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November 1934 -- Homecoming, the President's visit, and news from the county

Eighty-five years ago -- November 1934 -- America continued to languish in what surely seemed a never-ending economic depression. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" made its radio debut on the 22nd to instant acclaim, and in a wild shootout on the 27th, FBI agents took down Public Enemy # 1, notorious gangster Lester Joseph Gillis, better known to the public by his alias, George "Baby Face" Nelson. But meanwhile, back in The Shire...

By JIM

November 1934 hit midpoint and headed toward Thanksgiving and December, and Columbia prepared for the welcome onslaught of visitors to the Lindsey Wilson Homecoming, set for Friday the 23rd. Already, over one hundred alumni and other former matriculants had made reservations for the banquet on that evening, with another two hundred or more expected for the event. The more prominent graduates who already had confirmed attendance included Dr. W.A. Weldon of Glasgow, Class of 1912, and Elam Huddleston '06, then serving Kentucky State Treasurer.

As prelude to the much-anticipated banquet, Rev. Frank Hulse, Class of 1930, was scheduled to give the devotional at 9:45 that morning, with L.C. Harrison '25 to follow with the welcome address. Lindsey's gridiron team, fresh off a victory the previous weekend against Taylor County High and holding a season record of 3-2, was ready to take on Lebanon's St. Augustine Academy at 2 p.m. sharp, admission to the game 25 cents. All in all, the day held promise of fun-filled activities, fond reminiscing, and catching up with old friends, and many homes in Columbia planned to host one or more out of town guests for the weekend.

The Homecoming shared top billing on the front page with another gathering, this of a considerably larger magnitude.


On Friday, November 16th, President and Mrs. Roosevelt visited Harrodsburg, where the President gave the dedicatory speech for the "$100,000 Federal monument to the pioneers of the old Northwest." This brought visitors from all over Kentucky and several other states, with the crowd size variously estimated at forty thousand to upwards of fifty thousand. Several Adair Countians made the trip, including some three dozen from within or near the corporate limits of Columbia. The latter group included Dr. & Mrs. W.J. Flowers and son Alfred, Dr. S.P. Miller, Mrs. Barksdale Hamlett, and Mr. & Mrs. David Heskamp.

Just in advance of Thanksgiving, astute shoppers could find numerous good buys in the grocery line. At the IGA store (D.O. & Ed Eubank), ten pounds of sugar ran 52 cents, three pounds of rice cost a quarter, and 19 cents bought ten pounds of white potatoes.

The Corner Grocery (Bingham Moore & George Hancock, at the exit corner of the Square and Campbellsville Street) offered a one-pound box of Zesta brand crackers for 16 cents (or for the more budget conscious, a two-pound box of no-name soda crackers for 19 cents), and spices -- mix or match -- were offered at three boxes for 25 cents.

Lerman Bros. offered several lucrative inducements for folks wishing a bit of holiday finery to wear, and those more flush with cash than most could purchase at Columbia Motor Co. a brand new Chevrolet Standard Sport Roadster for $465 or a Master Town Sedan for $615, among many other price-point options. In all cases, extras and shipping from Flint, Mich., were not included in the quoted price.

And in news from across Adair:

At the eastern edge of the county in the Gentry Mill section, Mrs. Etta Sanders had just moved to her new residence; the Edgar Kimbler family had moved into Mrs. Sanders' old place; and Miss Loretta Conover remained in serious condition with an infected foot.

Up near the Adair-Taylor line, cold weather kept citizens of the Coburg area busy with hog killing; Mr. and Mrs. A.C. Thomas and daughter Lois of St. Paul, Minn., had spent a few days with Mrs. Thomas' cousin, Ben H. Heskamp and Mrs. Heskamp; and the Rev. Gus Hale family had set sail in a brisk north wind a few days past with the expectation of finding warm harbor in Florida.

In the Sparksville community, everyone had been visiting everyone else; Calvin Janes, of Knifley, had lost one finger and got several others badly injured in a sawmill accident; and the Glensfork correspondent slathered school teacher J.V. Dudley with glory for the fine job he'd done "in getting up such a splendid program," referring to a school play given a few nights earlier in which many small fry, among others, participated.

The Price's Creek correspondent reported Tom Shirley's recent business trip to Glasgow; in Columbia, Robert Todd and wife, of Coshocton, Ohio, were visiting home folks; and in the far-flung village of Dunnville in the Kingdom yclept Casey, J.A. Darnell and his merry band of Adair Countians were slated to appear in a paid musical performance at the Dunnville school building on the evening of the 23rd, admission 10 cents and 15 cents.


This story was posted on 2019-11-17 07:22:37
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