Today's News

One-hundred and five years ago, the World’s Fair was in full swing in Forest Park in St. Louis. Some of the amazing facts about that event were: it featured an 18-foot high lighthouse built of pure salt; there were 142 miles of exhibits in the eight main places for people to explore; and 90 million feet of pine was used in constructing the framework for the buildings.

And the same year, 1904, a little girl was born in St. Louis to Ann Gibbons Kupferer, whose parents were emigrants from Ireland, and Charles Andrew Kupferer, whose parents came to this country from Germany.

Last Tuesday evening, my friend Bill Wilson, president of the Hill’s Fort Society, telephoned to remind me that I had promised him a list of War of 1812 veterans buried in Fayette County.

This sounded like something I would do, and the fact that Bill needed it for a talk on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Society’s “Living History Days” in Greenville, spurred me to begin my research right then and there.

In the first round of the E-I Conference playoffs on Monday, Ramsey knocked out Brownstown, 1-0.

Korey McCloskey pitched a gem for the Rams. He scattered seven hits, struck out six and walked one in the shutout.

The game's lone run came in the bottom of the fifth. Ryan Black led the inning off with a single and moved up to second on an out and to third on a steal. Ethan Carlock hit a two-out single, scoring Black and giving the Rams the lead.

McCloskey was able to work his way through the last two frames without getting in too much trouble, giving Ramsey the win.

Three weeks ago, I contributed a story for this column telling how I had been contacted by editor and publisher Mike Lakin of The Mt. Pulaski Times for permission to reprint an earlier column.

Immediately, my antennae went up, because Thomas N. Lakin was editor and publisher of The Vandalia Union. I learned from Mike that his grandfather, William Lakin, and Thomas Lakin were cousins.