Century-old news highlights from The Wilcox Progressive Era in Camden, Alabama

Tom 'Sut' Jenkins

Today marks the first Thursday 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 1923.

In the Sept. 6, 1923 edition of The Wilcox Progressive Era, publisher Stanley Clifford Godbold reported, that the “L&N agent at Camden depot reports 115 cars of lumber shipped from Camden last month, and the passenger traffic amounted to over one thousand dollars.”

Also that week, it was reported that the “Camden Grammar School opened Tuesday morning with an attendance of 150 and others to come in. Miss Annie Brice Miller has an able faculty to assist her, and they hope to make this the best session the school has ever had.”

In the Sept. 13, 1923 edition of the newspaper, it was reported that the “Wilcox County High School had an unusually fine opening Monday morning. The enrollment was 88, which was 14 more than last year, and others to come yet.”

Also that week, it was reported that the “new County Superintendent of Education, Prof. W.J. Jones, entered upon the duties of his office Sat., Sept. 1.”

In the Sept. 20, 1923 edition of the paper, under the headline “FOOT BALL GAME,” readers were invited on “Friday afternoon, to come and see Sam Jones, Robert Riggs & Co. battle the Lads from Pine Apple. The Pine Apple team is being coached by the famous Sheep Lamb, a player of National Fame.”

Readers that week also learned that “Culver Calhoun has returned to his home at Grove Hill after having a successful season as a member of the Dyersburg, Tenn. baseball team of the Kitty League. Dyersburg won the first half of the season and defeated the Maysfield, Ky. team, the winner of the second half, in a series of seven games. Calhoun states that the work of Sut Jenkins, a member of the Paris, Tenn. team was sensational throughout the entire season. He was recently purchased by the Boston Americans.”

On the front page of the Sept. 27, 1923 edition of the paper, it was reported that “Robert E. Dunn, 76 years of age, died at a Selma hospital last Thursday afternoon, after a long and lingering illness. ‘Uncle Bob,’ as he was known to a majority of the people in this section, was a Confederate soldier and a democrat of the Old School, and a member of the Methodist church.”

Readers that week also learned that “there are 164 pupils enrolled in the Camden Grammar School and 95 enrolled in the Wilcox County High School and a large vocal and music class this session.”

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 1923 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.