100 YEARS AGO — 1919

Next Sunday will be Centre College Day in Danville. All the local churches will unite in holding services at the Christian Church in both the morning and evening. The services will mark the beginning of the campaign to raise a half a million dollars as an endowment fund for Centre College, an institution that is celebrating its 100th anniversary of usefulness in this community.

Last Friday night the citizens of Hustonville were aroused by the cry of “fire!” It was found that the Hustonville Graded School was in flames. For miles around the people rushed to the fire but nothing could be done and the building burnt to the ground. The school building had hardly been completed and was the pride of the town. The loss is probably close to $30,000 and the building itself cost $21,000 to construct. Laboratory supplies which cost $500 had just been moved in a few days before the fire. There was only $5,000 of insurance on the building. It is thought that the wood in the building may have been too hot from over-heated pipes.

75 YEARS AGO — 1944

PFC Raymond Munday, 21, and Private Roy E. Munday, 18, are the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Munday of High Street. Both are now in the Pacific area of action. PFC Munday volunteered for military service on Mar. 31, 1941. He was a student at Danville High School for one year and was a Boyle County farmer when he joined the armed forces. Private Munday is a former Danville High School student and had been employed at the Burgin distillery house before joining the Marines.

Corporal H. Clarence Abbott, son of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Abbott of Junction City, surprised his family by appearing unexpectedly at their home last Saturday night after an absence of one year in the Southwest Pacific regions where he had been in military duty with the U.S. Marine Corps. A paratrooper in the Amphibian Corps, Corporal Abbott has seen action at Bougainville and other islands off the coast of Australia.

“Perhaps this dressing may save some boy’s life” a surgical dressings worker was overheard saying as she lingered to make just one more dressing in the library’s workroom not long ago. Over one million of these surgical sponges have been made by women in Boyle County during the past 18 months. If we could follow these dressings on their way we would find them in the field hospitals and first aid stations of the four corners of the world. We know Boyle County bandages have been used because Dr. Freed wrote “somewhere in New Guinea” to his wife, Mrs. Freed on Perryville, of his surprise upon opening a carton to find it labeled Boyle County, Kentucky.

50 YEARS AGO — 1969

The 107 vocational agriculture students at Boyle County High School are joining Future Farmers of America members throughout the nation in activities to focus attention on the importance of agriculture during National FFA Week. The week of George Washington’s Birthday is chosen each year for the observance of National FFA Week. Although usually recognized as a Revolutionary War General and our first president, Washington’s first love was the farm. He was one of the first persons in the nation to practice contour planting, crop rotation, fertilization, and other soil conservation and improvement methods.

Boyle County 4-H’ers cited at the 4-H Achievement banquet were Ed Southworth, Fort Harrod area champion in automotive; Nikki Porter, champion in Dair; Lisa Durrett, champion in Sheep and Beef; Patsy Roller, champion health; Linda Benge, red ribbon in clothing; Tommy Jackson, champion in boy’s leadership and boy’s special; Donna Goggin with a blue in home improvement; Laura Mehok, with a red in foods and nutrition; Ricky Logue, champion in boys citizenship and achievement; and Donna Young, blue in food preservation and home economics.

25 YEARS AGO — 1994

Timberland Co. is in the process of opening a worldwide footwear distribution center in the Stewarts Lane building that recently housed Thom McAn Shoe Inc. Hiring has already begun. The company will employ between 60 and 70 workers, which is about the same number of jobs that were lost when Thom McAn closed down last month.

There is a need for a planning and zoning commission in Boyle County and a committee is trying to find a fair way for the county’s governments to fund the agency.

“It is unthinkable to go without planning and zoning,” said Don Puteet, a representative of Junction City.

Boyle County Judge-Executive Tony Wilder has tried to assure volunteers with the county’s five rescue squads that they will play a vital role in his proposed new 24-hour paid ambulance system. Wilder said the volunteers would be used as a backup to the paid staff, working primarily in the nighttime and early morning hours. That would allow the volunteers to work their day jobs and continue their rescue service at night, something that has been a major problem for many squad members and has resulted in inadequate response times, he said.