The year 1916 was a surprising, interesting year in U.S. history

1916 Boston Red Sox. 

This week’s edition of The Evergreen marks the final edition of The Courant for the year 2015, and next week’s paper will be the first edition of the year 2016. Much has taken place in Conecuh County and in the rest of the world during the preceding year, and I’m sure that we’ll be able to say the same this time next year.

In a couple of weeks, in this space, as I usually do on the first or second Thursday of every month, I’ll offer up my monthly review of all the interesting things that were happening in Conecuh County a century ago, way back in January 1916.

The year 1916 was an interesting year in history, and you might be surprised by some of the things that occurred during that year a century ago. On Jan. 24 of that year, the temperature dropped from 44 degrees to –56 degrees in one day in Browning, Mont., which was the largest temperature change ever recorded during a 24-hour period.

Later, in early March, during the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa and 500 Mexicans raided Columbus, New Mexico and killed 12 U.S. soldiers. About a week later, President Woodrow Wilson sent 12,000 soldiers over the border with orders to hunt down Villa. These troops, which included General John Pershing, were eventually called back out of Mexico, without capturing Villa, when the U.S. officially entered World War I later that year.

A couple of months later, in May, The Saturday Evening Post published its first cover featuring a Norman Rockwell painting, and in June President Wilson signed a bill officially incorporating the Boy Scouts of America.

On July 1, the Battle of the Somme began in France, and it wouldn’t end until Nov. 18. More than one million soldiers died during this battle. British casualties on the first day totaled 57,470, including 19,240 who were killed, making it the single bloodiest day in British military history.

Also that July, at least one shark attacked five swimmers along the coast of New Jersey, resulting in the deaths of four. These attacks, which are now known as the “Jersey Shore Shark Attacks of 1916,” were the inspiration for Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel, “Jaws,” and Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster movie by the same name.

On Nov. 1, 1916, the first 40-hour work week officially began at the Endicott-Johnson factories in New York. On Nov. 7, during that year’s presidential election, Democratic incumbent Woodrow Wilson beat Republican challenger Charles E. Hughes.

In the wide world of sports, the Pittsburgh Panthers won college football’s national championship. That October, the Boston Red Sox beat the Brooklyn Robins, four games to one, to win the 1916 World Series. 

Earlier that year, on April 20, the Chicago Cubs played their first game in Weegham Park, which we know today as Wrigley Field. Also that year, on Oct. 7, Georgia Tech’s football team beat Cumberland College, 222-0, in the most lopsided victory in college football history.

Famous people born in 1916 included comedian Jackie Gleason, novelist Walker Percy of Birmingham, actor Gregory Peck, future Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, children’s author Roald Dahl, anchorman Walter Cronkite, historian and author Shelby Foote and actor Kirk Douglas. Famous people who died in 1916 included writer Jack London, who died of kidney failure in California on Nov. 22.

As you can see, 1916 was an eventful year in American and world history. Who’s to say what 2016 will bring, but I’m sure that it will likely be as eventful as that remarkable year a century ago.

Which team do YOU think will win this year's College Football Playoff?

The college football bowl season is getting down to the short rows. Most of the minor bowls have already been played, leaving the big boys to duke it out in the major bowls with bragging rights and a possible national championship on the line for some.

Between today (Thursday) and Jan. 11, there are 13 bowl games remaining to be played, and, for what it’s worth, here are my predictions for those games.

· Look for Florida State to beat Houston in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, which will be played today in Atlanta. That game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

· Expect Oklahoma to beat Clemson in the Capital One Orange Bowl, which will be played today in Miami Gardens, Fla. This bowl, which is one of the semi-final round play-in games for the national championship game, is set to start at 3 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN.

· Look for Alabama to beat Michigan State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, which will be played today in Arlington, Texas. This bowl, which is the other semi-final play-in game, will begin at 7 p.m. and will also be televised on ESPN.

· Expect Tennessee to down Northwestern in the Outback Bowl, which will be played tomorrow (Friday) in Tampa, Fla. This game is scheduled to kickoff at 11 a.m. and will be shown on ESPN2.

· Look for Michigan to beat Florida in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, which will be played tomorrow in Orlando. This game, which should be pretty entertaining to watch, is set to start at 12 p.m. and will be televised on ABC.

· Expect Ohio State to outgun rival Notre Dame in the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl, which will be played tomorrow in Glendale, Az. This game, which should also be worth tuning in for, is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN.

· Look for Stanford to beat Iowa in the Rose Bowl, which will be played tomorrow in Pasadena, Calif. This bowl game is set to start at 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

· In the final game of the day, expect Ole Miss to represent the SEC well by downing Oklahoma State tomorrow in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. This bowl game is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN.

· In the first game of the day on Saturday, look for Georgia to beat Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl, which will be played in Jacksonville, Fla. This game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and will be shown on ESPN.

· Expect Arkansas to beat Kansas State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, which will be played Saturday in Memphis, Tenn. This bowl is set to kickoff at 2:20 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

· Look for TCU to down Oregon in the Valero Alamo Bowl, which will be played Saturday in San Antonio. This game is scheduled to begin at 5:45 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN.

· In the final game of the day, expect West Virginia to beat Arizona State in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl, which will be Saturday played in Tempe, Az. That game is set to start at 9:15 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.

· Last, but not least, if Oklahoma wins the Orange Bowl, and if Alabama wins the Cotton Bowl, they’ll meet in the CFP National Championship game, which will be played on Mon., Jan. 11, in Glendale, Az. That game is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m., and it’ll be hard not to predict an Alabama victory if they’re able to get by Michigan State. 

Today in History for Dec. 31, 2015

King Kelly

Dec. 31, 1491 – French navigator and explorer Jacques Cartier was born in St. Malo, Duchy of Brittany. He claimed what is now Canada for France and was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas," after the Iroquois names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec City) and at Hochelaga (Montreal Island).

Dec. 31, 1759 – Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease at 45 pounds per year and started brewing Guinness.

Dec. 31, 1775 – During the American Revolutionary War, at the Battle of Quebec, British forces repulsed an attack by Continental Army General Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold under cover of darkness and snowfall. Montgomery was killed and Arnold was seriously injured in a failed attack on Quebec City. Of the 900 Americans who participated in the siege, 60 were killed or wounded and more than 400 were captured.

Dec. 31, 1781 - The British released Henry Laurens from prison in exchange for American-held prisoner General Charles Lord Cornwallis. Laurens had been in the Tower of London for 15 months after being captured off the coast of New Foundland.

Dec. 31, 1841 – The Burnt Corn Male Academy was incorporated by the Alabama legislature.

Dec. 31, 1841 – Alabama became the first state to license dental surgeons by enacting the first dental legislation in the United States.

Dec. 31, 1857 – National Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder, catcher and manager King Kelly was born in Troy, N.Y. He went on to play for the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago White Stockings, the Boston Beaneaters, the Boston Reds, the Cincinnati Kelly’s Killers and the New York Giants, and he also managed the Beaneaters, the Boston Reds and the Killers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945.

Dec. 31, 1862 – During the Civil War, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed an act that admitted West Virginia to the Union, thus dividing Virginia in two.

Dec. 31, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Battle of Stones River began near Murfreesboro in central Tennessee. The battle ended on Jan. 2, 1863 as a victory for Union General William Rosecrans over Confederate Braxton Bragg.

Dec. 31, 1862 – During the Battle of Parker’s Crossroads, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest narrowly escaped capture during a raid in western Tennessee. Despite the close call, the raid was instrumental in forcing Union General Ulysses S. Grant to abandon his first attempt to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Dec. 31, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Paint Rock Bridge and Russellville, Ala.

Dec. 31, 1869 – Painter Henri Matisse was born in Le Cateau, France.

Dec. 31, 1879 – Thomas Edison demonstrated his first incandescent light bulb when he hung strings of lights inside his lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey, and switched them on and off repeatedly, to the awe and delight of his 3,000 spectators.

Dec. 31, 1891 - New York's new Immigration Depot was opened at Ellis Island to provide improved facilities for the massive numbers of arrivals.

Dec. 31, 1894 - Prof. Marsh reopened the Monroeville Academy after the holiday recess “with an increased attendance.”

Dec. 31, 1897 – Dr. W.A. Locke of Axle in Monroe County, Ala. passed away.

Dec. 31, 1898 – English ethnographer Sir John Thompson was born in London.

Dec. 31, 1907 – The first New Year's Eve celebration was held in Times Square (then known as Longacre Square) in New York, New York.

Dec. 31, 1909 – Manhattan Bridge opened.

Dec. 31, 1910 – The Manistee & Repton Railroad incorporated. (Some sources say this happened on Dec. 29.)

Dec. 31, 1917 - A movie version of Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen's book, “The Strong Way,” was released.

Dec. 31, 1930 – Odetta Holmes Felious, the woman Martin Luther King Jr. called "The Queen of American Folk Music," was born in Birmingham, Ala. Her albums include “My Eyes Have Seen” (1959), “Sometimes I Feel Like Crying” (1962), and “Movin' It On” (1987).

Dec. 31, 1935 – Charles Darrow, an unemployed engineer in Germantown, Pa., patented the board game, Monopoly.

Dec. 31, 1946 - U.S. President Harry Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.

Dec. 31, 1954 - The last episode of the radio show "Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" aired.

Dec. 31, 1964 – The Monroe Journal reported that the need for a remedy to the parking and traffic situation in downtown Monroeville, Ala. was clearly in evidence during the past week as Christmas shoppers sought parking places or sought access to stores and places of business. During the previous week when a lot of persons were in Monroeville, traffic “jams” persisted throughout the business hours.

Dec. 31, 1964 – The Monroe Journal reported that Alice Lee and Nell Harper Lee visited during the Christmas holidays in Eufaula, Ala. where they were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Herschel Conner and family.

Dec. 31, 1964 – The Monroe Journal reported that new officers had been named by the Monroe County (Ala.) Medical Society, and they were to assume office on Jan. 1. Named president was Dr. Jack Whetstone of Monroeville; Dr. R.A. Smith Sr. of Monroeville, vice president; and Dr. R.A. Smith Jr. of Monroeville, secretary and treasurer. Named as delegates to the state convention were Dr. Whetstone and Dr. Smith Jr.

Dec. 31, 1964 – The Monroe Journal reported that Miss Joanna Ivey, senior at Monroe County High School, had been named Miss Good Citizen at MCHS. She was go to Montgomery, Ala. on Feb. 13, 1965 to compete for the statewide Miss Good Citizen. It was sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Dec. 31, 1967 - The Green Bay Packers won the National Football League championship game by defeating the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17. The game is known as the Ice Bowl since it was played in a wind chill of 40 degrees below zero.

Dec. 31, 1972 – National Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates, age 38, was killed in a plane crash near Puerto Rico while flying relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims. He played his entire career, 1955-1972, for the Pirates, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.

Dec. 31, 1973 – No. 3-ranked Notre Dame, coached by Ara Parseghian, beat Bear Bryant’s No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, 24-23, in the Sugar Bowl at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. Notre Dame quarterback Tom Clements was named the MVP. Broadcast nationally on ABC, the game was one of the highest-rated college football games of all time.

Dec. 31, 1974 – Fort Sinquefield in Clarke County, Ala. was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Dec. 31, 1975 – Bear Bryant’s No. 3-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide beat Joe Paterno’s No. 7-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions, 13-6, in the Sugar Bowl in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Alabama quarterback Richard Todd was named the MVP. It was the first Sugar Bowl played in the Superdome.

Dec. 31, 1977 – Evergreen, Ala. weather reporter Earl Windham reported 55.12 inches of rain in 1977 as compared to 56.29 inches of rain in 1976. Approximately 111 inches fell in 1975.

Dec. 31, 1984 - ESPN debuted in Hawaii, making it available in all 50 states.

Dec. 31, 1988 – Mark Childress’ second novel, “V for Victor,” was released by Knopf.

Dec. 31, 1988 – The first winter ascent of Lhotse (8,516 meters) was achieved by Krzysztof Wielicki (solo).

Dec. 31, 1991 – Weather reporter Harry Ellis reported 3.24 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala. during the month of December 1991. Total rainfall for 1991 amounted to 60.38 inches.

Dec. 31, 1992 – Weather reporter Harry Ellis reported 5.08 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala. during the month of December 1992. Total rainfall for 1992 was 70.08 inches.

Dec. 31, 1999 – The United States Government handed control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.

Dec. 31, 1999 - The world braced for the “Y2K” chaos as computer systems switched over to the year 2000.

Dec. 31, 2006 – Major League Baseball second baseman Marv Breeding passed away at the age of 72 in Decatur, Ala. He played for the Baltimore Orioles, the Washington Senators and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Dec. 31, 2014 – Total rainfall during the month of December in Excel, Ala. amounted to 8.10 inches. Total rainfall during 2014 in Excel amounted to 63.60 inches.

Daily Rainfall Observations from SW Alabama for Thurs., Dec. 31, 2015

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 0.65 inches.

Week to Date Rainfall: 1.80 inches.

Month to Date Rainfall: 13.85 inches

Winter to Date Rainfall: 10.15 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 61.70 inches

Notes: Today is the 365th day of 2015 and the tenth day of Winter. There is one day left in the year.

Readings taken at 0700 hours Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line and south of U.S. Highway 84, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-4, Station Name: Excel 2.5 ESE.

BUCKET LIST UPDATE No. 250: Listen to Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue”

Just about everyone has heard of world famous jazz musician Miles Davis, who passed away at the age of 65 in 1991. To put it mildly, Davis was a prolific recording artist, having recorded 48 studio albums, 36 live albums, 35 compilation albums and dozens of other types of recordings. Arguably Davis’ most famous album is “Kind of Blue,” which was released on Aug. 17, 1959.

In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Kind of Blue” at No. 12 on its list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” and for some time it irked me that I had never listened to this influential jazz album in its entirety. For that reason, I added it to my “bucket list” a couple of years ago, and I finally took the time to listen to it from start to finish on Sunday. I’m glad I did because it’s great, and I can now see why the album's so highly regarded.

For those of you unfamiliar with the “Kind of Blue” album, it’s a jazz album that consists of five songs, and the entire album is just 45 minutes and 44 seconds long. The longest track on the album is “All Blues,” which is a little over 11-1/2 minutes long. Other tracks on the album are “So What” (9:04), “Freddie Freeloader” (9:34), “Blue in Green” (5:27) and “Flamenco Sketches” (9:26).

To say that “Kind of Blue” was a successful album would be putting it mildly. In the U.S., it was certified platinum four times and was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry in 2002. Davis was already well known when the album debuted, but "Kind of Blue" propelled him to the status of jazz legend.

If you’re interested in listening to “Kind of Blue” yourself, it’s pretty easy. The album is widely available on CD and you can also buy it through iTunes and other online outlets. You can even find complete, high-quality versions of it on YouTube.

Personally, I thought the album was great. It’s easy to listen to, and is the sort of music that you can just sit back, close your eyes and enjoy. There are no lyrics, so there’s no following along to make sure that you can understand all the words. The album’s also relatively short, so it doesn’t require a huge investment in time to listen to the entire thing in one sitting.

Now that I’ve finally listened to “Kind of Blue,” I’m left wanting to listen to some of Davis’s other well-known albums. In addition to “Kind of Blue,” Rolling Stone also included two other Davis jazz albums on their list of “500 Greatest Albums.” The ranked 1970’s “Bitches Brew” at No. 95 and 1960’s “Sketches of Spain” at No. 358. Several of my friends have highly recommended that I listen to “Bitches Brew.”

In the end, how many of you have ever listed to “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis from start to finish? What did you think about it? What other Davis albums or jazz albums would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.

Today in History for Dec. 30, 2015

Dec. 30, 1803 - Francis Lewis, signer of the Declaration of Independence, died in New York City, at the age of 90.

Dec. 30, 1816 – Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin were married.

Dec. 30, 1821 – James Hayes became the postmaster at Burnt Corn Spring, Ala.

Dec. 30, 1841 – Camden, Ala. was officially incorporated as a municipality.

Dec. 30, 1853 - The United States bought about 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase. The land was bought to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.

Dec. 30, 1861 – During the Civil War, Confederate Commissioners James Mason and John Slidell were released to the British Minister, Lord Lyons. Their release effectively ended the Trent International Incident.

Dec. 30, 1861 – During the Civil War, the United States Government, as well as independent banks in several cities, suspended “specie payment.” This referred to the fact that at this time paper money was viewed with suspicion unless it could be readily converted into the equivalent amount of gold or silver. The suspension of specie frequently led to drastic inflation as the value of paper currency declined, sometimes to zero if the bank issuing it failed. The matter of a stable and uniform currency for the entire country was not yet settled and would not be for some time.

Dec. 30, 1862 – During the Civil War, the U.S.S. Monitor sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras, N.C., and 16 sailors were unable to be rescued. Just nine months earlier, the ship had been part of a revolution in naval warfare when the ironclad dueled to a standstill with the C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimack) off Hampton Roads, Virginia, in one of the most famous naval battles in American history–the first time two ironclads faced each other in a naval engagement.

Dec. 30, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Leighton in Colbert County, Ala.

Dec. 30, 1865 – Short-story writer, poet, novelist and prominent Freemason Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, India. He would go on to publish his best known book, “The Jungle Book,” in 1894.

Dec. 30, 1868 – Baker County, Ala. (present-day Chilton County) was established and named in honor of Alfred Baker with its county seat at Grantville. Residents of the county petitioned the Alabama legislature for the renaming of their county and on December 17, 1874, the petitioners accepted the suggestion of Chilton County, in honor of William Parish Chilton Sr. (1810–1871). Chilton was a lawyer who became Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and later represented Montgomery County in the Congress of the Confederate States of America.

Dec. 30, 1899 – Norwegian explorer, lawyer and politician Helge Ingstad was born in Meråker. After mapping some Norse settlements, Ingstad and his wife Anne Stine, an archaeologist, in 1960 found remnants of a Viking settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows in the Province of Newfoundland in Canada. With that they were the first to prove conclusively that the Greenlandic Norsemen had found a way across the Atlantic Ocean to North America, roughly 500 years before Christopher Columbus and John Cabot.

Dec. 20, 1910 – Novelist, composer and poet Paul Bowles was born in New York City. He is best known for his 1949 novel, “The Sheltering Sky.”

Dec. 30, 1915 – The Monroe Journal reported that “Christmas in Monroeville was unusually quiet and uneventful. All business houses were closed throughout the day and a Sabbath stillness pervaded. It (was) gratifying to note that not the slightest indication of intoxication was observable on the streets.”

Dec. 30, 1916 – Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, a 47-year-old self-fashioned holy man, was murdered in Petrograd by Russian nobles eager to end his sway over the royal family. In the early hours of this day, a group of nobles lured Rasputin to Yusupovsky Palace, where they attempted to poison him. Seemingly unaffected by the large doses of poison placed in his wine and food, he was finally shot at close range and collapsed. A minute later he rose, beat one of his assailants, and attempted to escape from the palace grounds, where he was shot again. Rasputin, still alive, was then bound and tossed into a freezing river.

Dec. 30, 1924 - Pioneering astronomer Edwin Hubble announced the existence of other galaxies.

Dec. 30, 1926 - The Chicago Tribune broke a story that the Detroit Tigers threw a 4-game series to the Chicago White Sox in 1917.

Dec. 30, 1935 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He would play his entire career (1955-1966) for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972.

Dec. 30, 1939 - Joseph J. Jernigan, 73, one of the early settlers of the Tunnel Springs community, died at his home on this Saturday about 3 p.m., following a long period of ill health. For many years he was closely identified with the business and industrial development of Monroe County. For about 20 years he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Monroe County Bank, was a member of the Board of Directors of the Excel Bank, from the organization until the institution was liquidated.

Dec. 30, 1949 - Alabama author Dara Wier was born in New Orleans, La.

Dec. 30, 1953 - The first color TV sets went on sale for about $1,175.

Dec. 30, 1954 - Alabama author Truman Capote's only musical, “House of Flowers,” opened at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway, where it ran for 165 performances. The musical was based on Capote’s short story, “House of Flowers,” which was first published in his 1958 book, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” where the story was included as one of three extra pieces besides the novella, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

Dec. 30, 1954 - Boy Scout Troop 24 and the Explorer Scout Post staged a combination Court of Honor and Family Night at the Monroeville Community House on this Thursday night at which time 28 merit badges and 29 advancements in rank, including an Eagle Award, were presented. Receiving the Eagle Award was Cecil Murphy, 15, with the presentation being made by Morton McMillan, leader of the Explorer Post.  Other advancement awards were made with Bill Owens being presented the Life Scout Award by Ed Michaels.

Dec. 30, 1954 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Conecuh County Sheriff John Brock was recovering from “severe injuries” he sustained Saturday night, Dec. 25, when his car struck a cow on State Highway 83, about seven miles north of Evergreen, Ala. “He was answering an urgent call from the Skinnerton community when the wreck occurred,” The Courant reported. “According to reports of the accident given The Courant, the cow suddenly leaped in the highway directly in front of the Sheriff’s automobile. After hitting the cow, the car turned over several times.” Brock was rushed to the Conecuh County Hospital where examination by doctors revealed he had fractures of the pelvis bones and a vertebra. He was carried to Mobile Infirmary later that night where he was as of Dec. 30. Reports indicated he was rapidly recovering and would be able to return to Evergreen sometime the following week.

Dec. 30, 1958 - A holiday basketball double header was planned to be held at the gymnasium at Frisco City High School in Frisco City, Ala. on this Tuesday afternoon with four leading teams in the area scheduled to compete. Three Monroe County teams were to be included in the group - Frisco City High School as hosts, Excel High School and J.U. Blacksher. Atmore, from neighboring Escambia County, was to be the fourth team. Frisco City was to play Excel at 2 p.m. while Atmore was to take on Uriah at 3:15 p.m. The winning teams and losing teams were to meet each other later that night.

Dec. 30, 1959 – Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, who were the subjects of Truman Capote’s book “In Cold Blood,” were identified as suspects in the November 1959 Clutter family murders, and were arrested in Las Vegas.

Dec. 30, 1964 – Wreckage from a June 17, 1961 Cessna 182 crash that killed John O. Leu, 22, of Nashville, Tenn. and Gene McGill, 18, of Mobile was discovered 12 miles northwest of Uriah, near Jeddo, by Edmond Jerkins of Stapleton.

Dec. 30, 1976 – Major League Baseball catcher A. J. Pierzynski was born in Bridgehampton, New York. He made his MLB debut on Sept. 9, 1998 with the Minnesota Twins and went on to play for the San Francisco Giants, the Chicago White Sox, the Texas Rangers, the Boston Red Sox, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves.

Dec. 30, 1976 – NFL defensive end Patrick Kerney was born in Yardley, Pennsylvania. He went on to play for the University of Viginia and 11 seasons in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks.

Dec. 30, 1977 – For the second time, Ted Bundy escaped from his cell in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Dec. 30, 1978 - Ohio State University fired football coach Woody Hayes one day after Hayes punched Clemson University player Charlie Bauman during the Gator Bowl. Bauman had intercepted an Ohio State pass.

Dec. 30, 1981 – The Old LaSalle Hotel and Restaurant in Monroeville was sold to Monroe County Library Board by Dwight Harrington, who bought the building in 1979.

Dec. 30, 1996 - Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers became only the second player to win consecutive NFL MVP Awards.

Dec. 30, 1999 – The Evergreen Courant reported that banks in Conecuh County were prepared for the Y2K computer bug and had been working on the problem for over a year. Pat Bolton, Vice President of Information Systems at the Bank of Evergreen, said she began working on the Y2K problem in September of 1998.

Dec. 30, 1999 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Conecuh County Sheriff’s Deputy Allison Blackmon had recently attended a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) course taught at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. Blackmon was certified as a RAD instructor. She had to take a minimum of 30 hours, but her particular class took 35 hours of instruction.

Dec. 30, 2006 – Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging at Camp Justice, an Iraqi army base in Kadhimiya, a neighborhood of northeast Baghdad, Iraq.

Dec. 30, 2010 – This was the final day Kodachrome film was developed by Dwayne's Photo, the last remaining Kodachrome processor, concluding the iconic film's 74-year run.

  

Dec. 30, 2015 – A trace of rain was recorded in Excel, Ala.

Daily Rainfall Observations from SW Alabama for Wed., Dec. 30, 2015

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 1.15 inches.

Week to Date Rainfall: 1.15 inches.

Month to Date Rainfall: 13.20 inches

Winter to Date Rainfall: 9.50 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 61.05 inches

Notes: Today is the 364th day of 2015 and the ninth day of Winter. There are two days left in the year.

Readings taken at 0700 hours Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line and south of U.S. Highway 84, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-4, Station Name: Excel 2.5 ESE.

The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for Dec. 29, 2015

ONE YEAR AGO

DEC. 25, 2014

Nared named 2014 Sportsman of the Year: This week The Courant has selected Tuskegee University quarterback Justin Nared, a native of Evergreen, as the newspaper’s seventh annual Sportsman of the Year.

During his senior season at Tuskegee, Nared led the Golden Tigers to a 9-3 overall record, the 2014 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Football Championship and an appearance in the Division II playoffs.

Nared started or played in all 12 of Tuskegee’s games this year and had a hand in 10 touchdowns, the most of any quarterback on the team. He finished the season with 67 pass completions for 1,178 total yards and eight touchdowns. He also ran the ball 35 times for a 93-yard gain and two touchdowns.

Sparta Academy’s varsity girls basketball team finished third in the Fort Dale Academy Christmas Tournament by beating Fort Dale, 44-43, Saturday afternoon in Greenville.

Reagan Wild led Sparta over Fort Dale with 13 points, two assists and a steal. (Other standout Sparta players in that game included Emily Deason, Alex Etheridge, Lisa Smith, Amber Kirksey, Ashley Riley, Abby Dunn, Lauryn Bolton, Maggie Brock, Emily Rodgers and Jayden McKeough.)

Hillcrest High School’s varsity boys basketball team improved to 10-1 on the season during the past week after beating Sidney Lanier and Fruitdale in games played in Evergreen.

Hillcrest beat Lanier, 67-55, Monday of last week, and the Jags downed Fruitdale, 65-42, on Friday night.

Sparta Academy’s varsity boys basketball team picked up its eighth win of the season last Thursday night by downing region opponent Patrician Academy, 87-86, in overtime in Butler.

Zane Lambert led Sparta with 20 points, a rebound, four steals and an assist.

(Other standout Sparta players in that game included Taylor Chavers, Stone Riley, Nathan Pipkin, Griffin Weaver, Hunter Bolton, Tanner Bledsoe, Dakota Stokes.)

Hillcrest High School’s girls basketball team improved to 6-3 on the season during the past week thanks to double digit wins over Sidney Lanier and Central-Hayneville.

The Lady Jags beat Sidney Lanier, 58-23, Monday of last week in Evergreen and followed that with a 53-20 win over Central-Hayneville in Evergreen.

In the win over Sidney Lanier, Tyesha Rudolph led Hillcrest with 20 points, and Naajah Richardson followed with eight points. Alexis Holley and Cassie Riley finished the game with six points each.

(Other standout Hillcrest players in that game included Shanaya Grace, Destiny Simpson, Tyranesha Dukes and Temeisha Dees.)

16 YEARS AGO

DEC. 30, 1999

Jared Stacey, 18, killed this buck in the Springhill community near Repton on Nov. 24. The buck weighed 235 pounds, had 10 points, 22-1/2 inch inside spread and 24-inch outside.

JV Lady Warriors win Escambia Tournament: On Sat., Dec. 11, 1999 the Sparta Academy JV Lady Warriors traveled to Canoe and participated in the Escambia Academy JV Tournament. In their first game the JV Lady Warriors defeated Escambia Academy, 32-17. Katie Etheridge was the leading scorer for the JV Lady Warriors with 16 points. Also putting points on the board were Susan Ivey with nine points, Anna Aman with three points, Jessie Armuelles and Callie Ezell with two points each.

In the championship game, the Sparta JV Lady Warriors defeated the Monroe Academy JV Lady Vols, 28-19. The leading scorer for the JV Lady Warriors was Katie Etheridge with 18 points. Also scoring were Anna Aman with seven points, Callie Ezell with two points and Jessie Armuelles with one point.

Named to the All Tournament Team were Callie Ezell and Susan Ivey. Katie Etheridge was named tournament Most Valuable Player.

31 YEARS AGO

DEC. 27, 1984

Sparta Academy hosts tournament: Sparta Academy will host a Tournament of Champions Dec. 27, 28 and 29 in the school gymnatorium.

Teams in the girls division are: Sparta-Evergreen, Jackson-Jackson, Wilcox-Camden, Pike-Troy, Woodland-Phenix City. Teams in the boys division are: Minor-Birmingham, Pike-Troy, Lakeside-Eufaula, Woodland-Phenix City, Edgewood-Elmore, Wilcox-Camden, Jackson-Jackson, Sparta-Evergreen.

Terry Brooks of Loango killed this trophy buck Dec. 10 in Conecuh County. The deer had 15 points and weighed 200 pounds.

Gerald W. Rolling killed this fine, seven-point buck in Conecuh County. It weighed 185 pounds. The head was of a seven-point, 150-pound deer killed by Tommy Hall in Butler County.

Frank Lee Porter killed this four-point buck Thursday with help from his son, Frank Cortez, and dog, Dusty.

LOST!!! Male Treeing Walker – Tattoo in Ear – J R W – REWARD!!! $100 Being Offered – Call or See Leon Adams or Butch Adams.

61 YEARS AGO

DEC. 30, 1954

“Aggies Host To Strong Murphy High Tuesday: The strong Murphy High Panthers of Mobile invade Evergreen’s Memorial Gym for a pair of games with the Aggies here Tuesday night. This will be the first game for Evergreen after nearly a three-week layoff for Christmas holidays.

The Murphy team is always a power in the first district, usually battling it out with McGill, another Mobile team for the district championship. They are led by high-scoring Bobby Jackson, an all-state selection in football at quarterback. The Panthers will be a decided favorite over the Aggies as they are fielding one of their best teams in recent years.

Coach Hart’s Aggies are led by high-scoring center, Randy White, who is averaging better than 21 points per game in the Aggies first three games. Evergreen looked slow in their opening battle with Georgiana, but came back strong to take impressive victories over T.R. Miller and Repton in their next two games before the holidays.

One of the largest crowds of the season is expected to be on hand for the battle. The B team game will start at 7 p.m.

Today in History for Dec. 29, 2015

Albert Pike

Dec. 29, 1778 - British Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell and his force of between 2,500 and 3,600 troops, which included the 71st Highland regiment, New York Loyalists, and Hessian mercenaries, launched a surprise attack on American forces defending Savannah, Georgia. American Major General Robert Howe and his paltry force of between 650 and 900 men were severely outnumbered, and Howe ordered the city to be evacuated and the army to withdraw from combat. The Patriots lost 83 men and another 483 were captured, while the British lost only three men and another 10 were wounded.

Dec. 29, 1808 – Future U.S. President Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, N.C.

Dec. 29, 1809 – Prominent freemason Albert Pike was born in Boston, Mass. He would go on to become an attorney, a Confederate officer and a writer. He passed away at the age of 81 on April 2, 1891 in Washington, D.C.

Dec. 29, 1835 - The Cherokee Indian Treaty Party signed the Treaty of New Echota, ceding their lands east of the Mississippi River to the U.S. government. The Cherokees were to receive five million dollars and land in the western Indian Territory. Alabama created the new counties of Cherokee, DeKalb and Marshall from the ceded land and the Cherokees began their infamous “trail of tears.”

Dec. 29, 1841 – Coffee County, Ala. was established, formed from the western part of Dale County. It was named after John R. Coffee, a hero in the Creek War of 1813—14.

Dec. 29, 1845 - U.S. President James Polk and signed the “Joint Resolution for the Admission of the State of Texas into the Union,” making Texas the 28th state of the United States. In accordance with International Boundary delimitation, the United States annexed the Republic of Texas, following the manifest destiny doctrine. The Republic of Texas had been independent since the Texas Revolution of 1836.

Dec. 29, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near Hopoeithleyohola in the Indian Territory.

Dec. 29, 1861 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Commerce and an attack was carried out on the steamboat “City of Alton” in Missouri.

Dec. 29, 1861 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Braxton Courthouse, Clay, and Webster in West Virginia.

Dec. 29, 1862 – During the Civil War, at the Battle of Chickasaw Bluffs, Union General William T. Sherman was thwarted in his attempt to capture Vicksburg, Miss., the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, when he ordered a frontal assault on entrenched Rebels. Union loses totaled some 1,770 men while the Confederates lost around 200. The attack was a mistake by Sherman, who should have never tried to go up against fortified Rebels across open ground.

Dec. 29, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes occurred at Hillsborough and Pond Springs, Ala.

Dec. 29, 1878 - The first game was played between two teams of the first professional baseball league in Cuba, later known as the Cuban League. Representing the city of Havana, the Habana club faced off against their greatest rivals, a club from the neighboring suburb of Almendares. Habana, coached by Esteban Bellán, the first Cuban to play professional baseball in the United States, won that inaugural game 21-20.

Dec. 29, 1890 – The Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation occurred as 300 Lakota were killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment.

Dec. 29, 1910 – The Manistee & Repton Railway was officially incorporated.

Dec. 29, 1910 – The Conecuh Record reported that P.M. Skinner’s cotton gin in Castleberry, Ala. burned and was a total loss.

Dec. 29, 1914 – P.D. Jackson “killed a monster catamount” in Conecuh County’s Sandy Creek Swamp. Jackson had to shoot the large cat six times before killing it.

Dec. 29, 1914 - George H. Oswald was seriously injured when he fell from the roof of a two-story building he was working on in Evergreen, Ala. He later died from his injuries.

Dec. 29, 1915 – The Rev. C.A. Williams, the new pastor of the Monroeville, Ala. circuit, arrived on this Wednesday evening with his family and settled into the parsonage.

Dec. 29, 1937 – Babe Ruth returned to baseball as the new manager of the Class D De Land Reds of the Florida State League. Ruth had retired from baseball in 1935.

Dec. 29, 1939 – The first flight of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator took place.

Dec. 29, 1947 – The Loretto Saints handed Evergreen High School’s boys basketball team their first loss of the season, beating them 26-24 in Montgomery. Benton Carpenter led Evergreen with 10 points, and Bill Carr led Loretto with 10 points.

Dec. 29, 1949 – The Monroe Journal reported that a $250 reward had been posted by Rep. W.W. Garrett of Uriah for information leading to the conviction of the automobile driver responsible for the hit and run killing of 14-year-old Vivian Murphy in Uriah on the night of Dec. 20. The Murphy girl was struck down about 6:20 p.m. as she walked to a play rehearsal with two girl companions who leaped clear of the speeding automobile. A victim of infantile paralysis, Murphy had only recently undergone an operation which enabled her to remove one of the two braces she had worn since infancy.

Dec. 29, 1949 – The Monroe Journal reported that the five Monroe County high schools, following a two-week Christmas vacation, were scheduled to return to “hardwood warfare in earnest” the next week with all schools except Uriah scheduled to play two games. To date, Monroe County High had the best record of any county school – having racked up three victories against one defeat. The Tigers held wins over Beatrice, Excel and Greenville, and dropped their lone decision to T.R. Miller High in Brewton, 39-33.

Dec. 29, 1949 – The Monroe Journal reported that “improvement of recreational facilities at Little River State Park near Uriah” was on the agenda of the state Department of Conservation in 1950, according to Department Director Bert Thomas. “Pointing out that facilities at the park are used by various clubs and civic organizations for camping and recreational purposes and that facilities there are also used by Forestry students at Auburn, Mr. Thomas said that tables would be added, picnic space increased and various other improvements made during 1950.”

Dec. 29, 1953 - The “Beast of Bladenboro” case began on this night when a woman in Clarkton, N.C. chased away what appeared to be an abnormally large feline from her neighbor’s property. Next, on New Year’s Eve, Roy Fores, the Bladenboro police chief, was called to an area farm where two dogs had recently been killed.

Dec. 29, 1965 - CBS acquired the rights to the NFL regular-season games in 1966 and 1967, with an option for 1968, for $18.8 million per year.

Dec. 29, 1970 - The Old St. Stephen Site at St. Stephens in Washington County, Ala. was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Dec. 29, 1972 – Eastern Airlines Flight 401 (a Lockheed L-1011) “disintegrated” over land within a short distance of the Miami airport with a loss of over 100 passengers and crew.

Dec. 29, 1976 – American actor, producer, and screenwriter Danny McBride was born in Statesboro, Ga.

Dec. 29, 1978 – The site of the H.L. Hunley submarine sinking was placed on National Register of Historic Places.

Dec. 29, 1980 - Three Texans suffered severe burns when they encountered a fire blasting diamond-shaped UFO. One of the victims in the Cash-Landrum Incident had injuries so severe, a doctor described it as comparable to being "3 to 5 miles from the epicenter of Hiroshima."

Dec. 29, 1982 - Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant ended his football coaching career at Alabama with 323 wins.

Dec. 29, 1982 – The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad merged with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad to form the Seaboard System Railroad.

Dec. 29, 1986 - The television program “Seasons of Belief,” teleplay by Alabama author Robert McDowell, was broadcast as part of the “Tales from the Darkside” series.

Dec. 29, 2000 – E. Elias Merhige’s “Shadow of the Vampire,” which was released on this day, tantalized audiences with the unsettling suggestion that the monstrous Nosferatu (Willem Dafoe), who assumed the title role in the classic film by F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich), was, in reality, actually portrayed by a real vampire, rather than an actor.

Dec. 29, 2000 - Alabama author Bill Easterling died in Huntsville, Ala.

Dec. 29, 2007 – Sparta Academy’s varsity boys and varsity girls basketball teams captured first place trophies in the South Choctaw Holiday Tournament in Toxey.

Dec. 29, 2007 – Hillcrest High School’s varsity boys basketball team beat Alabama Christian Academy, 67-59, during the Capital City Conference Christmas Basketball Tournament at Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery, Ala.

Dec. 29, 2007 - The New England Patriots became the first NFL team in 35 years to finish the regular season undefeated (16-0) when they beat the New York Giants 38-35.

  

Dec. 29, 2015 – 1.15 inches of rainfall was recorded in Excel, Ala.

Daily Rainfall Observations from SW Alabama for Tues., Dec. 29, 2015

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 1.15 inches.

Week to Date Rainfall: 1.15 inches.

Month to Date Rainfall: 13.20 inches

Winter to Date Rainfall: 9.50 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 61.05 inches

Notes: Today is the 363rd day of 2015 and the eighth day of Winter. There are three days left in the year.

Readings taken at 0700 hours Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line and south of U.S. Highway 84, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-4, Station Name: Excel 2.5 ESE.

The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Dec. 28, 2015

Evergreen native Naomi Rabb Winston

16 YEARS AGO

DEC. 30, 1999

Weather observer Harry Ellis reported high temperatures of 61 degrees on Dec. 20 and Dec. 24 and low temperatures of 25 degrees on Dec. 25 and Dec. 26.

Local banks are prepared for Y2K: Many people have been concerned about Y2K for one reason or another, but local banks have eased the pressure on their customers. Although it has become a recent issue with the public, the banks have been thinking about the Y2K issue for over a year.

Pat Bolton, Vice President of Information Systems at the Bank of Evergreen, said she began working on the Y2K problem in September of 1998. She said their software vendor wrote new programs for all of their computer systems and the programs have been installed and all systems are ready to go.

Bolton and Nell Stuart, president of the Bank of Evergreen, will be at the bank after midnight Friday. They will turn the systems back on and make sure they are running properly.

Although no problems are expected, Bolton said they are ready for those people that wish to withdraw an extra large amount of money.

Deputy Allison Blackmon of the Conecuh County Sheriff’s Department recently attended a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) course taught at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. Blackmon was certified as a RAD instructor. She had to take a minimum of 30 hours, but her particular class took 35 hours of instruction.

31 YEARS AGO

DEC. 27, 1984

Young Farmers elect Dunn: Steve Dunn was elected chairman of the State Young Farmers of the Alabama Farm Bureau Federation at the annual meeting held Dec. 2-4 in Mobile. He is a well known young farmer of the Lyeffion community.

Dunn was also re-elected to a second two-year term on the State Young Farmers Committee.

Dunn serves as chairman of the Young Farmers Committee of the Conecuh County Farm Bureau Federation, and also on the Board of Directors and the Executive Board.

Full time status for Chairman: The office of Chairman of the Conecuh County Commission will change from part time to full time if a proposed piece of local legislation becomes law. The proposed bill is being advertised in The Courant now and will be introduced in the legislature early next year.

This entrance at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Owens won first place in the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce Decorations Contest.

The Sparta Academy Kindergarten visited the Evergreen Post Office and mailed their letters to Santa Claus. Their teacher is Mrs. Katrine Sanford. Postmaster Eugene Hyde assisted the youngsters.

John H. Pate, a well known Conecuh County farmer, was named to the county Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee by delegates to the county ASCS convention, held Dec. 18, 1984 in the ASCA Office.

46 YEARS AGO

DEC. 25, 1969

Beloved Citizen Dies After Brief Illness: Rufus Reid Rushton, age 79, died at the local hospital Thursday p.m., Dec. 18, following a brief illness. Mr. Rushton was born in Rutledge, Crenshaw County, Ala.

He moved with his parents to Andalusia when a young boy and resided there until he moved to Evergreen more than 50 years ago. He engaged in the contracting business till he retired about 10 years ago.

He was a veteran of World War I and a member of the American Legion. He was a lifelong member of the Baptist Church and a regular attendant of Sunday School and Church.

Strange things happen – especially during the Holiday Season. Employees of City Drug Store were surprised and frightened last Wednesday when a car crashed into the front of the store. The woman driving the auto reported that its brakes failed. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Proprietor Cecil Hagood said that there was some damaged stock but that damage to the store was slight.

James Ansley and Danny Petrey were co-chairmen of the Evergreen Jaycees’ annual Christmas Shopping Tour for underprivileged children. The 20 children chosen for this project and Jaycee members and their wives assembled at the Courthouse Auditorium, Sat., Dec. 20, for a party. Each child was given money and taken to town on a supervised Christmas shopping tour.

61 YEARS AGO

DEC. 30, 1954

Prominent Citizen Dies At Burnt Corn Home: Jacob Franklin Betts Lowrey, age 73, prominent farmer and cattleman of Burnt Corn, died at his home Thurs., Dec. 23, following an illness of several weeks.

Mr. Lowrey was a native of Burnt Corn and a lifelong resident of that community. He was a steward of the Methodist Church there for the past 35 years. A cattleman and farmer all of his life, he was a well known leader in those fields in Conecuh and Monroe Counties. He also operated a store in Burnt Corn and owned a large acreage of timbered lands near Burnt Corn.

Sheriff John Brock is recovering from severe injuries which he sustained Saturday night when his car struck a cow on Highway 83, about seven miles north of Evergreen. He was answering an urgent call from the Skinnerton community when the wreck occurred. According to reports of the accident given The Courant, the cow suddenly leaped in the highway directly in front of the Sheriff’s automobile. After hitting the cow, the car turned over several times.

Sheriff Brock was rushed to the Conecuh County Hospital where examination by the doctors revealed he had fractures of the pelvis bones and a vertebra. He was carried to Mobile Infirmary later that night where he is now. Reports this week indicate he is rapidly recovering and will be able to return to Evergreen sometime next week.

76 YEARS AGO

DEC. 28, 1939

CHARLIE M. BARRON: Atmore, Ala., Dec. 25 – Charlie M. Barron, 50, died at his home here Christmas morning at nine o’clock after a long illness. Mr. Barron was a well known employee of the L&N Railroad.

Former Citizen Is Lauded As Painter: Mrs. Naomi Rabb Winston, a native of Evergreen now residing in Washington, is being acclaimed now as one of the leading artists of the country, according to reports which have recently reached her friends here.

Mrs. Winston recently completed a portrait of Senator Lister Hill, which the friends and admirers of Mr. Hill desired her to do to be placed in the “Hall of Fame” at the State Capitol in Montgomery. This portrait has won for her wide praise among not only Senator Hill’s friends and admirers, but members of his family as well.

She has been engaged by Mrs. Hugo Black to do a portrait of Justice Hugo Black in his judicial robes, the work to begin as soon as she has completed the painting of Mrs. (T.D.) Samford (of Opelika).

Mrs. Winston and her family have been living in Washington for the past eight years where she has studied constantly at Corcoran Art Gallery, giving special attention to portrait work.

Mrs. Winston was before her marriage, Naomi Rabb, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. C.S. Rabb.

About 250 Christmas boxes containing fruit, candy, toys, clothing and food items were distributed last week to needy families in this county, according to a report made this week by Mrs. J.C. Hamilton, general chairman in charge of the work.

Today in History for Dec. 28, 2015

Jeremiah Clemens

Dec. 28, 1065 – London’s Westminster Abbey was consecrated.

Dec. 28, 1732 - "The Pennsylvania Gazette," owned by Benjamin Franklin, ran an ad for the first issue of "Poor Richard’s Almanack."

Dec. 28, 1781 - British troops commanded by Major James Henry Craig were posted at John’s Island, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Craig had evacuated his troops from Wilmington, North Carolina, a little over a month earlier on November 14. The Patriots planned to remove Craig and his men from the island with troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Light Horse Harry Lee and his famed cavalry from Fort Ninety-Six in the South Carolina backcountry, but Lee aborted the attack when a column led by Major James Hamilton arrived too late and was unable to cross the Wapoo River, which was only fordable once or twice a month.

Dec. 28, 1793 - Thomas Paine was arrested in France for treason. Though the charges against him were never detailed, he had been tried in absentia on December 26 and convicted. Before moving to France, Paine was an instrumental figure in the American Revolution as the author of Common Sense, writings used by George Washington to inspire the American troops.

Dec. 28, 1814 - Alabama author Jeremiah Clemens was born in Huntsville, Ala.

Dec. 28, 1817 – Glorvina Johnston Rush was born. In 1860, she and her husband donated the land where Andrews Chapel was built in McIntosh, Ala.

Dec. 28, 1822 – In response to a petition submitted to the Alabama state legislature from the residents of Butler County’s county seat, Buttsville, the town’s name was officially changed to Greenville.

Dec. 28, 1822 - Confederate General William Booth Taliaferro was born in Gloucester County, Va. Taliaferro would go on to serve under General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson during the first part of the Civil War, and he spent the second half preparing coastal defenses in the lower South.

Dec. 28, 1835 – Osceola led his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army.

Dec. 28, 1843 - Alabama author Prentiss Ingraham was born in Adams County, Miss.

Dec. 28, 1846 - Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted into the Union.

Dec. 28, 1856 - Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. President, was born in Stauton, Va.

Dec. 28, 1861 – During the Civil War, day one of a four-day Federal operation between Camp Beauregard and Viola, Ky. began.

Dec. 28, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Sacramento, Ky.

Dec. 28, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Mount Zion, Mo.

Dec. 28, 1861 – During the Civil War, Raleigh Courthouse, N.C. was occupied by Federal forces.

Dec. 28, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred in the vicinity of Decatur, Ala.

Dec. 28, 1865 – Just a few months after the end of the Civil War, Confederate veteran Joseph R. Bass left his hometown of Evergreen, Ala. for Texas and arrived in Jefferson, Texas in January 1866. He lived near there for about 18 years before moving to Caddo Mills, Texas, where he is buried.

Dec. 28, 1889 - Alabama author Kittrell J. Warren died in Atlanta, Ga.

Dec. 28, 1893 – Desperadoes John Hipp and Charles Kelley, murderers of Butler County, Ala. Tax Collector C.J. Armstrong, were taken by a mob of 100 armed, masked men and lynched on the Butler County Courthouse lawn.

Dec. 28, 1900 – Portuguese soldier and explorer Alexandre de Serpa Pinto died at the age of 54 in Lisbon. He is best known for exploring southern Africa and for his services as a colonial administrator.

Dec. 28, 1902 – The Syracuse Athletic Club defeated the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden.

Dec. 28, 1911 – Humorist Sam Levenson was born in New York City.

Dec. 28, 1912 – The first municipally owned streetcars took to the streets in San Francisco.

Dec. 28, 1917 - The New York Evening Mail published a facetious essay by H.L. Mencken on the history of bathtubs in America.

Dec. 28, 1922 – Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City. He would go on to help create Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Daredevil, Dr. Strange and the X-Men.

Dec. 28, 1927 – Novelist Simon Raven was born in London.

Dec. 28, 1928 - Alabama author Jesse Hill Ford was born in Troy, Ala.

Dec. 28, 1937 - Alabama author Milford W. Howard died in California.

Dec. 28, 1939 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Naomi Rabb Winston, a native of Evergreen, Ala. who was at that time living in Washington, D.C., was “being acclaimed now as one of the leading artists of the country, according to reports which have recently reached her friends here.” Winston had recently completed a portrait of Senator Lister Hill, which friends and admirers of Hill desired to place in the “Hall of Fame” at the State Capitol in Montgomery. She had also been engaged by the wife Hugo Black to paint a portrait of Justice Hugo Black in his judicial robes, the work to begin as soon as she has completed the painting of Mrs. (T.D.) Samford (of Opelika). Winston and her family had been living in Washington for the previous eight years where she had studied constantly at the Corcoran Art Gallery, giving special attention to portrait work. It is said that Winston designed the Great Seal of Alabama. Winston was, before her marriage, Naomi Rabb, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C.S. Rabb of Evergreen.

Dec. 28, 1939 – The Evergreen Courant reported that “about 250 Christmas boxes containing fruit, candy, toys, clothing and food items were distributed last week to needy families in this county, according to a report made this week by Mrs. J.C. Hamilton, general chairman in charge of the work.”

Dec. 28, 1941 – During World War II’s Operation Anthropoid, the plot to assassinate high-ranking Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich, commenced.

Dec. 28, 1947 – Major League Baseball third baseman Aurelio Rodriguez was born in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. He would go on to play for the California Angels, the Washington Senators, the Detroit Tigers, the San Diego Padres, the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles.

Dec. 28, 1948 – In an incident attributed to the Bermuda Triangle, a chartered DC-3 airliner NC16002, en route from San Juan to Miami, disappeared 50 miles south of Miami with 36 passengers and crew. No probable cause for the loss was determined by the official investigation and it remains unsolved.

Dec. 28, 1949 - Alabama author Harry Middleton was born in Frankfort, Germany.

Dec. 28, 1958 – In what’s known as the "Greatest Game Ever Played,” the Baltimore Colts in the NFL Champiosnhip Game defeated the New York Giants, 23-17, in the first ever National Football League sudden death overtime game at New York's Yankee Stadium.

Dec. 28, 1961 – Evergreen High School and Auburn University football star Wayne Frazier was drafted in the 16th round (216th overall) in the NFL draft by the Chicago Bears.

Dec. 28, 1973 – In Lovecraftian fiction, Dr. Ambrose Dexter, a renowned physician of Providence, R.I. who maintained an interest in the occult, was killed by British Intelligence agents somewhere in the South Pacific. He first appeared in “The Haunter of the Dark” by H.P. Lovecraft.

Dec. 28, 1975 - The Dallas Cowboys won the NFC divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings with a Hail Mary pass with only 24 seconds left.

Dec. 28, 1976 – American actor, stuntman, and producer Joe Manganiello was born in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Dec. 28, 1978 – The Evergreen Courant reported that a new Crispy Chick restaurant was under construction in Evergreen. Based in Mobile, Crispy Chick had 22 restaurants open at that time in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, including in Mobile, Fairhope, Grand Bay, Monroeville, Butler, Livingston, Linden and Stevenson; Gulfport, Miss.; and Cantonment and Pensacola in Florida.

Dec. 28, 1978 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Ronald Fantroy, former Evergreen High School and Alabama Christian College basketball star, was more than “carrying his weight” in his first year with the University of Montevallo Falcons, according to Coach Bill Elder. Fantroy, a six-foot-five forward, had 14 rebounds in a recent game against Talladega College and was averaging 3.1 rebounds per game, fifth best for the team although he was only playing about 10 minutes of the Falcons’ 40-minute games.

Dec. 28, 1978 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Sparta Academy’s girls basketball team improved to 3-3 on the season by splitting a pair of games in the Greenville Academy Christmas Tournament. In the opening round of the tourney, Sparta beat Escambia Academy, 31-25, but in the second round, Sparta lost to Wilcox Academy, 32-15. Sparta’s Cathy Cope was named to the all-tournament team, and other players on Sparta’s team included Angie Driver, Mary Claire Robinson, Missy Thacker and Cathy Johnson

Dec. 28, 1991 – Alabama (10-1) beat Colorado (8-2-1), 30-25, in the 1991 Blockbuster Bowl at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Alabama wide receiver David Palmer was named the game’s MVP.

Dec. 28, 2000 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Conecuh County school board member Willene Whatley had been appointed to the Board of Trustees of Alabama Risk Management for Schools.

Dec. 28, 2000 - U.S. District Court Judge Matsch held a hearing to ensure that confessed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh understood that he was dropping his appeals. McVeigh said that he wanted an execution date, set but wanted to reserve the right to seek presidential clemency.

Dec. 28, 2002 - Alabama author Hilary H. Milton died in Birmingham, Ala.

Dec. 28, 2003 - New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was released from the hospital. The previous day he had fainted at a memorial service.

Dec. 28, 2003 - Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens became the fifth NFL player to run for 2,000 yards in a season. He ended the season with 2,029 yards.

Dec. 28, 2003 - Mike Vanderjagt of the Indianapolis Colts set a new NFL record when he kicked his 41st consecutive field goal.

Dec. 28, 2003 - James Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs set an NFL record with his 27th touchdown of the season.

Dec. 28, 2004 – Vredenburgh native Mike Stewart’s fourth novel, “A Perfect Life,” was released.

Dec. 28, 2007 - The movie “Honeydripper,” which starred Danny Glover, was released in the United States. Significant portions of this film were shot in Greenville, Georgiana and Forest Home in Butler County.