100 Years Ago. . .
W. E. Sandifer at the Osmond Pharmacy advertised Christmas gifts including phonographs at less than half price: 1 Pathe No. 7, priced at $100, now $49; 1 Pathe No. 10, priced at $125, now $59; 1 Columbia No. E2, priced at $120, now $58; 1 Pathe Actuelle, priced at $200, now $95; also giving free with each instrument, 20 double disc records. He also had toys for the kiddies, dolls for the girls from the character dolls to the large “Mamma” dolls that talk, walk and sleep. Then there were the most interesting story books: adventure and stories of sports for boys, fairy and other entertaining stories for girls, and plenty of books for the grown-ups. A list of other gift ideas included: toilet sets, white ivory pieces, lacquered perfume boxes, powder compacts, cut glass, hand-painted China, ivory clocks, shaving stands, ink stands, humidores, fountain pens, pocket knives, pearl necklaces, cuff buttons, jewelry of all kinds, military sets, pin cushions, harmonicas, accordions, candy in bulk and in fancy boxes.
The soft drink parlor of J. W. Maly was robbed of considerable cash. A portion of the cash was taken from the till, the silver being taken and the bills left undisturbed. The loss was $30 or $40.
A surprise party was given for Ervin Kratochvil and family. The evening was spent in playing cards, Mrs. Fred Schmitz winning the women’s grand prize and Mrs. Will Marek the women’s booby prize. Dr. Paul Becker won the men’s grand prize and A. J. Stanosheck took the men’s booby prize.
Notice was given by the village board: Starting Jan. 1, 1924, all business houses in Osmond with the exception of the drug stores, the garages, the filling stations, and eating places will be closed all day on Sundays. This is in accordance with the state law, and said law will be strictly enforced starting Jan. 1, 1924 75 Years Ago. . .
Santa Claus was in Osmond on Thursday, Dec. 23, 1948, sponsored by the Osmond Community Club. There were free shows at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. (the first show was for children only), and free treats at 3 p.m.
The Osmond Community Clubappointed paving committee reported that 13 real estate owners on the principal one-block north-south business section had signed an instrument petitioning the village council to create a paving district. There were 20 property owners in this plot. All had not been contacted. There were no refusals. The 13 signers constituted 65% of the property owners. A 60% signup was required for the board to act. The committee said it was the intention to circulate the petition in the city areas where paving might be desirable or necessary. It would be from the completed petition that the village council would determine the outline of the prospective paving districts.
65 Years Ago. . .
When the next summer arrived, Osmond patrons of the municipallyowned water system would probably be drinking from a new source of supply. The water of course would be the same high purity 52 degree fluid. The cost too would be the same — all you want for $12 a year except in a few instances where heavy users had contracted at different rates. Clayton McClain, village board trustee in charge of the water department, emphasized that there was no cause for alarm because of the failure of one of the city’s two wells, both of which were located in the city pump house at the intersection of State Street and Highway 20. The casing of the well which was failing had been rusting away for many months. Considerable air was being pumped from the well, along with some water, and the progressing inefficiency had cause the board to begin negotiations for a new well, which would be located near the city supply tank in the northeast part of town. A later article said that Osmond’s token payment of $12 per year for unlimited quantities of water would come to an end effective Jan. 1, when the new flat rate - $24 per year - would become effective.
The extreme cold snap of past week apparently was broken as temperatures rose well above the freezing point and melted a light snow. December had brought as much cold weather as anyone would care to see. Low temperatures for four successive days: Dec. 13, -10; Dec. 13, -11; Dec. 14, -12; Dec. 15, -10. High temperature for the month was 62 on Dec. 3.
Santa arrived in Osmond on Dec. 18 at about 3:15 p.m., immediately after the second showing of “Robinson Crusoe” at 1 p.m. at the auditorium. The first showing, at 10 a.m., was for city school children and the afternoon showing for rural children and all others who wished to come.
50 Years Ago. . .
With the concern for energy conservation, many towns and cities had to forego their Christmas decorations. But thanks to Florine Christensen, Osmond could boast one of the prettiest Christmas scenes. It was located in the windows of the Glaze Reed building and was well worthwhile to spend the time to admire the scene. The entire scene was made up of handmade buildings, characters, street lights and other props creatively set in a background of artificial plants. Each building was complete with doors, windows and lights that shone through the windows. Miss Christensen said that she first made the miniature scene to display in a tropical fish store in Chicago, where she displayed it for two years. People from as far away as Alabama heard of the scene and made a special trip to the store. She had also displayed her winter wonderland in a Norfolk store window. The original idea for the scene was taken from a Christmas card with her own personal touches added.
25 Years Ago. . .
Jolly Ol’ St. Nick set up his living room at the city auditorium on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 12. Activities began with hayrack rides at 1:30 p.m. Santa’s visit was a joint project of the Osmond Community Club and OHS Family, Career and Community Leaders ofAmerica (FCCLA). Members of the FCCLA served as Santa’s helpers and distributed bags of old-fashioned treats to each youngster.
Santa letters in 1998 included these requests: I want ALL the Barbie stuff ‘cause I like them. I haven’t fought with my brother. . . much. I try to be good. — Paige Schuettler I want Spice girls stuff like Spice girls stage that talk. Nascar stuff like a remote control nascar set. I want a Jeff Gordon and Ricky Craven Coat, High heels, shoes a lot. Posters any kind. A kitten. A baby doll, Triplets and Twins. Love, Amanda girl power I want a Mega-Dozer, a Mega-zoid and a truck. — Gene Richard Kumm 10 Years Ago. . .
In 2013, the Santa letters included these requests: For Christmas I would like a rifle, deer target, turkey target, and a hunting knife. — Baylen Guenther I would like a pair of handcuffs, and a wwe champion belt and one more thing I want a hammer. — Zachary Reikofski.
My name is Korrine Anna Faye Moes. I would like a baby doll that is not a real baby. I would a thing to hold the baby in.
For Christmas, I would like an easy bake oven that makes cake balls and pop the pig. — Love, Tessa Gardner
