1945 News Hardee County

Hardee County, Florida News of June 1945

Edited by Spessard Stone from The Florida Advocate of June 8, 15, 22, 29, 1945



Personals

June 8--Mrs. Milton Poucher returned last week from San Diego, Calif., where she had been since her marriage a few weeks ago. Her husband has now been sent to the Pacific area, and Mrs.Poucher will remain here with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Collins, and finish high school.

Servicemen

The Medical Field Service School, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Pa., graduated another large class of officers of the medical department on May 31. Among the list of graduates was First Lt. Leffie M. Carlton, Jr., MC, of Wauchula, who received his degree from Duke University School of Medicine.

Cadets at the U. S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, Conn. were graduated and commissioned June 6. Carl F. Hanna of Wauchula was one of the graduates.

Lt. Lorimer Hendry, who has just been promoted to first lieutenant after spending four months in the Marianna Islands and three weeks at his home base at Boca Raton, Fla., has been sent to Warner Robins Field, near Macon, Ga.

Aboard a new U. S. Cruiser in the Pacific--Buford A. Prescott, motor machinist's mate, third class, son of Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Prescott of Wauchula, helped take this new ship into battle for the first time against the Japanese.

Mrs. Mollie Hancock of Fort Green recently received letters from two officers of the battalion her son, Lt. Joe Pringle, belonged. Lt. Pringle was killed in an automobile accident April 5, 1945. He was in charge of a convoy of trucks on a black-out march and, as a result of poor visibility, his vehicle ran off a blown-out bridge outside of Frankfurt, Germany.

Mrs. Thomas C. Wingo was the recipient last Sunday of a wire from her husband, Sgt. Wingo, who has been in Battle Creek, Mich., telling her that he would be home the last of this week. He is getting a medical discharge from the Army because of wounds received in action in Germany.

Weather

Weather since January 1 to May 31, 1945, as recorded by H. L. Carlton, cooperative observer, two miles northwest of Wauchula, follows:

Total rainfall: January, 2.85 inches; February, .19 inches; March, .18 inches; April, .22 inches; May, .29 inches.

Lowest temperature recorded was 33 degrees on January 11, February 1 and 3; highest temperature recorded was 104 degrees on May 31.

Dual Professions

June 15--T. Hoyt Carlton, who returned to Wauchula last fall from four years military service, announces that he is opening law offices in the Stenstrom building on June 18. Office hours will be from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 daily as his time must be divided between his law practice and his school duties as director of physical education and athletic coach where he occupies his time from noon until late in the afternoon.

Servicemen

Lt. Walter W. Moore of the U. S. Air Corps, co-pilot on a Flying Fortress who was shot down over Germany several months ago and made a prisoner of war, arrived in Wauchula Wednesday evening for a short furlough with his parent, Mr. and Mrs. Walter W. Moore, Sr.

Range Station Field Day

June 22--More than 200 cattlemen and farmers saw first-hand evidence of the value of pasture fertilization and learned something of the important part played in livestock nutrition last Friday at the Hardee County Range Cattle Experiment Station, located a few miles south of Ona.

Stockmen from all parts of the peninsular attended the meeting, which drew former Governors Doyle E. Carlton of Tampa and Spessard L. Holland of Bartow, both of whom addressed the gathering. At the conclusion, a tour of the cattle lots and experimental pasture were conducted by Dr. W. G. Kirk, director of the station, and Dr. E. M. Hodges, associate agronomist.

Servicemen

A memorial service in memory of Olin C. Boney, who lost his life in service of his country on March 26, 1945, was held in the First Presbyterian Church in Wauchula last Sunday morning. He attended school in Bowling Green and shortly after the outbreak of the war removed to Avon Park.

Personals

June 29--J. W. Crews, president of the Wauchula State Bank, returned the latter part of last week from New York City.

Thomas Underwood, popular salesman at the J. W. Earnest & Company's department store, returned to Wauchula last weekend from Knoxville, Tenn., where he spent a couple of weeks visiting old friends and attending to business matters.

Racing Victory

Joe Palooka, claimed to be the fastest cow pony in Florida, scored another victory Sunday at LaBelle when he defeated Louisiana Girl by a good three lengths. The LaBelle quarterhorse, owned by Joe B. Hendry, ran in Wauchula last Labor Day and was an easy winner.

Servicemen

Capt. Merle Albritton, who has been stationed at Charleston, S. C., has been sent to Homestead, Fla., where he is attending Air Transport Command School. Mrs. Albritton is spending some time with her mother, Mrs. Louise Carlton.

Pfc. Delaney A. Farabee of the medical corps and attached to the A. T. A. and stationed in Clewiston, is visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dolan Farabee in the Oak Grove section.

Pvt. William Leslie Metheny, husband of Mrs. Carmen Metheny of near Wauchula, has begun his basic training at the AAF Training Command's Basic Training Center at Keesler Field, Miss.

S/Sgt. John E. Moseley, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jess B. Moseley, of Rt. 1, Wauchula, will soon arrive in the United States after completing numerous combat missions on a B-24 bomber in Italy. Sgt. Moseley's group will undergo a period of special
training before embarking for the Pacific theatre to carry the strategic air war to the Japanese.

Last Sunday was reunion day at the home of Commissioner and Mrs. Barney Prescott at their home east of Wauchula.

During the first of last week, Lt. Robert L. Prescott, after four months with the A. A. F. in Southern Europe, landed in Bradley Field, Conn. He is a pilot of a B-24 and flew the Atlantic both ways. He was granted a 30-day furlough and left immediately for visit with his parents.

Another son, Bedford Prescott, Jr., M 3/c, United States Navy, is home from active duty in the Pacific area, mostly Guam. He was here just for the week and left on Monday for Princeton University where he will enroll in the R. O. T. C.

The first of the boys was Barney Prescott, Jr., Y 1/c of the U. S. Coast Guard, stationed at St. Petersburg, and his wife, also spent the weekend with the former's parents.

Lt. Milton D. Durrance, a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Prescott, a P-51 pilot stationed at Thomasville, Ga., learning that his cousins were at home, motored down to spend Sunday with his parents, Rev. and Mrs. Dow Durrance, and to visit in the Prescott home and join in the reunion.

This article was published in The Herald-Advocate (Wauchula, Fla.) of June 8, 2000.


May 12, 2001

Hardee County, Florida News of August 1945

Edited by Spessard Stone from The Florida Advocate of Friday, August 17, 24, 31, 1945



Personals

August 17--Misses Jean Bostick, Brunelle Finney, Janice Brown and Frances Searcy enjoyed a visit at Bradenton Beach over the last weekend.

Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Terrell and daughter, Laura Ann, spent a few days this week at Anna Maria Beach.

Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Terrell and two sons, Johnny and Dewey, of Lake Alfred, spent the weekend here and in the Oak Grove neighborhood with relatives.

Service Personnel

Albert Carlton of the U. S. Navy, who has been stationed at Bainbridge, Md., where he completed his boot training, arrived here the first of the week and is spending a short furlough with his sisters, Mrs. Allen Oliff and Mrs. Mattie Mae Saunders.

M/Sgt. Elden Crews, son of J. H. Crews, arrived here the first of the week from 19 months' service in the European theatre of operations. He was attached to Patton's Third Army where he was assigned to the communication department of telephone.

Lt. Frances D. Crews, Nurse Corps, of Zolfo Springs, daughter of Mrs. Eloise Crews, has arrived for duty at the Oliver General Hospital, a 3,000-bed hospital in Georgia. She has just returned from service in the European theatre.

With one of the most gruesome jobs of the European war, caring for the survivors of Dachau and Allach concentration camps behind him, Pfc. Osie L. Whidden of Wauchula is now being processed at the Assembly Area Command in northeastern France for direct redeployment to the Pacific. He is attached to an evacuation hospital unit.

Colored Baseball Game

August 24--Wauchula Sunday afternoon at 3:00--Arcadia Black Spiders vs. Plant City Tigers. This should be a good game. These clubs met last Sunday and played a 7-7 tie and they are going to play off the tie here Sunday at the Wauchula Athletic Field.

Personals

Mr. and Mrs. Merle Coker of Clearwater are announcing the birth of a daughter on August 9.

Mrs. Mildred Hadsell returned the latter part of last week from her vacation spent at Bradenton Beach. She assumed her duties at the Weiner Department Store on Monday.

Miss Mary Metheny, student at the Charity Hospital, New Orleans, La., is spending three weeks' vacation with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Metheny.

Mr. and Mrs. Lee M. Shackleford and little son of Avon Park are spending their vacation with their parents, Mrs. Lola Shackleford, and Rev. and Mrs. Dow Durrance.

Servicemen

Merle H. Revell, carpenter's mate 2/c of the U. S. Navy, who has been stationed at Beaumont, Tex. for the past month, arrived here Monday for a 21-day furlough with his mother, Mrs. Matt Revell, and had been in the city less than 24 hours when he had a call to return to the Beaumont base. He has been in the Navy 41 months and has seen service on both sides of the Atlantic.

Florida Cattlemen Salute

August 31--The Florida Cattleman, monthly magazine of the Florida State Cattlemen's Association, this week saluted the livestock industry of Hardee County.

Cattle herds pictured and discussed include those of Frank Bass, R. C. Bentley, Doyle Carlton, L. F. Carlton, Leffie Carlton, Dan Cowart, B. R. Farmer, W. C. Howze Jr., L. Maxley, A. Z. Oliff, and F. L. Revell.

Horse raising operations mentioned in the article include those of Bass, M. I. Brooks, Doyle Carlton, Leland Carlton, Tom Carlton, Jack Cliett, B. R. Farmer, Talmadge Hart, Oliff, and Alvin Williams.

Personals

A very enjoyable supper was given at the Gardner school house Wednesday night, Aug. 22, honoring Pfc. Harold Hampton, who recently returned from the European theatre of war where he took part in three major battles.

Mr. and Mrs. Phil Glorious and two children, who have been visiting here for two weeks in the home of Mr. and Mrs. P. I. Glorious, Sr., and Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Schweigart, left yesterday for their home in Miami.

Cadet Thomas Underwood, a student at Bolles Military School in Jacksonville, returned to his home here Sunday after attending the summer session. He plans to leave again on September 13 for the regular term.

Royal Theatre

Sunday-Monday--"Tall In The Saddle" with John Wayne.

Servicemen

Capt. John Causey, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Causey of this city, who has been overseas for a little more than 18 months, returned to the States a few weeks ago where he joined his wife in Plant City, and later visited his mother and other relatives in Wauchula. He is now stationed at the airfield in Orlando where he is taking a special course in radar.

Aboard a submarine on Pacific War Patrol--Floyd G. Conerly, 25, seaman first class, of Wauchula, has gotten just about as close to Japan as any bluejacket can get, without marching down the main street of Tokyo. Conerly, who is studying for the rating of torpedoman's mate, got his first look at the Japanese coastline a few days ago and admitted he's progressing faster as a bluejacket than he expected.

Mr. and Mrs. B. T. Crosby of Sebring, formerly of Wauchula, recently received a message that their son, Lt. Ben Tillman Crosby, Jr., who had been reported missing in action, was killed in action Feb. 16. He was a nephew of Mrs. J. Roy Thornton of this city. He was first lieutenant and pilot of a fighter plane and was stationed in the northern part of Italy. Returning from a mission to Neuberg, Germany, his flak injured engine was unable to retain sufficient altitude to carry him through the Alps and upon bailing out his parachute opened only about half way.

Cpl. Jack Dasher, of the U. S. Infantry and attached to the Medical Corps, arrived in the States the first of the week and immediately wired his parents, Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Dasher, that he would be home as soon as possible. Cpl. Dasher has been overseas two years, first landed in North Africa where he was unattached and participated in the campaigns there and was awarded three Silver Stars. He was then assigned to the Medical Corps and transferred to Italy shortly after that country was invaded. When Germany quit, he was sent to that country. Before entering the service, Cpl. Dasher was a student at the School of Pharmacy in Atlanta and only lacked a few months of completing his course when he was called.


This article was published in The Herald-Advocate (Wauchula, Fla.) of August 17, 2000.

May 12, 2001

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