Stories from Friday, July 11, 2003

Memories of a 1,200 mile automobile trip in 1937 with her parents and nine siblings have made rural Bronaugh resident Mary Sue (Eshelbrenner) O'Keefe, famous -- at least a little bit. O'Keefe is a subscriber to Reminisce, a publication that prints stories from its readers, and in the July/August issue, the magazine printed O'Keefe's story of her family's cross-country trek. ...

This week the Vernon County fairgrounds have been awash with fleshy jowls and constant squealing. That's right -- it's the Vernon County Youth Fair Swine Show. In preparation for showing the animals, participants wash and shave the hogs. Then, the truly daunting task is to keep the animal from getting dirty again before they went into the ring. ...

The smell of freshly popped popcorn mixed with the aroma of livestock set the scene for a night mixed of food and fun at the fairgrounds Thursday evening. Kids from all over the area came to compete in a variety of events to show off and perfect their rodeo skills. ...

An old saying goes, "The same thing that makes you laugh, can also make you cry." In this case it was the long ball. But the Nevada Griffons got the last laugh. Hurt by the home run in an opening game 15-7 loss to the Liberal (Kan.) Beejays, the Griffons used the same weapon to salvage a 5-4 win in the nightcap of the Jayhawk League doubleheader on Thursday night at Lyons Stadium. ...

100 Years Ago -- July 11, 1903 AROUND TOWN -- Crawford's Nevada band returned this morning from Pittsburg where they helped furnish the music for the big celebration arranged by the United Mine Worker's Association. John Mitchell spoke to an immense crowd in the afternoon. ...