100 YEARS AGO....
The Rockdale Chamber of Commerce was helping to bring cotton growers and pickers together after the San Antonio & Aransas Pass (SA&AP) Railroad sent out a letter saying plans to pick the 1920 cotton crop needed to be made quickly.
Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Gaither and daughter, Billie, held a swimming party for a number of Rockdale youngsters at the Cameron natatorium. Occasion was a visit by their niece, Helen Gaither of San Antonio.
The first bale of cotton in the Rockdale area for 1920 was brought in by Ottie Alford from Coffield Farms. It won the $50 “first bale” prize from the Rockdale Chamber of Commerce and sold to Scarbrough & Hicks for 41 cents per pound.
Milam County Democrats voted overwhelmingly for Pat Neff in the gubernatorial election. Neff and Joseph Bailey were in a runoff.
FORTY YEARS AGO....
Rockdale Emergency Medical Services dedicated its first-ever permanent building, a 2,400-squarefoot structure on Childress Street.
The Texas Dept. of Transportation promised to install a signal light at the corner of Childress and Cameron (US 79). Local officials had been pushing for installation of the light to slow down gravel trucks traveling through town on the highway.
There were no serious injuries but plenty of fire and smoke when a tanker truck rolled over on US 79 near Gause and its 80,000 gallons of crude oil burst into flames.
Rockdale Girls Softball League’s junior-high allstars won their own invitation tourney, defeating teams from Taylor and Thorndale.
TWENTY YEARS AGO....
Thomas Harris, a 26-year veteran of law enforcement was named Rockdale’s new police chief, replacing Tim Smith. Harris was hired from a field of 13 candidates.
Jennie Richards, Rockdale’s oldest resident, died at age 107. The previous year Mrs. Richards had gone on her first airplane ride on her 106th birthday.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2078, which represented about 350 workers at TXU’s Sandow Power Plant Unit 4 and Reed Minerals, was 40 years old.
A 19-year-old Rockdale man was arrested in connection with a break-in at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in which about $400 in cash and checks were taken.
TEN YEARS AGO....
Blackhawk Healthcare cut personnel 15 to 20 percent system-wide, including Rockdale’s Richards Memorial Hospital and the town’s clinics.
Gause ISD trustees were mulling “strategic planning” on whether to construct a high school. The Gause School currently housed grades K-8. A 52-year-old Camer
A 52-year-old Cameron man accused of tasing a Cameron police officer during a scuffle received four 15-year terms.
John Randle, a Hearne High School graduate and all-pro defensive tackle with the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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