Out of the Past … from the archives of The Winchester Star | Winchester Star

100 years ago

Scores of residents living in the southeastern part of Winchester are engaged these “dog” days in fighting rats, which have invaded their premises in hordes and which have made life a burden to many people.

The rats are literally to be seen by the hundreds and have grown so bold and so accustomed to human beings, that they are virtually tame.

It is said that the rats inhabited the city dumping grounds southeast of the city and that the recent heavy rain storms have inundated parts of the dump, with the result that thousands of the rodents have deserted the dump and have invaded portions of the town.

Aug. 3, 1922

Henry Batt, formerly a well-known merchant of Reynolds Store, who recently bought Fred A. Robinson’s residence property on North Main street, is having a storeroom erected just south of the dwelling and it is understood he will engage in business there.

Mr. Batt and family will move into the Robinson house as soon as the latter’s family move into their new home, which is being erected on one of the Gibbens lots on the opposite side of the street.

Aug. 3, 1922

The third and last group of children to go from Roanoke to Princess Lodge, a summer home of Dr. P.W. Boyd near Winchester, will leave Wednesday. The Lodge was built especially to accommodate city children whom Dr. Boyd, at his own expense, is entertaining there during the children’s vacation from school.

Twenty girls twelve years of age or younger will comprise the party. Twenty boys who have been at the lodge for a month returned today.

The new party, like the others, will stay four weeks.

Children of the poor who do not have the opportunity of enjoying outdoor life, who are undernourished or otherwise inadequately cared for, are those selected. Dr. Boyd, in entertaining them, is carrying out a plan of his wife, who was a Roanoke woman. The lodge was built as a memorial to her.

Miss Mary Pannett, 13-year-old daughter of Mr. Lee Pannett, and Harry Keller, 14-year-old son of Clinton Keller, killed a black snake on the Senseney road four miles from town several days ago. It measured over four feet in length and in girth was the largest snake seen in that vicinity for a long time. The snake was killed while the young folks were picking berries.

Aug. 4, 1922

Telephone bells throughout the whole Bell system will be silenced for one minute tonight as a mark of respect to the late Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone.

Aug. 4, 1922

Six men were arrested, seven stills seized, and over 2,100 gallons of mash were confiscated a day or two ago by state prohibition agents, according to reports received by Commissioner Harry M. Smith. Most of the raids were made in Rappahannock and Warren counties.

The prohibition agents making the captures and arrests are understood to be members of a “flying squadron” that came to Winchester about two weeks ago, making this city the base of operations. So far as known, no stills were found in Frederick County and no arrests were made while the men were here.

Aug. 5, 1922

Miss Phebe Alice Orndoff, a well-known and popular young lady, died at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henan Orndoff, early this morning after a brief illness from typhoid fever.

Miss Orndoff was just past 21 years of age and was the only daughter of her parents. Besides them, she is survived by three brothers, Messrs. Clarence, Ernest and Charles Orndoff, all of this city.

Aug. 8, 1922

One of three silver cups offered last night for the best dancers at a large ball given at Front Royal was won by W. Benton Snider of Winchester and Miss Freda Atwood of Front Royal, his dancing partner. A large number of young people from Winchester attended the dance.

Aug. 8, 1922

75 years ago

Miss Emma Kinzel, 140 N. Loudoun St., has presented the Rouss Fire Company with a leather helmet which belonged to her father the late Henry Kinzel, when he was a member of the old Union Fire Company.

The presentation was made at the monthly meeting of the Rouss Company and announced this morning by B.F. Arthur Jr., who stated that the helmet was in a good state of preservation despite its age and would be added to the growing collection of relics on display at the fire hall.

Aug. 2, 1947

Wraps for street wear were in order last night and extra blankets were pulled out again when the mercury dipped to 57 degrees, a plunge of 35 degrees from the 92 degrees of Thursday afternoon.

Aug. 2, 1947

James Crick of Winchester bid $9,400 for the Reynolds Farm six miles west of Winchester on the Northwestern grade at a public sale at the house his morning. The bidding opened at $6,000.

The property consists of 145 acres and is improved by a substantial 7-room dwelling with bath and electricity, a large barn and other out-buildings. Two never-failing streams water the farm and there is plenty of wood along with some good timber.

Aug. 2, 1947

50 years ago

Fire Chief Taylor Barr said this morning that he is not satisfied yet as to what caused yesterday’s disastrous fire which did upwards of $150,000 loss to a partly razed Robinson Co. cold storage building and to adjacent structures.

The fire, according to Mr. Barr, was the city’s worst in heat and stubbornness to combat. Eight out-of-town fire companies in addition to all available local equipment were brought into play against the conflagration and at the height of the fire more than 15,000 feet of hose was in use and between 300 and 350 volunteer firemen on the job.

According to Mr. Barr wind blew some embers from yesterday’s fire as far as Fairmont Avenue and it was the intense heat from the burning Robinson cold storage building that caused the Glaize building to ignite and envelop the adjacent Cather structure and a residence across the street.

Aug. 6, 1947

Fourteen instructor ships are vacant in county schools, according to County Superintendent Leslie B. Kline. Four vacancies exist in Gore High School, two at Middletown, four at Stephens City, one at Bryarly north of Winchester, two at Stonewall and one at Shenandoah Valley Academy.

The Middletown colored school will be open next session as the increased enrollment there makes it impossible to transfer students to another school.

Aug. 7, 1947

WASHINGTON — After four bad polio years, a break is in sight for 1947, a U.S. public health service official reported today.

At that same time, however, he urged the public to observe the usual precautions during the rest of the infantile paralysis season which runs from June through September.

Reporting a total of 1,955 cases this year up to Aug. 2, compared with 5,450 for the same period last year, the official told a reporter.

Aug. 7, 1947

50 years ago

Most utility lines have been repaired and streets unblocked in the wake of two wind and rain storms that tore through Winchester late yesterday afternoon, knocking trees down onto houses and parked cars and leaving streets in the southwest section scattered with debris.

Two big trees on the north side of Cork street, just east of the Stewart Street intersection, fell over on Mrs. Ralph Fansler’s house, knocking over a chimney and uprooting a brick sidewalk.

Another large tree on the south side of Wolfe Street, about 50 feet east of the Stewart Street intersection, fell north across Wolfe Street and landed on two parked cars.

Aug. 8, 1972

25 years ago

A Minneapolis-based glass manufacturer has taken its first solid step toward locating a 200-employee plant in Frederick County.

Four days ago, the Harrisonburg office of the Department of Environmental Quality received Cardinal IG’s request for an air quality permit, a requirement because of the nature of the manufacturing, said Sharon Foley, air permit manager.

A prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permit would be needed because of the pollution caused by the fuel to fire the glass furnaces. The PSD permit is the most rigorous permit the state offers and requires the most analysis, Foley has said.

Aug. 5, 1997