100 YEARS AGO — 1919

The Harris Creek Baptist church will be dedicated Sunday afternoon. Rev. Jones, pastor of the Hustonville Baptist Church will preach the sermon. The public is invited. Take Junction City Pike out of Danville until you get to Milledgeville, then turn to the right, cross the railroad and keep turning to the left till church is reached.

Mr. J.R. Pipes, who lives near Ward’s Branch near the Marion County line, brought to the newspaper office one of the tallest stalks of corn ever seen. The ear is nine feet from the ground and the stalk measures 15 feet tall. You could let your horses, mules and cattle graze in your corn field if it was as tall as the corn left here because they wouldn’t be able to reach the ears. Mr. Pipes is a son of the late Hardin Pipes, who was one of the splendid men that followed Gen. John H. Morgan during the dark days from 1861 to 1865.

Only two out of 75 Centre College freshmen received minor injuries during their initiation last night. One young man from Cynthiana fell while running “the gauntlet” on the Kentucky College for Women’s campus. He lay groaning for several minutes but never lost consciousness. He was helped to his room by students. The other young man received a gash on the calf of his leg inflicted by a paddle. The long line of “goats” assembled on the steps of the post office on Main Street with their bare knees trembling and coats and hats turned wrong side out, which brought much laughter from the scores of spectators that sat in automobiles watching the preliminaries of initiation. Main Street was jammed with traffic for a half hour while the ceremony was getting under way. A peanut race by a dozen freshmen attracted the most interest and cheers were given when a big lad from the mountains won by several lengths. One freshman bathed his feet in the drinking fountain in front of the courthouse. Following the merriment on Main Street, several of the “goats” were taken to Stout’s theater to “shake and shimmie” and do the “camel walk” for the delight of the audience. It is said that quite a lot of “rough work” was displayed when the sophomores initiated the freshmen. Several of the boys were unable to sit down comfortably because of the paddling.

75 YEARS AGO — 1944

The operation of the Red Cross prisoner of war program will be explained during a public meeting at Trinity Episcopal Church. All relatives and friends of persons who are prisoners of war and others interested in the Red Cross program are invited. The meeting will discuss the steps that are taken for the prisoners’ health and welfare. The Red Cross program also serves a link between boys in the service and the folks at home, regardless of where they may be. The speaker will also describe exactly what is being done to provide food, clothing, medicines and supplies and information to American servicemen detained by the Axis powers.

A talk by Marvin Glenn, principal at Danville High School was given to the Rotary Club, where he said that DHS bears a better reputation out in the state than it does at home. He said students should pursue their work, keep busy, remain in their proper places in school and not out on the streets during school hours and they will be taught to think clearly and to act sincerely. Glenn said changes which will take place in the schools after the war is over. He said there will be an opportunity for better training of the youth, including individualized teaching and study and trade schools.

Members of the Women’s Army Corps stationed in Italy, including Sergeant Junita Brown of West Walnut Street in Danville, paraded in Europe on Sept. 1 in recognition of the first anniversary of the formation of the WAC as a component of the Army. The parade in which the Danville WAC participated was staged on the parade area where Italian armies were reviewed by the King of Italy and in recent years by Mussolini.

50 YEARS AGO — 1969

The Christian Church on Second Street off of Walnut, has a brand new exterior as painters finished covering it with a light shade that fits in well with the area. Earlier, much work on the interior of the historic building had been done. The church now brightens up the corner behind Super-X Drugs on the edge of the Urban Renewal area.

The First and Second Presbyterian Churches of Danville, which for 116 years have competed with one another in the work of the denomination in Danville, voted yesterday to unite. The plan was approved by both congregations. To become effective, the plan must be approved by the Presbyteries of both churches. It will be several weeks before both Presbyteries will have meetings. The vote marked the fourth time the churches have voted on uniting since the middle of the 1940s.

The First Presbyterian Church was founded in 1784 and the Danville church was founded in the meeting house on Constitution Square and moved a few years later to the edge of town where it has remained since at what is now the corner of Main and Fifth streets. In 1953, as an expansion of the works of the Presbyterians in Danville, and to provide a place for Centre College students to attend services, the Second Church was founded. The separation was friendly, and when the Second church building was destroyed by fire in the great fire of 1860, the congregations reunited for about five years, or until the present building was erected by the Second church at the corner of Third and Broadway.

25 YEARS AGO — 1994

The Danville City Commission voted to help the Danville and Boyle County schools hire a counselor to work with students who are in danger of dropping out of school.

The Bank of Danville recently donated $100,000 to the campaign to help finance Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center’s $12.6 million expansion project. A month ago, Philips Lighting donated $100,00 too.

Danville and Boyle County officials will discuss the updating of the Comprehensive Plan that guides development throughout the county. Three events are putting intense pressure for developing which included the widening of U.S. 127; the Walmart Supercenter and improvements to Perryville Battlefield.