100 YEARS AGO — 1916

The parade of school children on Saturday in celebration of the passing of bond issues for the construction of a new high school, was a splendid one. Many people were heard to remark that  they didn’t know that there were that many children in Danville. There were between 500 and 600 in line. There would have been more, but many had to work on Saturday. The pupils  sowed off to fine advantage, and there is no doubt that their enthusiasm had most to do with the way their fathers and mothers voted. A large number of men and women voted on the bond issue – 995 in all. There were 954 votes in favor and only 41 against. There were 579 men voting and 416 women voting, which was a good showing for the women. Many ladies were heard to say, “It isn’t hard to vote, is it?”

Unconscious and with his skull dangerously fractured, Mitchell Dotson, a young man from Waynesburg, was brought to the Danville Hospital, where a portion of his skull was removed in the hope that he might be benefited. He is in a very dangerous condition right now. Dotson was found with his skull crushed in Stanford and only very few details are known about the case. It is claimed that he was the victim of an assault by “Big Foot” John Engleman, who will be charged with the crime, when officers find him.

In an advertisement for Freeman Furniture Co. in Danville, the business states that owning to contrary winds, the German Zeppelin did not arrive in time for the store’s opening on Dec. 1, so the grand opening of German dolls and toys will now be on Dec. 4th. The immense line of German dolls and toys came direct to Freeman Furniture by Zeppelin. Don’t put up with the common domestic dolls when you can get the genuine German dolls at the same old prices.

Charley Reed, 14,  rode his wheel to Danville a week ago from his parents’ home five miles from town on the Stanford Pike. No trace of him has been found since then. His mother, worried with the lad’s disappearance, is hysterical and physicians say there is little hope for her recovery. She is now being kept alive by drugs. The boy has a white speck in his left eye, and although only 14, he is six feet tall. Any information leading to the whereabouts of young Reed should be told to his father, Charley Reed Sr. in Danville.

75 YEARS AGO — 1941

Mike Perros tendered the Centre College Colonels a nice gestured Wednesday night when he treated them to a steak dinner with all the trimmings at his City Cafe. Mike, whose slogan is “Mike for Centre and Centre for Mike,” has always been a loyal friend of the football players. He recalls that back in the “golden era” Bo McMillin was employed there. Mike recently went along to the Georgia game and was a godfather to the Colonels.

Engineers for the Hope Natural Gas Company of Clarksburg, West Virginia, were in Danville again this week and stated that their pipe line would run within a quarter mile of the city limits of Danville. The line will consist of a 20-inch cast iron pipe and it will be a high-pressure line and it is not likely that the line can be tapped from Danville, on that account. It will run from the Louisiana Gas Fields to Clarksburg, West Virginia and will be re-distributed from that point. The engineers did bury some steel pipe near here as a trial balloon, to see if it would hold up and if it does, it might be used later to tap the trunk line; in that event the city might be able to get a connection.

For years Nelson Hays of Danville, was a China and furniture packer at the old Welsh & Wiseman store, and he was “appropriated” by the present store, Montgomery Ward, and he is still packing for it and is doing some outside packing. He has packed lots of breakables that have gone from Danville to Johannesburg, South Africa. In fact he has packed dainties that have been sent most everywhere. He recently received a fine letter of commendation the other day from Richard Dunlap, a well-known newspaper feature writer, for having packed and sent him a number of dainty articles including a grandfather clock which was shipped from Danville to New York City in ship-shape order.

Farm boys today must know as much about gasoline and Diesel engines as their fathers did about the old gray mare. The national defense training program for out of school youth is helping to train these young farmers. In Hustonville, youths are being taught principles of operation, care and repair of tractors, trucks and automobiles. 

50 YEARS AGO — 1966

The City of Danville has filed a complaint in Boyle Circuit Court against representative citizens and taxpayers in an effort to have a positive determination from the courts as to the status of the city with regard to switching over to the city manager form of government. Defendants named are Bob Ayotte, Tom Truempy and Robert K. Lewis Jr. and they are all active and leading members of the Danville Chapter of Commerce, which group sponsored the vote on the issue on Nov. 8 when the city voted about two to one in favor of changing from the mayor-council form to the city manager form of government.

A man between the ages of 20 and 25, described as having buck teeth, large eyes and an upswept front hairdo, is being sought by the Danville Police Department following reports by two young girls and a woman  answering this description had followed them in the downtown area.

In a setting under the Davenport portrait of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, and between the Sheffield whale oil lamps, the Hepplewhite corner chair that Dr. and Mrs. Bayard T. Horton with with they have presented to the shrine, is on display. The Hepplewhite corner chair is suited to the most cherished of English Christmas traditions like the Wassail Bowl, which is now an annual affair at McDowell House, sponsored by the Auxiliary to the Boyle County Medical Society

25 YEARS AGO — 1991

Volunteers at red kettles in the area will be ringing bells once again this holiday season, appealing to passers-by for funds to help run Salvation Army programs. It’s a tradition that goes back 100 years, when in 1891 a Salvation Army captain needing funds to provide Christmas dinner for the poor in San Francisco put out a large pot for people to toss donations into. This year Capt. Jecquelynne Kelley, head of the local Salvation Army office said, “We will be hard-pressed this year. We have taken over 500 applicants for assistance.” That figure compares with 385 cases last year. The recession has raised unemployment rates, increasing the demands on the Salvation Army.

Fans are dreaming of state championships in Danville and Harrodsburg to send their football teams to separate semifinal games. Undefeated Harrodsburg will host Pikeville in a Class A game. Danville will play against the undefeated LaRue County team.

Gertrude Spillman Sledd, 101, who taught at the old Bate School for over 40 years, has died at her home on Martin Luther King Blvd. Former students believe she most likely taught every graduate of the old school who is over 45 years old. Sledd started her teaching career in one-room schools in Shakertown and Salvisa, using a teaching certificate by taking a test. She earned her teaching degree from Wilberforce (Ohio) University in 1915 and took a job at Bate School in Danville which was still run by its founder, John W. Bate. In 1917 she left to teach in Paducah, when she married Dan Sledd. The couple returned to Bate in 1919, and stayed until she retired in 1961. In 1944 she earned her master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati and did one year of work toward a doctorate. She was born on July 20, 1890.