A look back
By By Dr. Bill Stewart
Sept. 10, 1959-Dr. Fred Sherrill shared his family’s Latin American mission plans with members of the Brotherhood group at Decatur’s First Baptist Church tonight.
Sept. 10, 1959-W. H. Stewart, president, and Horace W. Broom, secretary-treasurer, of the Hartselle Industrial Development Board have, along with officials of Fly Manufacturing, signed the contract needed to make 100 per cent sure that a garment plant will locate in Hartselle. Stewart, Broom, and City Attorney Merrill Doss are in Birmingham today, consulting with the firm that will build the facility in which the garments (men’s work trousers) will be made.
Sept. 11, 1959-The Alabama House brought Hartselle Representative Bob Gilchrist’s anti-loan sharking bill up for action today but adjourned until next Tuesday before voting it up or down.
Sept. 11, 1959-Local UA students will have a new classmate when classes resume in a few days. Shorty Price reported to the AP that he had registered for the fall semester Thursday. He says he needs only one semester of work to get a bachelor’s degree and one semester to get a law degree.
Sept. 11, 1959-A Decatur player with strong Hartselle ties was a major factor in the Red Raiders’ 27-0 win over Athens tonight. Tackle Claude Lavender recovered an Athens fumble only one play after the kickoff and continued to be a thorn in the Eagles’ side throughout the game.
Sept. 12, 1959-MCHS beat Falkville 20-6 here tonight in the season’s opening football game. Key players for the Tigers were David Norwood, Jimmy Speegle, and Bob Harris. After an abundance of rain during the day the field was very slippery, leading to a combined 15 fumbles for both teams.
Sept. 13, 1959-A total of 7,384 students have enrolled thus far in Morgan County schools for the 1959-60 academic year. More are expected, however, when their parents release them from work in the cotton fields.
Sept. 13, 1959-The annual all-day singing was held at Round Top church today. Fred Summerford and Homer Shoemaker have the leading roles in making this singing the spiritual success it always is.
Sept. 14, 1959-Due to recent torrential rains cotton picking has virtually come to a halt in Morgan County, according to Harry Houston, assistant farm agent. In taller unpicked cotton boll rot has begun to set in.
Sept. 14, 1959-As a money-saving and efficiency initiative, it was proposed that Morgan County and Decatur jointly construct an office building to be used by both. However, Morgan County government officials aren’t interested in this so the project is now dead.
Sept. 14, 1959-Warren Hamby will continue as minister of Hartselle’s First Methodist Church for another year.
Sept. 14, 1959-Mrs. Carl Ratcliff died at her home in Danville today. The funeral will be tomorrow at the Baptist church. Rev. Dewitt Prince will officiate and F. E. Martin, Newt Tanner, Guy Roberts, Jessie Roberts, Bennett Livingston, and Raymond Compton will serve as pallbearers.
Sept. 15, 1959-Mrs. Geneva Reeves of Hartselle has been reunited with a half-brother whom she had not seen for 39 years. The sibling, Will Pannell, had previously visited this area looking for Mrs. Reeves and other relatives but had not succeeded in finding them because they had moved their residences.
Sept. 15, 1959-Dr. Wernher von Braun, director of development operations for the ABMA at Redstone, is disappointed that Congress seems inclined at this point to give the Army only about half the money it needs to do the work required for the moon-bound Saturn rocket.
Sept. 16, 1959-Hartselle area residents Coy Sparkman, Louie Williams, Shirley Moore, Cliff Tapscott, and Johnson Lee have been elected to serve as ASC community committeemen for the next year. D. M. Robertson is Hartselle office manager for ASC.
