Looking Back: 80 Years Ago: Townsend man honored for bravery at Pearl Harbor

Here are the a few items of interest from issues of The Kemper County Messenger from one, five, 10, 25, 50 and 80 years ago.

ONE YEAR AGO

(APRIL 8 ,2021)

— Kemper County’s unemployment rate stayed about the same in Febru­ary, going up one-tenth of a point to 7.3 percent when compared to the previous month according to num­bers from the Mississippi Employ­ment Security Commission.

FIVE YEARS AGO

(APRIL 6, 2017)

— Mississippi Power Co. said Mon­day that it needs one more month and another $99 million to finish its $7.2 billion Kemper County power plant.

— The Kemper County School Dis­trict Board of Directors approved Joshua Pulphus as the new head football coach of the Kemper County High School Wildcats last Tuesday.

— East Mississippi Community Col­lege’s Quantesha Patterson has re­peated as an

All-Region 23 women’s basketball selection, as voted on by the head women’s basketball coaches of the Mississippi and Louisiana college ranks.

10 YEARS AGO

(APRIL 5, 2012)

— Utility regulators voted 2-1 Fri­day to let Mississippi Power Com­pany continue building its coal-fired power plant in southwest Kemper County — for now. In a Friday meet­ing the lasted less than a minute, the Mississippi Public Service Commis­sion granted temporary construction authority to Mississippi Power — a unit of Atlanta-based Southern Com­pany ≠ promising to follow up with a permanent decisions by May 2.

— After failing to reach a compro­mise, DeKalb Mayor Homer Hall said he will veto a board of aldermen vote that would rename Philadelphia Road to Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.

25 YEARS AGO

APRIL 3, 1997)

— Kemper County’s Board of Supervisors had a special guest last Tuesday afternoon when U.S. Con­gressman Chip Pickering paid a visit to the court­house.

— From Kipling News by Jane McWilliams: Nell and Tommy Whittington and son Jeff of Hattiesburg spent a few days last week with Nell’s aunts Ruby McCoy and Esther Smith.

50 YEARS AGO

(APRIL 6, 1972)

— The ladies of the Methodist Church honored Mrs, Persia Bell on her 90th Birthday on Thursday, March 30.

— From Union News by Mrs. L.D. Pace: Mr. and Mrs. Fred Frazier visited in Pascagoula during the weekend.

— Kemper County showed a total of 999 farms in the 1969 census of Agri­culture. In the last previous Census of agriculture (1964) the number of farms reported in the county was 1,455.

— Bacon was selling for 49 cents per pound at Sci­ple’s Grocery, while or­anges were a nickel each.

80 YEARS AGO

(APRIL 2, 1942)

— An Associated Press dispatch released Saturday night carried the announce­ment that 13 marines had been recommended for the Navy Cross for bravery in action at Pearl Harbor, De­cember 7. One of the 13 was Pfc. Williams A. Hop­per of Townsend Commu­nity.

— Travis Barfield and Louis B. Hollingshead are, respectively, valedictorian and salutatorian for the 1942 DeKalb senior class. They are brother and sister.

— The War Production Board ruled Tuesday that no more toothpaste or shaving cream in tubes could be sold unless an old tube was turned in at that time..

— The original quota of 15 truck tires for Kemper County was cut down to 10 by federal order. The quote of 5 passenger tires was left as originally allowed.

— The Schedule for the DeKalb & Western Railroad has the No. 1 arriving in DeKalb at 2:35 pm. And the No. 2 leaving DeKalb at 12:05 p.m.