This Week in Wills Point History Friday, Jan. 3, 1969
Weather conditions in the Wills Point area have been slightly uncomfortable during the past few days when the mercury fell to 14 degrees. Weatherman Jack Gibbard’s 1968 weather summary revealed that the temperature was close to 100 degrees only once, on Aug. 22. The lowest temperature recorded during the year was 12 degrees on Jan 7. Total rainfall was 49.64 inches or 8.60 above normal. During the month of May 10.05 inches of rain fell while August was the driest with 1.26 inches. One inch of snowfall was reported in January.
Wills Point Tigers played in two tournaments over the holidays and made a good showing. In the tournament at Wolfe City Dec. 19, 20 and 21, Coach Dewayn Carter’s charges captured second place, losing only to Wolfe City by one point in the finals. At Terrell tournament, Dec. 26,27 and 28, the Tigers won third place losing to a strong Athens five by eight points in the semi-finals.
Three armed men entered the grocery store at Holiday Marina at about 5 a.m. Sunday, bound up the store manager, Bill Beard, and left with between $1700 and $1800 in cash. The trio roughed Beard up considerably striking him with a gun, before tying him up. The J.V. White - Fina Station at Myrtle Springs, was hit by burglars Saturday night according, to information received from Deputy Stone. An undetermined amount of cash was taken. Ronnie Simmons’ Phillips 66 Station on Interstate 20 was also burglarized on the same night. Simmons lost a small television set, $60 in cash and a gun.
New officers of the nine Van Zandt County Home Demonstration Clubs and Council will be installed Monday at the clubs’ annual training meeting in the assembly room at the courthouse. Miss Lucille Watson, Van Zandt County Home Demonstration agent, said a “sack lunch” will open an officers’ training session at 11 a.m. At 2 p.m. Miss Watson will install the newly elected officers for 1969 at the Home Demonstration Council’s first meeting of the New Year. Mrs. Charles E. Branton of Canton is chairman.
A small tornado swept down out of black clouds at noon on Saturday, Dec. 21, to overturn a house trailer parked at Tanglewood Marina on the south shore of Lake Tawakoni and leave the trailer’s occupant, Mrs. Ada Durham with a broken hip. The Garrison trailer in the same vicinity was blown off its blocks and would have been turned over if, it had not been. supported by a tree against which it was thrown. The Durham trailer blew over with the door to the ground and Mrs. Durham was brought out through a window.
With the three astronauts orbiting the moon, there was almost more excitement this year at Christmas time than the average person could digest. We never cease to be amazed at the accomplishments in the scientific world. James Lovell added even more to the miracle of the mission when he landed the capsule in the Pacific almost close enough to splash water on the Yorktown, their pick-up ship.
