From time to time I like to share pieces of news items from past newspapers. What was considered news in early years seems to me to be what our elders talked about while gathering in the grocery store, etc.

From 1906: It was a front page story, a Cardington man (I won’t name him although the paper did ) came home from his work in the local grocery store where he had been “on the road” to find his wife had left a “chilly two-page letter stating that this life was killing her by inches and she had taken goods enough to pay her for what she had put into the house and gone to live with an uncle in Chicago and if he wished to communicate with her to write to and gave an address.”

She had taken $20 of her husband’s money and a gold watch and two diamond rings, all the silverware, stand cover, etc. which the husband had purchased. They had been married only six months This was front page news in 1906!

• A short piece in a 1911 paper notes: “The new mausoleum in Glendale Cemetery is now completed and ready for use. It has 256 burial compartments and is 98 feet long and 24 feet wide. Made of pressed brick with marble faced interior.

• A September, 1920 article titled “A Correction” is a letter from the Independent’s home writer and she, demonstrating a rare flare of temper in public, wrote a letter noting the real facts that would exonerate her from an accusation in which there is no truth!” It was reported widely that she had made the statement “All Democrats are fools.”

“I never said that before anyone,” she said, explaining that there was an election argument in full swing on EastMain Street in which she took part but what she said was “I did not see how any man could be such a fool as to vote for Cox! I mean that he was no Democrat.”

She went on explain in lengthy paragraphs why she was opposed to Cox, who was running for president against Warren G. Harding. She went on to say she had earlier worked hard to elect Woodrow Wilson.

• In July, 1927 the newspaper notes there were 300 cars per hour passing through Cardington. It said that if this travel kept up steady from early morning until late at night, it was certain that at least 5,000 autos passed through Cardington on U.S. Route 42

• How about these for your memory tease? Do you remember when a quarter was a decent allowance — or you’d reach into a muddy gutter for a penny or your mom wore nylons that came in two pieces or all your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done every day and wore high heels?

Do you remember coffee shops with table side jukeboxes or Blackjack, clove and teaberry chewing gum?

Yes, I do!

Looking back

70 years ago, April 1951: Five Cardingon women age 80 and over, attended a special party at the F&R Lazarus store in Columbus. Mrs. J. W. Wheeler, Dora Long, Belle Dennis, Rose Conaway and Rosa Ulrey were each presented with a souvenir China dinner plate. Betty McGraw, Cardington High School junior, was named the 1951 May Queen. Two of her attendants were Joanne Fricke and Marlene Fricke.

60 years ago: Wesley and Ivah Bartlett of Westield Township, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

50 years ago: Marty Mattix, Jill Dunlap, Beth McCutchen, Rita Squires, Ronnie Hack, Danny Bowers and Jeff Mattix were employed for the 1971 Cardington swimming pool season.

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By Evelyn Long

Contributing Columnist