SPOTLIGHTING THE YEAR…1966 * And So They Say: Ollie Ochampaugh: “I’ll be glad when the weeks get straightened out and Monday starts coming on Monday again.” Bob Osborn (to Timmy Miller): We’re sorry you have to go back to Vietnam, but we all feel a lot safer with you there.” Floyd Fix: “It was an hour and 40 minutes by air from Los Angeles to Denver and over 60 degrees difference in temperature.” Bobby Norton: “Stockton has the best street department in this part of the state. This is the only town I know of where they make much of an effort to clean the snow off the streets.” Chuck Hageman: “I was surprised to read in the Salina Journal that I was building Tudor Manor in Plainville.

What Was Going On 14 Years Ago Ah, Kansas! Where you can just barely stand the cold one week (previous Monday was in the ‘teens), and a week later you’re breaking out your t-shirts and sandals! The front page featured a photo showing a temperature of 65 degrees was displayed on Stockton National Bank’s time and temp sign. A concert benefitting the Kori Bigge family, featuring inspirational “Top 10” recording artist, Ginger Millermon from Hutchinson, was scheduled for Jan.

Licenses issued by the state automobile bureau this year now number 417,725 or approximately 35,000 more than the total number issued during 1922. The clerk’s record shows the licenses distributed as follows: 39,928 trucks; 370,895 automobiles; 2,239 automobile dealers; 1,632 motorcycles and 31 motorcycle dealers.

What Was Going On 14 Years Ago This edition of the Stockton Sentinel, published Dec. 25, 2008, featured the Thirteenth Annual Offering of “Santa’s ‘Deer Ones,” with 326 pictures of loved ones in a special 36-page insert! There were three new homes in Stockton as a result of a cooperative project between Northwest Kansas Housing in Hill City, Solomon Valley Homes, LP, Rooks County Economic Development, and the State of Kansas.

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* And So They Say: Esta Riseley: “Cleaning off the Buford Tudor corner was the best Christmas present Chuck Hageman could give the neighbors.” Kenneth Cooper: There are some people who don’t know a fence from a gate.” Mrs. Pansy Coolbaugh: “I was certainly thrilled the other day to get a Christmas card from one of my pupils of 61 years ago, who now lives in California. She had read of our 60th wedding anniversary in the Record.” Howard Wanamaker: “The last time Christmas fell on a Sunday was in 1955, and it won’t happen again until 1977.”

Each year the U.S. Army All-American Bowl travels around the United States to find America’s best high school football players for its annual January game. The players, in turn, choose a Soldier Hero to accompany them to the game in San Antonio, Texas. This process had been done for several years and would have gone relatively unnoticed this year, except that while reading the December issue of “Sports Illustrated,” Doug Bigge, Plainville, saw a familiar name. Bryce Brown of Wichita East High School, who had rushed for more than 7,000 yards in his career, had been selected to be part of the East team as a running back. Brown chose Cpt. Rob Ukleya of Kansas City, Mo., a twice-honored Bronze Star Medal recipient, to be his Soldier Hero. Ukleya had ties with Stockton since he is married to the former Vicki Odle, daughter of Larry and Lana Odle, Stockton. Ukleya had served two tours of duty working with the medical units. One tour was to Afghanistan, and the other was in Iraq.

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* And So They Say: Georgie Riffel (age 5) to Santa Claus after being asked by Santa what his name was: “You ought to know. You saw me last year.” Irene Cabbage: “The last time I had some news, I couldn’t get anyone to believe it.” Robert Osborn (after paying taxes): “They used to give us something to drink after giving blood.” Gene Miller: “Yes, I’ve finished my Christmas shopping because I’m not doing any.” George Riffel: “The trouble is too many hunters don’t know the difference between a deer and cow.” Johnnie Locke: “That was the best team on Friday night I ever had out on the floor.”