The following article by Charles Hartley originally appeared in The Pioneer News on 30 Dec 2019. It is archived here for your reading enjoyment.
We will be looking back 24, 50, 75, and 100 years to see what was being printed in The Pioneer News in 1995, 1969, 1944, and 1919 in the month of December.
Did you get Fred Wiche's autograph at the Country Corner Greenhouse during their Open House?
Did you see the drama, The Brothers Menaechmus, performed by the Bullitt Central drama students under the direction of their teacher, Peter Rivard? Was it as funny as they say?
What do these people have in common: Julie Edmonds, Heather Barrow, Gregory Brotzge, Raymond Buckler, Tyra Butler, Angelica Cisneros, April Daly, Ellen Dugger, Wendy Dugger, Mary Glass, Julie Graepel, Shauna Hadley, Amanda Harris, Andrew Hawkins, Courtney Hedges, Timothy Horine, Tonya Hutchinson, Amanda Jesse, Bryan Jones, Matthew Kulmer, Jeremy Leffler, Beth McGaha, Kerry O'Bryan, Shane O'Bryan, Desirae P'Pool, Matthew Rhea, Dana Reiber, Bobby Sageser, Benji Simmons, Melissa Spalding, Amanda Thompson, Wayne White, Scott White, Isthmie Whorley, Justin Howlett, and Amie Rheaume? Does it help that Mr. Stites was in charge?
Bruner and Rubylean (Donaldson) McIntosh celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. So did Robert and Erman (Booth) McClure, and Charles and Irene Croan.
Were you part of the Pleasant Grove group on the Toby Tour Bus tour to Nashville to see the Christmas lights? How about the 95th birthday party for Clara Simmons? I hear there were about fifty people there to celebrate with her.
Jewell Jackson of Hebron Middle School was named Bullitt County Middle School Teacher of the Year.
Derek Cox and Brooke Triplett were the happy winners of new bikes at the Christmas celebration at Shepherdsville Square.
Bobby and Wanda Collins were happy to announce the graduation of their daughter Sheila who received her masters of divinity degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Aaron Mattingly portrayed Joseph, Meghan Metcalf portrayed Mary, and baby Jesus was Jonathan Snider, son of Kevin and Tammy Snider of Lebanon Junction, in the St. Benedict School Christmas program.
And Alison Bass was pictured putting up two points against Nelson County.
Jerry Price, Gary Moore, Bobby Hill, Johnnie Crump, and Dell Keith attended the FFA national convention in Kansas City.
G. K. Bass of Mt. Washington wrote that Royce Swearingen treated his wife Genevieve, and family members Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Porter, Mr. and Mrs. Amos Brown, Lt. and Mrs. Murrell Dean Porter, Mrs. Walter Kalewski and son Jon to a smorgasbord dinner at the Doe Run Inn. Lt. Porter was due to ship out to Vietnam in December.
Rita Phillips, a senior cheerleader at LJHS, was pictured in the paper.
Elisé Givhan, Bill Nusz, and Layne Abell were pictured in the paper as SHS students selected as Outstanding Teenagers of America for 1970.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell Hall of Mt. Washington celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Also celebrating 50 years of wedded bliss were Mr. and Mrs. William Oscar Sweat of Lebanon Junction.
The paper reported on the progress of the SHS speech and drama department under the direction of Miss Barbara Elliott. In competitions that Fall, Elisé Givhan placed first in extemporaneous speaking, and Rodney Franklin and Desie Deschand won for duet acting. Linda Hester placed third in impromptu speaking, and Desie placed second in dramatic interpretation.
Darrell Sample was pictured in the paper with the announcement that he would be attending the Lincoln Technical Institute in Indianapolis to study automotive technology.
Johnnie Crump of SHS placed first in the Conservation Essay Contest, and Sylvianne Davidson, a 7th grader at Roby, placed second.
The Zoneton Optimist Club was organized with J. W. Abbott as president, Martin Roper and Kenneth Kamber as vice presidents, and Bill Johnson as secretary-treasurer. They were meeting in the home of H. M. Taylor.
The Hebron correspondent gave birthday greetings to Burks Williams, Sr. on his 90th birthday! She also congratulated Seaman 1st Class Gary Johnson and Miss Janice Sears who were married at Bullitt Lick Baptist Church. Their attendants were Brenda Heath and Dennis Sears. The ushers were Timmie Crumbacker and Terry Sears.
The SHS Honor Roll was published in December with the following seniors listed on the first roll (All A's): Debbie Lee, Donna Holt, Theresa Mills, Ronnie Milliner, Brenda Snellen, Linda Scott, Bernice Shepherd, Theresa Sweat, Donna Walls, Carolyn Jackson, Marcia Leffler, Susan Dunnavan, Brenda Hall, Sandra Rinkel, Mike Tatchell, and Elise Givhan.
At an appreciation dinner for Boy Scout leaders, both Robert Ball and Joe Ball were recognized. Robert received the President's Award for outstanding service.
Bernard Bischoff had a new roof put on his greenhouse.
Susan Watkins, a SHS graduate, was a charter member of the Valianettes Co-ed Military Drill Team at EKU.
Harold W. Hardy sold his Shepherdsville supermarket to his manager, J. C. Thompson.
And at an "old fashioned" church service at Pleasant Grove in honor of the church's senior citizens, Mrs. Ann Armstrong read a poem, and Mrs. Helen Foster and Steve Fagenbuesh sang a special. Albert Armstrong was the oldest deacon present, and his grandson David was the youngest deacon present. Albert had served as deacon for 54 years!
In news from Belmont, we read that Mrs. Otho Quick of Lebanon Junction was accompanied by Miriam Bradbury of Belmont, Ethel McMillian, Lizzie Wickersham, Myra Raney and Mrs. Joe Canzoneri of Lebanon Junction as they attended a W.M.U. meeting at Bardstown.
Sgt. W. E. Viers Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Wathen Viers of Shepherdsville, who had just returned from overseas, was married to Geneva Hill Helm of Buechel by Rev. L. F. Sodeman.
James Henry Swearingen of Mt. Washington died in late November. He was 75, and married to Cora Swearingen. He was a son of William and Sallie (Jones) Swearingen; she was a daughter of David and Angeline (Pratt) Swearingen. James and Cora were the parents of Royce, Ford, and Angeline.
The Woman's Auxiliary of the Hebron Presbyterian Church held their annual bazaar and afternoon tea at the home of Mrs. Will Wakefield.
In the personal column we learned that Mrs. Pearl Lee spent the holiday with her son Frazier; that Rua Shouley had been very ill, but was some improved; that Bill Burns had pneumonia; and that the Johnson family reunion was a joyful day for Mrs. Nannie Johnson when her seven children were with her. Those present including Ollie Dawson, Nora Cundiff, Eula Haley and son, Eva Bullock, Effie Duvall, Clara Pearl, Norman and Charles, Jesse Johnson and wife, and also Ethel Philpott Smith and husband and Mr. and Mrs. Ed Pitt.
The Needmore Road correspondent reported that a number of men gathered at Levy Ridgway's place and cut some wood for him while he was sick.
Lt. Agnes Bernadeen Wheatley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Wheatley of Shepherdsville, returned from England on a short furlough. She had been stationed in hospitals in England for three years, and paper stated, "We are proud of the grand work Lt. Wheatley is doing."
The Hebron correspondent reported that J. R. Ball lost a horse named Old Joe who was 29 years old and had been a faithful and prized friend. J. R. said that Old Joe's last year or two had been spent in idleness.
In Mt. Washington, Rev. Paul Horner, wife and son visited her mother, Marion Porter for the holidays; Pvt. Jerry Bridwell was home for a few days on furlough with his wife and baby; and R. E. McAfee and T. H. Parrish spent a day with E. E. Pound and had a "hog killing" time.
Blanche Hall received official notice that Sgt. Glendon Hall had been slightly wounded in Germany.
Pvt. Vernon Druin, son of Mrs. Martha Druin of Shepherdsville, was awarded the Bronze Star. The citation stated, "On 14 September 1944, in the vicinity of Fort Montbarey, Brest, France, Pvt. Druin exploded charges hooked up during the night, in order that tanks could cross an anti-tank ditch and bring fire on the city. Pvt. Druin crossed open fields under enemy observation and under heavy enemy artillery and small arms fire checking the hook-up of the charges before he set the fuse. He did this in the early morning hours and his work resulted in the successful destruction of the ditch. His courage and enthusiasm reflects highest credit on himself and the military."
Out at Cupio, little Jimmy and Lillian Bishop spent two weeks with Mr. and Mrs. Cornell Logsdon while their mother was in the hospital.
J. V. Shaw was promoted to Staff Sergeant. He was a graduate of the Lexington Signal School, and had served in Labrador, Greenland, and Scotland before being assigned to France as part of the Signal Corps.
And James W. Croan, president of the Bullitt County Bank, died suddenly while talking with H. H. Combs at the bank. He was a successful timber dealer, a farmer and for years served as county jailer, deputy sheriff, and for four years sheriff.
Miss Bertha Wallace, teacher at Bullitts Lick, was married to George Albert Harshfield. Bertha was a daughter of James Henry Wallace and his first wife, Cora May Shepherd (daughter of John Henry Shepherd and Mary L. Coffee), who died in December 1904. James Henry Wallace was a son of James Henry and Jane Ellen (Shanklin) Wallace. Albert passed in 1956; Bertha lived until 1987, and was a retired sales clerk fro Levy Bros. in Louisville.
Stepping a generation back in Bertha's line, James Henry Wallace Sr.'s parents were Allen Stewart and Mary E. (Thomas) Wallace; Jane Ellen Shanklin's parents were James and Amanda (Herr) Shanklin; Mary L. Coffee's parents were John and Rachel (Green) Coffey; and John Henry Shepherd's parents were James and Lucinda (Cundiff) Shepherd.
Tom Clark of Brooks had for sale one farm wagon with bed, one 2 horse disc harrow, two double shovel plows, one 2 horse vulcan plow, all in good order.
J. F. Combs and H. H. Combs, President and Cashier of the Bullitt County Bank reported the bank's holdings at $346,675.93. R. M. Hocker and W. M. Heizer, President and Cashier of the Lebanon Junction Bank shared its holdings as $216,435.52. Bert Hall, President, and Stuyler Harris, Asst. Cashier of the Peoples Bank of Mt. Washington reported $238,334.00. And R. L. Simmons, President, and James Williams, Asst. Cashier of the Peoples Bank of Shepherdsville reported $308,505.15.
Harry Wells of Bardstown Junction died December 7th following several months of paralysis. His remains were interred in the Crigler family cemetery. Harry was born on 8 Feb 1865, and married Lydia Crigler in 1880, who survived him along with three children. The editor wrote, "For several years, he was section foreman on the Clermont section, and afterwards was employed by the Old Grandad Distillery at Hobbs. He was a man of great versatility, being able to do almost anything, and was a musician of no mean ability."
At Pleasant Grove, the Proctor truck delivered two calves, one for Robert Grant and one for K. S. Grant and a bunch of hogs for Tillman Ridgway on the city market.
Mrs. Myrtle Hibbs wrote an "In Memoriam" in the memory of Everette and Blanche Armstrong who died a year earlier during the influenza epidemic, and who were buried together in the same grave at Pleasant Grove.
And burglars broke into the Shepherdsville Peoples Bank overnight and pried open the bank vault. Several thousand dollars in stamps and bonds were taken as well as other valuables. It appeared that the robbers had stopped at Gap in Knob and stole a lantern, pick, crowbar and saw from the section house before coming to the bank. The lantern and crowbar were left behind in the bank.
Among those who lost valuables in the robbery included Clarence Holsclaw who lost his father's gold watch; Mrs. O. A. Lutes who lost about $400 worth of jewelry belonging to her mother; Chris Englebrecht who lost over a hundred dollars worth of gold coins; and the daughters of the late William Simmons who lost a lot of jewelry that had belonged to their mother.
Copyright 2020 by Charles Hartley, Shepherdsville KY. All rights are reserved. No part of the content of this page may be included in any format in any place without the written permission of the copyright holder.
The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 13 Jan 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/happened/dec2019.html
