TIMES PAST
This May Day photo was taken on Gainesville’s square, probably in 1931. The late Alma McDonald (Luna), then probably a senior in high school, was the queen leading the children wrapping one of the May poles, according to the late Mary Ruth McDonald (Landers), Alma’s sister, who’s second from left in the photo and was a first-grader at the time. Others in the photo are, from left, Nadine Morrison (Ebrite), Mary Ruth, Maxine Shaw (Shanerman), Marguerite Sanders (Cobb) and Juanita McClendon. Several years ago, Mary Ruth told the Times the girls wore skirts made of crepe paper. The two children ahead of Alma are unknown. Behind the group is the east side of the square, including the Christian Church, which served as the county’s courthouse after the earlier courthouse burned. The church later burned as well. To the right of the church is the small stone building that still stands on the square, now without its front-porch awning. The source of the photo is unknown.
Ozark County Times
May 1, 1908
Dora – Our section was visited Thursday night by the worst windstorm in the history of this part of the county. Houses were wrenched from their foundations, barns unroofed, orchards destroyed and a great portion of the timber uprooted.
May 3, 1918
Rosco Beard, son of James Beard of the Sally District, who a short time ago enlisted in the Marine Service and was in training less than two weeks, died of pneumonia last Saturday morning at the Great Lakes, Ill., training camp.
Relatives had been notified of the critical condition of the soldier boy, and his sister was preparing to start for Great Lakes when the message telling of his death was received.
The body was shipped and arrived at West Plains on Monday morning where it was taken in charge of by relatives who took it to the home of his sister, Mrs. Glen Luna on Sand Ridge. Burial was made in the Sally cemetery Tuesday afternoon.
May 2, 1935
Rockbridge - Jas. Hancock was elected a school board member here, and Ralph Mackey was employed as teacher for the coming term.
May 6, 1937
Wasola – Some of the Wasola singers went to Springfield Sunday and helped with the KWTO community singing broadcast.
May 6, 1943
Thurlo King, 23, of near Tecumseh, was instantly killed Tuesday evening when the truck he was riding on his return from work on the Norfork dam got out of the driver’s control and left the road and turned over twice about a mile west of Caulfield on No. 80.
There were about 15 men on the truck and most of them were injured, two or three of them very seriously in addition to King, whose neck was broken.
The Clinkingbeard ambulance brought the body of King here for preparation for burial.
Some of the most seriously injured were taken to the hospital at the dam for treatment, while others were taken to hospitals at West Plains.
The truck belonged to Willie Miller of Sallee district, but he was sick on Tuesday, and Henry Miller was driving at the time of the accident.
Over 100 friends and neighbors gathered at the home of Judge and Mrs. Arthur Warden of Sycamore April 29 to a singing and cake supper given in honor of Mr. Warden’s nephew, Pvt. Bernie Watkins, who is home on a furlough.
Ad – We are installing some equipment and employing another licensed operator. Beginning this week our shop will be open on Tuesday and Wednesday nights only. Other days we will close not later than 7 o’clock. Mary’s Beauty Shop. Mary and Nell Gault
May 2, 1968
Mr. and Mrs. Ira Brown of Elijah will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary May 12 with an open house from 1 to 5 in the afternoon. ...
Mr. and Mrs. Brown were married in Gainesville on May 12, 1918, by a Methodist minister, the Rev. Blevins. Paul Howard and Murphy Graves served as witnesses.
Mrs. Brown, the former Frona Sanders, was born near Gainesville, the daughter of Elisha and Rebecca Sanders. Mr. Brown was born in Vidette, Ark., the son of John and Melissa Brown.
May 7, 1970
Funeral services for U.S. Army Private First Class Jerry Corp, 20, Tecumseh, will be held today at 2:30 p.m. in the Gainesville Church of Christ with Evangelist Rex Ebrite officiating and military honors by a detachment from Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo.
Pfc. Corp was killed as the results of hostile action in the Republic of South Vietnam April 21. A 1967 graduate of Gainesville High School, he entered the service on July 30 last year and arrived in Vietnam on Jan. 7.
May 5, 1993
The Ozark County Five Plus One provided entertainment to a sold-out crowd at the Ozark County Library benefit show last Saturday.
Music ranging from gospel to pop and from the 1930s to the present was provided. ...
John Harlin, president of the Bank of Gainesville, acted as emcee and did several of his famous impersonations. All money taken in will go into the library operating fund.
Dora’s Rick Luna was unstoppable April 27 as he led the baseball Falcons to an 18–12 victory over the Hartville Eagles at Hartville.
Luna had three hits, one of which was a home run, and five RBIs to lead the Falcons.