The Elgin Courier and Four County News (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 18, 1954 Page: 1 of 8
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SIXTY-THIRD YEAR
Go
Given Kiwanis
dh,
public that he is a candidate for
of Elgin at the coming City elec-
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A
Postmaster Sowell
Gets Information
6
3
passed the School Law for
JOHN G. ERICKSON
but
plans for the business failed
this
built
the rest of the
equipment that
the
eight
an
Ed
the school
could catch up with the
proper improvements.
two weeks he had missed.
I
One Announces;
One Will Retire
From City Office
Group To Visit
Harbers’ Farm
Park Clean-Up
Monday, Feb. 22
Texas Swedish
Foundation Talk
Renovating
Program In
Full Swing
Dusek And Lundgren Attend And Take
Part In State Musical Meet In Dallas
Mayor A. E. Johnson authoriz-
ed the Courier to announce to the
south Elgin (near the
tary School) built the
for a hardware store
home
score,
most
Final plans were arranged
tne Farm and Ranch Club of
at
the
the
to
park
make
' get
their
even
with
Texas
• the
it
a
Elemen-
building
JIMMIE LUNDGREN
Made All-State Band
Should the Wildcats win
game it will give them an
break in District contests
39 !
■
The first school was also
about this time.
In 18199 the first church
built for the community.
to start baseball practice at
early date.
WILDCATS WIN
PRACTICE TRACK MEET
MILTON DUSEK
El - Hi Band Director
I
10 CENTS
follow through and Mr. O’Connor
was left with a nice large brick
(Continued on Page 8)
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Elgin Mayor Opens
Radio Program
(Mayor A. E. Johnson had
Health is worth more than the I Couriers were forwarded to him
dollars saved by not making the' that he
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Pharmacist Comes
To Jones Drug
W. T. Day of Waco came
events.
This meet was to help get the
teams into condition for District
track which will begin soon.
6
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CIRCULATING IN BASTROP, TRAVIS, WILLIAMSON AND LEE COUNTIES
a- THE ELGIN COURIER
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A. A. GEORGE INJURES
HAND ON ELECTRIC SAW
A. A. George suffered a pain-
ful accident Thursday afternoon
when the forefinger of his right
hand was mangled by an electric
saw, while on a construction job
bond election. His
working at home on the
equipment, while some will
another trip to Byersville to
in Austin, which required
stitches.
Mr. George, foreman for
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Saturday Is Workday
For Youth Park
Saturday, Feb. 20, will again
be work day for those interested
in the Elgin Youth Park baseball
diamond.
It will be another all-day affair
with the large part of the workers
E. H. O’Connor Furniture, one
of Elgin’s oldest and most popu-
lar business establishments found-
ea by the late Thomas O’Connor
in 1892 and now operated by his
son E. H. O’Connor and grandson,
Joseph O’Connor, is this week un-
dergoing the primary stages of a
general face lifting which, when
completed, will give it a modern
NEW HEALTH OFFICER —
Dr. Henry A. Holle is the newly
appointed Texas State Health
officer to replace Dr. George
W. Cox who resigned effective
March 1. Dr. Holle has a fine
record in health work, with a
Texas background.
serve if possible, and when
all. In
ELGIN, BASTROP COUNTY, TEXAS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1954
Postmaster Sowell here in Elgin.
The teamwork of Sowell 1o
Thornberry to Grover of the Na-
tional Archives, brought this an-
swer:
“The records of the Post Office
Department now in the National
Archives indicates that a post of-
fice was established at Lund,
Travis County, Texas, on Decem-
ber 13, 1895. The office was dis-
continued on April 14, 1906.
This teamwork got the inform-
ation for Mr. Landelius in less
than a month from the time of his
starting his letter, which is excel-
lent service. Of course, Post-
master Sowell, even with the help
of Congressman Thornberry, can-
not fill all orders for informa-
tion, nor can he hope to get it as
quickly as the above information
was gotten.
Information From Courier File*
Looking back to the Courier of
June 22, 1939, it was found that
in about 1894 J. E. (Joe) Rivers
went from Elgin to Lund and op-
ened a general store. Later he
worked for a postoffice and it was
placed in his store with him as
postmaster, our information not-
ed, site then being named Lund.
Arthur Thornquist and Gust
Seaholm operated the first gin
which was located below the store.
the Red Cross is fast approach-
, ing, as March is Red Cross
month. A month in which the
American Red Cross tries to raise
money which will be used to carry
on its work in the months ahead.
। If you are called upon to help in
" the campaign, give it thought and
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Barbees Now With
Magnolia Schools
A letter from C. B. Barbee tells
the Courier that he is now assist-
ant superintendent of the Mag-
nolia Independent Schools. The
move to Magnolia being made
only a couple of weeks ago.
Mrs. Barbee is teaching in the
elementary school.
Barbee renewed his subscrip-
tion to the Courier that he might
keep in contact with Elgin. He
stated in his letter they would
never forget the fine relations
they had in Elgin, and he was in-
deed interested in the outcome of
The Elgin Wildcats, accompan-
ied by their coach went to Thorn-
dale Wednesday afternoon to
partake in a practice track meet
with the high school boys of that
city.
Thrall Here For
Last Game Of
Season Friday , 24
The Thrall basketball teams
will be in Elgin Friday night, Feb,
19, to play games with the El-Hi
boys and girls basketball quints.
This will be the last game of th
season for the Elgin teams.
pleasure of opening the radio pro-
gram, The Bastrop County Hour,
Monday morning. He told his
listeners the history of Elgin in
the few minutes alloted to him.
Johnson gave the railroads
much credit for the birth of Elgin
and the growth of the town. The
first tracks were laid in 1871 and
the depot was built in 1882 arid
the town named Elgin after John
Elgin, a railroad supervisor.
The Mayor told of the brick
plants and how Elgin is situated
for a logical market center, which
embraces four counties.
The Bastrop County Hour is
being promoted by Ben Reichert
and made possible each weekday
by the advertising he sells in the
three towns of the county. j
comes time to give—give with
thought of doing good for some
‘ d unfortunate. The money is used
in a large part for that cause.
education available to
1854 the Legislature of
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Mr. Erickson will be at the
Immanuel Lutheran Church in
Pflugerville on Sunday, Feb. 28
and will speak at Sunday School
and the morning services.
Pastor Erickson has been blind
since the early part of his child-
hood, yet he has been able to se-
cure a good education. He is a
graduate of the Augustana Theo-
logical Seminary and held pastor-
ates in Minnesota for quite a
number of years. He has made
many contributions which are
helping the blind to see again,
not with their eyes but with their
fingers.
Both the St. Peter’s Ev. Luth-
eran Church here in Elgin, and
the Immanuel Lutheran Church at
Pflugerville, feel these services
will be very interesting and are
inviting both members and others
to attend the services, and hear
Pastor Erickson’s messages.
A free-will offering will be
received during the course of the
service, in Elgin, which will be
turned over the the Lutheran
Braille Evangelism Association to
help provide Christian literature
for those who cannot see.
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tion to be held April 6.
Mrs. Frank Hanke called the
Courier and said that Mr. Hanke
wishes to announce to the folks
that he would not be a candidate
for reelection for Aiderman at
the coming election. He said he
wanted this announcement made
public so others would enter the
race for the position which he
does not wish to be elected to.
Mr. Hanke has served long and
well and it will be with regret to
his many friends that he will not
enter his name for the Aiderman
position. Hanke has undergone
two major surgical operations
lately and will need as much rest
as possible to get his strength
back.
Mayor Johnson needs no intro-
duction to the people of Elgin,
having been elected Mayor two
years ago, and during this time
has worked hard for the things he
thinks will help make Elgin a bet-
ter city, and has the cooperation
‘ of the Aidermen in making a good
, financial record during this time,
the city treasurers report recent-
ly showing a good cash balance.
Mayor Johnson stated he will
continue to do his best to build
and repair streets for all of the
folks of Elgin when the occasion
of need arises, keeping in mind
at all time the good of the city
as a whole.
The Courier has not contacted
the others whose terms expire
this spring hence no report on
them.
In order to make the race for
city office candidates must file
not later than Saturday, March
6. Forms may be had at the city
6 won and 6 lost as at the present
they have won 5 games, while
dropping 6.
The girls team has not been
able to get a win in District play,
but have been playing some very
close games.
The Cats defeated Granger last
week, although the girls lost.
The Wildcats are now in track,
and practice baseball in their ,
spare moments.
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Two Businesses To
Observe Holiday
Two places of business, at least,
will observe the birth anniver-
sary of George Washington Mon- j
day, Feb. 22. They are the Elgin
National Bank and the Postoffice.
Banks over the United States
annually observe Washington’s
birthday, and the postal depart- ;
ment observes it likewise.
Mail will be assorted and put
in boxes at the post office but no
windows will be open for busi-
ness, nor will any carriers deli- .
ver mail to the patrons.
With the holiday falling on
Monday it will make a nice two-
day holiday for employees of the
two institutions.
The Elgin Park Board is cele-
brating it by asking for voluntary
workmen to appear at the park to
help in the clean-up program.
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Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Doyle
were Austin visitors Tuesday.
week and accepted a position in
the Jones Drug Store to take care
of their prescription department-.
Mr. Day had spent many years
in the drug business, having own-
ed stores at San Angelo, Brown-
wood, Rock Springs and Calvert,
most of his life. He has done a
lot of relief work out of Waco in
many sections of Texas, and the
Jones Drug Store feels fortunate
in getting a man of Mr. Day’s
ability to take care of their pre-
scription department to serve
their many Elgin and vicinity cus-
tomers.
Mr. Day has one son, William
H., who after serving with the
aid corps in the war took a job
with the government at Seattle,
wash.
was not moved at the last work-
day.
The baseball equipment is be-
ing set up in the Elgin Memorial
Park at the northeast corner, and
Dwight Morrison, secretary of
the association, is asking for all
interested to turn out and help,
as plenty of help is needed to get
things into condition for the boys
A delegation of the Austin Op-
timist Club will be in Elgin Fri-
day morning at 8:30 in the inter-
est of the Austin Livestock Show
{which will open Monday, Feb. 22.
_______________ NO. 48
Yarborough To Be
Speaker At School
Week Assembly
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puull. .lal ne. 1 a canuzual XVX 0
re-election for Mayor of the City "
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Ralph W. -Yarborough, possible
1954 candidate for Governor of
Texas, will be the speaker at the
general assembly to be held in
the high school' auditorium on
Monday, March 1 at 2:30 p. m.
This assembly is the opening of
“Public School Week” in Elgin
which will be observed beginning
March 1 and closing March 5.
f Tuesday, March 2 the schools will
all hold open house in the even-
ing from 7:00 p. m. to 9:00 p.m.
with teachers and pupils on hand
to show visitors the things prepar-
ed for them for the Public School
Week.
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The Elgin boys came
with the long end of the
placing first or high in
Bustin, contractor in Austin was,
nevertheless, back on the job
next day and his injured digit is
healing nicely.
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AUSTIN OPTIMISTS WILL
BE HERE FRIDAY
h ' . . .
(- M
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d
Blind Evangelist To
Speak at Local Church
And at Pflugerville
Thursday, Feb. 25, pastor John
G. Erickson of Minneapolis, Minn,
will appear at the St. Peter’s Ev-
angelical Lutheran Church at 7 :-
30 p. m. to give an address on
Braille Evangelism. He comes
very highly recommended. In the
course of his address Pastor Eric-
kson will tell what the Lutheran
Braille Evangelism Association is
doing to help the more than 300,-
000 blind people in the United
'States. He will give demonstra-
tions of Braille writing and read-
ing and also will tell some inter-
esting things about his guide dog,
IChief, which he will have with
him. ....
“Our Heritage” will be the
theme around which Mr. Yar-
borough will base his talk to the
assembly and visitors. And Judge
Yarborough is well qualified to
talk on that theme. He has had
experience as a teacher in the
public schools, a teacher in law
school, served as a district judge,
and in other public offices. After
the war and his military service
he returned to Austin and set up
his own law practice. He is in-
deed an outstanding Texan and
Elgin is proud to have him on the
program during school week.
The general assembly will be
open to the public as well as the
students.
Public School Week has been
set aside by the Governor of Tex-
as, and it is a week in which pat-
rons are supposed to get acquaint-
ed with their schools.
This being centennial year for
Texas schools it is more import-
ant than ever that patrons visit
their schools and see what is be-
ing done to educate the children
of Texas.
Our forefathers in their wis-
dom, recognizing the importance
of education in the function and
operation of a democracy, estab-
lished the public school to make
Being Postmaster is a varied
job once in a while, and E. N.
Sowell, Elgin’s postmaster, goes
out of his way to try and help
Observations
By EDWIN BRONAUGH
The time to give thought to
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Milton Dusek and Jimmy Lund-
gren returned Saturday afternoon
from the TMEA Convention
which was held in Dallas, in the
Baker and Adolphus Hotels Feb.
10-13. While there they were at
the Baker Hotel.
Lundgren played 2nd chair
trumpet in the Big (State Band
which was directed by William D.
Revelli, Director of Bands, Uni-
versity of Michigan, and Raymond
F. Dvorak, Director of Bands,
University of Wisconsin. Friday
night the Grand Concert, held at
the Fair Park Auditorium drew a
capacity crowd. This proved to
(be a great experience for Lund-
gren since they were directed by
men very outstanding in the music
field—and an experience any
band student would look forward
to.
Following registration at con-
vention headquarters in the Adol-
phus Hotel Wednesday afternoon
tryouts were held for seating, and
later in the evening a full band
I rehearsal. Thursday noon a dem-
' onstration of Latin-American in-
struments was most interesting.
In the evening a concert was giv-
en by Baylor University Band on
the New Terrace, Hotel Baker.
L The TCU Stage Band furnished
music for a dance for students
and chaperones in the Cactus
Room, Adolphus Hotel; Friday
afternoon the Big State and Lone
Star Bands combined for rehear-
. sal in Fair Park auditorium; a
Region VI meeting held in Parlor
, C, the Adolphus together with
, rehearsals, breakfasts, dances and
. other activities made up a full
program for the stay in Dallas.
, Director Dusek was interested
. in all phases of the convention
program and his attention was
especially attracted to the display
. of band instruments, music and
uniforms which filled the Ball-
room of the Adolphus, since his
foremost thought is for the im-
provement and appearance of hi
band. ii,
' El-Hi Band To Play Concert i
The El-Hi Band will give a con-
cert at the Elgin High School
March 18 at 8:00 p. m. in the aud-
itorium.
The band leaves for the Region
VI contest at Alamo Heights High
School, San Antonio, March 25th,
for concert.
first public free schools in Texas,
A century has passed, and this is
centennial year for free publie
schools. The slogan established
is—“Texas Public Schools—Dem-
ocracy in Action,”
As the years passed the school
laws were strengthened to make
sure that all children of school
age shared in the opportunity for
public education.
Today the importance of
education is not a debatable sub-
ject—it is must for all.
By visiting the schools and
learning the problems of the
teachers and the students, it is
possible to be in a more compe-
tent position to safeguard and
advance the institution that is
American—the public school.
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office for that purpose,and must
be filed with the mayor.
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people.
January 10, Otto Rob. Landel-
ius, of Grabo, Sweden, wrote to
Postmaster Sowell and asked for
information on two questions.
They were:
1. In what year was a postof-
fice established at Lurid, Tex.?
2. In what year was the same '
discontinued?
This information Mr. Landelius
needed for a magazine article he
is writing about the Lund com-
munity.
Mr. Sowell immediately thought
of our “ever ready to serve Con-
gressman,” Homer Thornberry —
! writing to him for the informa-
tion.
Homer gets on the ball and
goes to the National Archives
and Records Service who look up
the information and immediately
forward it to Homer, who in
turn gets the information to
“Time-Lag” is the name given
to Senate Bill 1461 which will
probably come before the 83rd
• Congress within the next few
weeks. This “Time-Lag” bill is
important to the transportation
industry, and possibly to business
e and industry, and possibly to bus-
“ iness and industry. It would give
the Interstate Commerce Commis-
sion a chance to settle rate in-
creases and the needs of the car-
0 riers more quickly and without
dragging into months that are de-
laying shipments and costing the
carriers enormously.
a 'We attended a meeting of the
• school board and planning com-
mittee Monday night and heard
them discuss the plans for the new
school program. Those boys are
working hard for the proper hand-
ling of the building program to
get the most for the money. Ar-
chitect Pitsinger was on hand
with floor plans and will bring
4 complete and enlarged plans for
their study at their next meeting.
While we have no facts rela-
tive to the completion date of the
new tourist courts being built by
$ the Fails family and the develop-
ment of the Hattox addition to
Elgin, we do know they have
water and sewer which places
a that section in a good possible
“ sanitary condition .We understand
the city put in the sewer and
lift, as well as the water lines
with the owners of property pay-
a ing the cost of the material used.
* All of the cost will be paid back
to the land owners when suffic-
ient buildings have been erected
allowing a set sum for each water
g user to connect in that district.
We think this was a good move
on the part of city officials and
hope in the near future that all
other parts of Elgin without pro-
• per sewage and water can be giv-
en the proper facilities for a
complete sanitation system for all
of Elgin’s residents.
was
I
and attractive appearance.
The sheet iron awning at the
front has been removed and work
is progressing under Taylor Hard-
wick in achieving a modern front
and the brick walls have been
painted, a new neon sign of
the company name will be erect-
ed. The woodwork outside is all
‘being gone over by painters and
later plans include interior
changes and redecorating with a
thought to convenience and at-
tractiveness. The program will
cover some time but when com-
pleted will give Elgin a furniture
store up-to-date in every respect.
This store, having a third gene-
ration O’Connor as an operating
member of the firm and which has
for 62 years served this trade
area with the latest and best in
furniture and household needs,
was founded by chance. Mr.
Thomas O’Connor, a contractor,
Who owned a small brick plant ‘in
Chamber of Commerce for a visit
of a large delegation to the Clint
Harbers farm east of Smithyille.
The group will gather at the
Upchurch Drug Store and leave
Elgin promptly at one o’clock
Tuesday afternoon in cars for the
Harbers farm. Possibly a load of
FFA boys and their instructor,
J. Z. Hattox will join the group in
making the trip.
'Other business the club took
action on was to formally set
Monday, March 15 as the date for
the first annual banquet. Com-
mittees were appointed and every
thing is getting under way for a
good feed and program for mem-
bers, their families and guests.
Monday, Feb. 22, Washington’s
Birthday, has been set aside by
the Elgin Memorial Park Board
as the second clean-up day for
the park, when volunteer work-
men are asked to donate of their
time helping put the park in
readiness for this summer, Chair-
man of the Board Richard Green
announced.
Many have promised to come
with tractors and other equipment
to help the Park Board with this
work that will make the park a
beauty spot this coming summer.
Green said men with axes and
small tools were also needed to
get the brush out and do some
trimming.
The clean-up day last 'Armis-
tice Day proved a success with
some hundred folks out to help
and with a good turnout Monday
the job will be completed, Green
stated. This will leave the park
board money to 'build the things
that are needed to make the park
useful to Elgin citizens and folks
from the country surrounding El-
gin.
A free meal will be served at
noon to those who are helping in
the clean-up. The cooks promise
something good to eat for the
working men.
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AND SJ’OVR 64131557 81276
Dr. S. N. Ekdahl, of Austin,
was guest speaker at the Kiwanis
noon luncheon Tuesday, and gave
a brief talk on the Texas Swed-
ish Cultural Foundation, Inc., of
which he is one of the directors.
The speaker was introduced by
Edwin O. Lundgren who intro-
duced him as “Col.” or “Dr.” —
he said pick your choice as he is
a retired Colonel as well as having
his Doctor’s degree from the Uni-
versity of Texas. Lundgren is al-
so one of the charter board mem-
bers of the Foundation and ano-
ther of his guests was H. W.
Chalberg, of Austin, another dir-
ector.
Dr. Ekdahl started his talk oTf
with a choice saying:
There is a destiny that makes
us brothers,
None goes his way alone
All that we send into the lives
of others,
Gomes back into our own.
He went into the reason for the
organizing of the Texas Swedish
Cultural Foundation, and how it
had its beginning June 16, 1951.
Tne organizational meeting was
held at the Royal Swedish Consul-
ate in Houston.
The aims of the Foundation
was to set up scholarships for ex-
change of students between Swed-
en and Texas in the various fields
such as science, art, music and re-
ligion, also architecture, engin-
eering, agriculture and languages,
the speaker said. Another thing
was to arrange visits of outstand-
ing Swedish and Texas men of
Science and Art to give lectures
.and performances in their respec-
tive fields.
Ekdahl said that the real power
behind the Foundation is the
Consul General of Sweden, Gun-
nar Dryselius, of Houston, who’s
untiring efforts has been respon-
sible for the success of the work
done so far
The speaker quoted from a
speech by Dryselius in 1951 thus:
(Continued on Page 8)
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EL-HI BAND CONCERT
DATE SET INMARCH
The Elgin High School Band
Concert date has been set for
Thursday evening, March 18, and
tickets will be on sale the first
of next week.
This concert is sponsored by
the Elgin Band Boosters Club
and money raised will go into the
fund to help finance needed music
and other items for the band.
Aluminum Display
Coach To Be Here
The very latest types of alum-
inum building products for the
farm will be on display in Elgin
on Tuesday, Feb. 23, when the
Reynolds Farm Institute Display
Coach arrives for a special half
day visit at the City Park.
It is made available to the peo-
ple in Elgin through the coopera-
tion of the Barnes - Jones and
the Mutual Lumber companies and
Moncrief - Lenoir Manufacturing
company of Texas, and will be at
City Park on Depot street from
8 a. m. to 12 noon, with everyone
welcome to see its contents free.
A special display of full scale
aluminum building products'
shows approved methods for in-
stalling aluminum gutter, roof-
ing and siding.
Samples, instruction and pro-
duct literature will be free to
those visiting the Reynolds Farm
Institute Display Coach.
■ :
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Bronaugh, Edwin. The Elgin Courier and Four County News (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 18, 1954, newspaper, February 18, 1954; Elgin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1554991/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Elgin Public Library.