Looking back...

100 YEARS AGO.....

Former Cameron City Marshall Tom Parker was convicted of manslaughter in a Waco federal district court for killing his brother-in-law, Joe White. It was the fourth trial for Parker. Two had ended in mistrials and a third ended when a juror became ill.

A child fell, while playing with her sister, and fractured her jaw so badly both a doctor and dentist had to be summoned. That child was Ruth Kirk who grew up to become a legendary math teacher at Rockdale High School.

Rev. J. Coy Williams of the Rockdale Methodist Church (it had not yet been named “St. John’s”) was the speaker at the annual Union Thanksgiving Service at First Baptist Church.

Rockdale Public School got another day of Thanksgiving Break after teachers persuaded the school board to declare Friday a day off too. But the teachers were instructed to make up that class day later in the school year.

FORTY YEARS AGO....

A joint meeting of the Rockdale City Council and Rockdale ISD School Board was scheduled to iron out issues related to street access for the new junior-high school on Bushdale Road.

Grand opening ceremonies were being scheduled for Rockdale’s newest bank, Community Bank & Trust.

The Rockdale City Council decided to construct the proposed new Patterson Civic Center across Walnut Street from Fair Park. Making the recently vacated Rockdale State Bank building downtown into a civic center had also been proposed.

Defenses prevailed and Marble Falls came from behind in the fourth period to edge Rockdale 7-3 and end the Tigers’ football season at the bi-district round.

TWENTY YEARS AGO....

Milano native Jayla Whiteley, a student at Texas A&M, credited returning to Milano to work on an English Literature paper with saving her life. Whiteley had been working on the Aggie Bonfire which collapsed and killed 12 people.

School trustees directed a Waco engineer firm to come up with a plan to air condition the RHS gym, a project being made possible by grants from the Alcoa Foundation and the Rockdale Athletic Booster Club.

Police arrested a 20-year-old Rockdale man after a 100-mile-per-hour chase. The suspect was wanted in connection with an incident in which a Round Rock mother and daughter were locked in a Rockdale storage building at knife point.

Rockdale rallied back from a 17-point deficit to lead Marlin into the fourth quarter of their area football playoff but the Bulldogs rallied back and won 33-21.

TEN YEARS AGO....

A maintenance project substantially lowered noise at the Luminant’s new Sand-ow 5 power plant which had been the focus of several complaints in an area south and east of Rockdale.

A new intermediate school and a massive addition-renovation project at Rockdale High School were dedicated. The buildings, plus projects at the junior-high and elementary, were part of a $28.8-million bond package approved by school district voters.

A 22-year-old Thorn-dale man was treated for three “non-life-threatening wounds,” and was to be charged with attempted capital murder, after exchanging gunfire with a Rockdale police officer. The policeman was not injured.

Five turnovers doomed Big Blue in a 51-35 area football playoff loss to Coldspring at Conroe.