The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for March 1, 2022

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

26 YEARS AGO
MARCH 7, 1996

Evergreen weather observer Harry Ellis reported 0.75 inches of rain on Feb. 28 and 0.05 inches on Feb. 29. He reported a high of 81 degrees on Feb. 26 and a low of 32 on March 2. He reported 5.60 inches of total rainfall for February 1996.

Funeral services held for E.B. Horton: E.B. Horton, 80, of Evergreen died Fri., March 1, 1996 in an Evergreen hospital. Mr. Horton was a large landowner, farmer and cattleman and at one time owned and operated a sawmill. A member of a prominent and pioneer family, he was an avid hunter and fisherman. He had served on the board of directors of the Conecuh County Bank, First Alabama Bank and the Bank of Evergreen.

Lindsay Leonard, daughter of Ruth Leonard of Evergreen and Doug Leonard of Winter Haven, Fla., was crowned 1996 Miss Alpha at the annual pageant held Saturday night at Sparta Academy. Lindsay is a sophomore. The pageant is sponsored by the Yearbook Staff.

Capt. Kevin T. Smith, the first black fighter pilot in the history of the Alabama Air National Guard, spent the day last Friday speaking to the students at Hillcrest High School. Capt. Smith is shown speaking to one of the classes of JROTC cadets at Hillcrest.

Asa and Brenda Landon will have a tough time knowing who to pull for next Monday morning at the 51^st annual FFA and 4-H Steer Show. Shown above are their sons, 4-H member Chris with his 1,200-pound steer, and Evergreen Jr. High FFA member Michael with his 1,000-pound steer. The boys both have fine steers to show and everyone is encouraged to come out and support this worthwhile event.

51 YEARS AGO
MARCH 4, 1971

Baptists rejoice, ground-breaking for home, office: Baptists of the Conecuh Baptist Association rejoiced and gave thanks Sunday afternoon as the ground was broken to signify start of construction of a building that will be headquarters for the association.
Well over a hundred interested persons from over the county gathered at the building site on the corner of Williams Avenue and Rural Street for the ceremony. The building will provide a home for the Associational Missionary as well as an office at an estimated cost of $20,000.

R.G. Bozeman, retired publisher of The Courant, was chosen to turn the spade of earth for Evergreen Baptist Church at the Conecuh Association ground-breaking Sunday afternoon. Church pastor Dr. Sam Granade pointed out that Bozeman was responsible for his first visit to Evergreen that led to his call to the pulpit here nearly 23 years ago.

Navy Petty Officer Third Class Larry L. Andrews, son of Mr. Roland Andrews of Rt. D, Evergreen, is now serving aboard the nuclear attack aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, which is currently cruising around South America enroute to Alameda, Calif.

E.L. “Coach” McInnis was sworn in as chairman of the Conecuh County Commission by Judge of Probate Frank T. Salter at 10 o’clock Friday morning. The ceremony took place in the commission office with the other commissioners, county officials and members of the new chairman’s family in attendance.

76 YEARS AGO
MARCH 7, 1946

Evergreen Now Has New Fire Engine: The City of Evergreen recently purchased a new fire truck from the War Assets Corporation, one of the surplus trucks recently made available to towns and cities by the army. The truck was driven here from near St. Louis, Mo. this week by Forrest Douglas, city employee.
The truck is a Chevrolet with modern fire fighting equipment attached. It is a new piece of equipment, having only a few hundred miles recorded on its speedometer, though it has been in the possession of the army for perhaps several years.
As soon as the work can be done, it will be repainted to the conventional red. It is now painted the olive drab army color.

Service Flag Down At Local Post Office: The return during the past week of Calvin Cook, who was recently discharged from the U.S. Navy, made it possible to take down the four star service flag which has been on display at the local post office for the past several years. Mr. Cook was the last of the post office employees to return.
Harris Williamson returned late last fall and began his duties in the finance section Dec. 1. William Salter returned the first of the year and resumed his duties as city carrier March 1. Oswald Hansen recently received his discharge and will begin his duties April 1.
All of these young men served with distinction and honor in the U.S. Navy as mail specialists. There was not a casualty among them, for which the entire community is proud.

126 YEARS AGO
MARCH 6, 1896

EVERGREEN’S OPPORTUNITY: The central location of Evergreen and its advantages as a distributing point invites the location here of small manufactories, which would in the course of a very short time, attract larger capitalization and increase in size.
The raw material is at our doors and could be so advantageously utilized as to quadruple the investment. The trouble that exists here, however, prevails more or less in all parts of the south. Men fear to venture.
They will take a mortgage on some broken-down mule or dilapidated oxen, but they will not do those things which have made the north rich, prosperous and independent. We live in a region that has be peculiarly fortunate in many respects, yet we ignore the advantages that have come to us and that in a richer measure than has ever before fallen to the inheritance of any people anywhere.
We buy axe handles in Cincinnati that were grown in Conecuh river swamps; we sent to Pittsburg for hoes and to Louisville for plows made from iron ore found around Birmingham. We wear cotton goods shipped here from Manchester, Lowell and Leeds of cotton grown by Mr. Jim Fincher, Prof. Newton, Mr. Gus Riley or some other Conecuh farmer.
When we buy a woolen suit, we probably have utilized the fleece from some herd in Covington County, having paid freight two ways.
Take the shipment of staves for instance: So soon as they are brought to the railroad, they are worth three times the amount that could have been realized for them in the forests; and when they go to the factory and return to us in the shape of barrels, they are worth 10 times as much. These are facts – not merely speculative theories – and some one is missing a fortune on this line alone.