What Stocktonites Were Doing 98 Years Ago
The contract for the new Stockton High School building was let onto Gordon Walker of Salina, Kansas. The new building is to cost approximately $90,000.00 when completed, leaving the District over $10,000.00 with which to purchase the equipment. Mr. Walker will be here next week to commence the work on our new building, which he expects to have ready for use by the first of October. The plumbing and heating contract was awarded to The Universal Plumbing Company of Stockton, and the electric contract went to Ramsey and King of Hutchinson.
The neighbors of Mr. and Mrs. H. V. Toeffer gave them a surprise party on the evening of March 28th in honor of Mr. Toeffer’s birthday. The evening was pleasantly spent in conversation and music. Messrs. Robert Osborn and John Smith contributed some musical numbers, which were greatly enjoyed. An Edison phonograph also aided in the musical entertainment. Mr. Toeffer recently acquired numerous pieces and relics of Indians from relatives in Oklahoma that were of considerable interest to the assembled guests.
Mrs. Melissa Carnes sold her 600-arce farm, two miles south of Sugar Loaf Mound for $18.00 per acre to Mrs. Joe Inman’s father of Kirwin. Mrs. Inman’s sister and her husband have moved on the place. Mrs. Carnes expects to move to California, where her mother lives, as soon as she gets settled up here.
Stockton will spend this year on buildings more than $150,000.00, without counting what is spent on the courthouse by the county, which is $200,000.00 more.
A Rooks County track meet association was organized over the weekend. It comprises the following schools: Stockton, Plainville, Woodston, Webster, Codell and Palco. The date for the meeting will be the first Saturday of May. Silver medals will be given for first place. There will be 14 events including a relay race. The organization elected C. A. Brewer as president and Ellsworth Dodrill as secretary/treasurer.
Roy Bonebrake came in from Kansas City on Saturday. He is arranging for another excursion to the lower Rio Grande country.
Plainville merchants are going after the trade. The Plainville Merc. Co. had a two-page ad in the Times last week, and the G. W. White store had a full-page spread. Many other large ads appeared this week as well. By comparison Stockton merchants are doing very little along the line of publicity.
Ashley Ives traded his ranch of 837-acres near town to M. McMichael for the latter’s wheat farm of 480 acres in Twin Mound Township, with some cash to boot. He also sold him 61 head of cattle and 50 tons of alfalfa. McMichael takes possession on April 1st. Tom Bronson goes out on the Twin Mound place. Mr. McMichael is a live hustler with stock and will make some money on the ranch.
Snyder Bros. installed a new power ice cream freezer this week. It is driven by electricity and has a sausage grinding apparatus which chews up big chunks of ice. It crushed 3,000 pounds of ice a minute. Maybe that isn’t just the correct amount of pounds. We don’t quite remember now just what Roy said. He might have said ounces.
Some new equipment for the Stockton High School track team has been received. The new equipment consists of a twelve-pound shot, discus, javelin and vaulting pole. This is a new phase of athletics at this school, but it is expected to arouse much interest as there are going to be several meets, including a big county meet this spring.
The high school’s Household Physics Calls, which is now under the direction of Miss Barrett, went down to Dr. McMillen’s office to have the x-ray explained to them and also to see how it worked.
Every lady who trades to the amount of $15.00 (case or produce) during the month of April at The Behrens Grocery and Meat Co. Store will be given a genuine Auto Leather Shopping Bag. This beautiful bag’s retail value is $2.00.
