100 YEARS AGO — 1917

It is deeply regretted that the new draft bill does not include idle men of all ages. Even the old loafers should be taken up and sent to war, or some sea port where he would cease from being troubling.

The patriotism of Centre College in the present national crisis is shown by the fact that over 20 members of the student body and alumni have enlisted in some branch of government service, while many others are preparing to rally to the country’s call. With the exception of State College, Centre has furnished more men for service than any other college in Kentucky. The faculty has announced that full credit will be given to all accepting appointments or called into federal service and also to students who are needed at home on the farm. It is the wish of the college that all students who enlist for service do so in their own home towns.

A large crowd saw the demonstration of paint manufacture as shown by a stereopticon at Coomer & Nave’s establishment Wednesday night. The demonstration was given by several experts from Lowe Bro’s. of Dayton, Ohio. Every feature of paint making, from beginning to placing on a house was given. It proved very entertaining.

75 YEARS AGO — 1942

There was an important called meeting of the Trade Expansion Committee of the Boyle County Chamber of Commerce. After a lengthy discussion, it was decided that chamber members feel that Danville banks are not open long enough, which hurts business. It was pointed out that banks are only open 24 hours a week, and closing an hour for noon was hooted at, as archaic, unbusinesslike and some even went as far as to state that both Frank and Jessie James were dead and that the old idea adopted to defeat their on-rush at the inner hour for the hold-up is no longer necessary.

A.L. Witt, of the Ramsey-Witt Sign Company of Lexington, has purchased at auction for $8,000 the handsome 20-room brick building known as the Shaker Guest House at Shakertown. A bit more than 10 acres  of land went with the main building and included a three-room tenant house, tobacco barn and other out buildings. The Guest House, erected by the Shaker Colony in 1818, is one of the most beautiful in Shakertown and is noted for its magnificent twin spiral stairways, three stories high. Mr. Witt said he planned to make some improvements as soon as war conditions permitted, and he would probably make it a resort.

The Rotary Club has decided to form an organization of representatives of service clubs, Chamber of Commerce and other organizations and citizens to do something for the men entering the service and those already in the service. It was reported that a large number of selectees will leave Danville next Wednesday at 7 o’clock in buses from in front of the post office in Danville. The Rotary Club is forming a mass meeting for everyone one to pay tribute to the men as they leave. The Danville High School Band will furnish the music and there will be one or two brief talks. All men called into service are invited and every citizen of the city and county is invited to attend.

Paul Mannini, owner of the Mannini Paint and Wallpaper Store said that he has been accepted as a candidate for an officer’s training school in the U.S. Army. He will leave during the latter part of June.

50 YEARS AGO — 1967

A fire of undetermined origin, which broke out on the lower floor of the three-story rick structure on West Walnut Street owned by Norris Armstrong Jr., formerly housing Central Wholesale Co.’s offices and warehouse and being used now as a warehouse for the  Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, traveled up through the elevator shaft where flames and heavy smoke erupted Saturday night. Five Danville Fire Department trucks and two Boyle trucks were called to the scene. Twenty eight on-duty, off-duty and volunteer firemen worked more than five hours on the scene.

Tommy Cocanougher, of Perryville, has been honored for designing an original model from Tinkertoys. The award, a Junior Engineer Certificate from the Toy Tinkers reads, “In recognition of creative imagination, ingenuity and skill, the Toy Tinkers offers this certificate as evidence of this achievement.”

Mary Elizabeth Lewis and Al Nimocks attracted plenty of attention when they performed their duties as crown bearers at the annual Centre College Carnival Pageant. Mary Elizabeth is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lewis Jr. of Danville. Al is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Walter Nimocks, of Danville. His father is a Centre faculty member.

Frank Blake, Danville city administrator, has pointed out to the Boyle County Fiscal Court that a review of the situation at the local Workhouse and city jail indicated a need to supplement the activities of the present workhouse keeper. Mr. Blake’s survey showed that the responsibility of 24-hour security, the feeding, detailing of work, housekeeping duties are tremendous responsibilities to place on one man. Jimmy Randolph has been serving as the workhouse custodian. Therefore it has been recommended to assign the workhouse function to the Danville chief of police for to control and assign two male employees from the police department to act as shift turnkeys; the third shift turnkey to be the current workhouse keeper, Randolph, who will continue to feed the prisoners and provide work details and housekeeping duties. Randolph may continue to reside in the apartment and draw a $200 a month salary. This will serve to relieve the workhouse keeper from a 24-hour, seven-day a week responsibility

25 YEARS AGO — 1992

Danville police officer Charles Parks graduates this afternoon from a 10-week basic training course in which a good deal of time was spent on how to apply “reasonable force” to subdue unruly lawbreakers. Parks, who has been with the Danville department for 14 months and spent 13 years as an officer with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, believes the four white Los Angeles officers involved in the video-taped March 1991 beating of a black man likely would have flunked the class on reasonable force. “You sometimes have to use force, but there is a right way and a wrong way to use it and the L.A. officers used the wrong way,” Parks said. Speaking about the L.A. riots, Parks said, “I don’t think we’ll see anything like that happen in Danville.” Parks, who is black, said he doesn’t view the situation in a racial perspective. “These are the views of a person who is a police officer, not a black cop,” he said.

The bright gleam of the golden oval pin paled beside the bright smiles and glistening tears of the students in the first class to graduate from the Midway College registered nursing program at McDowell Hospital. All of the students in this first class have found jobs in this area. Each student was presented a pin and white rose, then family members or friends pinned the gold oval to the uniform. Sam Luttrell’s pinning took place out of sight of the audience as he huddled on his knees with his three small children. Luttrell, the only male in the Danville Class has the distinction of being one of the first males to receive a diploma from Midway.