Forum Flashbacks: April 2-8
MARYVILLE DAILY FORUM, APRIL 6, 2001
25 YEARS AGO: My Reading Buddy & Me – During the “Week of the Young Child,” the second grade students at St. Gregory’s school read books to students in the kindergarten class. Pictured is Molly Stiens, right, reading her book to Mikaila Wallace. The kindergarten students also made books for their second grade reading buddies.
50 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, April 8, 1976
Chain Letter Warnings Issued
Two Nodaway County government officials today warned against participation in chain letter schemes because of participation in such a scheme would be a felony under both Missouri and federal laws.
“A national chain letter scheme involving the use of U.S. savings bonds and labeled ‘Spirit of 76’ has involved several persons in Nodaway County,” Pros. Atty. John Fraze said today.
Fraze said that the letters appear to have originated in another state and complaints have been registered in several additional states. …
“The letter with the Bicentennial gimmick,” Maryville Postmaster Paul Fields said warning of a similar scheme, “urges those receiving it to mail $2 — $1 for each 100 years — to the person whose name is first on the list in celebration of our nation’s 200th birthday.”
“Chief Postal Inspector C. Neil Benson has informed us that actual profits from chain letters are usually obtained only by those who originate or enter the scheme very early,” Fields said.
Chain letters requesting money or other items of value are non-mailable under the Federal Mail Fraud Statute. They are considered to be fraudulent because of the likelihood that the chain will be broken and most participants will get nothing from their involvement.
75 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, April 7, 1951
Sat. Night Musings
In the short space of the seven days just past, we here in the heart of Northwest Missouri have had several interesting and rather exciting happenings that seem worthy of a few words of comment.
First of all, on Monday the Daily Forum carried a story and a drawing of the city administration’s proposed plan to cut back the courthouse lawn in an effort to help ease the acute parking problem by creating additional space. Of course, more parking stalls would mean more parking meters, and the mere mention of that word, “parking meter” these days seems more than ample cause for an argument.
Well, the entire question of whether the parking meter is justified, no matter at what rate it consumes nickels, does not seem apropos at this time, for try as you may, you can not deny that they are here to stay. Nodaway’s county seat, we are afraid, has just grown into them.
The question of whether the courthouse lawn should be cut back or not has brought us many letters expressing opinions on the matter. They are varied. Some folks believe it to be a good idea to cut back the lawn, while others are quite emphatic in their objection.
Many persons, in writing to the paper, place the current issue second and take out their wrath on the old “nickel grabber” and the poor condition of Maryville’s streets. …
The second big happening of the week that caught our eye was the decisive step taken by our city administration to do something about the streets.
This too is a controversial subject, although it shouldn’t be, for the time has come when any action taken by the city council in an effort to improve our streets must be greeted with enthusiasm.
There can be little doubt that running a city the size of Maryville is a thankless job. Criticism comes easy. For example, we know that there are people who believe that the city officials did wrong in clearing away the fallen limbs and tree branches brought down throughout town by the recent ice storm. Some say that it was money spent foolishly and everyone should have disposed of the debris as best he could.
Yet, had the city failed to take care of this matter, there would have been an equal number of people ready to plague the council with complaints for not keeping the city streets clear of obstacles.
We are happy to see the city start to take action by drawing up a resolution for the purchase of rock. We sincerely hope that others feel the same way we do on this issue and will bear with the administration as they try to get Maryville’s streets back in shape.
It will be a long range program and somewhere along the line someone may make a minor mistake or not do things exactly the way we believe it should be done, but we should be patient, for at least we know that someone is trying.
The only action by the city council that is entirely unforgivable is no action at all.
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.
