Forum Flashbacks: Nov. 20-26
MARYVILLE DAILY FORUM, NOV. 22, 2000
25 YEARS AGO: First Thanksgiving Feast – At St. Gregory’s School, Tuesday, the calibrated effort of Kathy Wiederholt’s kindergarten class and Sue Seipel’s first grade class got together for a Thanksgiving feast, with music by Native American drummer Joseph Schreck. The children sang songs and talked about the many things they were thankful for, such as family, turkey, friends, good weather, animals, God and grandparents. This was the first time for this event and it is planned for it to become an annual one. Pictured by the teepee are: (l to r) Ashtyn Wilmes, Abigail Riley, Connor Heitman and Jackson Schieber.
50 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, Nov. 25, 1975
Pride, Misinformation Stops Many From Food Stamps
The national trend has been for food stamp recipients to increase as the economy subsides or as unemployment rises. The food stamp program in Nodaway County has grown since its inception in July 1974, however, many eligible persons apparently are not receiving food stamps.
While the county has a population exceeding 20,000 persons with 4-5 per cent eligible for food stamps, there are a substantial number of persons eligible for food stamps who do not, for some reason, receive the food stamps for which they are qualified.
Pride, non-information and misinformation all play a role in the failure of many eligible persons failing to apply for food stamps, according to James Cade, director of the county Family Services office which administers the program, and Don Schlotz, State Outreach Coordinator for the Food Stamp Program.
Older persons are, for many reasons, not utilizing the food stamp program like they should, Schlotz said this morning in Maryville.
“We’ve had so much adverse publicity, a lot of older people have quit,” Schlotz said. “They don’t want friends and neighbors knowing they’re using food stamps.”
Schlotz added the elderly people will even use their own money in food stores instead of the stamps they have with them if they feel they will be seen using the food stamps by someone they know. In rural counties such as Nodaway where elderly people “have been brought up to fend for themselves” it is especially difficult to get them to use food stamps.
Pride is a big factor in keeping many families off the food stamp rolls. “The fact that people have to go to the family services office has a ‘welfare stigma’ to it,” Schlotz said.
75 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, Nov. 20, 1950
Twelve Thousand Gobblers Give Nodaway Countian Busy Time
Take the gobble of one healthy, well-fed turkey, multiply by 12,000, and you’ll have a general idea of the constant uproar at the Fairway Turkey Farm, about four miles south of Clearmont on highway 71.
Twelve thousand turkeys add up to a lot of Thanksgiving dinners on the hoof, but according to Harold Hester, owner of the birds, that is exactly how many he raised this year.
Until last week all of the turkeys were roaming the fields of the farm. Some of the birds have now been shipped for the Thanksgiving market, but plenty remain to keep Hester on the hop.
Nerve-wracking Job
Raising turkeys is a somewhat nerve-wracking job, to hear Hester tell it. “They can think of dozens of ways to commit suicide,” is the way he puts it. “About 12 per cent of the original flock will be casualties before the end of the growing season.”
It seems that turkeys are the most inquisitive, the most jittery, and generally the most cantankerous of domestic fowl. An unexpected noise or an unusual occurrence often is enough to send a whole flock into a stampede which may leave several birds smothered in the crush.
Turkeys Hang Themselves
Hester expresses bewilderment at the uncanny ability turkeys have for hanging themselves. It is not unusual to find a bird hanging by the neck from the automatic feeders employed on the farm, or even from a convenient fence.
A third important factor in the 12 per cent casualty list is the turkeys themselves. A crippled or unhealthy bird is set upon by the flock and killed. No weaklings are permitted.
Hester, age 27, grew into the turkey-raising business. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Oren Hester, have raised turkeys since 1929. Harold took over the chore last year. …
Hester makes retail sales to Nodaway countians at the farm, but the bulk of the birds are shipped to markets throughout this area. His 12,000 turkeys make him one of the largest breeders in the this part of the country, and chances are good that the turkey you buy from the corner grocery this week will have come from “up the road a piece” — from the Fairway Turkey Farm.
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.
