The Missouri Pacific has been doing a fine freight business from this point for the past eight months according to a report by agent J. I. Wilkin. The raiload shipped out 550 loaded cars from Stockton during that time. Of this total number of cards 219 were loaded with corn, five of wheat, 86 with livestock, 175 of various grain, such as barley, oats, kaffir, sudan grass, milo, etc., and 65 cars of other merchandise. Only 235 loaded cars were received, being 25 cars of livestock, 52 cars of coal and 57 of oil and gasoline, and 101 loaded with lumber, machinery, automobiles, potatoes, flour and the like. A total of 1,054 locals cars were received—containing one small box from Woodston to almost carloads of merchandise. There were 413 cars localled out, usually loaded very light. The passenger business has not fared as well. The ticket sales are about $150.00 a month in excess of that of a year ago. Many Stockton folks going to Kansas City buy tickets as far as Downs and there buy for the Missouri point. This works a hardship on the local station, as only local sales are considered in deciding what service can be profitably supplied on any branch line.

WHILE GOING THROUGH priceless old “Dunning family” photos, Lila Dunning found this jewel. Ray Dunning, Alan’s Dad, wrote on the back: “I worked on building this school house, all the way, from start to finish. I laid the cornerstone and front stones. Many years later, I served as custodian for two years, 1969-1971. I retired at the age of 70.”

Blaine Baxter of Baxter’s Bait and Tackle of Stockton was the front page lead story, written by Mike Corn, in the Sunday, March 2 issue of The Hays Daily News. The story centered around Baxter’s 19-year-old business and the changes he has witnessed over the years.

* And So They Say: Jo Carmichael: “If you are going to hit a cow, don’t do it in Trego County. I think the sheriff over there favors the cows.” Ruth Phelps: “I can tell this is going to be a most unusual year. Our old cat had kittens three days apart last week.” Clark Stocking: “I hear that Stockton people were pretty mad at Johnny Locke fourteen years ago, but today he is the most popular man in town.”

It was an enjoyable and enthusiastic meeting of the county Republicans held in the assembly room of the courthouse last Saturday afternoon, All but three of the twenty-two townships of the county were represented and the party spirit prevailed. One of the purposes of the meeting was to name delegates to the state convention at Topeka and also to the district meeting to be held at Colby. The Topeka meeting will be represented by O. O. Osborn, Mrs. R. J. McClay, Anna Glick Eades, J. W. Smith, L. L. Marshall, M. S. Graham, Chas. Miller. The Colby delegates are M. S. Graham, N. F. Hill, W. F. McNulty, Gerald McClay, Miles Hindman, C. C. Bray and Ed Thyfault.

THE STOCKTON JUNIOR HIGH WRESTLING TEAM finished their 1994 season by placing fourth in the MCEL Tournament in WaKeeney. Pictured are (front row, from left) Travis Hahn, Chris Look, Travis Wagner, Jason Glendening, Josh Knoll, Josh Zamboni; (second row) Justin Bandt, Josh Foster, Josh Perez, Brandon Waller, Seph Bellerive, Adam Balthazor, D. J. Peterson; (back row) assistant coach Jon Voss, Travis Jenkins, Jamie Vermillion, Adam Glendening, Joey Casad, Trevor Van Eaton, Damion Dix, Uriah Price and head coach Quentin Van Eaton.

On Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008, Steve and Stephanie Pfeifer, Miranda Williams, Irvin Earl, Heather Williams and Adam, Kevin and Dena States, Magnus and Ravin, Kay Mason and Dacota Starbuck went to Walmart in Hays to surprise Andy Williams and his friend, Frank Tenorio, and escort them back to a “Welcome Home” reception in Stockton. The men had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq and “just happened to be” shopping in Walmart with Jed States and Heather Lewis at the time. The guys were paged on Walmart’s intercom and were totally surprised to find the large group of people there to greet them. A “motorcade” was formed to bring the men to Stockton, with American flags flying and a police escort, to the reception held for the men at the Assembly of God Annex.

* And So They Say: George Riffel: “Every time I open my mouth I get in trouble, so I have practically stopped talking.” Stella Willis: “If someone isn’t off work on account of the flu—that’s news.” Howard Wanamaker: “Quinter had a clever sign at the tournament the other night, but it didn’t do much good. It read: ‘Let’s unLocke Stockton.’”

The following article was clipped from last week’s copy of the Topeka Daily Capital: “Few politicians have ever heard of E. Bartholomew. Few newspapermen have for that matter, yet it is a well known name among botanists around the world. His work and writings in one department of botany is authoritative. He is a America’s greatest collector of fungi, more commonly known as rusts. He is a Kansan, he lives on a farm near Stockton, Rooks County, the same farm on which he settled when he was a young man. He was not college bred. He knew no Latin or German. He was just a young man who came to Kansas for a home.

RECOGNIZED for her 30 years of being associated with the Plainville Rural Hospital in February of 1994 was employee Valeria Thomas. Valeria started working at the clinic with Dr. A. M. Pederson and Dr. Vale Page in 1964.