stairwells and rotundas, restoration or replacement of doors, and installation of balustrades over stoops.
The $80,000 work on the clock and dome is not quite complete, Chance said, mentioning that the dome will be painted again and recalked, balustrades around the dome are ready to be installed, and a new motor has been purchased for the clock.

MCHS baseball team posts four straight wins: Monroe County High School recorded its fourth straight victory, since a 6-5 loss to W.S. Neal High School March 16, when the Tigers pounded Greenville High School 13-2 Monday in Monroeville.
MCHS began the string Tuesday of last week in Walnut Hill, Fla., with a 14-3 blasting of the Ernest Ward High School Golden Eagles. The Tigers avenged the loss to Neal Thursday when they pounded the Blue Eagles 10-2 in Monroeville. The third straight win came Friday when the Tigers stunned Jackson High School 9-6 in Jackson.
(Top MCHS players in those games included Chris Ard, Tony Bayles, Carlos Booker, Mitch Dees, Joey Downs, Jeff Howard, Ronnie Kidd, Todd Watson, Chris Williams, Hudson Williams and Lorenzo Williams. Randy Allison was MCHS’s head coach.)

57 YEARS AGO
MARCH 24, 1966

Rescue Squad Organizers: Malvin Porter and Claude Wilkerson were given special recognition by the Monroe County Rescue Squad at the annual banquet of the rescue squad last Thursday night for their efforts in organizing the squad and for their work in the unit. Mr. Porter, who is now assigned to the finance responsibility unit with the state troopers, was with the enforcement division assigned to Monroe County when he helped organize the rescue squad seven years ago. Mr. Wilkerson was installed as president Thursday night and has served in that capacity all but one year since the squad was organized.

The Frisco City High Whippets will wrap up its spring football drills with a game type scrimmage Thursday beginning at 1:30, according to Coach Lowell James.
(Players taking part in spring drills included Johnny Bailey, Warren Barlow, Donnie Blanton, Doug Bowen, Darrell Browning, Tommy Burkett, Tim Calloway, Wayne Cross, Don Gardner, Wayne Godwin, Bill Gran, Charles Gran, Claude Hanks, Andy Harrison, Jim Kelly, Mike Lancaster, David Lawrence, Randy Manning, Mickey McNeil, Jamie McWilliams, Larry Norris, Ronnie Ray, Rex Ryder, Eddie Russell Sawyer, Kenneth Till, Jimmy Tucker and Don Wiggins.)

Monroeville Boy Scout Troop 224 received a plaque for having the best campsite and seven Monroe County Scouts were tapped as candidates for the Order of the Arrow in a campfire ceremony Friday night at Little River State Park.
(Richard Tatum was Troop 224’s Scoutmaster at the time, and Order of the Arrow Scouts included Steve Tomlinson, David Titterud, Judson Skinner, Mike Kimberl, Al Bentley, Mike Lancaster and Donnie Evans.)

82 YEARS AGO
MARCH 27, 1941

Mr. Theodore Kilpatrick was drowned in the Warrior River near Birmingham Port last Sunday morning while boat riding with a couple of Birmingham friends. They were trying out a new motor when the craft overturned. Kilpatrick started swimming for shore and was only about 15 feet from the bank when he went under. His body was brought to Monroeville on Monday and burial was in the New Home Cemetery on Tuesday at four o’clock.

Mr. George Thomas Jones, student at Emory University, Atlanta, spent the weekend with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lucian Jones.

Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Lee and Miss Nelle Lee spent last Sunday in Atmore with Dr. and Mrs. McKinley.

Beatrice Chamber of Commerce Entertains FFA Boys: The Beatrice Chamber of Commerce entertained the local Chapter of Future Farmers of America with a banquet in the Vocational Building, March 11, at 7:30 p.m.
The meeting was opened with the regular opening ceremony of the FFA and followed by the introduction of members of both organizations and visitors.
The FFA speakers were Clarence Curry, chapter reporter, and Earl Sheppard, who gave short speeches on the objectives of the FFA and the history of the FFA, respectively.

A recent visitor to Monroe County was Dr. L.N. Duncan, president of Alabama Polytechnic Institute at Auburn. The occasion for his visit was a district meeting in Monroeville of Home Demonstration Agents from 17 counties.

107 YEARS AGO
MARCH 23, 1916

LOST: Duroc boar, 18 months old, light red, tail clipped short. Left home about Christmas. Will pay $2 for information as to whereabouts. – J.L. Blackburn, Roy, Ala.

Circuit court convened on Monday with Judge Ben D. Turner presiding and Solicitor McDuffie representing the state.

Mr. L.W. Locklin was made foreman of the grand jury. Only one week of court will be held this term in consequence of a light docket.

Mr. J.L. Wiggins has returned from Montgomery where he spent several weeks under treatment in a sanitarium. His friends are glad to know that his condition is improved.

There will be given at the Jones Mill school auditorium Friday evening at 8 p.m. March 30, a recital by the music and expression pupils of Miss Shell. Everybody invited. No admission fee.

Miss Julia Smiga has arrived from La Salle, Ill. on a visit to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Smiga at Perdue Hill, and is astonished and delighted at the wonders accomplished by her father on his farm in so short a time. Like her parents and others of our new settlers from the west, Miss Smiga is in raptures over a country where roses bloom uninterruptedly throughout the winter months when snow and ice cover the landscape of their former home.