Through The Reporter Files

Looking back...

100 YEARS AGO....

A Thorndale resident was hit by a train at an area crossing. After a stay in the Cameron Sanitarium he was advised no surgery was necessary but his left leg would always be an inch shorter than his right.

Following a large ad in The Reporter, Loewenstein’s Store turned in the biggest day in its history with “clogged aisles and store clerks too busy to got to lunch.” Owner Ben Loewenstein said the sale was continuing and in a Reporter ad asked that those who could come shop on weekdays please do so in an attempt to avoid the Saturday crowding.

“Shoulder Arms” was playing at the Dixie and the theatre owner urged patrons to come see “Charlie Chaplin’s clever disguises and the funny things he does to the Huns.”

A quick rainstorm turned Rockdale streets into rivers and “Ham Branch went on a rampage for about the umpteenth time.”

FORTY YEARS AGO....

The Texas Highway Dept. advised Rockdale State Rep. Dan Kubiak that funds were available for a major renovation of US 79 through the city but none forthcoming for a proposed highway bypass.

A Rockdale woman died after the vehicle in which she was riding was struck by a Missouri-Pacific freight train at the Plum Street crossing in Rockdale.

Rockdale City Council members were presented a 67-signature petition urging them to use the former Rockdale State Bank building as a civic center rather than construct a new building.

A Temple man was in jail following the armed robbery of a Cameron supermarket which ended with a 50-mile chase by law enforcement over farm-market and gravel county roads.

TWENTY YEARS AGO....

Milam County Commissioners learned that restoring the county’s 107-year-old courthouse was going to require a $700,000 to $800000 escrow account as the county’s 15-percent share toward a $4-million grant.

The Rockdale City Council okayed plans to purchase a propane generator to keep emergency services operating in case there was a power failure on Dec. 31, 1999. (It was feared some computer would stop working correctly as 1999 rolled over into 2000).

Milam County Tax Collector Frances Price, who had served in that capacity for the past 27 years, announced she would not be a candidate for re-election in 2000.

Blade Bassler scored all Rockdale’s points in a 16-8 win over Taylor that wrapped up Big Blue second consecutive District 19AAA title.

TEN YEARS AGO....

Lack of enthusiasm, much of it revolving around the cost of the project, result in no vote by the Rockdale ISD School Board on a proposed renovation and modernization of the RHS baseball field.

Mike Cahill of Cameron was one of the persons killed when a gunman opened fire at Fort Hood. Cahill was a physician assistant at the army base.

The Rockdale Historical Society’s restoration of the I&GN Depot was named the state’s best restoration project for the year by the Texas Downtown Association.

The Rockdale Tigers earned their third consecutive trip to the post-season with a 57-14 runaway victory over Taylor.