Look Back ... to an election coming up in Hobson City, 1948

Bill Edwards, The Anniston Star, Ala.
·2 min read

Sep. 1—Sept. 1, 1948, in The Star: A small legal ad in the classifieds section announces there will be a municipal election in Hobson City on Sept. 20, 1948. Candidates for mayor are Horace H. Flowers and James A. Dunn; candidates for councilmen are William M. Bates, Aldrich Snow, Albert Nickerson, Willie Mosley, Clyde R. Atkinson and Edgar E. Hanna. Voting will take place at City Hall between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on that date. Also this date: Piedmont High School opened for the year two days ago with a registration of 425 students, the largest student body in the history of the school. All the classes are unusually large, yet a number of other students are expected to register in the next few days. Superintendent W. H. Kimbrough stressed the importance of mathematics and science, particularly in the curriculum of the high school boys. In the city's two grammar schools, Coosa and Frances E. Willard, enrollment totals are 209 and 256, respectively.

Sept. 1, 1998, in The Star: Nerve agent, including some stored at Anniston Army Depot, is nearly twice as deadly as originally projected, according to a new report from the National Research Council in Washington. Results from the NRC student, released last month, could affect emergency planning for Calhoun County, because the Army might have to upgrade the protection capabilities of equipment used by depot workers. "Twice as deadly" simply means that the degree of exposure to Sarin gas that would kill a person is even less than what scientists originally estimated. Also this date: Gracing today's edition is a charming story by Basil Penny about a fellow named Perry Wilson, a one-time actor, and still a musician, who hails from the Roanoke area. Wilson made his way to Hollywood where his band played in lounges, but after some acting lessons he was cast in a recurring role in the TV western "Wagon Train." Now, almost 40 years after all that, he's back home in Alabama — Clacksville, specifically — living with his wife, Faye, and their six chow dogs.