Doug and Olive McCracken, Tonganoxie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Saturday, Dec. 18 in Kansas City, Kan., at a surprise party given by their children.

Death: Services for William P. “Jack” Mann, 72, Tonganoxie, will be today, Dec. 29, 1999, in Bonner Springs.

Birth: Jarrod and Brandi O’Donnell, Topeka, announce the birth of a son, Jonathan Jacob O’Donnell, born Dec. 12, 1999.

A Tonganoxie couple has purchased the former Palace Bowl, where this spring a chiropractic clinic and a fitness center will open. Finney and Marilyn Robbins, owners of downtown’s Midwest Carpet Center, purchased the former bowling alley last Thursday.

Jarbalo Jottings: (by Thamar Barnett) As a lot of people around here know, it is a tradition for the Barnett family to go Christmas caroling. This has been going on for nearly 40 years. This year was no exception, except for the fact that they leased a school bus to travel in. Lynn Heskett is a school bus driver, so she arranged to lease the bus and was the driver.

Animals get a second chance: Four hawks perch on a limb in an outdoor pen at Operation Wildlife. (Diane Johnson was shown with a barred owl and a photograph was also shown of a 37-year-old Texas gopher tortoise, which was found in the middle of a busy Johnson County intersection.) Mrs. Johnson explained that Operation Wildlife keeps 22 animals for educational purposes, traveling to schools, etc., to fund the operation. They received no state or federal monies, and only a minimal amount from grants.

25 years ago: Dec. 26, 1984

Deaths: Byron T. Cox, 82, Lawrence, died Dec. 20, 1984; Joseph T. Lenahan, 64, Bonner Springs, died Dec. 22, 1984.

Birth: Mr. and Mrs. Robin Jones, McLouth, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Abbie Dawn, Dec. 1, 1984.

Tonganoxie Mayor Lois Meadows and Karen Walters, city clerk, signed the documents Dec. 21, 1984, issuing the financing of the bonds for the new nursing home to be built. This is something that many people in our community have worked hard to bring about. It should be completed in December 1985.

Jarbalo Jottings: Dorothy Ehart has received word of the birth of a daughter, Kristin, to the Rev. and Mrs. Paul Babcock. Paul is a former pastor of the Jarbalo United Methodist Church.

Springdale News: The little red bird that came to our window after the ice storm is still with us. We got him a sack of bird seed and a feeder for Christmas.

Mr. and Mrs. L.W. Fischer went Thursday to McLouth to help their granddaughter, Heather, celebrate her 14th birthday at the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Fischer.

Big Ben in London is not the clock and not the tower, but the bell that strikes the hour. It weighs 13 tons and was named for Sir Benjamin Hall, commissioner of works when it was installed.

50 years ago: Jan. 14, 1960

Ronnie Lindel, Basehor, recently received a $50 U.S. Savings Bond as a 4-H Dairy Production Contest Award. He ranked third of 55 contestants in the Holstein division of the contest.

Basehor: Mrs. Helen Steele’s mother, Mrs. Effie Horn, passed away Friday and was buried Monday afternoon.

Fairmount: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Florence announce the birth of their son, Martin Thomas on Dec. 17, 1960.

Members and friends of the Basehor Methodist Church have responded wholeheartedly to the need for a new structure that will serve for religious education and parish hall purposes. (In twenty-four hours, $25,000 was raised in cash and pledges.)

Death: Robert Lewis McBroom, Eugene, Ore., died Dec. 30, 1959.

75 years ago: Dec. 20, 1934

Members of the Fort Leavenworth army air corps roared into the skies Monday in a 30-minute flight of tribute to Wilbur and Orville Wright, aviation pioneers, on the 31st anniversary of the first airplane flight made at Kitty Hawk, N.C. During the afternoon flight a squad of three P-12 planes winged their way to Tonganoxie, where they circled, and dipped in honor of the town where one of the Wright brothers lived. (Reuchlin Wright lived here for many years on a farm 2 1/2 miles east of Tonganoxie, and the famous aviators visited here many times.)

Mrs. Les Sparks, fifth grade teacher, is entertaining the mumps.

A suggestion is made that The Mirror print a list of eligible bachelors. Nothing doing. We did that once on leap year and never heard the last of it.

The evergreen tree in the yard of the C.F. Redding home has been decorated with Christmas lights, which send out greetings to the world. Let’s more of us join with the Reddings and decorate out of doors where all may enjoy with us.

Stanwood Items: Mrs. Crescent Snell has returned from a several days visit to Kansas City.

Mayginnis items: Bud Curry lost two cows last Sunday by being poisoned on sargo.

100 years ago: Dec. 30, 1909

Truman Hubbel, for many years a resident of Tonganoxie, but a resident of Lawrence for some time, was severely burned last Thursday evening in the North Lawrence Congregational Church while playing Santa Claus. (Mr. Hubbel leaned too far over the gifts he was distributing and the cotton on his Christmas costume ignited. The burns were not dangerous.)

Silas Norris, who has made a lot of money out of sorghum north of Tonganoxie, has purchased him a new Ford machine and last week was trying it on the winter roads. Mr. Norris is his own chauffeur and has no trouble getting the machine to do its duty.

The farmers around Lansing are solving part of their troubles with hunters by having them arrested when they come around Sunday. Hunting on Sunday is forbidden by Kansas law. Three were fined Monday and they had to pawn their guns for the fine and costs.

Deaths: Joseph Doege died suddenly at his home 4 miles northeast about 4 o’clock Sunday; John Divelbess, for many years a resident of Reno, died at his home Tuesday in Lawrence; Mrs. Louisa Peters, a resident of Kansas since 1855, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. C.B. Douglas, in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday evening. She was nearly 90 years of age; John Kincaid, an old resident of the county, died at the home of his daughter last Thursday in Weatherford, Texas.