Leader Lookback: Parade, parking, farm, hijacking
This is what ran in The Evening Leader 50 years ago this week.
Christmas Parade Will Be Best Ever; Will Start Moving At 2 p.m. Sat.
It will be the best ever held here. What? The Christmas parade.
Forty units, including 12 floats, are signed up for participation in the Christmas parade at 2 p.m. Saturday. It promises to be the outstanding Christmas parade to be held in St. Marys since the project was initiated some years ago to herald the opening of the Christmas shopping season.
All parade units are to assemble in the area of the Holy Rosary Church not later than 1:30 p.m. Saturday, it was announced today by Mike Wirsch and Dale Grimes, parade co-chairmen. Mr. Wirsch represents the Retail division of St. Marys Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Grimes represents the Jaycees. The two organizations are co-sponsors of the much anticipated colorful parade.
Marching units will be assembled on the Holy Rosary playground and the floats and vehicles will be assembled on North and South Pine streets, between High and South streets.
The procession will start moving at 2 p.m. from the corner of Spring and Pine streets. It will proceed west on Spring street to Wayne, then proceed south on Wayne to South street, easton South street to Front street, north on Front street to Spring, east on Spring to Pine street where the units will be dispersed.
On the second pass through downtown St. Marys, Santa’s float will stop at the Municipal building long enough for Santa to disembark.
As soon as the parade is completed, Santa, assisted by four clowns, will greet the kids and have a small treat for them. All kids are requested to bring their Christmas lists to give to Santa, (this should help the Post Office a little during the Christmas rush), the cochairmen said.
All cars that are parked on Spring street, between Pine and Wayne streets, when the parade starts, are asked to remain by their meters until the parade has made the second pass. This is necessary if the Police Department is to be able to maintain an orderly flow of traffic to hold congestion to a minimum, the cochairmen said.
Members of the committees heading the arrangements for the parade are the following from the Retail Division, Chamber of Commerce - Mike Wirsch, Hank Mehall, Chuck Huwer, Larry Tinnerman, Dave Durnell and George Neargarder; Jaycees - Dale Grimes, chairman, Dave Lutz, Mike Pfeffenberger, Bob Axe, Dale Manbeck, Greg Wilson and Bill Huber.
Chestnut Street City Parking Lot Is Being Graded
Earth moving ma
chinery moved in to the city parking lot off Chestnut street yesterday to grade the lot preparatory to stoning it.
More than 1,000 cubic yards of dirt will be moved, leveling off the lot which has been expanded through cooperation of the merchants and the city.
After the grading is completed conduits will be laid for the electric wiring to serve the lights to be installed on the yard.
Eight inches of stone will be spread across the lot in preparation for blacktopping next spring. Completion of the grading and the application of stone to the parking lot will be welcomed by those who are finding it a welcome addition to the city’s offstreet parking facilities.
Blacktopping will not be done until weather conditions permit in the spring.
Drainage pipe will be installed by the city along the buildings facing Spring street.
Deerhake’s earth moving equipment was brought in for the grading.
Wally Hirschfield Congratulated
William J. Kuhfuss, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation congratulates Wallace Hirschfeld, New Bremen, who was reelected to the Ohio Farm Bureau Board of Trustees during the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation held in the Neil House Motor Inn, Columbus, Ohio, November 17-18-19, 1971.
Mr. Hirschfeld is president of the Auglaize County Landmark and vice-president of Landmark State Board. He farms 320 acres in St. Marys Township and raises swine.
William J. Kuhfuss, 59 Mackinaw, Illinois, heads the largest general farm organization in the United States with 1,943,181 member families in 49 states and Puerto Rico. Alaska is the only State without a Farm Bureau organization.
Kuhfess was elected Federation president Dec. 10, 1970 at the 52nd annual meeting of the organization in Houston, Texas. He is the seventh man to hold the presidency of the AFBF since it was organized in 1919.
Kuhfess has an 880acre livestock and grain farm near Mackinaw, Tazewell County, Illinois, which he farms in partnership with his brother, Alvin. He is an Angus cattle breeder and a past board member of the American Angus Association.
Kuhfess’s long association with Farm Bureau in Illinois began shortly after his graduation from Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, with a bachelor’s degree in education, specializing in science and agriculture.
Hijacker ‘Chutes From Plane With $200,000
FBI agents and police tanned out in the Cascade foothills today searching for the daring hijacker who parachuted into the wilderness with $200.000 ransom.
“If he is in the area... we’ll dig him out of the woodwork somehow FBI spokesman promised.
The FBI decided Thursday to set up search headquarters here for a “D.B. Cooper,” who pulled off the bizarre Thanksgiving Eve hijacking and parachuting and disappeared with the ransom.
Hijacker Was Relaxed
A Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 was hijacked late Wednesday with 42 persons aboard on a flight from Portland, Ore., to Seattle, Wash.
The methodical hijacker allowed the 36 passengers to disembark after he received the ransom and four parachutes.
The hijacker, described as middle-aged and “very relaxed,” disappeared as the plane flew on from SeattleTacoma International Airport to Reno, Nev.
The FBI said the search was being concentrated in the Cowlitz-Clark County area in southern Washington as a result of information provided by the crew and strictly conjecture on our part.” Copters Help Search An FBI spokesman said the 75-square mile area was selected because the crew reported a slight shift in the plane’s balance while over this farmland region.
Searchers were aided by helicopters and light planes.
Two stewardesses were allowed to deplane with the passengers at Seattle-Tacoma. Two flight officers and a stewardess were locked up in a rear compartment while the Silot flew the aircraft to Nevada. He had told the pilot he wanted to fly to Mexico City.
The pilot, Capt. William Scott, said he also communicated with the hijacker near the Washington-Oregon border.
The FBI said the hijacker tentatively was identified as “D.B. Cooper.” Agents said they have not been able to amplify on the name. They said he paid cash for a ticket at Portland.
The jetliner, Flight 305, originally took off from Washington, D.C., and stopped at Minneapolis, Minn.; Great Falls and Missoula, Mont.; and Spokane, Wash., before touching down at Portland. Hijacker’s Note
The hijacker gave a note to a stewardess and showed her “two red cylinders with wires,” officials said. The alleged bomb was in a suitcase.
The man told the captain at Seattle that the crew and passengers would be killed if his demands for $200,000 and four parachutes were not met.