A look back
By By Dr. Bill Stewart
Oct. 15, 1959-Squirrel season opened today. It extends to January 1. The bag limit is six a day. The squirrel hunt on the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge also started today; it will continue through Oct. 21.
Oct. 16, 1959-Five-star Gen. George C. Marshall died tonight in Washington after a lengthy illness. President Eisenhower called General Marshall’s passing “a cause for profound grief.” Discussions are already under way regarding the best way to perpetuate his memory. (The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville would later be named for him.)
Oct. 15, 1959-Neighbors and friends of the Cecil Crew family in the Johnson’s Chapel community and elsewhere are engaging in a drive to help these stricken people as much as they can. There are seven children and Mrs. Crew is currently in the Hartselle Hospital with double pneumonia. Her hospital bill is already up to $600 as a result of two lengthy visits.
Oct. 16, 1959-Huntsville smashed MCHS 39-0 in a high school football game played here tonight. The local team was never able to mount a serious scoring threat. The result would have been even more lopsided had it not been for the defensive play of David Norwood, Wayne Griffin, Jimmy Speegle, Mickey Wiggins, Paul Beard, and Kenneth Gray.
Oct. 18, 1959-Dr. H. T. Sammons and H. H. Hall have asked the Hartselle City Council to let them take charge of collecting garbage for 1,200 customers. They would charge the city $1.50 per month for each household served. A thorough study will be made of the proposal before it is accepted or rejected.
Oct. 18, 1959-The eastern part of the county was the site this afternoon of the smashing of three stills capable of producing 650, 375, and 60 gallons of moonshine whiskey, respectively, when in full operation.
Oct. 19, 1959-Elia Kazan began filming famed Hartselle author William Bradford Huie’s novel, “Mud on the Stars,” in Tennessee today. The movie title will be “Wild River.”
Oct. 19, 1959-Maj. Gen. John B. Medaris said tonight that he planned to retire from active military service in the near future. This is three years before the mandatory retirement age of 60.
Gen. Medaris is head of the Army Ordnance Missile Command. Recently all space transportation projects have been transferred from the Army to the Air Force.
Oct. 21, 1959-Johnny Burns, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Burns, Hartselle 2, arrived home on leave today. He is currently stationed at the U.S. Air Force base in San Antonio, Tex.
Oct. 20, 1959-T. M. McCutcheon, a member of the Hartselle City Council and a former member of the police force, died at his home here this morning at age 72. Revs. Warren Hamby and O. C. Morton will preach his funeral Thursday at the Methodist Church.
Oct. 20, 1959-Residents of Lacey’s Spring are considering incorporating. Because part of the community is in the Huntsville police jurisdiction, they are subject to taxes, especially on gasoline, that are levied by that city’s governing body.
Oct. 21, 1959-Charlie Beene, director of the Hartselle drive, was present in Decatur this morning when the headquarters for the 1960 United Fund campaign was opened in the former telephone company offices on Johnston Street.
Oct. 21, 1959-President Eisenhower decided today to turn over all functions previously performed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency to NASA. Both General John Medaris and Dr. Werner Von Braun say they are very pleased with this decision and its positive implications for the Saturn space program. This change affects more than 17,000 employees.
