50 years ago

Aug. 29, 1973

— Mid-America Land Developments headquartered at Golden, has announced openings of two additional sub-divis ions On Table Rock Lake. Joe Mitchell, president, says the developments should be ready for public viewing about September 15. Kings ed River Manor, located just off Highway 86 two miles west of Carr Lane will be a 61-acre mobile home development. Facilities will include utilities and recreation features, consisting of a swimming pool, club house and tennis courts. The second development Roaring River Village, will include both housing and mobile home lots on the 130 acres on the Roaring River Arm of Table Rock, just north and east of Eagle Rock. Here too, Mid -America plans a wide service of utilities and recreation features for the development. With the expanded operations, Mid -America will increase sales personnel and office staff to handle showing of the planned communities under development.

— Mark Twain National Forest headquarters announced this week the assignment of Jim the Roles as new ranger of Cassville district effective immediately. The Forest Service also announced plans to close Big Bay Recreation Area on Table Rock for road repairs after the Labor Day weekend. Don Rollens, forest supervisor for the National Forests in Missouri, that announced Roles comes to Cass-ville from the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota. He has been a District Ranger at Marcell and Cut Foot Sioux on the Chippewa National Forest. Roles has also been a director of a Youth Conservation Center on the Chippewa Forest and worked as a director of Works at the Isabella Job Corps Center the Superior National Forest. Jim and his wife Jeanne arrived on the Cassville District Monday with their son and three daughters. Roles, a veteran of 15 years with the Forest Service replaces Olan Yokum who recently was named Ranger on the Potosi Ranger District on the Clark National Forest. In his new post, Roles will administer the 69,000 acres of Mark Twain in the Cassville district. Forest head- quarters are located in Rolla. The Cassville ranger district of the Mark Twain National Forest will close Big Bay Campground for major road repair after the Labor Day weekend. Actual closing is set for September 6. Road bed failure and extreme frost heaving, which occurred in the Ozarks last spring, has created extensive damage to the Big Bay road. Repair will require removal of large sections of road- way across both lanes of traffic. According to Paul Kihlmire, acting district ranger, it will be necessary to close the road during repairs for the public’s safety. The road will remain closed until next May. As one of the more isolated public use areas On Table Rock, Big Bay is also one of the best equipped and heavily visited. Kihl- mire said a 1971 count of visitors shows 10,000 persons used the facility. lesser figure was recorded the past two seasons.

— Cassville lunchroom facilities served 950 persons, according to Superintendent James Ford. He also reported the extra milk program for the school will not receive special reimbursement this year. All extra milk consumed by students will be charged at eight cents per one -half pint. One milk car- ton is furnished with each Type A Lunch as in the past.

40 years ago

Aug. 24, 1983

— Pvt. James A. W. Burns, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bobby J. Burns of rural Washburn, has completed basic training of Fort MeClellan, Ala. During the training, students received instruction in drill and ceremonies, weapons, map reading, tac- tics, military courtesy, military justice, first aid, and Army history and traditions. He is a 1980 graduate of Southwest high school.

— A Jenkins resident, former member of the Barry County Court, Gene Fare, received the nod of the Republican Central Committee for appointment as treasurer in a meeting Thursday night. Fare will replace resigned Joe Lamber-son of Monett about September 1, after official appointment from Governor Christopher Bond. Fare got g “slight? majority over six other hopefuls, Herb Waxelman and Dave Sparkman of Cassville, Ronald Renkoski, Ted Andrus and Vedes Jackson of Monett and Opal Williams of Seligman. Members of the county committee said the vote was “extremely close” between Fare and Jackson. A member of the county court two years ago, Fare was defeated by Democrat Lloyd Dilbeck for the presiding judge post last year by about 800 votes. Of seven candidates for the county committee endorsement spoke to members in session last week, according to Joe Ellis, county chairman. Fare will serve until the November 1984 general election at which time the office will be on the ballot for a successor for the remaining two years of the term.

— Justin Boot Company will recognize the second year of operations in Cassville with a company dinner September 22. James Latshaw, plant manager, said 163 persons who started employment when the Ft. Worth, Texas company acquired the local plant in 1981, would be recognized. Latshaw said the event would be at noon-time with a catered dinner on-the-grounds of the 11th Street plant. Company officials from Ft. Worth will attend the ceremony. Original employees of Justin here when the firm acquired the Jumping-Jacks plant from U.S. Shoe Corporation, will receive two-year recognition pins in the program. Justin, which operates one other manufacturing plant in Ft. Worth will provide a tent on the grounds, the dinner and recognitions to our “out-standing staff of boot- makers, according to Latshaw. The plant manager also said the event would mark the plant reaching full production capability at 1500 pair of boots daily. Present employment stands at 310 persons. The manufacturing area of the plant is full and we’re at top production figures, “ Latshaw said. Justin presently makes the full line of boots in the Cassville area. Included are ladies, Wellingtons and men’s work and dress boots. The Cassville facility switched from children and women’s shoes under Jumping-Jacks Division of U.S. Shoe in a closing in October, 1980, to Justin’s western boots start on July 6, 1981. Latshaw noted the plant here opened 30 days in advance of schedules and “quickly got into the quality making of boots that has often been recognized by company officials.”

30 years ago

Aug. 18, 1993

— Achin’ Back Resort on Table Rock Lake has new owners and subsequently a new name. Mr. and Mrs. John Crain, formerly of LaGrange in the Chicago, Ill., area, are the new owners. The new name will be Hickory Hollow Resort. No strangers to this area, the Crains have been vacationing in the area for a number of years. Expansion of unit numbers and general improvements are to begin immediately.

—‘Copters Spot Marijuana For Area Law Officers Operating out of the Cassville municipal airport, helicopters from the Army National Guard and the Missouri Highway Patrol are doing their harvest-time patrol over a four-county area in search of marijuana plants. Successes have been evident, according to sheriff Ralph Hendrix, with 2,166 plants pulled as of Tuesday morning. The sheriff said the program was being conducted throughout southwest Missouri during the heavy harvest time of the plants. Heaviest concentrations that have been discovered included a 900 plant plot near Eagle Rock and 700 plants pulled near Madry. Other “heavy

• areas included Shell Knob, Jenkins and north of Cassville. There were several areas of scattered growing, mostly of the cultivated variety in the sweep of this area. Deputy sheriff Mick Epperly said Tuesday morning at the Cassville airport where law enforcement officers were going over maps, that areas being observed from the air included those that had been under suspicion by officers in the past and some in areas where they had received information concerning the growing of plants.

— Crowder College of Neosho is offering six classes this fall at Cassville, the semester beginning August 19. Included are English 101, speech 101, nation, state and local government; computer applications 120, intro to math 107 and economics 201. For additional information contact Jim Rabourn of the CHS faculty.

— Completion of a new 350 foot tower east of Purdy targeted for this Friday will considerably enhance reception for the entire area under Cellular One franchises in a four-county area. Chris Makin, general manager from Monett, said the facility should be operational by the last of the week. Finishing the tower will be simultaneous with a cut-in of ser-vice. The area franchise for the mobile telephone service includes Barry, Lawrence, McDonald, Dade and Barton counties. For this area, towers are at Mt. Vernon and Purdy. Makin said this week she was sure the new tower would access service to the Missouri-Arkansas line and to Table Rock Lake communities in Barry and at the edge of Stone counties. In addition to simply making the service available, Makin said the company’s plan was to improve reception throughout the area. She acknowledged the process might involve repeaters in some areas to provide top quality reception in extremely low areas in the Barry county hills. Franchises serving this area opened in July 1991 with the Texas based company well pleased with the reception they have received here. The new tower is located about nine air miles from Cassville and about 7 miles as the crow flies from Monett. “We’ve been pushing for the new tower and opportunity to expand our service in this area for sometime, are well pleased with the progress and looking forward to the cut-over date,” Makin remarked. Workmen were finishing installing apparatus near the top of the tower Tuesday morning. They anticipated meeting the Friday date.