Yesteryears: Dengue fever postpones 1922 school start

yesteryears

October 13, 1922

The Union Hall school near Liberty Hill that was to have opened for the term Monday in their splendid new modern school house, postponed the date of opening on account of the illness of both the teachers Misses Netha and Maxine Connell, who were suffering from an attack of dengue fever. The community has just completed one of the handsomest rural school houses in the county. * After having been on the road between the designation and the factory, Columbia, Ohio, for some 40 days during which time tracers found and lost it several times, Georgetown’s new Seagraves fire fighting machine arrived Tuesday morning. The machine is equipped with a double pump and has a capacity of seven hundred and fifty gallons of water per minute, hooks and ladders and carries twelve hundred feet of two and a half inch new hose. It is a splendid machine in the front rank in equipment. Mr. Robert Davis will have charge of the machine as caretaker. * Saturday morning, the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Wininger in North Georgetown caught fire from the kitchen and burned to the ground, only part of the household goods being saved. Mr. Wininger had just paid the last installment on the home and had no insurance. * C. I. Shell, independent Republican candidate for the legislature against Democratic Nominee Claude Teer, was in Taylor Thursday afternoon with Republican leaders seeking a solution to the situation in Williamson county. It seems that Mr. Shell was out of the county for some time prior to the date of filing an application for a place on the ticket and the time for filing passed before he filed his personal application. The proper petition requesting that his name be placed on the ticket, however, was filed before the time limit expired. After discovering the situation, Mr. Shell called on the Secretary of State at Austin and was referred to the Attorney General, who informed him that his name could not be certified. Shell was unable to forecast the result of the meeting in Taylor prior to his departure.

October 7 & 11, 1979

Can Austin Avenue Be Saved? Preserving the integrity of the neighborhood south of downtown Georgetown along Austin Avenue was the primary concern of persons attending the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday night. The meeting was part of a discussion of the Master Plan for Georgetown held by city planner, Jim Colbert. * When Colonel Ranald Mackenzie was ordered to clear the Texas frontier of Indians, he decided to outsmart the red men. He simply ordered his men to kill the Indians’ horses. As Mackenzie surmised, the Indians could neither fight nor hunt without their mounts. By 1874, he had ended their raids and most of the tribes were living on government reservations.

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Passing Glance by Don Scarbrough – “….it was a beautiful and momentous morning as thousands gathered Friday to witness the Dam Dedication program, to see Lady Bird, the lake site, hear Congressman Pickle and Secretary of State Ray Marshall, and, in general take part in a nick of Williamson County history that certainly will never be repeated. I am so grateful to Jack Frost for realizing the historic importance of this event and making it possible for his history students to attend.” * Mayor John Doerfler declared October 7-13 as National Beauty Salon Week, witnessed by J-Lynn Beauty Salon’s Cathy Hohenberger and Ideal Beauty Salon’s Donna Shell.

* Housing starts plunge downward – Only 155 this year compared to 398 through this time in 1978. * School board okays air-conditioning * The Optimists’ Young Texan and Young Texanne for September are Lance Shillingburg and Penny Pierce.

October 4 & 8, 2006

The Wesleyan Center’s 114,000 square feet facility is underway, but out of sight behind the trees along Williams Drive. Four new subdivisions planned – Estrella, San Gabriel, LaConterra and Somerset Hills * Wilburn Barker, 80, has passed away. He was the Georgetown Fire Department chief for 23 years, retiring in 1969. * Minnie King, 69, also passed recently. She worked as a deputy and clerk in the municipal court. Earlier in life, she was many folks’ favorite server in local cafes.

October 8 & 12, 2014

Quotes of the week: “They’re able to parse out the difference between a pirate, or a privateer, or a buccaneer, or a corsair, or a freebooter, or a swashbuckler.” Jessica Hower, Southwestern University history professor who is teaching a course on pirates, which became the school mascot in 1916.

“I’ve learned a lot about piracy and that it’s not just about Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean.” Haylee Knight, Southwestern University freshman * Carly May, daughter of Robert and Carmen May, is one of nine rookies recently added to the elite singing group, The Longhorn Singers. * Along Williams Drive, Sisters of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, and others protest abortion.