56 Years Ago

* And So They Say: Francis Eshler; “I don’t think I’m ever going to be a grandfather. My daughter, Darlene, just had another girl.” Jerry Jackson (after the big rain): “Well, this isn’t a very good day to put up hay, but it’s sure a fine day to fix fences. Dave Oyer: “If people keep putting out the propaganda about business places closing, Stockton will soon be known as ‘This is the town that was.’” * The worst storm to visit the area since at least as far back as 1951 had arrived unexpectedly on Thursday night. The cloudburst had a rain accumulation of over five inches at the power plant. The forces of the wind had driven the rain into houses from the north and under doors, windows, and seemingly just through the walls. Many basements were flooded with windows broken by hail or holes knocked in the roofs from trees falling. Corn, row crops, and gardens suffered with the combination of rain, hail, and wind. Bow Creek was particularly hard hit. Falling branches fell on power lines in many places, causing several areas to be without electricity. Many cars had been pulled out after miring down on the highway detour, but no injuries were reported. The birds were not so lucky, and hundreds lost their lives. People reported picking up from 30 to 50 in their yards the next day, with one family finding 75 birds.

* Spanky, the surviving twin antelope rescued by the Jim Reidel family had been featured in an article by Mrs. Paul Ballinger in the Sunday edition of The Hays Daily News.

* Owing to the fact that Lloyd Hollern, who had been operating Lloyd’s Jewelry for the past eight years in Stockton and would be taking charge of the Solomon Valley Manor, was closing out his jewelry stock.

* Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Brull were the parents of a son, James, born on July 24th.

* A deal had been completed whereby Mr. and Mrs. Rupert Dryden had sold the Stockton Dry Cleaners to Mr. and Mrs. Howard Wanamaker. The Drydens had operated the business since 1959.

* From The Feminine Slant By The Office Cat: Credit is what makes it unnecessary to live within your income.

* Looking Backward-Fourteen Years Ago: The announcement was being made that Stockton would have dial telephones by the spring of 1954. John Wildrix, Bill Oliva, and Carl Lucky had been injured when they got caught in a barbed wire fence while working on a county road. Lucky had been hospitalized.

* Mr. and Mrs. George Dove were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with an open house hosted by their children.

* On sale at Slansky’s IGA were fresh baking hens for 39¢ a pound, a head of lettuce for 15¢, six cans of IGA applesauce for $1.00, and twelve cans of Peer canned pop for $1.00.

* Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Conn had announced the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Martha Jane, to Mr. Kinney Ray Baxter. An August wedding was being planned.

* Showing at the Park Drive-In were the moves “Hatari!” starring John Wayne and “That Tennessee Beat,” starring Minnie Pearl.