100 YEARS AGO....
An out-of-state firm announced it was headed to Milam County to purchase green alligator hides. The Reporter noted that alligators were prevalent in the county, citing the damage done to cotton crops by “alligators and catfish” during the 17 stream overflows in the county during 1919.
Oil activity had increased so much in the Milano area that the Lackawanna Oil Co.of New Jersey said it might build a refinery in the community.
Earl Boles, 30, of Thorn-dale, was killed by bandits while working in the oil fields in Tampico, Mexico. Sixty Thorndale residents signed a correspondence to Texas’s two U.S. senators asking them to put pressure on the government of Mexico to bring the killers to justice.
Dr. J. B. Sparks told The Reporter he attempted to cross a usually-shallow creek in the Milano-Gause area and had to swim away from his car in 4 to 6 feet of water. The doctor returned with a team of mules and freed the vehicle.
FORTY YEARS AGO....
Rockdale Elementary School students were finding something new when they returned for the new year, the 25,000-square foot campus expansion project was ready for classes. It was part of the bond issue which resulted in construction of a new junior-high.
The Dairy King (Today’s Texas Burger-Subway building) in downtown Rockdale received a bomb threat. A search by police, state troopers and firefighters turned up no explosive device.
Jerry Franklin, who had been assisting with the RHS boys basketball program since the August resignation of Duane Vincent was named new head basketball coach.
A Temple man was indicted for capital murder in connection with the shooting death of a guard at Royal Seating Corporation in the Cameron Industrial Park.
TWENTY YEARS AGO....
The Texas Dept. of Transportation announced it had chosen the “northern route” for the proposed US 79 around Rockdale. The project had not been funded.
With a flu epidemic winding down in the Rockdale area, Rockdale Medical Clinic had added a new physician and noted it was now capable of seeing 80 patients per day.
A 3.5-inch rain was welcomed by area farmers and ranchers who had seen stock tanks dwindle to dangerously low levels.
City officials said Rock-dale’s brand new Mill Street Water Tower should by ready for filling by April and would go on-shortly thereafter.
Janet Havelka’s Lady Tiger cagers defeated Elgin to open District 19AAA action, lifting Havelka’s six-season district record to 55-3.
TEN YEARS AGO....
Doug Calame won a vacant city council seat with 139 votes. Write-in Duck Shuffield drew 27. The vote was to fill the west-ward position vacated by Griffin Rogers.
The mercury plummeted to 14 degrees in Rock-dale, the coldest reading in 15 years.
Lagging property tax payments in Rockdale were forcing the city council to re-examine its 2010 budget. City Manager Kelvin Knauf had called a meeting of departments heads to deal with the situation.
A U. S. Army Blackhawk helicopter, bound for Fort Hood, made an emergency, weather-related landing in northern Milam County. There were no serious injuries.
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