Sunday, May 19, 2024
Here is another Gatesville Messenger saved in our archives at Coryell Museum. The front page had the following articles:
Three students from Gatesville will receive degrees with the largest graduating class in the 103-year history of Baylor, Monday May 31 in Waco Hall. Douglas Pollard and Byron Leaird McClellan will receive bachelor of law degrees and Wayland Garth Holt will receive a bachelor of arts degree.
Bob Foster, son of Mr. and Mrs. R.D. Foster of this city, will receive a bachelor of science degree from Texas University. Young Foster was recently awarded high honors for his participation in intramural football and golf.
A frame house on Waco Street occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Garnet Gilchrest was completely destroyed by fire, along with all their household goods, at 2 a.m. Monday morning.
Mayor Kermit R. Jones Thursday issued an urgent appeal to Gatesville’s citizenry to stage a thorough “clean-up” campaign over the entire city next week. The purpose of the drive is to prevent polio. Private citizens are carrying out the sanitation campaign, the city will be spraying the dump grounds thoroughly with DDT and taking other sanitary precautions, city secretary Eiland Lovejoy said. (Years ago, insects like mosquitos, was thought to transmit the virus as yellow fever was transmitted this way. Polio virus was later found to be transmitted by breath, touch, feces, sneezes, or contaminated water of an infected person to a healthy person.)
The program for the Firemen’s Twelfth Annual Rodeo is now set for June 9-12. Plans for one of the biggest parades in Gatesville’s history are taking shape and will be on June 9. A busload of Gatesville Boosters are going to about 20 towns surrounding Gatesville, with a string band to tell the neighbors all about the big show. Doc Spence, a Coryell County product, who is a veteran rodeo roping star and who has also served as judge in several big shows. He, along with Darrell Sprott, is the co-director for the rodeo. Spence helped stage this city’s first rodeo back in 1937 and has won the calf-roping championship here several times. In order to keep this year’s show strictly a fast-moving affair, the firemen this week signed Marvin Ramsey and his Roman jumping horse team of Tulsa, Oklahoma, as one of the feature acts to couple with Chief Baldwin Parker and his dancing Comanches from Cache, Oklahoma.
The parade committee, Dr. Otis Ray, John Gilmer, Jim McClellan, Uncle Bob Saunders and Eiland Lovejoy had their first meeting this week and outlined the procedure of the march. One hundred dollars in cash prizes will go to the four top floats. Something new will be added to this year’s parade, leading the merchants’ section will be a bevy of bathing beauties aboard a float sponsored by the Municipal Swimming Pool. (I wonder what kind of bathing suits they were allowed to wear in 1948?)
A Market Report was on the front page also. Hens were 20 cents, fryers 30 cents, roosters eight cents. (I assume per pound). Grain sold as follows: ear corn, per bushel delivered $2.15, white $2. Wheat, new crop per bushel $2. Gatesville Commission Co. totaled 550 cattle, 50 hogs and several hundred head of sheep. Butcher calves brought from 25 to 30 cents a pound, best grade of cows and calves sold for $150 to $215 per pair. (Today, a healthy cow is going for $1,005 to $1,200.)
Coryell Museum and Historical Center wants to invite you to tour our fully air conditioned, and fully handicapped accessible building. We are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and we have a delightful gift shop full of books by Coryell County authors and hundreds of other items. If you would like a tour for your group, call us at 254-865-5007.
