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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Dec 16, 1962
Page
2
Cloudy mild conditions with fog and light morning rain in Decatur and Vicinity. River at Keller Memorial Bridge measured 14.64 feet, up .19 in 24 hours, sea level 550.94 feet. Venus peaks in brilliance this week as the Moon and Sun align.
Burleson notes 1962 surplus of about $1.586 million in city revenue. Major expenditures include street expansion on Austinville Road SW, retirement fund payments, Pryor Field appropriation, fire station No. 5 on Danville Road SW, and full payment of public improvement assessments. Revenue sources include license tax and parking meters.
The USS Alabama could cost about 1 million dollars to relocate from California to Mobile as a state shrine. Henri Aldridge, head of a 22 member committee, estimates 750000 to 1 million and says a state commission may be formed to manage the project if approved. A pavement patching machine for highway repair uses infrared heat instead of flame to heat asphalt.
Hartselle officials work to finish a new propane gas plant to meet peak demand during extreme cold. Mayor Grady Long and Gas Department head Preston Hall urged residents to conserve as a frigid week drove usage past the existing contract peak with Alabama Tennessee Gas Co. The plant could have mitigated the spike, and authorities warned of higher rates if demand exceeded limits. A power blackout accompanied the cold snap, prompting round‑the‑clock utility operations and calls for tighter energy use.
Obituaries note the deaths of Mrs. Fannie Bolden of Hillsboro and Albert Robinson with funeral services at Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church Shilo Baptist Church and New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church respectively. Burial arrangements are with Reynolds Funeral Home and Cottingham Sykes New Hope cemeteries. Survivors include spouses children siblings nieces nephews and other relatives across Hillsboro Detroit Decatur Brooklyn Cleveland and Athens.
Mr and Mrs Jessie Mayberry of Athens announce the birth of their child on a Thursday at Limestone Hospital. The family reports the new arrival is healthy and cherished.
A local hospital bulletin lists admissions including Wilma Owens Moulton Mrs Charles Hood Grayson Stephen Lynn Copeland Moulton and Mrs R C Parker Decatur. Dismissals include William Dutton Moulton Bessie Owens Moulton and Mrs Mary Blackwood Mount Hope plus others from Athens Elkmont Lexington Trinity and Elkmont with several month counts.
A list of individuals and families appears with multiple names and addresses across towns including Decatur Ardmore Norman Sparkman Somerville Town Creek Athens and Cullman. The entries mention Mrs Effie Stebenson Mrs Ella Austin Master Christopher Wilburn infant sons and daughters and several couples with street addresses.
The Florida Citrus Commission called an emergency session for Sunday to decide whether to halt citrus shipments after a severe cold wave that threatened a 650 million crop. Gov. Bryant said inferior fruit would not leave the state. A planeload of Jamaican workers arrived to aid a large salvage operation as thaw conditions rose.
A city jail officer could not confirm the arrested count as five people were booked for loitering or disobeying police and later released on bond. A church sanctuary suffered shattered stained glass and broken paintings while the blast cracked basement walls where children practiced a Christmas play. The explosion damaged nearby homes on Rives and Provitt streets, part of a string of at least a dozen bombings in Birmingham over six years linked to racial integration clashes.
NASA says Mariner 2, a 447 pound probe, sped toward the sun after a Venus flyby. It will reach its closest solar approach on December 27 at 65 million miles from the sun and remains in radio contact. Data from Venus observations will take weeks to evaluate.
Kentucky native Hutson rose from small town law practice to lead Mutual Savings, turning a $5,000 paid in capital in 1927 into $1.75 million by 1961. Insurance in force grew to $234 million by 1961, while assets reached $23.7 million. He recalls rough early years and a vow to modest salaries after 1937, plus political battles and brick‑by‑brick office relocations culminating in a 1954 six‑story headquarters.
The Mutua l Savings Life Insurance Co board declared a 10 cent per share dividend for stockholders of record December 31 1962 payable January 21 1963. A company spokesman notes the firm has doubled in size roughly every five years and is the fourth largest in Alabama with home offices outside Birmingham.
The article lists four embassy officials Raymond Smith Kermit Midthun Richard Jacob and Rodney Carlson ousted amid espionage links to Oleg Penkovsky. It explains a covert exchange system using lamp posts matchboxes and hidden ink with steps described to trigger data transfer and the subsequent Soviet interception and expulsion actions.
Athens Circuit Judge Newton B Powell granted probation to five Limestone County defendants this fall. William Thomas Scottkretz II 23 of Portland Oregon escapee received one year probation for issuing bad checks. Charles Hargrove 36 of St Joseph Tennessee got three years probation for escape. Cora Hastings 30 Athens 7 received 18 months probation after forgery sentence suspended. Charles Allen 34 Athens 4 placed on three years probation after escape. Jessie Battles 56 received nine days probation after a 30 day sentence for prohibition with a $150 fine.
About 2,300 pupils in the Athens City School system will get out Tuesday for Christmas break. Superintendent Julian Newman said schools would release students around 10 a.m. County schools will close Friday for the holidays.
Wade Barksdale 64 of Athens died Friday at 11 45 pm at Athens Limestone Hospital. Funeral today at 2 30 pm from Corinth Church of Christ with A J Rollings and Winston Bracken conducting. Burial in Athens Rose Lawn Cemetery. Survived by widow Algie D Barksdale four daughters two sons eight grandchildren eight siblings and five sisters. Pallbearers named Mason Pepper Douglas Pepper Amos Barksdale Joe Leopard Roger Leopard Wayne Tribble.
Funeral services for Edgar Corbett Adkins 70 of Hartselle will be held today at 2 p.m. from Barnette Chapel with Peck Funeral Home directing burial in Waldermose Cemetery. Survivors include wife Carmie Adkins four daughters three sons and four brothers. The body will remain at home until services.
William Noel Whitfield, 69, of Athens, died Saturday at 1 30 p m at his residence. Funeral services set for Monday at 2 p m at a location to be announced by McConnell Funeral Home. He leaves wife Alice Whitfield, two daughters Mrs Virgil Smith and Mrs Harold Broadway, six grandchildren, two sisters Mrs Eugene Adkins of Elkton and Miss Annie D Coffman of Elkmont, and two brothers Herman Coffman of Athens and Harold Coffman of Detroit Michigan.
Lonnie Brown of 411 1-2 Memorial Dr NW was jailed on investigation charges after admitting theft of radios from Theo Hill Appliances and Furniture Co. Police traced the items to pawnshop and home locations, recovering six radios with a total retail value around 340 dollars. An investigative lead followed a found radio reported by Skyline Cafe staff.
In Birmingham the American College of Physicians elects ten Alabama physicians as fellows and five more as associate members. Fellows include Birmingham doctors Charles E. Butterworth Jr. James F. Crenshaw William J. Hammack Lloyd L. Hefner Wood S. Herren Walter C. McCoy Hershel Victor Murdaugh Jr. James A. Pittman Jr. and William B. Crum of Montgomery plus Carl F. Luckey of Florence. Associate members include Hugh Joseph Hughes Bruce King Johnson Earl H Shugerman John S. Whitehead all of Birmingham and Michael Lory Campbell of Mobile.
Ernest Simpson Jr. 16 remains in recovery after July tractor injuries. Doctors at University Hospital Birmingham report slower progress in two months but emphasize need for advanced therapy. Parents describe home routines with improvised equipment and schedule next Birmingham check January 25. community fund raised $4,238.43 to cover medical care.
City police logged four traffic accidents on Saturday near the 2nd Ave shopping area crowded with Christmas shoppers. No injuries occurred. Drivers include Gordon A. Amos, Anneil W. Grubbs, Leroy Dietz, Curtis W. Bumpus, Thomas T. Barkley, Mrs Homer Whitworth, Charles McCoy, and Robert B. Vaughn, with damages reported but no fatalities.
In Rambouillet France President Charles de Gaulle and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan began talks on East West relations Europe’s role in the unfolding power struggle and the future of the Western alliance.
Rep. George Grant of Alabama warned against new cotton producing regions seeking to seize acreage through forthcoming legislation. He urged swift action after January, aiming to keep cotton competitive with synthetics and protect the textile industry while stopping regional grabs. He spoke after two days of House Agriculture hearings and said any bill must unite regions and not reward relocation of allotments.
Athens district notice: Piney Chapel Junior High School P-TA will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the school. The agenda includes discussion of upcoming events and student activities.
Limestone County registrars will hold a session Monday in the Board of Registrars office on the courthouse’s bottom floor, according to chairmen Thomas W. Spencer.
Former Athens mayor R. H. Richardson Jr. is reported improving at his home on 1112 E. Pryor Street after being dismissed from Limestone Hospital where he spent several days with a heart ailment in Athens.
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