On Saturday afternoon another disastrous conflagration was suffered by Woodston by which the post office building, Woodman Hall, Murphy’s Restaurant and Wilson’s Produce House were all destroyed. The fire started in the kitchen of the restaurant, which was owned by Ernest Murphy. Mrs. Swank had done the cooking for the dinner and had gone out leaving Mr. Murphy in the front part. When he discovered the blaze, it was past his control. There was an opening of about fifteen feet between his building and the corner building on the west, occupied by the post office. This quickly caught and was soon in flames. The wind blowing from the south enabled the crowd that had gathered to remove nearly all the contents, including mails, fixtures, Woodman furniture and the player piano from above the restaurant. The total loss is probably in the neighborhood of $6,000.00, covered by partial insurance. This is the sixth fire Woodston has had within a year, all of them costly. The post office building was owned by Frank Shutts, whose mill was burned some months ago.

MAYOR LEE PHELPS CUT STOCKTON’S 125TH BIRTHDAY CAKE during the 1997 Summer Picnic. Dignitaries on hand were (from left) city commissioner Gail McComb and wife, Donna, state representative Dan Johnston, Mrs. Johnston (hidden) and city commissioner Ivalee Bennett and husband, Jack.

* And So They Say: John B. Smith: “If we had saved all the old stuff we carted out to the dump from the store over the years, we could probably sell it now for a small fortune to antique hunters.” Ed Riffel: “If you are looking for news at the Riffels, the only thing I can tell you is that we need rain.” Ilah Suhr: “When I hear everyone talking about how tired they got on their vacation trips, I think we were smart to just stay at home.”

Charges had been filed by the state following the investigation of a fatality traffic accident June 11, 2006, six miles north of Plainville on Highway 183. Jessica Y. Jones, 43, of Phillipsburg lost her life in the 5:30 a.m. head-on collision. The other driver, Clifford A. Ehrlich, 37, of Stockton, was Life Flighted to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, with broken bones and lacerations. Ehrlich was charged July 14 with Involuntary Manslaughter While Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs, a felony; DUI (3rd conviction), also a felony; Transporting An Open Container; and Driving On Left Side of Roadway. He and his counsel stood before District Judge Edward E. Bouker on July 19th for a bond hearing. Bond was set at $25,000, with conditions.

THE 4-H CAMP COUNSELORS had been recognized for their service at the camp held at Rock Springs Ranch in June of 1997. They were (from left) Jenna Stout, Kayla Muir, Nicole Gartrell, Whitney Muir, Mari Jo Stout, Sarah Palmberg and Ashley Hageman.

* And So They Say: Erma Jean Price: “When my husband goes fishing he always catches the same kind of fish—none.” Orville Livingston: “We came home with the same air in our tires, the same oil in the crankcase, and the same water in the radiator, but not the same gas in the tank.” Cleo Baughman: They say that life begins at forty—so I’m going to fly.”

Casey Robinson, the new superintendent for Stockton USD No. 271, began his duties the first of July. Robinson grew up in Russell County, around the Lake Wilson area. The previous year he had taken a year off from administrative work and spent the past year at ESSDACK, an educational service center in Hutchinson.

A poem immensely popular thirty years ago, recited by famous readers to delighted audiences, told how the mighty Casey struck out when everything depended on him. A similar situation arose on Sunday last and by a strange coincidence Arley Case (know as Casey to his friends) came to bat at the close of the 9th inning with an even score of the teams to break, two men on base, one man out and the whole result depending on his striking the ball. Our Casey had no such record as a batter that the Casey of old held, in fact he hadn’t had a hit all season. The situation was tense. Will Casey do it? He did! And after a generation, Casey had his redemption!

The Fourth has come and gone, and everybody declares it was a glorious day for the small boy and all other ages of American patriotic citizens. We advertised it as an old-fashioned Fourth, the din of exploding crackers was incessant from early morn till late at night. The grove was early filled with families who brought their dinners and ate them with unusual relish under the welcome shade of the elms and ash.

Paul and Mary Ann Graf and their family members were mourning the loss of their four-year-old son, Jade, following a deadly accident involving fireworks on the 4th of July. Jade and his seven-year-old brother, Kieran, were badly burned, and their parents received burns trying to help them in the seconds following the accident.