Whatever happened to….

TWENTY YEARS AGO (2003)

                --Former Gatesville resident, Keith Dyer, a 1982 graduate of Gatesville High School, had been named executive director of the Texas Baptist Children’s Home in Round Rock. He was the son of Eugene and Janis Dyer of Gatesville.

                --The Rev. John Mark Heckmann was to be installed as the new pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church at The Grove. He had been ordained on June 30, 1985 and served more than 17 years as pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Crete, Nebraska.

                --Garrett Baize, son of Gary Baize and Gay McCarty of Gatesville, was deployed to the Persian Gulf as a crew member aboard the USS Valley Forge. He had recently been promoted to the rank of E-5 and had received several honors since his enlistment.

                --Tommie Ford was celebrating her 100^th birthday. She was born January 19, 1903 at Turnersville to the late Tom and Elizabeth Brim. Mrs. Ford taught in the public schools in Hamilton and Coryell County for 11 years.

THIRTY YEARS AGO (1993)

                --County inmates had installed a shoeshine stand at the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Gerald Kitchens was one of the first customers to take advantage of the new enterprise. The inmates shined shoes for $1 a pair, and all revenues went toward the Inmate Fund.

                --Evelyn Dyer, owner of Dyer Restaurant in Fort Gates, had sold her business and was retiring. Mrs. Dyer, owner and operator of the restaurant since 1965, sold her business to Donna King of Flat. King planned to keep the name of the establishment the same.

                --Alderman Randy Rigney was elected as the new mayor of Evant by a decision of the city council. Rigney, who was employed with the Copperas Cove Fire Department, also served with the Evant Volunteer Fire Department.

                --Army Spec. Roger A. Miller, an artillery fire-direction specialist, had arrived for duty at Fort Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Miller of Gatesville and was a 1984 graduate of Gatesville High School.

FORTY YEARS AGO (1983)

                --Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Painter, Jr. of Gatesville were to be honored on their 25^th wedding anniversary with a reception at the Westview Baptist Church of Gatesville. Hosts for the silver anniversary were to be the couple’s children.

                --Three Temple Junior College students from Gatesville were cited for their academic achievement. Charles P. Basham and Mary A. Herring were named to the dean’s honor list. Wanda G. Johnson was also named to the dean’s list.

                --Rus Bel, a 1982 graduate of Gatesville High School, made the dean’s honor roll at Central Texas College with a 4.0 average. Only 330 made the dean’s honor roll out of 5,203 students.

                --Plans were underway by the school board to erect a fence along the south and east sides of the Gatesville Primary School’s playground area. The cost for the new fence was expected to be in the neighborhood of $4,000.

FIFTY YEARS AGO (1973)

                --Edwin Powell, a 26-year-old Gatesville attorney, had been appointed to a two-year term on the Coryell Memorial Hospital board of directors. Powell’s appointment was announced to the public by County Judge Doug Smith.

                --Carlton Wiggins of Oglesby had been appointed as a new deputy sheriff by the county commissioners court. He was to be assigned to work in the Oglesby area of Coryell County.

                --Sadie Gaston had been appointed to the newly-created post of director of dietary services at Coryell Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Gaston first joined the hospital’s kitchen staff in 1961 as a relief cook.

                --According to the Purmela News that appeared in The Gatesville Messenger, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Myers were celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary. The couple were visited by many members of the Myers family.