Sept. 10, 2025: TIMES PAST compiled by Sue Ann Jones
Hootin an Hollarin costumes: With Hootin an Hollarin coming up next week, we're sharing these two photos from previous festivals' costume contests. Mandy White anxiously awaits the announcement of contest winners alongside her sister, Dusty, left, and Tiffany, who is sitting on the lap of her great-grandfather, Al Dreckman (1894-1992). The girls, daughters of Darrell and Diane Dreckman White, are wearing dresses made by their grandmother, Jean Dreckman (1927-2005). The photo is undated, but the girls participated in the costume contest several years and won the small-group category in 1983.
In 2000, Molly Ledbetter (Collins) charmed the costume contest judges with a bright hillbilly smile and a sign that read, "Pa . . . Look what I caught!" A short piece of fishing line connected Molly to her cousin, Paxton Smith. Molly is the daughter of Shane and Kris Ledbetter and now the wife of Dillan Collins and the mother of Dwight, Shayne Marie and Mack Collins. Paxton is the son of Karla and Kim Smith and now the husband of Paige Riley Smith and the dad of Blaire and Brooks Smith.
Ozark County News
Sept. 13, 1883
Thirty-five dollars have been paid into the Treasury this week as fines for misdemeanors.
The Republican
Sept. 13, 1906
Testimonial ad. – Harry Ebrite, Editor of The Republican, in discussing corns the other day, said, “I had two corns on my feet that had bothered me for sixteen years. They were very painful. . . . I had to cut holes in my shoes, and altogether they were great nuisance. I spent fifteen cents for a bottle of Force’s Corn Cure not long ago, and now they are entirely gone.”
Ozark County Times
Sept. 13, 1912
The protracted meeting at the Christian Church at this place closed Sunday night. There were 40 or more professions and about 30 persons baptized during the meeting. Some 300 people attended the lecture by Evangelist Hamilton Saturday night.
Rockbridge items – The “Rocktown” mill is doing a good business now.
Misses Ethel and Vada Gardner, Nettie Young, Mr. Gordon Bennett, Otto Enlo and Handa Gardner from Souder attended the spelling bee at Rockbridge Friday night.
Zanoni items – Sigle Amyx, the New Hope school teacher, had to walk home Friday as his horse got loose and left him.
The youngsters had quite a marble game at B. Hunt’s Sunday.
Mrs. Manda Morrison is weaving a carpet for Mrs. Maggie Luna.
Sept. 15, 1932
Harry Fosell has been busy the past 10 days drilling wells in this vicinity. The new public well, on the southwest corner of the court square, is now supplying the public with plenty of water. G. W. Rogers and Walter Endicott are each drawing water from newly drilled wells, and the drill is now at work on a well for W. C. Boone.
The Amyx Auto Co. has sold their cheese factory located in the north part of town to Bakersfield parties, and it is now being moved to that place. Gainesville needed this cheese factory. . . the very unusual dry weather the past few weeks had cut the supply of milk to very low. But that would not be likely to occur again if the factory was a certain market for the milk.
Sept. 11, 1952
Among those from this community entering college this week for the fall term are Mrs. Geo. A. Rose, Misses Mary Ruth Walrath and Wilma Johnson and James Reynolds.
The “catch of the season” was made Tuesday near the Theodosia boat dock. G. W. Rogers, Jr., fishing a short distance below the docking facilities, caught and single-handedly landed a 22-pound loggerhead turtle on his casting rod. He was using a live minnow for bait.
Rogers swears that he had a free boat ride for a while and thought until he pulled his catch up to the boat that he had a nice catfish.
Sept. 11, 1975
Hodgson Mill Enterprises, Inc., to meet an ever-increasing demand for stone-buhr-ground meals, flours and allied products, will soon be operating from its new mill complex now under construction at the Gainesville Industrial Park on West Ridge Drive [now County Road 806].
Sept. 13, 1990
The U.S. Postal Service rang down the curtain on more than a century of service to patrons in the Pontiac area when it closed the Pontiac post office on Aug. 31. …
The Pontiac post office was first established by David H. Gibson on Nov. 7, 1887, and was reportedly named for Chief Pontiac, head of an Ottawa Indian tribe.
In an April 6, 1967, issue of the Ozark County Times, Guy Johnson, postmaster at that time, said the post office was first located near the state line and kept moving north until it came to its location in Johnson’s store. Johnson’s father, Andrew J. Johnson, was appointed postmaster in 1905 and served until 1941.