The Shadow
Echoes of the Past is a collection of historical articles curated from The Virginian Review and other publications archived since 1914. You may be exposed to content that you find offensive or objectionable. For historical purposes and accuracy, articles are reprinted in their original, unedited form, and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the publisher.
100 Years Ago
January, 1924
Clifton Police Get Two Stills: Locate Moonshine Outfit in Man’s Home on Wilson’s Creek
Clifton Forge police notified county authorities here yesterday of the finding of a five-gallon copper still in the home of a man named Francis Callendar, residing on Wilson’s Creek, about two miles from Clifton Forge. Two of the members of the police force of that city were looking for a man named Sidney Peters, wanted on an illicit liquor charge when they found the still in the Callendar home. The man was not at home, nor was the still in operation, but police took his wife into custody, and she was bailed in the sum of $500 for a hearing later.
The still found on the Callendar place is the second located in as many days by the Clifton Forge police in the county near that city, one having been located the day before at Spout Springs.
75 Years Ago
January, 1949
Nation Turns Eyes Toward Washington For Truman’s Inauguration Tomorrow; Nearly 750,000 People Head for City: Stream of Trains Carries Thousands to Pay Tribute
Gay and carefree thousands poured into Washington today in a holiday mood for Harry S. Truman’s presidential inauguration tomorrow.
They came in a stream of special trains, by plane and automobile to pay tribute to the one-time farm boy whose mother once said he “plowed the straightest row of corn” in all of Jackson County, Missouri.
The best guesses are that 500,000 to 750,000 people are headed for Washington.
There was one jarring discord thrust into the Democrats’ happy affair late yesterday—the Senate defeated a bill to waive the 20 per cent federal tax on all grandstand parade and inaugural ball tickets. This was the Democrats’ first defeat in the new Congress.
50 Years Ago
January, 1974
Ford Speaks on Watergate
Vice President Gerald R. Ford says that President Nixon, while right in rejecting Senate Watergate committee subpoenas, should make available to the committee any evidence related to criminal activity.
Ford also said that if the committee trims down and refines its sweeping request for White House documents, then “there may be —and I underline ‘may be’— an area of compromise.
Ford was interviewed Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
25 Years Ago
January, 1999
Clifton Forge High School Alumni Association Seeking Memorabilia
The Clifton Forge High School Alumni Association recently decided to expand efforts to assemble and eventually display items from pre-1928 schools in Clifton Forge as well as the old CFHS which served the city as its high school from 1928-1929 through 1982-1983.
After the latter year CFHS was consolidated with Alleghany County High School as part of the new Alleghany Highlands School System.
The Association has tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and currently gives some small scholarships to deserving students among its other activities. Tentative plans are being made to expand the scholarship program.
Tom Dean, immediate past president of the CFHS Alumni Association, and D. Robert (Bob) Hunt, a former Clifton Forge resident now living near Charleston, S.C., who recently accepted responsibility for the organization’s newsletter and web page, are among the leaders of this effort. They seek to accumulate materials from pre-1928 schools such as the former Robert E. Lee School which once stood in the lot later occupied by Wood Chevrolet.
