It Happened in 1942

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 issues of 1942.

January 1942

Bullitt County Clerk Tommy Wilson was the best man at the wedding of A. E. Funk, Jr. to Miss Nancy Orrell of Kuttawa, Kentucky.

In Hebron notes, we read of the passing of Virginia (Bell) Hall after a long illness. Her mother was Lucy Brooks, daughter of W. B. M. Brooks, and her father was Tom Bell, brother to Frank Bell, Sr.

Walter Rexroat, a former resident at Lebanon Junction, and a railroad engineer, was involved in a head on collision of two passenger trains on the Lebanon branch. He lost his leg that was so crushed it had to be amputated. Killed in the crash was Joe O'Mara, engineer on the northbound train. He was the father-in-law Mrs. Nina Samuels O'Mara of Lebanon Junction.

Among the college students returning home to Lebanon Junction for the holidays were Annie Perkins, Billy Lee Harris, John L. Raney, Floyd Bryant, Elmer Bryant Jr., Jimmie Snyder, and Jack Bryant. Floyd and Jack Bryant were sons of Floyd and Ella (Leslie) Bryant. Elmer Jr. was a son of Elmer and Ola Mae (Melton) Bryant.

In the Personals column we learned that Millard J. Cundiff was spending the holidays with his parents, Rev. and Mrs. R. B. Cundiff at Bardstown Junction. He was then a medical student at University of Louisville.

Miss Marion Collings, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Collings of Lebanon Junction, was elected queen of Kentucky Wesleyan College's May Day Festival in the spring.

The government was in the process of taking about 36,000 acres of western Bullitt County into the expanding of Fort Knox. Many farm families and small community members would be displaced.

In Red Cross work, Mrs. Jim Shepherd was making 12 women's dresses, and Mrs. Gertie Shafer 35 baby gowns.

Mr. Parrish of Parrish Motor Service was out in his wrecker on a snowy day when he noticed something odd under the rear of the truck he was following. Motioning to the driver to pull over, they discovered a big red rooster sitting on the spare tire. The driver figured it had been there ever since he left home. Despite its complaints, the rooster finished the journey in the truck's cab.

And in the Valley View column we read about Old Pete, Tom Smith's old mule who had been with them so long he was almost like one of the family. When Old Pete got too old and feeble to work, he continued receiving care and when he couldn't even eat corn and hay, Tom fed him soft food. But at least the time came when Old Pete, crippled with rheumatism and unable to even lie down, could stand no longer. Tom found him one morning lying down at last, and for the last time. A sad but touching story.

February 1942

The winner of the Grade School Spelling Bee held at the Shepherdsville School was Mary Lucy Marr of Lebanon Junction, a seventh grade student in Miss Elizabeth Russell's class. Placing second was Leola Armstrong of the Pleasant Grove School, and eighth grader in Mrs. Virginia Shelburne's class. In third and fourth places were Polly Anna Bealmer of Shepherdsville and Christine Armstrong of Beech Grove.

Other participants included Charles Applegate (Nichols), Pearl McElvain (Mt. Olivet), marie Ferguson (Sunny Side), Doris Jean Quick (Brooks), Trulaverne Cook (Mt. Washington), Betty Jean Conch (Cedar Glades), Norman Hines (Cedar Grove), Juanita Robison (Clermont), Audrey Sherrard (Pitts Point), Kathryn Long (Cane Run), June Harned (Belmont), and Mary Ratliff (Woodsdale).

Myrtle Hessey of Mt. Washington won the high school division of the spelling contest. Placing second was Dorothy Larkin of Lebanon Junction.

In the writing contests, the high school section was won by Jean Bradbury of Shepherdsville, with Betty Jean Crenshaw of Mt. Washington placing second. The grade school winner was June Harned of Belmont, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ack Hill Harned. Placing second and third were Janetta Quick of Brooks, and Wilda Lois Hall of Pleasant Grove.

Registrations for the war draft were held in the following locations, and operated by those named below. Nichols School: Junia Mae Kneisler, Lorene Pierce; Cedar Grove School: Pearl Hall, Ruby C. Napier; Clermont School: Catherine Applegate; Zoneton Miller's Store: Louise Bischoff, Mary F. Jones; Lebanon Junction former voting place: Augusta Dawson, Zardetti Dawson, Naomi Perkins, Loraine Doutaz; Salt River Oak Grove School House: Beulah Tinius, Cora Ney Hardy; Brooks School: Pauline Williams, Gaynell Manuel; Solitude Bowman's Store: Louella McFarland, Frances Simpson; Beech Grove School: Frances Hayes; Belmont School: Mary B. Hill, Evelyn Masden; Church at Gospel Kingdom Campground: Delbert Wagoner; Shepherdsville Court House Local Board Office: Layne Wigginton, Nancye Masden, Ida Lee Sellers, Jessie Basham, Carolyn Muir; and Mt. Washington School: Kathleen Barker, Myrtle Stansbury, Myrtle Shake, Martha Weller, Ann Jones, Thelma Markham.

The paper later reported that about 550 men from 20 to 40 years of age had registered on one day.

The Needmore Road correspondent reported that Elber Bass and and wife had moved to the Kirby Grant farm. Also, Brother Ben Sietz, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Whitledge, Mabel and Inez Whitledge, Ella Proctor and J. B. Close were Sunday guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Jones.

In the Personals column we read that Rev. C. H. Skelton was in Shepherdsville on Saturday; that Mr. and Mrs. Ora L. Roby had rooms with Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hardy, Sr.; and that Mr. and Mrs. Newt Pearl had moved to the Swann property which they had purchased.

Out at Hebron, Mrs. J. R. Holsclaw rented her farm for a term of years to Walter Crumbacker.

The folks at Barrallton welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hardesty to the community. The Hardestys were one of those displaced by the expansion of Fort Knox.

Everett Pardue and wife moved from Park City to Lebanon Junction and took rooms with Mrs. A. H. Snellen. Mr. Pardue worked for the railroad as a signal maintainer.

And local farmers were being encouraged to take good care of their burlap bags, and the supply of burlap from India was dwindling, and the military needed most of what was available.

March 1942

Bobbie Lee, sportswriter for the paper for several years, was inducted into the army. The editor regretted losing Lee's talents as a writer.

In Mt. Washington news, we read that Alan Parrish, son of Paxton and Ruth Smith Parrish, was selected as editor of the "Crimson," the school magazine of duPont Manual High School in Louisville.

In the same column I read about a former college professor of mine, Rev. Paul Horner who was then taking a graduate course at the seminary while his wife taught typing, English and music at the Mt. Washington school. She was the daughter of Mrs. Marion Porter.

The next week's Mt. Washington column reminded us of the effect the war was having on families as it reported that Henry Lutes had three sons in war service, Larry, Coolidge, and W. A. Lutes; and Emmett Carrithers also had three, Adam and Woodrow in the navy, and William who was in camp. Before this war was over, many more families would see their sons go off to fight.

The Personal column reported that Ruth Strange and Stanley Johnson attended the Electricians' Banquet in Louisville.

In the Lebanon Junction notes column it was reported that Mr. June Hendricks, a conductor of a freight train, was killed by falling from the train at Lebanon Junction. Working for the railroad was often a dangerous occupation, and the folks around that town saw more than their share.

The Valley View correspondent reported on a fire at the home of Ed and May Weaver that was fortunately prevented from spreading. It had started in a room where their sick daughter Mary Elizabeth was lying, and after getting her daughter safely out of the house, she used a large kettle of water to douse the flames. The correspondent wrote that it was fortunate that the kettle of water was nearby on the stove for their water supply was far away from the house.

The paper reported that the expansion of Fort Knox had taken the following farms in Bullitt County: Stiles farm, known as John Chambers farm; Jim Croan, known as Tydings farm; R. K. Beard, known as Jim Miller farm; Henry Dever and wife, Fred Losch, John Guigiliana, H. S. Routen, Bernie Lee, Charles Newman, Jim Newman, Emmett Coakley, Ida Roby farm, Fannie Powers. There would be others.

Jarriet Thurman Moore had joined the service in January 1941, and was serving in the radio corps in the Philippines when he died the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed. The son of Curtis and Sarah Moore, and brother of Dexter, Arson, and Haskell Moore, Jarriet was the first Bullitt County boy to die on active duty during the war.

April 1942

Most of us don't pay much attention to lists of property transfers in the paper, but this list caught my eye. See if you recognize anybody. Virginia and Marvin Harmon to Earl and Delia McAhron, 35 acres; William and Etta Hammond to James and Rachael Garr, 20 acres; Hewitt and Dorothy Harned to Ack Harned and wife, about 4 acres; Wilson and Anna Summers to George and Ida May Wise, 150 acres; T. J. Trunnell and wife to Charles W. Dawson and wife, 60 acres; Maud E. Daugherty and husband to Irvin Shelton, 110 acres; W. J. Fogle and wife to Hughlett Moore and wife, 66 acres; Robert and Dorothea Nickols to Oscar and Laura Whiteman, 110 acres; C. L. and Lena Troutwine to William Heffley, 6 lots; Lula, Tom and Georgia Cochran to Richard Maraman, a house and lot; Etta and Thurman Shouley to Emmett and Beulah Coakley, 92 acres; and D. J. and Imelda Maloney to Fred and Melissa Losch, 97 acres.

In the April 3rd paper, the names of 21 men drafted into the military from Bullitt County were listed. They included Smith Garrow Carrithers, Benjamin Lunsford, Daniel Rarden, Morris Wilhite, Vernon Anthony Wise, Lloyd Newton Branham, Vernon Clarence Moore, Richard David Hickerson, Emmett Lee Raney, Golden Louis Myers, Woodford C. Peacock, Robert Franklin Mudd, Vernon Walls, Lucien Porter Parrish, Marshall Emerson Samuels, Francis Dugan Montgomery, Thomas Clay Bowman, Ernest Howard Ashbaugh, Nickles Steinlander Jr., Albert Lawton Rodgers, and Robert Lee Abell. They would not be the last.

G. L. Shaw of the Woodsdale School Community had five ewes and ten lambs in his effort to produce sheep for the "Food for Defense" program.

In the Personals column we learned that Mrs. Dee Bergen had returned from Louisiana where she had been with her daughter Mrs. Leland Brickle who had been ill but was now better.

J. A. Hayes of Shepherdsville was selling his 1940 Plymouth sedan. It had good tires, a radio and heater, and was in A-1 condition.

The Barrallton correspondent wrote that the H. E. Stivers and Mrs. Mattie Able visited Lee Beard and family at Gap in the Knob and found them well pleased with their new home.

John N. Lane, Forest M. Whitworth, and J. Satterly were each ordained as deacon of the Cedar Grove Baptist Church.

The Beech Grove correspondent wrote that Clifford Lee, Hilary Eddington, Lindsay Cundiff, and Herbert Cundiff made a trip to Nashville; and that J. M. Cundiff needed to find a new fishing hole as they weren't biting at his old place.

From Mt. Washington we learn that M. R. Porter, who had been occupying the Mt. Washington Motor Company garage had moved his equipment to the rear of the Cyclone Store where his mechanic Horace McGee was then working.

L. D. Robinson, George Tinnell and Miles Fox were each injured when the high runway at Beam's Distillery at Clermont gave way causing them to fall.

James E. Hagan, Horace Dawson, Jesse J. Lee, W. J. Leslie, Thomas Huffman, and Trainor H. Roby were among the farmers displaced by Fort Knox who were scheduled to receive payment for their land.

And the Hebron correspondent reported that Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Bischoff and Mr. and Mrs. Sam Bell went to see "Lum and Abner" on Saturday evening.

May 1942

Graduates of the Mt. Washington High School included Catherine Lewis, Leda Barnes, Thelma Wheeler, Eva Owens, Anna Ruth Harris, Dorothy D. Swearingen, John Lee Butzer, Paul Roby, Bobby Rouse, and R. E. Owens. Dorothy was valedictorian and Anna Ruth was salutatorian.

Hill Harned was slightly injured in an accident when his motorcycle overturned near the Salt River bridge.

Harold W. Hardy would sell you a pound of pure hog lard for nineteen cents, but you needed your ration book to get any sugar.

Roger Barger was bitten by a black widow spider.

Rena Lee and her family including Stanley and Billie Lee, Myrtle Lee Cody and husband Robert, Eva Mae Lee, Emma Lee, Maggie Bridwell and her husband Arvol, and Grover and Hallie Lee sold their 344 acres to Virgil and Nettie Mae Goff.

Among those who sold land to the government were J. E. and Lora Hagan, Horace and Grace Dawson, Tom and Pearl Huffman, Jessie and Birdie Lee, Trainor and Eva Roby, and C.C. Lee.

Rev. Robinson, pastor of the Shepherdsville Baptist Church, delivered the Baccalaureate sermon for the seniors of his town's high school.

The following teachers were elected to teach in the following schools. Nichols: Junia Mae Kneisler, Sylvia Barrell, Delbert Wagoner; Mt. Elmira: Gaynell Manuel; Pleasant Grove: Willie Crenshaw, Nell Porter; Mt. Washington: H. N. Ockerman, Ann Jones, Francis Beeler, Louella McFarland, Lillian Horner, Myrtle Shake, Martha Weller, Myrtle Stansbury, Kathleen Barker, Anna McGee, and Kathleen Harris; Cedar Glades: Emily Ruth Drake; Cedar Grove: Clifton Hall, Pearl Hall, Frances Simpson; Clermont: Naomi Perkins, Paul Richards; Cane Run: Augusta Dawson; Belmont: Mary B. Hill, Zardetti Dawson, Feturah Griffin; Woodsdale: Mary Theresa Smith; Shepherdsville: Clyde Lassiter, Annie Jenkins, James Hayes, Frances Hayes, Lanye Wigginton, Beulah Tinius, John B. Cruise, Lafe Monroe, Nancye Masden, Catherine Applegate, Sara Fay Myers, Jessie Basham, Ida Lee Sellers, Carolyn Muir, Evelyn Masden, Nell Sanders, and Mary Jones; Sunny Side: Ina Tope; Bowman Valley: Henry Owens Jr. and Mattie Owens.

In the Valley View column we read that Jack Glascoe was delighted when his mother ironed his shirt. The reason? She had been so ill for so long that it was great to find she now had the strength to do so.

Marion Collings, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Collings of Lebanon Junction, was selected as Queen of the May Day Festival at Kentucky Wesleyan College.

Bullitt County School Superintendent William McFarland was accepted into the army and sent to Fort Benjamin Harrison.

The members of the graduating class of Lebanon Junction High School included William Samuels, Ann Montgomery, Robert Morris Kennedy, Geraldine Bishop, Helen Kappel, Bob Beeler, Eva Lee Bowman, Dorothy Bryant, Laverne Sowder, Orville Pickerill, Nancye Newman, Buddy Crady, Anna Mae Burkhead, Howard Whitehouse, Frances Sprinkle, Evelyn Huffman, Martha Nell Dant, Bob Roberts, Margie Braden, Thelma McMillen, Lola Mattingly, Doris Booth, and Charles Robert Muir.

And are you looking to drive a school route? The school board was advertising for bids on the Mt. Washington bus routes as the Parent Teacher Organization had decided to quit operating the buses there. Also, the routes of Claud Hill, Dave Newman and W. F. Goldsmith had to be re-bid as the government had taken part of their routes.

June 1942

In Lebanon Junction news, Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Bryant's family was celebrating three graduations: Dorthy Jean received her high school diploma; Jack graduated from Campbellsville Junior College, and son Floyd Leslie graduated from Murray State Teacher's College.

Other Lebanon Junction graduates included Marion Frances Collings who graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College, and John L. Raney who graduated from Western.

In Mt. Washington news, Amos Brown and Mildred Lee Swearingen were married, as were Melvin Porter and Dorothy Dean Swearingen; both marriages at the home of Mr. and Mrs. R. K. Swearingen. Rev. Noah Benningfield officiated. The attendants were Anna Ruth Harris, Maylene Roby, Hyte Rouse Jr., and Mr. Hayden.

Mr. and Mrs. Bailey Taylor and son Athol Lee, along with Fred Swearingen and Katherine Swearingen, visited J. B. Swearingen on Sunday.

And Carl Vernon Porter's college graduation at Lexington was attended by Mrs. Myrtle Porter, Miss Georgia Porter, and a number of other locals.

In the personals column we see that little Anita Hope Lee had been visiting her grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Evan Patterson. And Joe Tom Mooney was recuperating at home after having his tonsils out.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hardy, Mrs. Nannie Johnson, and Mrs. Ora Roby went to the Pitts Point Cemetery along with a number of others on a Sunday when Fort Knox made it available.

The Barrallton correspondent wrote that while J. B. Stivers was home on furlough his dad had him planting beans. She also lamented that everyone was putting up mailboxes as the local post office had closed.

Harold Hardy's store would sell you a pound of pure cane sugar for six cents, provided you had the proper ration.

Mr. J. E. Chappell, one of the last surviving members of the Chappell family, was sponsoring a move to get Fort Knox to fence and restore the old Chappell Ridge Cemetery. He said it was the resting place of over five hundred people including the following surnames: Chappell, Arnold, Foster, Goldsmith, Hibbs, McAhron, Black, Jeffries, Close, Jenning, Congrove, Ferguson, Key, and others. He was successful and the cemetery continues to be maintained today.

The Mt. Washington post office moved across the street to the hotel building following the resignation of Mrs. Lena Hall as postmaster. She was replaced by Corinne Owen, her former assistant.

Henry Stansberry of Belmont returned to his home after spending a couple of months in New Orleans. In other Belmont news, Mr. and Mrs. Harlan Brown and daughter Sharon Lee were residing with Mr. and Mrs. Byrd Brown; and the Russell Myers family were guests of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Bradbury.

In education news, with William McFarland away in the army, Cecil V. Foreman, who had been attendance officer, was selected to replace him as school superintendent. Mr. Foreman was replaced in his position by Ray Masden.

Hugh Samuels of Knob Creek was appointed magistrate to replace Robert Lee who had moved to Anderson County after the army took his farm.

And in Salt River community news, Mrs. J. E. Hagan, Fletcher Hagan, Miss Evalena Bergen, Mrs. Celia Hoagland and Mrs. Elmer Downs motored to the Smokies.

July 1942

Professor Herbert Ockerman of Mt. Washington was writing on the history of education in Bullitt County as part of his school work in Lexington during the summer, and was asking for help from anyone who had information about the reunion held at Pitts Point in 1916.

M. J. Cundiff, son of Rev. and Mrs. R. B. Cundiff, received a reserve commission of 2nd Lieutenant in the Medical Administrative Army Corp. He was in his third year of medical school and would be commissioned a 1st Lieutenant in active service upon his graduation.

In Belmont news we read that Stanley Bradbury sustained an injury to his back in a fall from a locomotive, was in the hospital, but was improving.

In the Personals column we find that Mrs. Burkie Williams had returned home from a Louisville infirmary; that Mrs. Blanche Hall and family spent a day at Cane Springs, the guests of Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Roby; and that you would see 13 ugly men in Shepherdsville on Saturday.

In the Mt. Washington area, children, family and friends gathered at the home of Carl Wigginton to celebrate the birthday of Mrs. Wigginton's father, William Eldridge who was 85.

Harry Farmer, postmaster at Brooks Station, had a first class milk cow for sale, priced to sell.

In Cedar Grove news, Miss Catherine Bolton spent a night visiting with Mrs. Eunice Young; and Mrs. Clifford Bell spent a day with her sister Mrs. Enoch Webb. As we read about these visits, it's good to keep in mind the importance of these activities at a time when a person's contact with others was often limited to visits like these, or to reading about who was visiting whom in the newspaper.

In Crooked Creek news we read that Mr. and Mrs. Horace Dawson and Mr. and Mrs. Bill Russell French attended the chicken supper on Saturday night at Lebanon Junction. The column also announced that Mr. and Mrs. Bill Snead of Louisville "have moved to our community."

With the war effort, Fort Knox continued to expand. In a list of real estate transfers we read the following individuals and families whose land was being purchased by the government: Jess & Hattie Parker, 56 acres; O. C. & Minnie Troutman, 269 acres; Sidney & Mayme Anderson, 90 acres; Taylor & Marguritte Huff, 146 acres; Thomas & Agnes Dillander and others, 26 acres; Verlie Ashby, 269 acres; Henry & Nola Dever, 124 acres; Martha Funk, 132 acres; Tomy Wilson, 366 acres; Clyde & Connie Newman, 100 acres; Charley & Ellen Corum, 112 acres; Oscar Whiteman, 88 acres; Evan & Henrietta Dillander, 32 acres; and Carl and Myrtle Arnold 97 acres. There would be more.

The death of James Chapeze Hagan was reported in the July 17th paper. Jimmy, as he was known in these parts, was treasurer and general manager of the George T. Staggs Distilling Company. The grandson of Adam Shepherd Chapeze, and great-grandson of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Shepherd) Chapeze, he was married to Maria Deneke of El Salvador. Besides his widow, he was survived by a son James Jr., four sisters and other relatives including cousins Richard Wathen and Miss Elizabeth Chapeze, both of Bullitt County.

And Charles P. Bullock, Jr. was selected as plant manager for the Schenly Distillery at Chapeze. Prior to this he had been foreman at the Bernheim bottling plant in Louisville. Charles was married to Dorothy Cruise, daughter of Hardy Cruise of Bardstown Junction.

August 1942

In Mt. Washington news, Miss Jane Hall, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Hall, and Pvt. Vernon Moore, son of Mrs. Georgia Moore, were married at the Baptist Church with Miss Hall's pastor, M. D. Allen of the Methodist Church, officiating. The matron of honor was Mrs. Jerry Bridwell, sister of the bride. The best man was Bryant Moore, Vernon's brother.

A second marriage reported by the Mt. Washington correspondent was that of Miss Austine Armstrong to John Robert Jasper at the Baptist Church officiated by the pastor Rev. Noah Benningfield.

The war effort included salvaging scrap metal and other things, and Bullitt County had its own salvage committee that was directed by Jack Barnes. Its members included A. L. Isham, Maynard Jasper, Marvin R. Porter, W. W. Smothers, A. R. Hawkins Jr., T. C. Carroll, S. Neil Brooks, Floyd E. Patterson, James A. Hayes, Hyte Rouse Jr., Jack Raley, William Masden, and Jerry Beam.

William McFarland of Shepherdsville weighed 288 pounds when he enlisted in the army, but reported he was losing weight rapidly. McFarland volunteered on his 17th wedding anniversary after serving as county school superintendant for eight years. He had also been a member of the All-Southern football team in 1923.

In Lebanon Junction news, little Mackie Cahoe spent three weeks with his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Otho Quick. Also, Dick Jackson broke both arms and was rushed to a Louisville hospital by his father, Neal Jackson.

Tom Hoagland and sons of Bardstown Junction brought a 21 ounce potato to town, claiming it to be the largest grown in Bullitt County.

Henry Z. Hardaway, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Hardaway, accepted a job in New York City with Southern Bell.

Miss Juanita Patterson spent the weekend with her parents and friends in Shepherdsville. She recently accepted a position with the Naval Ammunition Depot in Indiana.

In the Belmont column the sick list included Martha Stansberry, Kate Snellen, Minnie Coakley, Nannie Wineholder, Lizzie Raley, and Sue Engle.

The County Board of Education selected Raymond Field as principal of Mt. Washington High School, and Foster J. Sanders as Shepherdsville High School's principal.

Mrs. Nell Miller, a resident of the Hebron District, was selected to teach the upper grades at Pleasant Grove.

Mr. and Mrs. James F. Dragoo celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary at their home with family and friends. James and Nannie (Lamb) Dragoo were married in Bullitt County on 16 Aug 1892.

A weekly column titled "This Week on the Home Front" mentioned that the post office was now delivering mail overseas via what they called V-Mail (Victory Mail) in which the writer used a special paper to write their letters which were then microfilmed onto rolls that could carry 1,500 letters per film, greatly reducing the size and weight of the transported mail. The delivered microfilm was then used to print out copies of the letters which were then delivered to their recipients.

The Cedar Grove correspondent reported that "Pvt. Ernest Young was in Washington the last we heard from him," echoing a concern for the well-being of the many local men who were scattered around the nation and world engaged in the war effort.

September 1942

The class reunion of the Shepherdsville Class of '30 was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Burks Williams Jr. There were 13 present who made a recording of singing and being interviewed for a record to be sent to Jimmy Harned and Charles Farmer who were far away. Each departed, thanking Pauline and Burkie for a fine time, and looked forward to the next year's event to be held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Claud Rodgers. We wonder if that record survived?

As a side note, Pauline Williams taught at the Victory School before she was married, and a remembrance by her of that time is available to read on the History Museum website [bullittcountyhistory.org] under the title "A Victory School Remembrance."

In Lebanon Junction, a shower was given by Mrs. N. E. McMillian in honor of Mrs. John L. Thompson Jr., the former Miss Lula Gardhouse, the Home Economics teacher at the local high school.

Church activities were frequently in the news, like the report from Needmore Road that a baptism was scheduled to be held in Albert Armstrong's pond.

The metal work class taught by Ben Parrish and supervised by James Albert Hays, had enrolled 12 students to learn welding. The students included Ray Bush, Charles Croan, W. W. Smothers, Sam Vittitoe, J. W. Smothers, Berel Coakley, J. C. Boyd, J. L. Ash, Stanley Crenshaw, Raymond Coakley, Ray Masden and R. L. Horning.

The Mt. Washington Methodist Church was the scene of the wedding of Miss Lillian Dean McAfee to Pvt. Woodrow (Barney) Spurr. The bride was given in marriage by her father R. E. McAfee. Pvt. Spurr was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Spurr of Waterford.

In an advertisement for Hallie's Gift & Baby Shop in Shepherdsville we found three-piece snow suits on sale for $2.98 and up.

In other ads we read that Ed Rhea had two Collie pups for sale; Claud Coleman had a kitchen range that burned wood; William Sowders was selling two fine young brood mares; and that T. J. Payton would sell 3/4 acre of river bottom corn at a reasonable price.

With the county still populated with numerous small schools, it was quite common for these schools to sponsor social events as fund raisers. For example, the Woodsdale school had a fish fry and ice cream supper on the 28th; the Sunnyside school featured a chicken and box supper on the 26th; and the Beech Grove school had pie and ice cream on October 2.

The paper tried to keep folks in touch with where their young servicemen were being stationed. At Cupio, Dewey Foster and wife were happy to learn that their son was doing his basic training at nearby Fort Knox; and the folks up Needmore Road way learned that Pvt. Hillery T. Bleemel and Pvt. Norman F. Armstrong were at Atlantic City, New Jersey while Pvt. Millard H. Proctor was stationed in Warren, Wyoming.

And the paper reported on the traveling done by local folks as they visited their young men, like the trip taken by Everett Hawkins and his sister, Mrs. Barbie Lee, along with Miss Loretta Cundiff, to visit Mrs. Lee's husband in Alabama.

October 1942

Odis Chester Dobson and Sarah Rose Mattingly were married in 1892. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at their Lebanon Junction home with family and friends. Research shows that they enjoyed almost another decade together before O.C. died in February 1952.

Another anniversary was celebrated in the Valley View area by Thomas Burton Rouse and his bride of 50 years, the former Sarah Jones. Burt and Sallie would enjoy many more years together until her passing in 1956.

Mrs. W. R. Brian wrote a letter to the newspaper editor thanking him for sending the paper to both of her sons in the military free of charge.

"Aunt Jennie" (Smith) Shepherd died in her 95th year. The long time widow of William Harrison Shepherd, she was survived by six daughters, Mrs. Joe Snellen of Buechel, Mrs. J. T. Cheatam, Mrs. Julia Nall, Mrs. James Beghtol, Mrs. Lida Keith, and Mrs. Lloyd Cox, one son, Charles Shepherd, and a sister, Mrs. Nannie Snellen of Knob Creek.

Alonza Dee Miller, long-time railroad carpenter, died at his Lebanon Junction home in his 82nd year.

Little Joyce Gayle Cundiff, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cundiff, celebrated her first birthday with a party. Her guests included Merrill Jean Cundiff, Betty Jean Etherton, Arlene and Dorothy Yaeger, Billy, Bobby and Howard Etherton, Billy Neal Cundiff, and Billy Harve Milam. Joyce would later graduate from S.H.S. and then return to the school as a teacher.

The Salt River Community writer shared that both Fletcher Hagan and Sexie Barger went into the army from their community.

W. D. Hasty advertised that he would come to your farm to grind any kind of feed; and William Sowders was offering to sell 30 tons of alfalfa hay.

In the personals column we read that Mrs. Noah Whittle spent a Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Cleve Masden; that Mrs. Galen Minter spent a Saturday with her mother Mrs. Mack Jones; and that Mrs. Nora Cundiff spent a day with her mother, Mrs. Nannie Johnson.

The Mt. Washington columnist wrote that the community's football team had defeated both Shepherdsville and Lebanon Junction. However, in the latter game, Billy Allen and Kenneth Lutes came home with broken collar bones.

Every community in the county was doing its part in a nationwide scrap metal drive to aid the war effort. As an example, Lebanon Junction reported collecting 75,000 pound of scrap with an additional 200,000 pounds coming from the railroad facilities there.

S. N. Brooks, chairman of the Bullitt County USDA War Board, announced that all commercial trucks would need a "certificate of war necessity" to operate after November 15th. This included farm trucks. Folks were instructed to get their certificates in late October at either the courthouse, Mt. Washington Jasper's Garage, Nichols schoolhouse, or Samuel's Motor Company in Lebanon Junction.

Rev. J. Roy Robinson was celebrating his second anniversary as pastor of the Shepherdsville Baptist Church.

The correspondent from the upper Knob Creek area wrote that Mrs. Mattie Able had returned home after a pleasant visit with Mr. and Mrs. O. L. Beard at Gap in the Knob. She also wrote that they were "quite elated" at being grandparents of their daughter, Mrs. Katherine Shelton's baby boy.

John R. "Buster" Peace of Shepherdsville advertised a good bicycle for sale, as he was going into the service.

The sophomore class at Shepherdsville High was encouraging folks to vote for Miss Eva Lee, their candidate for Queen of the school's Halloween Carnival.

And Mrs. Lula Ashby McEnnis was selling her "Peoples' Restaurant" located on Main Street in Shepherdsville. Dawson Realty Company was handling the sale.

November 1942

Henry Stout was attempting to cross the street to his son's store in Mt. Washington when he was struck by a car and seriously injured. Stout, who was 84 at the time, recovered and lived nine more years.

In the personals column we learned that Hardy Cruise received severe bruises in a fall from a cart drawn by a young horse; and that Mr. and Mrs. Dee Bergen spent a Sunday afternoon with Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Masden.

Elvin Beghtol of Valley Station wrote to the editor that he was 85, and had been subscribing to the paper since it was the Salt River Tiger with Professor Gwynn as editor. He planned to continue subscribing in support of the paper sending free copies to servicemen.

The Valley View correspondent wrote that Mrs. Jesse Deacon and daughter Rebecca Wanda visited with Mrs. T. Burt Rouse, and Rebecca brought her violin and cornet and played several selections for Mrs. Rouse.

The paper announced that the Cedar Grove Lutheran Church would be celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding on November 22.

Porter and Ralph Harned were saluted on WHAS radio for their war effort in increasing their farm production considerably with less help available.

Miss Nell Sanders and Mr. Burlyn Pike were united in marriage at the Methodist Church in Shepherdsville by Rev. Fount Sanders, father of the bride. Nell was the sister of Professor Foster Sanders.

The Hebron correspondent wrote that Mrs. Robert Ball and her four small children had canned over 400 quarts of "canned goodness" in the form of fruits and vegetables, along with tomato sauces, catsups, and tomato juice by the gallons!

Pvt. Bobbie Lee, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, received promotion to Private First Class.

Major Sam H. Ridgway of the Signal Corps wrote thanking the editor for the paper that kept him in touch with home.

Two local boys sent telegrams from Africa letting folks know that they were well and not to worry: Sgt. Robert C. Dever to his father Bob Dever; and Cpl. Joe C. Hall to his wife the former Agatha Dever.

Pvt. Fletcher Hagan of Memphis spent several days with local relatives.

Harold W. Hardy's Cash & Carry store was selling 10 pounds of potatoes for 29 cents, and sugar at 3 pounds for 20 cents.

And the Y.W.A.'s of Little Flock presented Mrs. Mattie Ridgway and daughter, Miss Ethel, a Crosley Radio on Sunday afternoon. Those who attended were Elizabeth Brooks, Mary C. Holsclaw, Phyllis Jackson, Bettie Crumbacker, Miss Crenshaw, Bro. Potter and Mrs. Potter and Billie Crumbacker. Floyd Tinnell was there to install it.

December 1942

James Masden, Richard Masden and Clarence Oscar Schooling were among the many local men inducted into the armed forces. Among those enlisting were Charles Samuel Robinson, Rubert Elwood Hawkins and Bassell Duke Tinnell in the navy; and Reason George Newton, principal of the Lebanon Junction school, who enlisted in the Marines.

The schools at Sunny Side and Mt. Elmira failed to open in December because no teachers could be found for them.

Mr. and Mrs. George Bradbury and Dolores Mae of Belmont community attended the golden wedding anniversary celebration in honor of Mr. and Mrs. John Hoagland of Bardstown Junction. John C. Breckinridge Hoagland and Lula Mae Swinney had been married in 1892. The informal gathering was organized by their children, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Key, and Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Underwood of Louisville, and Mr. and Mrs. John Edwin Hoagland of Bardstown Junction.

Samuel James Stallings, son of the late W. W. Stallings and widow Lila F. Stallings, was appointed as an instructor at the Jefferson School of Law in Louisville. He was a graduate of Shepherdsville High School.

Robert Ice, a former resident of Bullitt County, died on December 7th. He had started a truck line in Bullitt County more than twenty years earlier before moving to Bardstown. He was the son of James and Mattie Ice who owned the Shepherdsville Roller Mills for a number of years.

The Hebron correspondent wrote that Mr. and Mrs. Price Howlett sold 49 hens for $73.50 and about 75 fryers at 28 cents per pound. She also reported that the Hebron Church had a very beautiful service flag honoring her boys in the army.

Mr. and Mrs. Carey Smith of Needmore Road community hosted Bro. Wyman Wood, Mrs. and Mrs. Russell Stallings and family, Billy Bleemel, Gordon and Ella Proctor, Mina Lee Montgomery and Mrs. Walter Devine and daughter following church services led by Bro. Wood.

William "Wirelegs" Hatfield was one of a number of local boys in the armed forces who wrote back thanking the editor for sending them the newspaper free.

Miss Margaret Combs, who had many local friends and relatives, joined the WAVES and was stationed in Massachusetts.

Staff Sergeant Marion D. Rogers, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Rogers of Shepherdsville, was commended for his prompt actions in the rescue of several soldiers from drowning during an exercise on the Sabine River in Texas.

Mary Lucy Marr, an 8th grader at Lebanon Junction was the winner of the annual spelling bee contest.

And Allen R. Hawkins Jr. left for the armed forces in December. He and his wife, the former Anna Barrall, had been running the newspaper for about eight years. Anna, the daughter of former editor J. W. Barrall, would continue operating the paper with the aid of Mrs. Anna Underwood.

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