The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Oct. 3, 2023

USS Independence in 1971.

27 YEARS AGO
OCT. 3, 1996

Evergreen weather observer Harry Ellis reported 0.01 inches of rain on Sept. 26, 1.43 inches on Sept. 27 and 0.90 on Sept. 28. He reported highs of 86 degrees on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 and lows of 56 on Sept. 23, Sept. 28 and Sept. 29.

Brooklyn Baptist Church will celebrate their 175^th anniversary on Sun., Oct. 13, 1996. Services will begin at 10:30 a.m. with lunch following. Rev. Bryan Abel, former pastor, will bring the morning message. Dr. Henry Lyons will present a certificate to the church on behalf of the Alabama Baptist State Convention and Mrs. Frances Hamilton will present a certificate on behalf of the Alabama Baptist Historical Society. Rev. and Mrs. Tommy White, Director of Missions, Conecuh County Association, will lead the music. Rev. E. Harold Steele Jr. is the pastor.

The 16^th Annual Conecuh Heritage Day, sponsored by the Conecuh Heritage Day Committee and the Evergreen-Conecuh County Chamber of Commerce, will be held Sat., Oct. 19, in downtown Evergreen from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Opening ceremonies will begin at 9 a.m. The winners of the 1996 Miss Heritage Pageant will be presented at this time.

Lynn Taylor has been named as the acting Chief of Police for the City of Evergreen. Taylor served as acting chief once before. He will have been with the Evergreen Police Department for 20 years this coming November.

52 YEARS AGO
OCT. 7, 1971

Brooklyn Baptist Sesquicentennial program on Sunday: The 150-year-old Brooklyn Baptist Church will have its Sesquicentennial Celebration on Sun., Oct. 10. The day’s services will begin at 10:30 a.m. The morning message will be brought by Rev. Gene Wilson, a former pastor of the church, who is now pastor of the First Baptist Church of Brantley.
A highlight of the service will be a brief history of the church presented by Mrs. Hattie A. Lindsey. Dinner will be served at the noon hour.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Leon C. Edwards, son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin F. Edwards of Rt. 2, Castleberry, is aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Independence, which is in the Eastern Atlantic participating in the NATO Strike Fleet Exercise Royal Knight.
The seven-day exercise, which started Mon., Sept. 27, includes 35 warships and 200 aircraft under the flags of Canada, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands and the United States.

City executes Cable TV pact: The Evergreen City Council authorized Mayor Henry Sessions to execute a franchise with Calvin Sutliff of Brewton for Cable TV. Under terms of the agreement, construction of the system is to begin within nine months.

Hugh Brown, Owassa, President of the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives, congratulates William Aday of Hillsboro, Ala. on his being elected to serve on the 40-member board of the association.

77 YEARS AGO
OCT. 3, 1946

COTTON REPORT: There were 1,480 bales of cotton, counting round as half bales, ginned in Conecuh County, from the crop of 1946 prior to Sept. 16, 1946 as compared with 2,478 bales ginned to Sept. 16, 1945.

Funeral services for Corry W. Cowart, age 48, who was accidentally killed near Evergreen city limits on Lyeffion Road early Thursday morning where the state truck that he was riding in overturned were held Friday at 2:30 at Castleberry Baptist Church with Rev. Monk of Brewton, officiating and Cope Funeral Home directing. Interment following in Buffington Cemetery.

Change of Managers At Pix Theatre: Announcement was made this week by Martin Theatres, Columbus, Ga., of the resignation of Roy Riley as manager of the Pix Theatre, effective Tues., Oct. 1. Simultaneously it was announced that he would be succeeded by Bob Sims, who has been an employee of Martin Theatres for nine years, most of which time has been with the local theatre.

There will be a special meeting of the Helen Keller Club at the Pix Theatre Tues., Oct. 8, at 2:20, where Caesar and Cleopatra will be shown. A short business session will be held immediately after the show.

The regular meeting of the O.E.S. will be Mon., Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. (Please notice change of time.) Initiation, members night and social.

102 YEARS AGO
OCT. 5, 1921

Attention Confederate Veterans: The 31^st annual reunion will be held in Chattanooga, Tenn. on Oct. 24, 25, 26 and 27. A most attractive program consisting of music, oratory, parades, receptions, banquets, boat rides on the Tennessee River, old fashion barbecues. Nothing will be omitted to make the occasion enjoyable to veterans and the visitors. The railroad has given a rate of one cent per mile. Tickets will be on sale at Evergreen in time to reach Chattanooga the first day.

William Grace died Sept. 26, age 89 years. He was the father of 28 children, 16 boys, 12 girls and 196 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was born near Midway at his master’s home, Sam Grace.

Armistice Day Celebration: For the first time all Conecuh County will celebrate the closing of the World War when a big, public barbecue will be held at Evergreen on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, of this year. Everybody in the county is invited, and expected to attend this celebration and a large committee of prominent citizens is busy perfecting plans to make the day a joyous event for all who come.
There will be some of the best speakers of the state present and talks particularly of interest to the farmers will be made. There will also be a big brass band for the occasion and many other attractions.
More about this barbecue will be told you in these columns from week to week between now and Nov. 11, but make your plans now to spend that day in Evergreen and you will never regret it.

127 YEARS AGO
OCT. 2, 1896

Man Found Dead: At an early hour Monday morning an unknown man, apparently about 25 to 30 years of age, was found dead near the north switch with a number of cuts and bruises on his person. It was supposed he undertook to board a freight train and fell. He had a number of bundles of merchandise, but nothing could be found on his person to lead to his identity.
The man had evidently been out foraging as it was discovered on Monday morning after opening up that the store of Mr. J.H. Thompson had been broken into and several articles missing and the goods found with the man were identified as the goods of Mr. Thompson. He was trying to board the train to get away when he was killed.

There will be an ice cream supper at Rural Hill Academy on Friday night, Oct. 9, for the benefit of Arkadelphia Baptist church. There will also be an entertainment. Everybody cordially invited to attend.

The enrollment at the Southwest Alabama Agricultural School has run up to 264 and increasing every day. Taking into consideration the large number of pupils now actually in attendance, the interest already manifested in their work, the unusually large number of pupils from a distance and their almost uniform good deportment, this is the most promising session we have yet had. The four literary societies have been fully organized, and the Jefferson Davis and Athenean have held one meeting each.

Mr. John L. Betts, a popular young man of Burnt Corn, was in town Thursday. He was accompanied by the charming Miss Ida Patrick, who was en route to Atmore, where she will take charge of a school.