It Happened in 1934

Over the years, Charles Hartley has shared glimpses of what was being printed in The Pioneer News in different months and years. This page includes what was taken from the August through December issues of 1934.

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August 1934

Margaret, Lois, and Elizabeth Sanders, former residents of Shepherdsville, received a contract with WHAS radio to appear daily in a group of popular vocal and piano selections.

William F. Russell had taken over the duties of Superintendent of the Shepherdsville School.

Among those whose deaths were reported this month were Mike Bowman, Jim Henry Wilson, Judson Garr, Vivian Coakley, and Claud Morgan Crist.

Mrs. Minnie Maraman, Charles, Eva, Ida Maraman and Albert McAhron spent a pleasant Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. McKinley York and family.

The paper named the following local officials: J. D. "Jiggs" Buckman, Circuit Clerk; C. P. Bradbury, County Judge; Lindsay Ridgway, County Attorney; Tommy Wilson, County Clerk; Embra Wilson, Jailer; R. E. McAfee, Sheriff; Hillary Hardy and Lee Booth, Deputies; and Robert Armstrong, J. R. Cornell, Amp. Mudd, and John Samuels, Magistrates.

C. M. Ragsdale of Brooks advertised 60 gallon oak barrels for sale at a dollar apiece.

The following school trustees were appointed by the School Board: Charles Edwards, Sunnyside; D. F. Norton, Zoneton; J. E. Fisher, Mt. Washington; Arch Raymond, Cedar Glades; Eugene Jackson, Pleasant Hill; W. C. Lanham, Cedar Grove; J. A. Roby, Victory; W. J. Shaw, Woodsdale; Alex Riley, Hobbs; Rice Dawson, Pitts Point; Roscoe Thurman, Mt. Carmel; Geo. D. Bradbury, Belmont; Chas. F. Roberts, Bowman Valley; J. W. Goldsmith, Mt. Olive; Charles E. Holsclaw, Glen Meadows; J. W. Shepherd, Bullitt Lick; Albert Armstrong, Pleasant Grove; Palmer Hedges, Hebron; Chas. Kneisler, Brooks; S. O. Armstrong, Bethel; Ed Vittitoe, Clermont; Arthur Cundiff, Beech Grove; Albert Mitchell, Hays; Fred Myers, Harned; J. L. Rodgers, Culver Springs; Hallie Lee, Oak Grove; Tom Elzy, Sharps; Garnie Merker, Nichols; C. L. Stansbury, Sugar Valley; and W. T. Armstrong, Bardstown Jct. That's a lot of schools!

Professor George Yates, science teacher at the Shepherdsville School, returned from an East Coast vacation where he did some deep sea fishing and snagged a 75 lb shark.

The Wilson Creek correspondent reported that Marshal Bernard was being rushed to a Louisville hospital in Otha Quick's ambulance when it collided with a truck. He was transferred to a car and rushed on St. Joseph's Infirmary for an appendicitis operation. Bill Masden was injured in the accident.

The Victory correspondent reported that Ola Roby bought a Pontiac car.

Charles Ratliff of Shepherdsville was awarded the contract to operate a school bus over the Huber-Muddy Lane-Hebron-Shepherdsville route. The route will be by way of the Gap in the Knob to Huber Station, thence to Muddy Lane, thence to Preston Street Road, back to Hebron and on to Shepherdsville.

Hmmm... I hear that they're still needing bus drivers; I wonder if Mr. Ratliff is available?

September 1934

Miss Ida Lee Ball was hired to teach at Sugar Valley, replacing Miss Bessie Marie Harris who was attending the University of Louisville.

Miss Cora Ney Hardy was hired to teach the primary room at Hebron provided there was sufficient attendance; and Miss Georgia Alford replaced her sister Miss Evelyn Alford at Mt. Elmira School. Miss Evelyn was attending Western Kentucky Teacher's College.

Miss Elizabeth Harned, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Harned, was hired as the head of the Home Economics Department at the Lebanon Junction School.

Prof. W. F. Russell was the new principal of the Shepherdsville School, and impressed everyone with his energy. Teaching with him were Mr. Yates, Mr. Romer, Misses Thomas, Smith, Griffin, Wheatley, Mitchel and Hudson, while Miss Maggie McClaskey taught piano lessons, and Miss Jennie Carpenter was in charge of the State Nursery School.

Thomas Hall, Preston Parrish, and Randolph Porter of Mt. Washington attended the World's Fair. Also attending the fair in Chicago were Rua Larimore, Pauline Daugherty, Beulah Barrall, Johnny Lee, Millard Deacon, Jim Davis, and the C. F. Troutmans.

Robert Wade and Mildred Harris of Mt. Washington were married.

Mary Harned, Myrtlean Brown, James Merrifield, Clifford Samuels, Georgia Edwards, Martha Harned, William Samuels, and Leonard Waters all made the August honor roll at the Harned School taught by Mary C. Holsclaw.

Dr. T. P. Sloan of Lebanon Junction took his mother on a tour of Washington, D.C., New York, Niagara Falls, Chicago, and other places. He reported that it did both of them "worlds of good."

Hardy Cruise and several others were working hard to try and have a county fair that year.

H. E. Jarboe, the Methodist preacher in Shepherdsville, advertised for sale an electric refrigerator, and iron, a sweeper, and a radio, all at bargain prices.

The Sanders Family, featuring the Sanders Sisters who sang on WHAS, appeared at the McAbee Hall in Mt. Washington.

And thieves who had stolen a load of pears out of Mrs. Susie Weller's orchard were overtaken by D. J. Crumbacker and J. W. Holsclaw near the Evergreen Cemetery. The Sheriff was called and the thieves escorted to the Shepherdsville jail.

October 1934

Rev. H. E. Jarboe performed the marriage ceremony for Frank Crigler and Maurine Froman at the M. E. parsonage. Miss Charlotte Froman and Mr. Tom Crigler were the attendants. Maurine was a 1933 graduate of Shepherdsville High School.

The Woman's Club of Bullitt County sponsored the restoration of the Old Shepherdsville Cemetery. It seems like that project needed several takes.

Golden Carter of Lebanon Junction said his car lights blinded the deer he struck and killed near Belmont. The game warden cautioned him not to drive so fast.

Emmett Lee Raney, a Lebanon Junction senior, won the prize for best piano solo at the school fair at Mt. Washington. Evan McKinley of Shepherdsville High won the saxophone solo contest. Twenty-one of the county's thirty-six schools were represented at the fair.

The first issue of the "Shepherd's Echo" was published this month.

Walter Crumbacker was seen driving his new Chevrolet sedan in the Hebron community. Nice car.

Professor and Mrs. McFarland of Mt. Washington went on a motor trip to Bardstown with Miss Argenbright.

William and Marjorie (Prucell) Becker returned from their two week honeymoon in Florida. She was a former teacher from Belmont; he a farmer from the Zoneton area.

Ida Lee Ball, the teacher at Sugar Valley, invited the public to a fish fry at the school.

John Summers of Shepherdsville had lots of pears for sale.

The Hebron and Shepherdsville school bus had between 65 and 70 pupils on it for at least part of the trip!

Edgar Stansbury, a former S.H.S. graduate, was appointed head of the manual arts department at Western Kentucky Teacher's College. Also, Samuel Ridgway, Dr. Ridgway's son, was appointed divisional supervisor for the Southern Bell Telephone Company.

Ethel Mae Cochran joined A. J. Beeler and Catherine Triplett as teachers at the Glen Meadow school after they added on a new classroom.

Dennis Mitchell celebrated his 97th birthday with family and friends. He was a pioneer school and road builder, and built the first road over Mitchell's Hill into Bullitt County about 60 years earlier. That name sounds familiar.

The paper's editor wrote, "Dr. J. R. Holsclaw passed his 84th milestone Thursday. He is so hale and hearty that he may live to be an old man."

Magistrate Robert Armstrong of District 1 held court during October. Each magistrate did this on four months out of the year. The other magistrates were J. R. Cornell, Amp Mudd, and John Samuels.

And Miss Lounetta Stansbury who plays the alto saxophone, brought her talents to the church orchestra at the Shepherdsville Baptist Church.

November 1934

Mrs. Louella McFarland's brother, H. B. Cravens, spoke to her students at Mt. Washington High School about his agricultural work in the mountains of Kentucky.

The Bullitt County Woman's Club was sponsoring a play titled "The Girl From Out Yonder" at the Masonic Hall. Miss Thomas was the coach.

Ralph Henderson, John H. Lee, W. N. Griffin, Gib Daugherty, and Roy Maraman were all on the ballot to be school trustees in Shepherdsville.

In Lebanon Junction, S. P. Smith, Wilbur Starks, T. P. Sloan, James Hoagland, and Evermont Fisel were on the school trustee ballot.

Clifford Lee and Loyce Bergen were crowned King and Queen of the Shepherdsville High School homecoming. Bill Lee and Mary Evelyn Lee were first attendants. Loretta Funk, 1933 Queen, crowned Clifford and Loyce.

The R.A. boys of the Lebanon Junction Baptist Church met at the home of W. B. Rexroat where Mrs. Rexroat served chocolate fudge. The boys enjoyed the meeting, especially the candy.

The Belmont reporter told us that Miss Doris Purcell spent a Sunday with her mother, Mrs. Fannie Powers; and Mr. Bill Prestion spent Sunday with Mrs. Bettie Boots.

Attendance at the Brooks school was suffering because Loretta Underwood, Myrtle Underwood, Donnie Warren, Francis Booker, Wanda Barnes, William Barnes, Lucille Caulk, and Henrietta Bollin all had whooping cough.

The Mt. Washington reporter informed us that Mr. Athol Lee Taylor of Louisville spent the weekend back in Mt. Washington with family and friends. Also Mrs. Fronie Harris spent a few days with relatives in Shepherdsville.

On Tuesday, November 6, WAVE radio presented a salute to Shepherdsville.

Cecil Larimore and Lillian Armstrong surprised their friends by getting married last month, but the announcement didn't make the paper until November.

Bill Griffin sold his service station, and thanked all his former customers.

In the Victory community, Miss Pauline Daugherty and pupils of the Victory school gave a musical program at the school that was well attended.

And at the Victory school, J. B. Close and Essie Mae Hawkins won a prize for having the most points over the last two months. Miss Daugherty announced the following students were on the honor roll: Mahlon Harris, Lillian Louise Simpson, Agnes Light, Loretta Simpson, Celci McCubbins, William McCubbins, J. B. Close, Johnny Harris, Geraldine Simpson, and Ruby Close.

And Mr. Robert Ridgway, former trustee of the Cupio school, spent a Sunday in Shepherdsville. Paper said he was "one of the county's most popular men."

December 1934

The Belmont correspondent reported that Mrs. Minnie Coakley spent a Sunday with Mrs. Lizzie McCubbins; that Miss Ruth Napper spent a Saturday and Sunday home with her parents; Mrs. Effie Brown and son Lawrence spent a weekend in Louisville; and that Miss Doris Purcell of Louisville spent a Sunday at home with her mother, Mrs. Fannie Powers.

Not to be outdone, the correspondent from the community around the Victory school reported that Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Weller and son were Sunday visitors of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. V. Jones and son in Shepherdsville; Miss Pauline Daugherty had Bible drill in Victory School on Friday; and several families in this neighborhood had killed hogs.

William F. Russell reported that the Shepherdsville High School basketball team defeated Chaplin behind the 12 points scored by Buster Rodgers. The junior varsity team also won, defeating Chaplin 28-18 with Clifford Cundiff scoring 11 points.

He also reported that Reba Hall and Cleo Underwood would represent the school in the County Spelling Bee; and that Cleo and Dorothy Cruise would be in the penmanship competition.

Speaking of spelling bees, the grade school competition was held in the Shepherdsville gym on December 15, and the winner was Gerald McQueen of the Bullitts Lick district. Harry C. Bradbury of Belmont was second; Nathaliel Tracy of Zoneton was third; and Eula Kathryn Ridgway of Mt. Olivet was fourth. Helen Mitchell of Lebanon Junction won the high school competition.

The Belmont school reported it's fifth month honor roll. It included J. W. Jackson and Harry C. Bradbury in the 8th grade; Aileen McCubbins, Betty Ingram, Mary Dowdy, Lucile McCubbins, Melvin Thurman, and Elmer Easton in the 7th grade; Willie Mae Bradbury and Kathleen Raley in the 6th grade; 5th graders Evelyn Hefley, Richard Rhoades, and James Ingram; 4th graders Ethel Raley, Junior Laswell, Ethel Hefley, Millard Wineholder, Janice Raley, and George E. Bradbury; 3rd graders Nellie Easton and Gerald Napier; 2nd graders Paul Hefley and Wilbur Raley; and 1st graders Billy Milam, Gilmore Raley, Annie Heffley, Charles E. McCubbins, and Samuel Raley.

The paper reported receiving a subscription renewal from J. W. Gaban of Fort Pierce, Florida. He wrote that he had been taking the paper ever since Prof. Gwynn started it about 51 years earlier.

Down at Lebanon Junction, the Freshman and Sophomore girls of the Home Economics class organized the "Cookie-Sewie" club with the following officers: President Mary E. Durham, Vice President Dorothy Thomas, Secretary Mildred Clark, Treasurer Marion Collings, and Reporter Jessie Lee Shearer.

Geo. W. Maraman & Sons would sell you hams at 16 cents a pound.

And Mary Evelyn Milam wrote to Santa and asked for "a doll in a suitcase, apples, oranges and plenty good things to eat."

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Copyright 2024 by Charles Hartley, Shepherdsville KY. All rights are reserved. No part of the content of this page may be included in any format in any place without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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