Whatever happened to… 09.15.2021

Whatever happened to…

TWENTY YEARS AGO

(2001)

  --B.J. Paul of Purmela was the recipient of a fiddle given by an anonymous donor to the Pearl Blue Grass Festival Club. Paul was a seventh grader at Evant Junior High School and played the trumpet in the band.

  --Joe Alford of Gatesville used perch as bait on his trotline to catch a 25-pound yellow catfish in the Leon River. As expected, he was mum on the exact location where he placed his trotline. Although proud of the prize fish, Alford reported he had caught a 54-pounder about two years ago.

  --Fibre Body, Inc., was closing its Gatesville plant according to company president Jim Levine. The plant, which employed about 100 people, manufactured bodies for utility vehicles. Levine cited a slowdown in the utility industry as the reason for the closure.

  --Jennifer Jackson was honored on her 11th birthday with a party at the VFW given by her parents, Roy and Rose Marie Jackson.

  --The annual Charlie and Sally Ray family reunion was getting ready to be held at the Jonesboro Community Center.

  --Evant Lady Elk, Becca Key, was named to the all-tournament team following the Hico Lady Tigers volleyball tournament held in Hico.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

(1991)

  --Thirty-five inmates arrived from Denton County to the new $2.6 million Coryell County jail. Twenty-two of those inmates were shipped back to Denton County following a riot at the new facility.

  --The Gatesville Chamber of Commerce and Agribusiness held a ribbon cutting at Going Places Travel Service. On hand were Gaye Sadler, Jeb McClellan, Going Places owner Cheryl Doyle, Bill Palmer, Ruth Smith and Gina Menzies.

  --Cotton ... once known as the king of Coryell County, was making a comeback in 1991 in the Oglesby and Osage areas. Cotton reigned supreme as the money-crop monarch in Coryell County from the days of the first railroad until the blight of the depression hit in 1929.

  --Mr. and Mrs. Jack Bone of Gatesville were to be honored on their 50th wedding anniversary. A brunch was to be held in their honor at the Green Pastures Restaurant in Austin.

  --The JC-Bar ranch rodeo team finished second at the State Ranch Rodeo Finals, qualifying the team for the upcoming world finals. The local team - made up of Bubba Bates, Richard Mitchell, Keith Blackman and Baron Pate - placed second in average at the event.

  --Danny Hukel, publisher of The Gatesville Messenger, was elected president of the West Texas Press Association during the newspaper group's 61st annual summer convention in Fort Worth.

FORTY YEARS AGO

(1981)

  --Ike Carroll of Waco, a noted banjo player, was the featured entertainer at a meeting of the Gatesville Lions Club. He was accompanied by pianist Terry Hale of Gatesville.

  --The local Veterans of Foreign Wars post's drive to raise funds to erect granite memorial monuments to Coryell County's dead of the Korean and Vietnam Wars passed the $2,500 mark when a surge of contributions swelled the fund.

  --Communications Professionals Inc., a firm headed by former Gatesville resident, Jimmy Glover,  received a $3.47 million contract from the Philippines Long Distance Telephone Co.  Glover went to the Philippines to negotiate the contract. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. N. E. Glover of Gatesville.

  --Dr. Ina Corinne Brown, former Gatesvilleite, was honored and a special day was declared for her at Scarritt College in Nashville, Tenn., where she is professor emerita of social anthropology. Dr. Brown was also a lecturer at Vanderbilt University, Fisk University and Peabody College.

  --Residents, staff members and guests of the Rotunda celebrated Grandparent’s Day. The Trinity Baptist Church choir, under the direction of Kay Robb, entertained with hymns, with Mrs. Mary Alice Wise as pianist.

  --Jerry Koch, former Gatesville resident and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Koch, was promoted to vice president of Trailways Food Services, Inc. of Dallas.

FIFTY YEARS AGO

(1971)

  --Edwin Powell was congratulated by District Judge Byron McClellan after the judge had administered the attorney's oath to the young Gatesvilleite. Powell had been notified earlier that day that he had passed the State Bar examinations and was eligible to take the oath.

  --Cindy Phillips, Judy Jones and Lee Ann Snoddy were elected to be the new 1971-72 Gatesville Junior High cheerleaders.

  --Mrs. Robbie Timmons, wife of Billy Timmons, was named the new teacher's aide at Gatesville Junior High.

  --The congregation of Bethlehem Baptist Church of Gatesville held an appreciation service for their pastor, Rev. Adolph Wagner, and his wife. Rev. Wagner had been the church pastor for five years.

  --Cindy Byrom was named "Stingette of the Week" by members of the Gatesville High School drill team. Miss Byrom, a junior, was beginning her third year as a Stingette.

  --Charles Benner, who was a familiar face around local service stations, announced that he was was leasing and managing the Dixie Texaco Service Station located at Main and Lutterloh Streets.