Looking back...

100 YEARS AGO...

Pearl Richards, 18, daughter of T.L. Richards, was run over by an automobile three miles west of Rockdale on the Thorndale road. The young lady was doing nicely and it was thought her injuries were not serious.

The Reporter regretted to chronicle the news that Rockdale would soon lose a good citizen, in the person of Dr. Ed A. Swafford, the popular dentist. Swafford informed us that he would wind up his business affairs here this month and would remove to San Antonio.

The Rockdale Oilers defeated the Western Oiler Girls in a snappy game of baseball at Fair Park, 8-6. The lady pitcher for the visitors was said to have pitched good ball, holding the slab for six innings, after which she was relieved by a mere man.

40 YEARS AGO...

Rockdale was set to have a new all-weather track by the middle of August thanks to action by the school trustees. Trustees accepted a low bid of $98,850 from a Georgetown firm, El Dorado Tracks, to install an Atlas running track at Tiger Field and voted to specify an Aug. 15 completion date.

A plan to divide the elementary school into primary and intermediate units, complete with hiring an additional principal was tabled by school board trustees after opposition was voiced by a school board member, teachers and others.

Milano High School students would be putting the computer age to work for them this fall as they sought out information on what to do after completing their high school careers. MHS had an occupational information system with individual computer terminals which could provide practically unlimited information from the Texas Manpower Consortium.

Babe Ruth all-star teams were announced and both 13 and 14-15-year-old stars were looking forward to playing in the upcoming weeks, according to Bill Avrett, BRL president.

20 YEARS AGO...

Think it had been an above average year for Rockdale precipitation? Consider this. As of noon on July 1 it was already the wettest July in 20 years. A 3.28-inch deluge caused brief street flooding in Rockdale and closed a couple of thoroughfares in northwest Milam County.

All Rockdale High School students would have the opportunity to checkout a laptop for personal use, RISD Technology Director Marcia Protor said. Seniors would be given first priority.

After months of red tape, Roger and Eve Thurman were the happy parents of 11-month-old Blake Sergei Thurman, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, round-cheeked cutie who spent the first nine months of his life in one room of a Russian orphanage.

Athletes at Milano High School were set to undergo random drug testing for the upcoming term.

10 YEARS AGO...

“If we want this, I think it can happen.” Gary Griesbach, chairman of the Rockdale Municipal Development District board, continued to be optimistic that a YMCA facility could be acquired for the Rockdale area.

For most of a night and day last week, county and state law enforcement officers thought it was possible a convicted killer was roaming the woods of east central Milam County. He wasn’t. Trent Archie, 29, of Huntsville, was arrested in Houston.

The only fireworks which (legally) filled the skies over Milam County were these which soared over Rockdale from Fair Park. Citing the drought, county commissioners banned all fireworks but granted a specific exception for the annual professional display which alternates between Rockdale and Cameron.