A look back to May 16-22, 1962
May 16, 1962 – Alabama’s only oil field, at Citronelle, has shut down. The current low per-barrel price of oil, $2.86, has made it unprofitable to operate.
May 16, 1962 – Robert Ray Jenkins of Danville won the Teen-Age Safe Driving Road-E-O contest held here recently under the sponsorship of the Hartselle Jaycees.
May 17, 1962 – Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Brady, Hartselle 2, are the proud parents of a new baby girl born earlier today.
May 17, 1962 – Funeral services were held at Johnson Chapel this afternoon for Hartselle resident J. M. Childers who passed away at his residence Tuesday evening.
May 17, 1962 – Kay McCullough, MCHS senior, is the winner of $50 for her Associated Industries of Alabama-sponsored essay on economic development in the state. Her English teacher is Lizzie Reed Penn.
May 18, 1962 – Gubernatorial runoff candidate Ryan deGraffenried spoke near the A. A. Oden accounting office on Main Street here this morning. (Sen. deGraffenried was defeated by Judge George Wallace and perished in a plane crash when he ran for governor again four years later.)
May 18, 1962 – Due to a mistake the management made in preparing one of its recent ads, it was stated that the Curry-Hame Furniture at 111 Railroad Street was open Sundays from 8-8. The store has now issued a correction stating: “We are not open on Sunday nor will we ever be.”
May 18, 1962 – Dewey Ledlow, 47, Hartselle 1 passed away at his home tonight. Funeral services will be Monday morning at Bethel Baptist.
May 18, 1962 – Jim Miller, Hartselle 4, was well enough to go home from the hospital today.
May 19, 1962 – A still with the capacity to produce up to 1,000 gallons of wildcat whiskey was demolished near Neel this morning.
May 19, 1962 – Gubernator-ial runoff candidate George Wallace was campaigning in downtown Hartselle this morning.
May 19, 1962 – Hartselle Redstone employees were able to give their families a tour of where they work today as the traditional annual open house was held by the missile command. It is expected that before the gates close, more than 50,000 people will have come in to see how space vehicles are manufactured. The biggest attraction is the huge Saturn space booster.
May 20, 1962 – Earl Legg, Hartselle 2, suffered a heart attack at his home the morning.
May 20, 1962 – Hartselle native, the Rev. Billy Stephenson, spoke at the Priceville High baccalaureate service this afternoon. Rev. Stephenson is now pastor of Decatur First Baptist.
May 20, 1962 – Mrs. Dolly Lovelady, widow of the late Dr. Sim Lovelady, and a friend, Mrs. Maxie Bawsel, are currently aboard the Queen Mary, sailing to Europe for a month-long vacation. They stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria prior to departure.
May 21, 1962 – Falkville resident Hunter Francis is currently in Hartselle Hospital as a result of a fractured shoulder sustained during a recent accident at his job site.
May 21,1962 – The American Medical Association announced today that it opposes President Kennedy’s proposed medical care for the elderly program (later called Medicare).
May 22, 1962 – A truck and trailer caught fire at the intersection of Highways 31 and 36 here today. Members of the HFD were able to put it out before too much damage was done, however. The cause of the fire was brake sparks.
May 22, 1962 – Nadine Robertson, a 40-year-old Decatur resident broke her back in a one-vehicle accident north of Hartselle this morning. She is currently being treated at Hartselle Hospital.
May 22, 1962 – Tommy Seibert, son of Mrs. Edith Seibert, Hartselle 4, is a member of the U.S. Navy and is stationed aboard the USS Boxer the home base of which is Camp Lejeune, N.C.