Our thoughts and prayers were for the people of Greensburg, where a massive tornado took out most of the town and killed at least 10 people. Stockton had been notified of a potential 72-bed expansion at the Stockton Correctional Facility, which would require 14 additional staff positions.

Elmer Odle, son of Chas. Odle, caught ten young wolves last Friday. Elmer discovered the den on the George Lancaster farm and proceeded to dig into it. He was greatly surprised to find ten little fellows, only a few days old. He brought them to town and had them on show at Eades’ store a short time before claiming his reward.

Bethany Schindler, sixyear-old daughter of Kermit and Machelle Schindler of Plainville, kept her hair long because her great-grandmother Vera Schindler, who had since passed away, told her to let her hair grow long. This was because when Vera was young her hair was long until her sister cut it. Vera said she was really sad when all her hair was cut off, and that is why she wanted Bethany to enjoy her long, beautiful hair. But that all changed when Bethany’s greataunt, Janelda O’Brien, emailed the Schindlers to tell them she was going out to Tennessee to buy a wig. O’Brien, who was fighting cancer, lost her hair as a result of her treatments. When Bethany heard about this, she said she wanted to cut her hair for Locks of Love so Aunt Janelda could have a wig made. So on April 24, 2007, beautician Rhonda Miller of Shear Sensations, cut off approximately twelve inches of Bethany’s beautiful hair to send to Locks of Love, the organization that makes wigs for cancer patients.

USHERS for the Stockton High School Graduating Class of 1997 were Brandon Waller, Nichole Gartrell, Laura Gasper and Joey Casad..

* And So They Say: Jerry Riseley: “After working on income tax returns all these years, I don’t have many illusions about people.” Chuck Waller: “I am ready for hot weather now. I have my summer hair cut.’” Lee Phelps: “You realize you are beginning to get on in years when you have been out of high school nearly 25 years.”

Had the rainy dedication of the courthouse been a day later, there would have been several thousand people present since the weather decided not to cooperate on the following day. As it was, some six hundred visitors thronged the building, looking over the spacious and elegant quarters provided for the transaction of the county business. J. R. Cuthbert, the contractor who was present at the dedication, said he was glad to be here. He had built eight courthouses in the state and there was not one to be compared with this. He had done his best with it in every part and congratulated the people of the county on having such a structure.

SCHOOL STARTED IN SEPTEMBER and we were out in April. The reason for the short school year was that the older children and their parents needed to be in the fields to plant the spring crops. The Hunt Schoolhouse, which was located in Stockton Township on the north side of Highway 24 in the southwest corner, was made from limestone. The original name of the schoolhouse was Ash Grove No. 16. “Annie, Annie, Over” was the game that was played at recess by the students. The children divided up into two teams and lined up on both sides of the shed located on the grounds, which was used to store firewood and coal, but also sometimes used as a punishment shed. A ball was thrown over the roof and when the other team caught the ball, everyone had to run to the other side of the building and tried not to get touched by the ball. It was a game that everyone could play. There were quarries on the north and south sides of the river. A few sawmills had been built in the area and the flow of the river was the source of power to operate both the saw and grain mills.—Sent In by Lora Belle Sander

* And So They Say: Jo Carmicheal: I would enjoy being lazy, but I do not have time.” Brad Waller (age 5): Mother, can we keep our cat after she grows up to be a tiger?” Hazel Larson: “After trying to get some seedlings started, I will never complain again about the price of plants.”

The Jasmine Asian Cafe opened in Stockton on Thailand’s New Year, Friday, April 13th. Owner Vipawan Thangsuwan, “Pook,” was familiar to the area since she opened a booth at the Rooks County Free Fair ten years earlier when she began serving her Asian cuisine. Another connection to Stockton is that Pook’s aunt is Malee Berkley.

The dedication of the new courthouse and high school building was held on April 20th. Reverent J. Edward Kulp, one of the best orators in Kansas, delivered the dedicatory address with other speakers for the day being O. O. Osborn, Honorable Charles I. Sparks and S. R. Tucker. President W. A. Lewis gave the dedicatory address for the high school that evening. Dinner and supper were served by the ladies of both the Methodist and Christian churches in the basements of their respective buildings. The Ladies Auxiliary of the American Legion served coffee, sandwiches and pie. The weather was more propitious for crops than for dedications or outdoor gathers since a cold north wind, laden with rain drops blew all day, keeping at home many people who would otherwise have come from uttermost confines of the county to witness the impressive consecration of the great building that is to stand for generations as a worthy monument to the enterprise and the faith of this age.