Almanac: This week in south Lake County history

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100 years ago

February 2, 1912

Last week was all beautiful winter weather, not too cold and not warm enough to interrupt the ice harvesters. The roads were good for a sled, wagon and automobiles, and winter business got back to the normal.

C. N. Morton, now in a stone’s throw of his 78th birthday, claims he is just as quick in one way as he ever was, and that is in falling down. He tried it one day last week before quite an audience and proved his assertion, but since has walked with a cane and takes the middle of the road.

The Star club rates with the city dailies have put a majority of the rural patrons on the daily list, and they now get the world’s news nearly as soon as those in the cities, and the market reports keep them in touch with the prices.

W. B. Brown received a shipment of seven large work horses and a span of mules last week, bought at the Chicago stock yards, which were sent to his Kankakee ranch, and is an omen that Mr. B. intends making the dirt fly next season.

75 years ago

February 5, 1937

Feeling the necessity for a few days’ rest and recreation, Fred Y. Wheeler (Star editor) departed Wednesday night for Florida over the Pennsylvania lines, which, owing to conditions in the Ohio valley, will circumvent a flooded area and take the editor into Washington, D.C. and thence south through Virginia, the Carolinas, a part of Georgia and on to the land of sunshine. The urge to make the trip at this time was prompted by recent letters received from the editor’s friends, the Henry C. Wises, in which the former rural mail carrier said that the Gulf of Mexico, right at his front door, was literally boiling over with blond and brunette mermaids, octopuses, whales, man-eating sharks and sword fish with beaks as long as telephone poles and teeth sharp as razor blades. Laden with oversized fishing tackle for the deep-sea monsters, and a quantity of lipstick, rouge and nail polish for the mermaids, the editor will drop off the train at Ocala for a short overland trip to Crystal River, where headquarters will be established, to lay warfare against the gulf’s most vicious inhabitants, most especially the species which Jonah had some trouble with in biblical times. If as fortunate as Jonah in getting his freedom from a whale’s belly, Wheeler says that he may make short calls on a few of the Crown Pointers now sojourning in the state’s many resort cities.

50 years ago

February 2, 1962

Mrs. Bernard Dockus, John Dockus, Donald Huber and Gerald Walter attended the Notre Dame double-header basketball game Saturday night in Chicago. Loyola of Chicago played St. John of New York and Notre Dame played University of Illinois. Before the game they dined in the Carousel room of the Hotel Morrison.

A double-unit coin operated dry cleaning machine has been installed at the Likens Cleaners. Installation of the machine entailed a remodeling job on the interior of the building where the laundry-mat facilities are housed, Keith Likens, owner-manager, said.

Tom Richards of Cedar Lake has taken over operation of the Cities Service station on the Cedar Lake – Cook road, now known as Tom’s Cities Services. The station was formerly operated by Tom’s brother Richard Richards, and Bill McManaway.

Don Galbraith, who has worked several years as a salesman for Getty Realty, Crown Point, recently opened his own real estate office at Cook.

Now at home on Route 1, Crown Point are Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Allen Blanchard, who returned recently from a wedding trip to Maryland. The former Miss Janice Bradley, daughter or Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Bradley, 1020 Madison avenue, Anderson, became the bride of Laurence a Blanchard, son of Mr. and Mrs. Neil Blanchard at the East Lynn Christian church, Anderson, January 14.