What Was Going On 14 Years Ago The Stockton Area Chamber of Commerce’s Olde Tyme Christmas was scheduled for the coming Friday, Nov. 28, 2008.

Nila Denton of Stockton had graciously lent her many lovely Nativities to the Stockton Public Library for public viewing during the months of November and December. The Nativities come from all over the world.

An electrical short was the probable cause of a house fire at 413 N. Third on Sunday night. The owner of the house, Brook Dix, was unaware of the fire until his neighbor from across the street, Gloria Harris, was banging on his door. Stockton fire personnel quickly responded and had the blaze under control in a little over an hour.

The area fall harvest got off to a slow start thanks to Mother Nature showering the area with some rainfall, but as soon as the sun came out the farmers were in the fields taking care of business. As of November 3, 2008, the Woodston Coop had received 103,000 bushels of corn; 73,000 bushels of milo; and 113,000 bushels of soybeans. The Farmers Union Elevator in Stockton had taken in 13,000 bushels of corn; 43,000 bushels of milo, and 157,000 bushels of soybeans.

On Oct. 19, 2008, when Melvin Bain of Stockton walked up to Main Street Christian Church for services, he saw a bat lying on the outside steps of the building. Bain thought he would remove the bat before more people arrived, so he secured it in a plastic container, thinking he would dispose of the creature later in the day. That evening, when Bain, who had put gloves on to handle the bat, took it out of its container, the bat immediately hooked on to one of the gloves. Bain tried to flick the bat off a few times, and when that didn’t work with the heavy gloves on, Bain took the glove off of his free hand. As quick as Bain tried again to brush the bat free from the glove, it bit Bain on the exposed finger. Bain was able to contain the bat again and took it down to Central Veterinary Services. The bat was sent to Kansas State University for rabies diagnostic testing. It was confirmed on Oct. 21st that the bat had rabies. Bain was notified immediately by the Rooks County Health Department and began his series of five rabies shots on Oct. 22nd. Bain wanted to have his encounter with the bat in the newspaper, even though he knew how stupid it was to have taken off the glove. He wanted to make sure the public is aware they are not to mess with bats that they find. Also, he wanted people to know that the incubation period for rabies lasts up to five years.

What Was Going On 14 Years Ago Larry and Narine Barnett of Stockton were host parents of Seonjin Na, from the city of Guang-ju, in the town of Unnam Dong Country, in the country of South Korea. Seonjin comes from a city with a very large population, so her first impression of Stockton was one that is quiet and comfortable since there is such a small population and not a lot of buildings.

Nathalia Santos Cruz was one of two foreign exchange students who was living in Stockton for the 2008-09 school year. Nathalia, age 16, was from Maringa, Brazil (pop. 380,000). Host family for Nathalia was Dale and Heather Winklepleck and their girls, Lexie and Logan. Nathalia stated that getting to be a foreign exchange student6 was like being in a competition with just the best competitors making the grade so they could be good representatives for their country.

Rustin and Holly Odle had the most unusual pumpkin patch this season, the result of a May 29th flooding rain. The Odles had just planted their garden a week or two before the rains and had planted pumpkins, watermelons, tomatoes and onions. Their garden was located beside their pasture fenceline that goes down into a draw. The tiny plants had just started to grow, but after the area flooded, they hadn’t paid attention to their garden, giving it up for loss. But Rustin had a big surprise some weeks later when he had to go down into the draw to check on a cow. He went home to tell Holly she had to go check their garden. There were pumpkin vines growing all over the place, with pumpkins hanging from a pile of dead trees. The Odles counted around 15 to 20 of the orange globes, having grown into odd pear shapes as they grew among the trees.

It hadn’t happened since 2000, but the Stockton Tigers finally got the monkey off their backs as they won a Homecoming football game, defeating the visiting Wilson Dragons by a score of 50-36. Homecoming 2008 Royalty crowned the previous Friday night at Tiger Stadium were King Ty Winters and Queen Jennifer Nelson, who presided over the festivities that evening.