Looking back...

100 YEARS AGO…

December Trade Days was in the planning stages with “attractions” being the greatest yet offered. There was also a series of goat roping contests at Fair Park that afternoon. The Chamber of Commerce was offering cash awards for the person or party of the same family outside of Rockdale buying for cash the largest bill of merchandise from any single Trade Days merchant, $5 in gold. And the same for a Rockdale resident with the largest cash buy. Other cash awards were for the person who traveled the farthest for Trade Days and free marriage license and services of the minister were offered to the first couple to apply for a marriage license.

40 YEARS AGO … Seven month old Lance Neil

Schielack, son of Harold and Connie Schielack of Rockdale, was the fourth week, and overall winner, of the 1981 Baby Photogenic Contest.

Forest Grove Christian Church’s nativity float, complete with cardboard camels, won the grand prize ribbon at the Christmas Parade sponsored by the Rockdale Chamber of Commerce. First place in the float category went to Community Bank and Trust with Danean’s School of Dance taking second and Parsley’s Pullet Parlor third.

Santa Claus was at the Milano Community Center sponsored by the Milano Young Homemakers. All area children were invited to take pictures with Santa and enjoy snacks.

20 YEARS AGO …

Rockdale Alcoa Operations received certification of its habitat areas by the Wildlife Habitat Council in Washington,DC. The Alcoa property, on reclaimed land formerly mined for lignite, was declared one of the top 10 sites in the US out of about 110 sites seeking wildlife habitat certification. “The vast majority of this 32,000 acre property is managed for wildlife,” Marty Irwin, Alcoa senior reclamation and wildlife specialist said. “Alcoa removed cattle from several thousand acres of formerly grazed pastures to improve areas for deer, turkey, quail and songbirds.”

10 YEARS AGO …

One month after representatives of Christmas Roundup—Rockdale’s annual program to spread cheer to the needy—announced they might not be able to serve all applicants for the first time ever, a groundswell of community support had come to the rescue. Monday was deadline day to apply for deliveries of food and toys on Dec. 20 and a relieved Ann King, Roundup spokesperson, told The Reporter Tuesday that volunteers will not have to send out letters, as originally feared, turning down applicants. “There may still be three or four letters going out, like there are every year, to applicants whose income is really way in excess of what this program is all about, and we will redirect some applicants who live out of the area to efforts in other places,” she said.

Rockdale High School junior Henry Hill was welcomed back to school with a pep rally in his honor. Hill had been involved in a severe drowning accident over the summer and had been recovering ever since with Dec. 1 being his first day back at RHS this school year. The pep rally included performances by the RHS band, Golden Girls and cheerleaders.