Forum Flashbacks: June 6-12
MARYVILLE DAILY FORUM, JUNE 10, 1999
25 YEARS AGO: Keepin’ cool – Nikkayla Schulte and Schylar Martin embrace the heat and each other while playing at the Maryville Aquatic Center Wednesday.
25 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, June 9, 1999
It can’t hurt to be prepared.
That’s what the Church of the Nazarene in Maryville believes as they — along with the rest of the world — prepare for the dawn of the new millennium.
“We’re trying to take a no-nonsense approach to do what we can that is not that expensive, but will be a service to our community,” the Rev. Kent Pitcher explained.
The church has applied for a variance to install a 500-gallon propane fuel tank on their property in preparation for Y2K. Many are concerned that the computer bug which will misread the year 2000 dates as 1900 will cause utility service to be interrupted.
Pitcher said the church has plans to utilize the propane backup to heat the basement of the building in case natural gas service in Maryville fails. They hope to provide sleeping space and one meal a day for about 30 individuals, if necessary.
“Our plan is to reach out to the community and show love and care in Christ’s name,” Pitcher said.
Although their simple measures could be a helpful resource to those in need, none of their efforts will be wasted, Pitcher remarked. Any food the church collects that is not used will be delivered to the Maryville Food Pantry and unused propane can be returned.
80 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, June 6, 1944
It was a quiet but expectant Maryville that received the news of the D-Day invasion. Little excitement was apparent outside of The Forum, probably due to the false flash Saturday, after which many were of the opinion that something was happening. (Editor’s note: On June 3, 1944, the Associated Press in London accidentally sent an erroneous newsflash that radio stations across the country immediately picked up, announcing an invasion of France by Allied forces. The mistake was made by an “inexperienced telegraph operator,” the AP later explained, who was practicing with fake newsflashes.)
Early morning residents out on the streets eagerly asked for information from companions, but that soon was made unnecessary after the appearance of The Forum invasion edition extra. Considerable talk was heard in the restaurants, but the breakfasteers were less excited than the group who heard the first announcement of the false flash last week.
The First Question
Several clerks in Maryville stores had neither heard the radio announcements nor seen papers which told of the invasion until mid-morning.
The primary question seemed to be: “How much territory have they taken” or “How many men were used.”
No mass prayer meetings were held in Maryville, but it is understood that churches were open for those who cared to go in. The Ministerial Alliance, through its president, Dr. A. C. Kruer, has inserted a special appeal for prayer in today’s Forum.
Radios Kept On
Throughout the town radios were quietly sending forth the additional announcements of the Allied command. Listeners calmly congregated and then dispersed, with little or no comment.
In one restaurant, the White Owl Cafe, breakfasteers were met with “It’s D-Day: Coffee’s on the house,” from the lips of Ernie Devers, operator. All partook of the caffeine toast to the success of the attempt to liberate the down-trodden of Europe.
At the St. Francis hospital, a baby boy was born to Lieut. and Mrs. Robert Yates, Mound City, at 2:30 a.m., the approximate time of the Allied announcement of the invasion. The boy was named Thomas Richard and weighed seven pounds and fifteen ounces. Mrs. Yates is the former Elaine Wyman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. L. Wyman, formerly of Maryville.
Rush on For Bonds
While the talk was all about our forces landing in France, there was a rush on at the banks to get war bonds dated as of June 6.
There was no loud cheering, bell ringing or sirens blowing to announce the greatest news yet to happen in World War No. 2.
There were some few who stayed up all night listening to the broadcasts, having heard the German reports about midnight. Among them were Harry Todd, Rusty Sellers and Don Robey.
The Forum got its linotypes turned on about 3:15 a.m., and in an hour after the melting pots had melted, the machines started grinding out the metal lines for the extras. …
Letter From Denmark
The liberation of Europe, launched today by the Allied army’s invasion on the French coast, was a restoration of hope to Aage Jorgenson, a World War I veteran living near Barnard, who this week received the first word from his family in Denmark since the Germans occupied his native country.
Through the International Red Cross, Jorgenson was able to receive a letter from his brother telling him that his 80-year-old mother, his two sisters, and himself, all living in and near Copenhagen, were well.
The letter from Denmark was written March 3. Jorgenson’s mother is the grandmother of seven boys in the present war, serving against the Axis.
100 years ago
Maryville Tribune, June 6, 1924
MARYVILLE BOY, NOW FLYER, HERE
_______________
Orlo Quinn, a captain in the United States Army Air Service, and a former Maryville boy, is visiting in Maryville for a few days with his uncle, H. W. Hull, and friends. Captain Quinn has just finished three years of foreign service in the Panama Canal Zone, and is on a three months leave before he goes to Langley Field, Va., where he will enter the Officers Tactical School for additional training.
Captain Quinn has visited his mother, Mrs. Flora Quinn, and his sister in Greeley, Colo., since his leave began. From here he will go to Hopkins to visit his brother, Dr. C. W. Kirk, and from there goes to Langley Field.
Captain Quinn says that he expects to remain in the air service indefinitely, as he finds the work very interesting and thinks that the training is the best that he can get in any field of work. When his term expires in the army Quinn says that the commercial field for airplanes will offer great possibilities for advancement, and he expects to enter this kind of work.
Editor’s note: Quinn never did end up flying commercial planes, staying in the service instead. In 1930 he became the first commanding officer at Randolph Field near San Antonio, Texas — now Randolph Air Force Base — nicknamed the “West Point of the Air.” Lt. Col. Orlo Quinn died at age 61 in 1954.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The 80-year and 100-year flashbacks are courtesy of the Missouri Digital Newspaper Project from the State Historical Society of Missouri, accessible at shsmo.newspapers.com.
