Spectator Shelf

125 Years Ago
February 21, 1901

Postmaster Huggins furnishes us with the following information regarding the rural mail route: the first trip was made last Friday the carrier leaving the Palmyra post office at 8:45 a.m. and getting back at 5:20 p.m. On the trip he delivered 43 letters, 18 postal cards, 325 newspapers, 50 circulars, and 4 packages, and collected 25 letters, 3 postal cards, and 1 newspaper. It took longer to make the first trip than it will ordinarily as since then the carrier has invariably made much better time, and thinks he can make the average about 6 hours.
The New Century Telephone company have their line in operation between this city and Philadelphia, and the subscribers along the route will be served as soon as the phones can be put in. The line connects at Philadelphia with Hunnewell.
Mrs. S. P. McElwee, living two and one-half miles northwest of Palmyra, died Sunday morning after a lingering illness of consumption. The funeral services were held Monday.
H. J. Boetjer is preparing to extend his store building back to the alley this spring. The new building will be one story and work will be commenced in a month or six weeks.
Howard P. Smith and wife spent Sunday with relatives in Macon.
We have heard of queer things, but the queerest thing we ever heard of was selling a horse while running, the owner being Harvey Hicker. The horse was on stalk pasture and so far Harvey had not succeed in catching it so he sold it to P. C. Bates Tuesday (West Ely News).

100 Years Ago
February 17, 1926

 

The plan to make Palmyra more beautiful by the planning of more flowers and shrubbery this spring is to be pushed to a successful conclusion. Wallace Gray, chairman of the committee appointed by the Sociability Club, is actively at work and is being loyally assisted by the other members.
In 1923, the Boots-Dickson Post of Palmyra gave a couple of dramatic entertainments entitled the “Microbe of Love” and “Mr. and Mrs. Polly Ticks.” The entertainments were gotten up by traveling professionals and the proceeds were divided fifty fifty. The members of the post understood that they were not subject to a government tax and made no provision for it. Last week, however, a representative of the government was here and collected a tax of $42 because the post had a partner in the enterprise.
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Meyer and son, Russell, returned home last Friday from a visit with relatives at Mendon, Illinois.
Miss Eugenia Moore, the county nurse for the recently established Health Unit for Marion county, arrived in the city yesterday to assume her duties.
Miss Virginia Gottman, who has been confined to her bed for the past several months is slowly recovering.
Walter Everett Gains, fifty-one years of age, died at his home in the western part of the county Thursday of last week. He married Miss Annie Stevenson. He had been a member of Ebenezer church for 25 years. Besides his widow, he is survived by two brothers, two sisters, and a large number of relatives and friends.

85 Years Ago
February 19, 1941

The Palmyra Board of Education voted to sponsor a $15,000 W.P.A. project for proposed improvements on public school grounds, at a special meeting Saturday. The improvements include improvements in the vocational agriculture shop in the Lanius building, landscaping of the grounds, and the cutting of a straight line ditch through the center of the football field to take care of drainage now handled by a small branch running to the west of the field.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Miller of Nelsonville community celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, Sunday, with a family reunion. All of their children were present for dinner, and in the afternoon near relatives and friends called between two and five o’clock.
Miss Joyce Glahn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M.J. Glahn, won first place in the district oratorical contest, competing with students from five other Missouri counties, Friday afternoon.
Maurice Eger, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Eger of Maywood, has recently been initiated into Kappa Delta Pi, national honorary education fraternity, at Northeast Missouri State Teachers college.
J. W. Head and daughter, Miss Dorothy, left Saturday for an automobile tour of Old Mexico. They expect to be away until April.
Dale Meyers, John Whiston, and Warren Voepel, of Woodland community, have secured employment on the Camp Leonard Wood project, near Rolla.
Dr. H. Hinds reports that his New Sale which opened here, Monday, had a very successful day. There was a big offering of livestock bringing good prices, and many buyers.

50 Years Ago
February 25, 1976

Palmyra voters gave a 97.2 percent approval to an industrial bond issue for the American Safety Equipment Corporation last Wednesday. Members of the Marion County Court on Monday discussed several areas in the county
being considered for rezoning under the new land use regulations adopted by the court at their last meeting. First on the list for discussion was the area under consideration by the Farmers and Traders Livestock Auction Market for a new facility.

Providence Baptist Church at Withers Mill was destroyed when it was struck by lightning at 9:00 Friday night during an unseasonal electric storm.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph H. Donelson, who reside at 519 N. Main Street, will be honored at a carry-in dinner and reception at First Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 6, in observance of their golden wedding anniversary.
Mr. and Mrs. Everett E. Bringer of Star Route were honored Sunday, February 22, at Zion Lutheran Church with a reception from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., the occasion being their 35th wedding anniversary.

Mrs. Joe Gash and son, Bruce, and Mrs. Skip Lovelace and children, Jake and Lora Jo, returned late Sunday night from a six-day visit in Nisswa, Minnesota, with their daughter and sister, Mrs. Pat Horman and husband and children.
This week, Joella Rae McPike and Kathy Lea Schleiermacher are being featured as contestants in the Jaycees’ fourth annual Miss Palmyra Pageant, set for Saturday night, April 24, at the middle school auditorium.

25 Years Ago
February 21, 2001

With the trees out of the way in downtown Palmyra, work is expected to begin soon on the next phase of a Main Street improvement project. New period lamp posts will be installed this spring to be followed by planter boxes and trees this summer.
Lawrence and Betty Gottman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on February 11 with a family get-together at Fiddlesticks in Hannibal. They were married at the Presbyterian Church by Rev. Glenn Willard on February 11, 1951.
The parents of Cheryl Anne Heironimus, Fishers, Indiana, and Brian Lee Durand, Indianapolis, Indiana, announce the engagement and upcoming wedding of their children. Heironimus is the daughter of Dave and Jeannie Heironimus, DeMotte, Indiana, and Durand is the son of Al and Elaine Durand, Palmyra.