A look back to Sept. 1-7, 1961
Sept. 1, 1961 – Joe Robertson, Governor John Patterson’s executive secretary, and Rep. Charles Reynolds were involved in a brief fistfight on the Senate floor tonight. It was broken up by Public Safety Director Floyd Mann.
Sept. 1, 1961 – Effective today Hartselle workers at MSFC and the Army Missile Command can sleep a little later. Work hours are changing from 7-3:30 to 8-4:30. The early starting and quitting times had been in effect since May 1.
Sept. 1, 1961 – Football practice began at Alabama this afternoon. Pat Trammell seems to be a shoo-in to continue as QB. His only serious challenger, Jack Hurlbut, broke his throwing arm in a summer job.
Sept. 1, 1961 – The Morgan County 1961-1962 school year began today. A week from today Labor Day will be observed.
Sept. 1, 1961 – Linda Roberts, a Neel teenager, is currently in a Decatur hospital as a result of injuries she sustained last night in an auto accident on Iron Man Road west of Hartselle.
Sept. 1,1961 – James W. West has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as postmaster of Falkville.
Sept. 2, 1961 – Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Hardwick are currently vacationing at their Gulf Shores beach home.
Sept. 2, 1961 – Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Motes, Hartselle 4, are the proud parents of twin sons born at Baugh-Wiley-Smith Hospital in Decatur.
Sept. 2, 1961 – Funeral services were held this afternoon at Hartselle First Baptist for Mrs. Ida Tanner, age 82. The Revs. W. L. Carden, W. P. Maxwell, and S. E. Paulk officiated. Survivors include a son, Orville Tanner, who has been active in Hartselle business and politics for many years.
Sept. 3, 1961 – The annual father-son Tennessee Valley Invitational Skeet Shoot was held today at the Morgan County Gun Club range on Burleson Mountain. The big winner was Gordon Blanton, 15-year-old son of Dr. and Mrs. Harold Blanton of Hartselle. Dr. Blanton was runner-up among older shooters.
Sept. 3, 1961 – The Bankhead National Forest was the site of a still raid by revenue agents today. Stills destroyed had the capacity to produce moonshine with a retail sale value of $100,000 annually.
Sept. 4, 1961 – Since the Tennessee Valley Conference began in 1949, MCHS has never won a championship. Tiger fans are hoping this will be the year. Coffee is the defending champ.
Sept. 4, 1961 – Some Morgan County schools are showing enrollment increases as compared to this time last year. MCHS has 75 more students and Crestline, 53 more.
Sept. 5, 1961 – Ernest Ray of Hartselle was injured this morning in a collision of trucks on Gum Springs Road. Mr. Ray, a long-time Hartselle mail carrier, sustained facial injuries and is now a patient at Hartselle Hospital.
Sept. 5, 1961 – Mrs. Lester (Jane) Wooten, wife of the county superintendent of education, has returned from Maine where she directed dramatics and fine arts at Forest Acres Camp.
Sept. 6, 1961 – The MCHS faculty includes five new teachers for the ‘61 – 62 school year. They are: Katherine Dunaway Sims, ninth grade science, biology, and social studies; Eloise Maddox, home economics; Ruth Penn, algebra and plane geometry; Virginia Riggs, librarian; and Norris Turney, world history, social studies, and ninth grade math.
Sept. 7, 1961 – For the first time in six years, the Falkville Blue Devils were able to defeat the MCHS Tigers in a football game played here tonight. The final score was Falkville 18, MCHS 13.
Sept. 7, 1961 – Hartselle native U.S. Sen. John Sparkman has been designated as the chairman of a Democratic campaign team the mission of which will be to beat the 15 Republican senators whose seats are up for re-election next year.
Sept. 7, 1961 – George Romney, president of American Motors, is advocating a profit-sharing plan for the workers at his company. He equates this with bonuses paid to high-performing executives. (George Romney was the father of Republican presidential aspirant Mitt Romney.)
