From the Archives | News

A new model of ministry is taking root at the Presbyterian Church of Farmington with the official installation on Sunday, March 1, 1992, of husband and wife co-pastors, Hart and Cheryl Edmonds. The Edmonds said clergy couples have been popular in Methodist churches for some time but that the concept is relatively now for Presbyterian churches. Rev. Hart Edmonds described their reception as co-pastors at the Presbyterian Church. “This church’s willingness to do this shows a progressive spirit and an openness to the idea of venturing forward to expand ministry.”

Ken Boren loves a challenge. And thanks to his innovative nature and his kind heart, the 31-year-old Farmington resident has turned his life’s challengers into more than $4,000 for charity. Boren road 150 miles in a two-day charity ride last summer for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and he is currently training to tackle the St. Louis to Columbia race again this year. In last year’s event, Boren was the only competitor to attempt the 21-hour race with only one wheel. “They couldn’t believe I was doing this on a unicycle,” Boren said of his fellow cyclists. “A lot of them said, ‘You’re a better man than I,’ but I said, ‘No, I’m just stranger.”

Publisher of the Press Leader, formerly the Press Advertiser, Joel Goodridge, made the announcement of the newspaper’s name change today. “After much thought and consideration by myself, my General Manager Sherm Smith, and the staff of the Press Advertiser, we decided to change the name of the Press Advertiser to the Press Leader. The city of Farmington and the county of St. Francois, has been a leader in regional growth, but our newspaper has not kept up with that growth. We are now growing. We’re going to give our readers the best local newspaper that we can possibly give them,” said Goodridge. “Our newspaper will be one that the entire area can be proud of.”

A Farmington firefighter has made the comment on more than one occasion that “public safety groups are usually very tight-knit.” That statement was never more evident than on Tuesday afternoon when a group representing the Farmington Fire Department traveled to Farmington Community Hospital to make a presentation to one of their “retiring” brethren. Vernon “Gomer” Resinger is retiring from his sidelight occupation as a volunteer firefighter for the city of Farmington. The extraordinary element in this retirement story is that Resinger is only 36 years old. “Gomer,” a nickname Resinger acquired in high school, has suffered an extended illness that has brought about his early retirement from public protection.

The McDonald’s Restaurant Corp. is “proceeding with the investigation” into the possibility of opening a store in Farmington, according to an official at the firm’s regional office in St. Louis. “We feel like we have a site identified,” said Bill Robarts, McDonald’s regional real estate manager. “But it is still a little premature to make it official.” On Monday, the corporation filed for a subdivision change for property adjacent to Karsch Boulevard. The tract of land under consideration for the zoning change is situated between the Cardinal Drive-in and Hartrup Real Estate.

Farmington City Administrator Roger Hoehn is somewhat surprised that construction on the city’s new sidewalks has not begun yet. “I expected this would be the week,” Hoehn said in reference to the starting time for the $333,000 project. Hoehn said that surveying for the job has been completed and that a representative from the Schuster Engineering Co. in St. Louis has been “walking the area. “I assume that the company probably has another job that they are trying to wrap up before they start here,” Hoehn said.

Voters of the Farmington R-7 School District will vote on two propositions at the annual election on April 4. The first proposition will be to elect two board members to the board of education for three-year terms. Three candidates have filed for the two positions. Incumbent Robert Cox, president of the board, has filed for re-election. He was elected to the board at the time of the Doe Run reorganization. John E. Wyatt and Jim E. Boyer have filed for positions on the board as new members. The second proposition is for a change of boundary between the Ste. Genevieve School District to bring a small area now in the Ste. Genevieve District into the Farmington District.

David Lawrence Kettinger, two-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. William Kettinger of Route Two, Ste. Genevieve, was fatally injured in a tractor accident which occurred on the Kettinger farm about 10:35 on Monday morning, March 27. Adrain Ehler, Ste. Genevieve County coroner, said the child was apparently riding on the tractor with his father who was engaged in moving some brush in a field located just off new county “lime kiln” road which is about one mile from US-61. The tractor reportedly overturned in loose soil and crushed the child. Mr. Kettinger was seriously injured, and after making his way to Highway 61, was picked up by passing motorists and brought to Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital where he received preliminary treatment and then was transferred to St. John’s Hospital in St. Louis. The child was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Mrs. William Roberts has been appointed by Tom David, county campaign chairman of the American Cancer Society to head the annual Farmington Neighborhood Drive that will start April 1st and culminate April 10th. Mrs. Roberts is an active member of the Beta Sigma Phi, sponsoring group for the drive. She is also the busy co-chairman of the Cancer Loan Closet, which services many patients every year. Monday evening, Mrs. Roberts and her committee met with Hugo Cozean and Tom David at the Collector’s Office in the courthouse and packaged the workers’ kits with educational pamphlets and receipt books.

William R. Daniels was elected president of the Farmington Parent-Teachers Association for the 1962-63 year at the March meeting Monday night. Daniels, who is employed at the State Hospital, is well known for his work with youth groups. He has served as Cubmaster of Pack 471 for six years. He has also served the scouts in other capacities, including leadership training.

Voters of the City of Farmington School District R-VII will go to the polls next Tuesday, April 3, to vote in the annual city and school elections. In the school election, three directors are to be elected and the operating levy of the district for the coming year is to be approved. In the Farmington city election, a City Collector is to be elected, and also an alderman from each of the four wards in the city. There appears to be little interest in the city and school elections this year with contests in only two of the eight offices to be filled the contests are both in the city election for alderman in the first and second wards.

This year, as in years before, the campus of Southeast Missouri State College was the scene of the District Music Contest in which the students of Farmington High School participated. The A Capella Choir received a #1 rating, the highest rating possible. To achieve this the choir first had to sing two numbers before a panel of judges and then pass a difficult sight-reading drill. In the solos and small ensembles division of the contest, Farmington again excelled. The soloists were Julie Smith, Beth Ann Stewart and Mari Cozean, who all earned ratings of 1. Jeannie Spencer, Linda Stanfield and Michele Jones who received 2s.

Voting was extremely light in Tuesday’s annual school election in Farmington with just a few over 200 ballots being cast. Two members of the board of education were re-elected without opposition and the tax levy of $1.50 was approved by a sizable majority. J. H. Miller received 196 votes and Dr. L. M. Stanfield 199 for directors, both running for re-election without opposition.

Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Huber and Mr. and Mrs. Earl Huber have purchased the Robert Tetley Jewelry Company from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cooksey and have assumed management of the store. The firm will be known as Huber Brothers Jewelry and will be managed by Earl Huber and Mrs. Leslie Huber.

Vocal students of Farmington High School entered in eight events at the District Music Contest at Cape Girardeau Friday, March 28. Entries were mixed chorus, girls’ chorus, double quartet, girls’ sextet, girls’ quartet, girls’ trio, girls’ high voice, Mary Helen Parker, and girls’ medium voice, Clara Fae Grandhomme. The girls’ chorus, girls’ trio and girls’ sextet rated 1 and were certified to enter the state contest in Columbia May 2. The double quartet, girls’ quartet, mixed chorus and the two soloists rated 2.

F.L. Plumlee, chairman of the St. Francois County Chapter, American Red Cross, stated today that the Disaster Relief Office, opened on March 19, to take applications for assistance to families in need, as a result of the tornado which swept through the county on March 18, was closed Saturday, March 29. Of the estimated 12 families affected by the storm, only three made application for help, and a trained Disaster Relief Representative planned with these families, and made recommendations to a local Advisory Committee, in conjunction with the Ste. Genevieve County Chapter, which consisted of the following: F.L. Plumlee, Elmer Brown, Clayton Osman, Andy Paule and Mrs. C.S. Fitz, Farmington, C. E. Brightwell, Desloge, Roy Coffman, Flat River, H.W. Grass, Ste. Genevieve, and Ellis Brown, St. Marys.

Willard Koen, proprietor of the McKinney Nation-Wide Grocery, announces this week that he is again giving away a brand new bicycle in a unique contest that does not cost the entrants one cent. He urges each boy and girl in this community to save the labels from Nationwide, American Lady and Topmost vegetables. The various labels will entitle the entrants to a certain number of votes. On Saturday night, May 30th, the vote will be tabulated, and the boy or girl having the highest number will receive a fine bicycle. The next six highest entrants will each be given pair of roller skates.

G.B. Snider, District WPA superintendent at Cape Girardeau, yesterday morning informed The Press that the district warehouse would not be moved to Farmington, but instead will be sent to St. Louis from Cape Girardeau. The office force will remain at Cape. It had previously been assumed that the warehouse was moving back to Farmington. When it was transferred from here to Cape several months ago, a large lumber shed was torn down and moved to Cape. On the first of this week, the material was shipped here, and the local foreman was instructed to rebuild the shed. Yesterday morning, workmen had completed part of the foundation and were awaiting further instructions.

Contributing her part to national defense is Farmington Mead Pearl, a purebred Holstein cow owned by State Hospital No. 4, Farmington. She produced 10,663 quarts of milk this past year, and 731 pounds of butterfat. If all the nation’s dairy cows were equal to this Holstein there would be an abundance of milk, butter and cheese for the United States, Great Britain and other needy countries. The Hospital states that “Pearl” was milked three times daily, and that her production for the entire period was supervised by the University of Missouri and The Holstein-Friesian Association of America.

Gather up your scrap-help to slap the Jap. The week of April 6th to 12th, inclusive, has been designated as salvage week by proclamation of Governor Donnell. The St. Francois County Council of Defense through its salvage committee of which Mrs. K. C. Weber is chairman has been making plans to carry on some form of systematic campaign to get for Uncle Sam all the old scrap metal in this section on these days. The U. S.D. A. War Board is also cooperating in this effort, and on Tuesday night of this week, the members of the War Board with a representative of the salvage committee met and completed the plans to be carried out in this immediate territory. The Farmington Farm Bureau Store, the local International Harvester dealer, has offered to provide storage for all old scrap metal brought in during the week. The Schramm Creamery and H. E. Boswell Coal Company have offered to do all the weighing of scrap metal free of charge.

The St. Francois County annual music festival will be held in the Farmington High School auditorium beginning at eight o’clock this evening, Friday, April first. A county chorus composed of members from the various high schools of the county will be directed by Miss Irene Hazel, local high school music teacher. Miss Annie Louise Huggins will act as accompanist. The program for this evening is composed of fifteen numbers and is some shorter than in the previous years. In addition to the county chorus, students from eight high schools will participate in the program. The participating schools are Bonne Terre, Farmington, Bismarck, Leadwood, Doe Run, Flat River, Desloge and Esther. A small admittance charge will be made.

One feature of KMOX, St. Louis, that is rapidly finding great favor among radio listeners is the versatile and pleasing harmony team, Salt and Peanuts, who will appear in person at the Ritz Theatre on Friday, April I, only. One seldom hears of a boy and girl harmony team such as the Salt and Peanuts combination. Two fellows or two girls generally pair up in this modern game of harmonizing. Opening and closing with a catchy, tuneful number ‘And Now We’ll Sing Hallelujah,” the inimitable duo is heard over KMOX, sometimes included in the Variety program, and sometimes rendering a program all their own. The program is made up of modern and old-time numbers. All request selections are welcomed. Their rendition of the favorite number, “Barnacle Bill, the Sailor,” is done in a true salty fashion. Yodels, strains from a Jew’s harp, “Plunks” of a ukulele are interspersed when the two are on the air.

On Tuesday evening March 29, the truck from the State Highway Department loaded with nursery stock from the Stark Bros. Nurseries arrived at the County barns, where it unloaded, in preparation for starting the work of planting on Thursday morning. The truckload represents the shrubbery won by the St. Francois Co. Highway Beautification Association in the 1931 contest for Highway Beautification. On Friday, April 1, at 7:30 p. m. in Long Memorial Hall, the County Association will meet with the organizations of the County which have aided materially in the accomplishments of the Association, to celebrate the arrival and distribution of these trees and shrubs. Dr. C. C. Schuttler will preside at this meeting, to which everyone in the County is cordially invited.

The annual City and School Election for the City of Farmington will be held next Tuesday, April 5th. The second election is entirely devoid of interest as no propositions are being submitted and the two members of the Board of Education who come up for reelection have consented to run and are without opposition. Rolla Cozean and Dr. G. L. Watkins are the members to be re-elected. In the City Election, there is considerable interest in the race for City Collector with three candidates in the field two men and one woman. These candidates are C. C. Gower, Mrs. Edw. F. Dugal, and George Beatty.