MJ - August 2019

July 1952: Vanderburgh deputy sheriff Alvin Rogers
was hit in his face and chest by a shotgun blast; he did
survive. Mesker Park Amphitheater had a record crowd
of 10,000 to hear evangelist Charles Templeton. Two
boys and three girls, ages seven to 15, were arrested in
Cannelton after stealing a Newburgh auto. A flying
saucer, or a fireball, was seen above the Evansville airport
by the control tower along with a commercial pilot and
scores of residents. (The Harold Morgan home adjoined
the airport and we missed the flying saucer — dang!) The
Mesker Park Amphitheater had too many programs in
1952 and would cut back to a total of 10 or 11 in 1953.
Democrats nominated Harry Truman and Alben
Barkley for their presidential ticket; a strong “states’
rights” conflict dominated the convention. The Paducah
atomic plant would build a $459 million expansion to
the original design; two Illinois power plants would provide
the electrical energy; they were the TVA Shawnee
and EEI Joppa plants. Oakland City lost an entire downtown
block to a fire. Two were killed and 13 people were
injured on Highway 41 south on a single day. Servel
reached 10,009 employment, the highest since WWII.
August 1952: The Servel F-84G jet airplane wing
work was the largest such project on earth. Evansville
Jaycees gave $10,000 to spur action for (Roberts) stadium.
Servel was awarded additional F-84 Thunderjet
wing work. 35 paralyzed veterans attended a conference
in the McCurdy Hotel. Boehne Camp Hospital was
On Sunday June 30, the Lions of Indiana dedicated
a marker sign honoring William Perry Woods MD. It is
located near his grave in the Lutheran Cemetery. As a
young man he wanted to serve his community.
Dr. Woods was a founder of the Association of
Lions Clubs in 1916, later to be named Lions Clubs
International. Today his Lions clubs total 1.4 million
members in 205 countries with over 45,000 clubs.
He was the first international president of The Lions
Club. He came here from Clarinda, Ohio as a physician
and surgeon to work at Deaconess Hospital. He was
honored with an award for 50 years of service to the
people of Evansville, Indiana and the surrounding areas.
He served his fellow man until 2 years before his
death at 88 years.
Maturity Journal
This is a set of Evansville-built Air Force hangar
doors built by International Steel. (from the
Morgan collection)
building a six-story building addition.
Evansville’s general fund budget was $3.4 million,
double that of 1948 and triple 1943. Chrysler had 2,500
workers on SA-16 Albatross airplane hulls. 15,000 of
25,000 Paducah atomic workers held a walkout strike.
Republican presidential candidate Dwight Eisenhower
visited Evansville. 31,000 people watched an F-89
Scorpion Air Force jet lose a wing and crash at the
Detroit airport. (This was not an Evansville product.)
MJ
Lions Clubs honor Local Native
The motto of the Lions clubs is “We Serve”.
Our city is very honored to have such a man call
Evansville home. MJ
Lions Cecelia Schulz and Vern Tincher present the
marker.
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