100 YEARS AGO....
Pvt. Jesse Fleming became the second Rockdale soldier to die in World War I. His wife, Tansy Taylor Fleming, received word in a telegram from the War Department. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Fleming of Tracy.
The first deaths were beginning to be reported in th Rockdale area from the flu epidemic, including a 15-year-old boy. Many area schools remained closed.
Dr. H. T. Coulter received his commission as a lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps and left Rock-dale. The Reporter noted the town had three doctors remaining—Dr. D. R. Wallis, Dr. R. W. Wallis and Dr. R.C. Wallis.
E. P. Henke of Gay Hill received a much-welcomed letter from his father, William Henke. The elder Henke had gone to Germany for a visit in fall, 1914, and was unable to return home due to the outbreak of war. or write since the United States entered the conflict in 1917.
FORTY YEARS AGO....
The third Rockdale Fair was to feature some new events including a 10,000-meter run and a Fair Queen Pageant, which was to be held outdoors on a flatbed trailer in front of the New Salem HD Clubhouse.
Thorndale police, acting on a tip from an anonymous caller, interrupted a “drug drop” and recovered about 150 pills which had been placed under the Turkey Creek Bridge on FM 486.
Stop signs were being returned to the Murray-Meadow intersection. A recent Texas Highway Department survey concluded the signs were not needed but the Rockdale City Council directed City Manager Dan Roark to replace them.
City leaders met with an architect to begin planning a new civic center, to be mostly funded by a $580,000 gift from the estate of Dr. George Patterson, community benefactor.
TWENTY YEARS AGO....
Country music star Mark Wills, whose song “I Do (Cherish You)” had charted bigtime earlier in the year, was to be the Saturday night headliner for the Rockdale Fair.
Milam County Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Pat Moraw estimated if an appraisal lawsuit by Alcoa reached trial, it would cost Milam taxing entities $585,000 in legal fees, more than the district’s current annual budget of $429,900.
City council members gave Correctional Services Corporation, the company operating Rockdale’s juvenile justice center, 60 days to correct problems the council said were causing a backup in a city sewer line serving the facility.
Four Hearne residents were arrested in that city on Rockdale warrants alleging thefts from Walmart and Dollar General in Rockdale.
TEN YEARS AGO....
Demographic information provided by Alcoa in the wake of a company announcement that Rock-dale Operations was closing indicated 364 (36 percent) of 1,021 employees listed home addresses within the 76567 zip code.
Police arrested the second suspect in the shooting of a convenience store owner during what was termed a botched attempted robbery. The victim returned home after surgery at Scott & White Hospital in Temple.
Two Stephens County residents were the first persons to be convicted under “Lillian’s Law,” named for the late Lillian Stiles of Thorn-dale who was mauled to death by a neighbor’s dogs in 2005.
Rockdale rocked Bryan Rudder 49-7 to run Big Blue’s record to 6-1 and guarantee a first winning season since 2004.
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