Glimpses of Hohenwald's Past

January 10, 1952

The Lewis County Civic Club announced that the annual Ladies Night would be held on January 14 at the LCHS cafeteria. Special music would be furnished by the LCHS Glee Club with other entertainment furnished by Carl Tatum.

“Never Too Late,” a farm movie, and a color cartoon were scheduled to be shown to the public on January 15 at the Gordonsburg school house as part of Sinclair Farm Show.

Austin Floyd, who was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, wrote to the newspaper to report that every boy in his barracks read his copy of the Lewis County Herald, and that he also enjoyed reading it every week.

Kenneth Beatty was promoted in the Air Force to the rank of Private First Class.

Both LCHS basketball teams defeated Waynesboro. The girls game ended with a score of 48 to 46, and the boys game ended with a score of 28 to 25. No individual players stats were reported.

The American Legion basketball team defeated the Centerville Legion team with a score of 46 to 40. Kenneth Kistler and T. Hamm were the top scorers for the game with 17 points each.

Funeral services were held for Henry Burns, 84; and for Carrie Randel, 97.

“It Ain’t Hay,” starring Abbott & Costello, and “Nevada Badmen,” starring Whip Wilson and Fuzzy Knight, were the Friday and Saturday night films showing at the Strand Theatre.

In area news: A Wayne County man was indicted for first degree murder in the shooting of his cousin. The shooting was said “to have resulted from an argument over the swapping of pocket knives.”

January 11, 1962

The Quarterly County Court approved a contract proposal of three medical doctors, whereby, the county will construct a hospital and equip it a cost to not exceed $200,000. The three doctors, Dr. Gaines, Dr. Akin, and Dr. Smith agreed to operate the hospital upon is construction.

Naymond Graves was appointed Chairman for the Hohenwald Rotary Club’s Heart Fund campaign.

James Estes, Part Ranger at Meriwether Lewis National Park reported that the temperature fell to 5 degrees below zero on January 09, following a full day of snow.

D.D. Humphreys, Sr. was honored for his 89th birthday with a dinner hosted by Eleanor Brasfield.

W.P. White was honored for his 85th birthday with a dinner at White’s Restaurant.

Funeral services were held for John Davis, 48; and for William Hickerson, 66.

Bacon was $0.45 a pound at McClearen’s Grocery. Three pairs of girls’ bobby socks cost $0.88 at Billings and Webb. Ten pounds of sugar was on sale at Piggly Wiggly for $1.00.

“Portrait of a Sinner,” starring Nadja Tiller, and “Hand in Hand,” starring Kathleen Bryan, were the Saturday-night double feature shown at both the Highlands Drive-In and Strand Theatre.

January 13, 1972

Fire broke out in the mill room at Lewis Products Company on Sunday, January 09. The cause of the fire was not known at press time, but most of the damage was from water and smoke which prevented the plant from opening until Monday afternoon.

Leo Greengrass was named chair for the 1972 Heart Fund Campaign in Lewis County.

Terry Cherry was promoted to the rank of Sergeant with the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission law enforcement officers.

A motion for a new trial requested by attorneys for four residents of the Farm convicted of manufacturing, possession, and possession for delivery or resale of marijuana was denied by Judge John Henderson of Franklin.

An article about Ed Brown serving as minister of the Riverview Church of Christ in Michigan was reprinted from the January 5 issue of the News-Herald.

The LCHS Panthers defeated Summertown with a score of 65 to 63. Sammy Davis was the top scorer for the team with 18 points.

Mr. and Mrs. Ricky Brown announced the birth of their son, Michael Lee.

Funeral services were held for Naomia Brawner, 67; and for Emma Wipf, 81.

“Hang ‘Em High,” starring Clint Eastwood, and “WUSA,” starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, were the Friday and Saturday night double feature at the Highlands Drive-In.

January 14, 1982

Lewis County Commissioners voted to purchase eight acres on Highway 20 to be used by the Tennessee National Guard. The Commission also voted $15,000 per year for four years as the County’s part of the construction cost. The City of Hohenwald, State of Tennessee, and Federal Government would also fund the project.

District Attorney General Elmer Davies, Jr. announced that he would resign his position and run against Circuit Judge Terry Larkin. The announcement came immediately following a sentence hearing where Larkin found Davies in civil contempt and ordered him to pay $25 plus court costs on each of two counts. The charges were brought against Davies after he called Larkin “petty” in regards to a gag order imposed in a criminal trial in Larkin’s court.

A snow storm hit Lewis County on January 11 and dropped six to eight inches of snow over the course of 11 hours.

April Murphy won a stuffed Pink Panther doll in contest held at Brown’s Variety Store prior to Christmas.

The LCHS Panthers defeated Columbia Academy with a score of 61 to 38. Rusty Graves was the top scorer for the team with 14 points. The Pantherettes defeated Columbia Academy with a score of 28 to 21. Kathy Dye led the team in scoring with 8 points.

The following births were announced: Derek Shay, son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Gray; and Charles Kenneth Jr, son of Charles and Janet Nixon.

Mr. and Mrs. Joe Ellis celebrated their 50th anniversary with a surprise dinner given by their family at the annex building of the Hohenwald Church of Christ.

Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Rasbury celebrated their 60th anniversary with open house hosted by their children at the couple’s home.

Funeral services were held for Max Fuhrman, 84; and for Otis Hickerson, 80.

“Final Exam,” starring George Kennedy, was the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday movie at the Highlands Drive-In Theatre.

January 09, 1992

The Lewis County Board of Commissioners passed, on second reading, a $15 wheel tax increase for cars and trucks and a $7.50 increase for motorized cycles and scooters to finance the construction of a new jail for the county.

A fire, believed to have been started from a faulty electric heater, destroyed Betsy Tiller’s portable kindergarten classroom early on the morning of January 08. Two other classrooms and a concession building were all within 6 feet of the burning building, but were not damaged by the fire.

Carol Richardson was featured in the weekly Teacher Feature column.

Roy Hargrave, weather statistician for the Lewis County Civil Defense, reported that the average rainfall in Lewis County for the period running 1961 to 1991 was 69.91 inches. The average high was 102.1 degrees and the average low was minus 2.3 degrees.

Reverend and Mrs. Terry Kennaman hosted an open house at their home for members of the West Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Approximately 50 people attended.

The following births were announced: Jacob Kyle, son of Jeff and Susan Skelton; and Holly Amanda, daughter of Carl and Melinda Stewart.

Funeral services were held for Dorris Browning, 52; Perry Choate, 23; Thomas Coble, 44; and for Harold Finerty, 77.

January 10, 2002

The Hohenwald City Council approved the purchase of an industrial building owned by and formerly occupied by G. F. Puhl Company located at 220 Industrial Avenue. The property was purchased to help make Hohenwald more marketable in attracting future industry.

The Lewis County School System in conjunction with the local emergency and medical system, conducted a crisis response drill on January 8 involving a mock bus accident with 20 mock casualties. The drill was staged along a rural road in the Kimmins community.

A “Failure Free Reading” initiative was launched by Lewis County Schools to target emergent or non-readers at all grade levels.

Sgt. James Patton was deployed by the Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The following births were announced: Alexandra Zoee, daughter of Michael and Lisa Thompson; and Ashton Taylor Smith, son of Brooke Wise.

Mr. and Mrs. Billy Carroll celebrated their 50th anniversary with a reception held at Pineview Church of Christ.

Funeral services were held for Duane Church, 50; Martha Davis, 88; Shannon Hickerson, 29; Mildred Krstich, 86; and for Bob Lynch, 90.

This article was written using local history resources available at the Lewis County Public Library and Archives. Libraries are guardians of history. Visit the library and archives to learn more about our community’s unique past.