Forum Flashbacks: Nov. 27-Dec. 3
MARYVILLE DAILY FORUM, NOV. 28, 2000
25 YEARS AGO: Aliyah Haynes gives Santa Claus “the look” and then discusses her Christmas list with him. Santa’s arrival Friday evening was greeted by young and old at Maryville’s Franklin Park. A lighting ceremony and Santa visits were all part of the evening’s festivities.
25 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, Nov. 29, 2000
Weather Monk predicts normal winter for Northwest Missouri
Since 1884, the monks at Conception Abbey have kept track of weather trends.
Today, the “Weather Monk,” Brother Damian Larson continues this tradition.
He carefully analyzes and scrutinizes the Abbey’s weather archives. After closely observing this data, Brother Damian issues his weather forecast.
As the last days of fall linger, Brother Damian sees a return to normal winter weather — cold temperatures and snow.
“After looking at our statistics and trends, I think that the coming winter will be about average,” he said. “Now that means we’ll have about two good snows, amounting to about 17 or 18 inches for the season.”
Brother Damian predicts the snow will come in two major periods, with periods of thawing in between. In addition to the snow, he said Northwest Missourians can expect temperatures to drop as low as -11.
“As far as cold is concerned, our coldest temperature shouldn’t exceed 11 below zero,” he said. “Anything below that would be considered severe according to our average statistics.”
Due to recent winters being unseasonably warm, Brother Damian said a “normal” winter might seem extremely cold.
“It’s been since 1996 since we’ve had what you’d call an average winter in our area … because of this warmer weather we’ve been having in the winter, an average winter would seem rather cold,” he said.
75 years ago
Maryville Daily Forum, Nov. 29, 1950
Graham Farmer Loses Hand in Corn Picker
Another farmer became a victim of the corn picker when Harold Gaddy of Graham lost his right hand in an accident about 10:30 o’clock Tuesday morning.
The mishap occurred on the farm which Gaddy works on and shares with Charles Riggs. Gaddy explained that he had reached in, while the motor was running, to pull a stalk out of the way of the extractor rollers. His glove was caught by the tooth-like rollers, pulling his hand in.
Gaddy Alone at Time
Gaddy was alone at the time and unable to shut the motor off to free his hand of the mangling mechanism. Throwing first a hat and then an overshoe in to force the machine to stop, unsuccessfully, he then forced one of his shoes into the rollers. This stopped the machine and broke the gears.
Calls Bring Help
It was about an hour before Gaddy’s calls brought help. When Charles Riggs heard them he came and freed the victim’s hand after taking the rotors apart with tools.
Wendel Lewis of Graham brought Gaddy to St. Francis hospital, where his hand was amputated at the wrist because the severity of the injuries made repair impossible.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The 75-year flashback is courtesy of the Missouri Digital Newspaper Project from the State Historical Society of Missouri, accessible at shsmo.newspapers.com.
