Forum Flashbacks: Jan. 1-7
MARYVILLE DAILY FORUM, JAN. 3, 2001
25 YEARS AGO: Welcome First Baby – Mataya Layne McClish, daughter of Dawna E. McClish, New Market, Iowa, was welcomed as the First Baby of 2001, at 8:25 a.m., Monday, Jan. 1, 2001, at St. Francis Hospital & Health Services, Maryville. She weighed 8 pounds, 15 ounces and joins one sister, Mariah McClish. Her grandparents are Vance and Elaine Brinerof of New Market.
50 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, Jan. 2, 1976
Kemper Convictions Overturned by Court
The four first-degree murder convictions against Benedict L. Kemper, Conception, have been overturned by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Kansas City District.
Kemper had been found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder by a Platte County jury in the fall of 1973. He was accused of murdering Marion Merrigan, his wife Kathleen and their two children, Billy and Helen, on Oct. 10, 1972, and had been sentenced to life imprisonment on each conviction. …
The judgment was reversed “for the error in failing to instruct (the jury) on murder in the second degree.” …
The case, however, is expected to be returned to Platte County, where it was originally taken on a change of venue from Nodaway County, and it is expected Kemper will be retried as an adult because of several rulings made by the appeals court.
Several points in the appeal submitted to the Court of Appeals by court-appointed defense attorneys Frank Strong and Larry Zahnd, concerned the fact that Kemper, at the time of his arrest, was a 15-year-old juvenile, and later was certified to stand trial as an adult. …
Judge John M. Yeaman, who presided over the trial, instructed the jury it could find Kemper: guilty of murder in the first degree; not guilty of first-degree murder; or not guilty by reason of mental defect. He turned down a defense motion to allow the jury to consider second-degree murder.
75 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, Jan. 1, 1951
Nodaway County Will Be Better Place in Which to Live This Year
The Daily Forum asked several prominent men and women, representative of the various phases of life in Nodaway County to comment on the statement, “Nodaway County Will Be a Better Place to Live in 1951.” …
Arthur C. Ausherman, County Extension Agent:
Electricity, the greatest time saver in the country, will make Nodaway county a better place to live in on the farms. Approximately 75 per cent of Nodaway county farms have electricity which has been responsible for the addition of many complete water systems in farm homes and on the farm.
Even though we have more and better equipment and machinery on the farm than ever before, labor shortages are likely to develop as the armed forces and high wages in the city pull labor from the farm.
Charles Baumli, president Maryville Chamber of Commerce:
Due to Nodaway county’s position in one of the richest agricultural sectors of the country, and due to the aggressiveness of the citizens living in the county, Nodaway county necessarily will be a better place in which to live in 1951.
By assuming our responsibilities to ourselves, our community and to our nation, we ourselves can make Nodaway county a better place in which to live and do business.
R. E. Graham, Pastor of St. Patrick’s Church:
We all hope the New Year, marking the opening of the second half of the twentieth century, will be the happiest possible for all the people of this community. The New Year brings with it a time of crisis — social, political, economic, but especially spiritual. Well indeed, may we heed the call of our leaders to labor and pray for the return of the world to God, and a peaceful conclusion of the Korean War. We in Nodaway County are happy in the peaceful possession of our churches, schools and youth organizations, far removed from the Kremlin, and just in the measure we support them, and take a new hold on our ideals, may we expect to enjoy happiness during the year 1951.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The 50- and 75-year flashbacks are courtesy of the Missouri Digital Newspaper Project from the State Historical Society of Missouri, accessible at shsmo.newspapers.com.
