This Week in Canton History
CANTON HERALD: MARCH 1, 1962-The Canon Lions Club will celebrate its 30th Anniversary on Thursday night, March 1, according to A. L. Scott, club president. This will be a joint celebration with the Kawanis Club. Jimmy Matthews is president of the Kawanis Club. The program will be entertainment. The banquet and program will be in the Service Café at 730 o’clock.
Members of both clubs and their wives will attend. Widows of deceased Lines Club members will be special guest. Also charter members still living have been invited.
The Canton Lions Club was organized Feb. 26, 1942. The first meeting was held in the Dixie Hotel. Foodway Grocery now occupies the area where the Dixie Hotel was located. The club was organized with 20 members. The late A. O. Loughmiller was the first president and W. E. West, Sec.
Dr. T. R. Keahey is the only charter member still alive in the club.
The Canton Lions Club was organized by the Lions Club of Van.
The 20 charter members of the club were C. W. Ashworth, H. F. Blackwell, Jr., Shade Connor, A. A. Dawson, J. H. Gilmer, Cliff Hall, B. D. High, Dr. H. H. Hilliard, Dr. T. R. Keahey, A. O. Loughmiller, H. F. McPhail, G. T. Nolan, C. F. Riley, D. T. Riley, L. L. Sartin, P. H. Sanford, W. R. Swenzy, G. W. Tull, W. E. West and George L. Yates.
Twenty-five, 15 and 10-year certificates will be issued to many members who have been active in the club for these years in the club for these years.
Thomas Ellis Childs of Myrtle Springs, 84, died at his home Monday, Feb. 19, after a long illness. Funeral services were held in the Myrtle Springs Baptist Church Wednesday afternoon at 2 o’clock with Rev. George Conn, pastor officiating assisted by Rev. O. T. Breedlove of Dallas. Interment was in Haven of Memories under the direction of Eubank & Son Funeral Home.
Mr. Childs was born in Van Zandt County on Nov. 27, 1877 he married Nettie McIntosh on Dec. 2, 1898.
Funeral services were held on Wednesday, Feb. 28 for Thomas Allen Bomar who died at his home here Tuesday. Mr. Bomar was born January 3, 1877, in McKinney. He was a member of the Methodist Church. He was married to Mary Ann Stallings December 26, 1897. Rev. Joe Fort officiated at the rites held in Eubank Funeral Chapel Rev. Thomas Hardy held graveside rights. Interment was in the Pecan Grove Cemetery at McKinney under the direction of Eubank Funeral Home.
Eradication of screwworms from large areas of the Southwest will get underway immediately Secretary of Agriculture Orville L. Freeman announced today. A campaign against serious livestock pest in Texas and other states in the north and east are being started now to take advantage of reduced screwworm populations caused by recent severe cold weather. This campaign will be a joint effort by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, the Southwest Animal Health Research Foundation, (an organization of stockmen) and the Texas Animal Health Commission with the cooperation of Agricultural Extension Services. Van Zandt County Farm Bureau is helping to sponsor this program in Van Zandt.
Men and Women in Service – Jerry Nix entered the service a few weeks ago. He is stationed in San Diego. Calif.
Newport, R. I.-Navy Ensign Kenneth D. Kuykendall, son of Mr. and Mrs. D. M. Kuykendall of Grand Saline, was graduated Feb. 9 from the Naval Officer Candidate School at Newport, Road Island.
Denton-Billy John Hobbs of Van has been elected reporter of the North Texas State University Chancery Club, a student organization promoting interest in government and vocations in the field of law and government. The son of Mrs. E. L. Hobbs of Glendale. Hobbs is sophomore journalism major.
He is a member of the Young Republicans Club, student organization designed to encourage an interest in local state and national government. Hobbs is a 1960 graduate of Van high school.
Mr. and Mrs. C. G. Yoes of Terrell announce the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Cori, to Dwayne Casey. Mr. and Mrs. W. I. Casey are the parents of the groom to be. The wedding date has been set for Friday, March 9, at 8:30 p.m. at the Oakland Baptist Church.
Miss Dorisene Pierce daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Pierce, will become a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority at East Texas State College this week as formal installation ceremonies are held at Dallas and Commerce.
The Gamma Zeta Chapter at East Texas will be the 75th collegiate chapter in Gamma Phi Beta, which was the first woman’s Greek letter organization to use the word “sorority” when it was organized in Syracuse University Nov. 11, 1874.
Sunday, March 4, Rev. and Mrs. Elbert Cowin of 212 Pacific St., Forney will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary with an open house from 2 to 5 o’clock.
Before moving to Forney nine years ago Rev. and Mrs. Gowin were residents of the Jackson community. They have many friends in and about Canton. They were married March 6, 1912 at the county courthouse in Canton. The wedding ceremony was performed by Walter Wilhite, who was Justice of the peace at the time.
These articles have been extracted from the Canton Herald and may be viewed on microfilm at the Van Zandt County Library of Genealogy and Local History, located at the Courthouse Annex.
