- County Wide News In 1921 (Part 2 of 3) -
“We are quite sure Climax has a live bunch of business men and the item referred to was not meant to reflect on any one of them as being incompetent in his line. As to the item referring to the difficulties being experienced by the high school board in securing a teacher, we will say that the statement made was given upon good authority and that we know that there is a general shortage of high school teachers, as one employment bureau has had an advertisement running for several weeks, stating that they have positions for 250 teachers, and the teachers are not available, and we know of several high schools which are looking teachers. This condition does not exist in Climax alone. But we are very glad to learn of the sudden inflow of twentytwo applications for our school which shows that our school is much to be desired above many other schools. We believe we have as good a high school as any in the state for a small Rural school, and feel that it will maintain its standing through the years to come.
G.A. Storrer from Lamont was severely injured in a storm in May of 1921. He was trying to close the garage doors when the wind started blowing. He was knocked down by the doors and was lying face down and was unconscious when Mrs. Storrer got to him. She had difficulty getting him into the house. Miss Lydia(daughter) was in Hill Top at the time. Mr. Storrer was unable to walk when the writer saw him Saturday.
From Madison by way of the Eureka Messenger: Sheriff Tony Colvin and County Attorney Jos. A. Fuller, who have been on a hunt since Fred and Will Imm jumped their bond some months ago, finally located them in Alberta, Canada. The men were under sentence from one to 25 years for burglary, and from 5 to 10 years on a charge of grand larceny. They appealed their case to the supreme court and were out on $5,000 bond. Their disappearance caused a forfeiture of the bond, which was reduced to $5,000. The men are being held by officers in Canada. Mr. Colvin and Mr. Fuller left Sunday on their trip to Alberta. Armed with extradition papers. They were traced by circulars sent out by the Greenwood County officials.
The Farmers Union of Lamont shipped two car loads of wheat this week and have another car on the track ready to ship. It will probably go out Saturday morning if Eldon Horton gets the car door shut in time. He had it all ready to go Friday but because the car door was not shut, the conductor of the Missouri Pacific limited refused to take the car out. Having commenced work at 5 o’clock Friday morning expecting to get the car off on the train Eldon was somewhat disappointed and said he was going to tell that conductor what he thought of him. Eldon’s office hours at the elevator now seems to be from 5 in the morning until 10 at night since the new wheat has commenced to come in.
In May the threshing machine of G.E. Shirkey’s took fire near Madison on his place and the crew was doing his threshing at the time. The fire was first seen burning about six feet from the machine and then fire was discovered burning inside the machine. It is not known whether the fire started first inside of the machine or outside of it. The machine was pulled away from the straw stack and water was used to extinguish the fire inside the machine. The machine, having been damaged to the extent of about $100, is laid up for repairs. Mr. Shirkey was in Olpe attending a township board meeting at the time of the fire. Mr. Shirkey is feeling good because the fire did not destroy his separator nor spread to his wheat. The machine was in operation when the fire broke out and two wagons from which bundles were being pitched were standing beside it.
Virgil needs a new hotel as the town is taxed to its upmost capacity to feed and house those who are here now, and with the large increase in the oil business that is under way, the number requiring hotel accommodations is sure to be doubled in the near future.
The city council of Madison passed an ordinance at its last meeting calling a special election for August 23, to vote bonds for $12,000 to buy a new 100 horsepower engine for the city light plant. The new engine will make a two- unit plant and make 24-hour service possible. With the new engine, the plant will be able to furnish all the power and light needed without at any time carrying an overload. This action was taken following a mass meeting of the citizens, most of whom were in favor of purchasing a new engine rather than building a transmission line to either Emporia or Gridley. It was figured that such a line would cost from $18,00 to $24,00 while the new engine will cost but $12,000.
In August lightning struck Sam Winzeler’s barn at Lamont in the night and it was destroyed by the resulting fire. Eight head of horses and one mule, and Charles Bill’s automobile were taken from the blazing barn. A thousand bushels of oats and 20 tons of hay were consumed by the flames. A few farm implements, also were burned. Mr. Winzeler has begun the construction of a new barn.
In the Virgil area wages for a man and a team in the oil fields have been cut from $10 a day to $6 and $7 a day. It is expected that the lower wage scale now prevailing will have a tendency to renew activity in the field at an early date.
In August of 1921 the work of re-decking the Ladd bridge five miles east of Climax was finished. The Otter Creek bridge four miles east of town will be re-decked this week. It will take 14,000 feet of lumber for both jobs.
In August of 1921 Will L. Jones’s dog was shot and killed by one of two boys living northwest of Madison. The matter was taken up with Justice of the Peace S.B. Green but it was settled out of court by the payment of $60 each by the uncle of one of the boys and the father of the other. After the dog was shot, Mr. Jones followed the car down the road. Coming to the road’s end and being unable to get out onto another road, it is said that the young men got out and hid. But noticing Mr. Jones taking the number of their car, they came out and said that a man named Brown at Olpe was their guardian, it is reported Mr. Jones went to Olpe where he found that the story told by the boys was not so. He wrote to Topeka, stating the number of the car. In that way he found out who the boys were. Owing to their youth, The Mirror will not mention the names of the young men. It may be said, however, that the fact that such young boys were carrying deadly weapons while motoring about on the public roads and on the streets of the city is resented by the people of Madison and vicinity.
In August of 1921 a lone bandit, Mayhugh by name, who held up a party of men three miles north of Eureka and robbed them of $300, was captured a mile south Climax. Harold Lunsford and Tom Russell were present when Sheriff Colvin and Marshal John Ronen took him into custody after he had been shot through the lung by the sheriff. It is said that the failure of the bandit’s revolver to discharge when he snapped the trigger, saved the life of John Ronen, as he had a bead on the marshal. The officers had one gun battle with the bandit east of Eureka previous to the one in which he was shot. He is in Eureka in a critical condition. He shot one of the men he robbed through the foot.”
