Don White made the first hole-in-one in July, 1955 on the one year old Mount Gilead Golf course and I didn’t give him proper credit, printing the wrong first name. Sorry Don.
The soft serve ice cream store established in Cardington in 1954 was the Jeri-Ann Drive- In named by the owners, Steve and Pearl Maceyko, in honor of their daughter, Geraldine.
With thoughts of ice cream as I did last week focusing on the village confectionaries, I am also reminded of the home made ice cream made at many of our homes, pouring a mix in the center can of a wooden container and packing ice and salt —- then cranking away until it would not turn – oh my, pulling that churn out which was loaded with ice cream and licking it off – what a delicious memory.
August also brings memories of more farm related activities I am fortunate to have experienced a bit of the “old ways” before the “new ways” came along and one of those was threshing time. It was exciting for us youngsters because the huge threshing machine came to farms in the neighborhood to thresh the grain and in our case that was wheat and oats. Farmers would meet at the farm where the threshing was to be done that day and work from dawn to dusk or until they got the fields done. The noon day meal was cooked and served at that farmer’s home and the farmer’s wife was assisted by ladies in the neighborhood. What a spread they put out! Remember, preparations were made in kitchens that had no running water, no modern gadgets – sometimes a wood burning cook stove – and no bathroom facilities. Tables would be spread in the house or sometimes in the front yard. There would be potatoes, meats, vegetables, desserts, lemonade and plenty of cold water pumped from the well. There were no ice cubes then.
In August, 1943, Hugh Blakely brought the threshing machine to our house and among those helping that long hot day were Bill Benson, Gilbert Russet, Raymond Heacock, Elza Click, Guy Renz, Charlie Click, Wes Heimlich, my dad, and others.
Helping to cook the meal were Grace and Maxine Renz, Millie Heimlich, Hilda Riggs, Sada Click and my mother.
My sisters and I ranging in ages from 11 to 7, were probably nuisances around the threshing machine but later helped to shovel the grain from the wagons to buckets that my father then distributed in bins in the grainery. The straw was used to build shelter houses for our livestock to shield them in the winter.
It was fun for us youngsters but hard work for the adults. Custom combining replaced threshing but the camaraderie of those threshing days left many warm memories of a day past.
July 1915: There were 4,323 children of school age in Morrow County, 2,264 males and 2069 females.
E. M Willits and R. F.Mosher were in Waldo Tuesday completing the purchase of the $3,000 in bonds bought by the Citizens Bank with which the village is paving the streets.
July 23, 1925: The directors of the Morrow County Agricultural Society set the machinery in motion for the celebration of the Morrow County Fair’s diamond jubilee. Plans to include a night fair were halted by Mayor Brollier who had called attention to the city ordinance which forbids the shooting of fireworks within the village limits except on the Fourth of July. Many Mount Gilead businesses were also opposed to the idea because it would attract the crowd from up town.
July, 1945: Ann Wire, Janice Hall and Phyllis Fink were walking on High Street in Ashley when they saw a large roll of paper on the sidewalk. They took it to the mayor who counted almost $700. It was found to belong to Paul Musci, a Cleveland Poultry dealer who was in town to buy chickens from Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Greenfield. The money was returned to him.
July, 1955: John Conley of Princeton, Mass was elected president of the Hydraulic Press Mfg Co. He was succeeding John C. Cotner.
