Decembers Past in Springfield, Missouri

1858	25	Contract for a new courthouse was let to Josiah Leedy for $36,000.
1870	22	The Mansfield Opera House at 313-315 South Street was opened to offer citizens opera. It also housed civic meetings, the Odd Fellow's Lodge and various musical performances.
1902	20	A prominent black man by the name of Walter Majors designed, built and drove on of the first motorcars in Springfield. It was comprised of a one and one-half horsepower stationary gas engine, double chain drive, a buggy type body and it was painted red. The machine had only one speed--fast forward. To stop the auto, Majors had to jump out and "cut the wheels."
1910	12	Children's Home in Pickwick Place burned, three children died.
1913		Pythian Castle was built for the Knights of Pythias. During the war it was part of O'Reilly Army Hospital.
1915	06	Scores of persons were turned away from the Landers Theater at the showing of David Griffin's masterpiece "The Birth of a Nation". The film was reported to have cost $500,000 to produce and it used 18,000 actors in the cast.
1923	12	Anna Pavlova, the dancer who has enchanted audiences all over the world, with her company, delighted a big audience in the Shrine Mosque. Her party of more than 80, including her husband, M. Dandre, technical and artistic director of the Ballet Russe, and other famous ballet personalities, arrived in special cars on the Frisco Wednesday morning. They left here immediately after the appearance.
1924	15	A $40,000 addition to the Springfield Children's Home building soon will be completed and will provide badly needed space. Ed V. Williams, president of the home board, however, points out that the most important thing at the institution is the spirit of "joy and happiness" which pervades it."The children come to the institution unhappy, sick, and lonely," he said, "and within a comparatively short time are cheerful and sound in body."
1924	29	Contract for excavation for the addition to Burge Hospital has been let to Henry Proserpi. Excavation will start as soon as weather permits.The $200,000 addition will be attached to the north side of the present building and will contain 100 rooms for patients, not including special departments.
1926	11	Thousands of Springfieldians attended the opening of M.E. Gillioz's new $300,000 Gillioz Theater in an event described by the Springfield Republican as "gorgeous, vivid, awe-inspiring, dazzling, sweeping, amazing and bewildering."
1928	14	Plans for a modern white way to be built on McDaniel St. have been announced by Lester E. Cox, manager of Martin Brothers Piano Co., representing merchants along the street. Several large buildings are going up along the street, now being widened from Campbell to Kimbrough. Merchants will pay around $10,000 for the white way, which then will be maintained by the city.
1928	24	The Goad-Ballinger Post of the American Legion has accepted the offer of Louis Reps to give the Holland Home on St. Louis St. at Kimbrough for a club house. At one time this was one of the finest homes in Springfield, built at a cost of $50,000. Legion members hope to obtain city-owned property on Kimbrough at the entrance to the Benton Ave. viaduct as site for their future home.
1928	24	Rivals in taxicabs operations squared off on Christmas Eve and fought for 18 hours, mostly at the Frisco station and on Main Street. Some fighters used clubs. One person was injured, three arrested.
1933	25	KWTO goes on the air.
1954	13	O'Reilly Army Hospital land is divided up among local entities.
1956		Work is to begin this month on the new stadium at Parkview high school, Kennedy Stadium.
1967	08	Frisco passenger trains 101 and 102 blew their whistles as they rumbled through Springfield for the last time. The Frisco passenger station, built in 1926 of Spanish architecture, became a deserted building marked by neglect and litter.
1972	14	An F2 tornado touched down near Billings and moved northeast through Republic, western Springfield and northern Greene County. It damaged the airport with winds of 120 mph. One person was killed and 22 injured. More than 200 homes and businesses in Republic were damaged or destroyed.
1985		Catholic High School moved from Jefferson Avenue to into a new building on U.S. Highway 65.
1986		Kickapoo High School sustained vandalism which amounted to $100,000
1987	24	An ice storm devastates the city. Many tree limbs and power lines are down. Some power was not restored until after the first of the year.
1989		Fire destroys the old Mo-Pac freight depot.
1989		Bass Pro announced a new warehouse at Kearney and West Bypass but later took over the old Zenith plant instead.
1989		The public school district unveils a new Strategic Plan. The plan had been developed over the past year with a lot of citizen input and committee work.
1989		Auction of Trula Walker items nets over $1 million. The articles had been stockpiled by Trula Walker and her husband who had been convicted of fraud and income tax evasion in connection with the old Campbell 66 truck line.
1989	03	SMSU Bears lose in NCAA football quarter finals to Stephen Austin.
1989	13	The new Performing Arts Center is named for Juanita Hammons wife of John Q. Hammons who donated the land and $1.6 million.
1989	17	Anti-abortion protesters are arrested at clinic on Cherry Street
1989	22	The wind chill factor hits 60 below zero; the temperature 15 below
1989	28	Fugitive Timmy Lee DePriest was captured after a downtown foot chase in which Cpl. Larry Robinson suffered a gunshot in the shoulder.
1990		First First Night celebration.
1990		Zenith announces it will layoff 130 workers. It had already laid off 170.
1990		For months residents of southeast Missouri fretted over a prediction that there would be an earthquake on the New Madrid fault this year. In Springfield the discussion was on how to handle the thousands of refugees who came here. The earthquake never happened.
1990		Air Midwest closes facilities here
1990	02	Fire destroys Selsor Lumber
1991		An ice storm hits the city, 3000 without power
1991	01	Two youngsters die in a fire on the northside
1991	06	SMSU faculty give no confidence vote to president Marshall Gordon.
1991	10	Bass Pro buys the K-Mart shopping center
1991	10	TeleCable activates first part of a fiber optic network
1991	21	SMSU Regents find actual cost of Performing Arts Hall have been hidden. This is the start of the downslide of Marshall Gordon as president.
1991	29	Two people are wounded in an abortion clinic shooting. The shooting was at the Central Health Clinic. It was closed shortly thereafter.
1994		ORION is up and running. The Ozarks Regional Information Online Network, started by several local organizations, provides people with a communications link to the Internet.
1994		Council approves $9 million in bonds for parks They will come through the Public Building Corporation.
1994		Heer's closes its final store at Battlefield Mall. This means that a long-time participation in the commerce of the city disappears.
1994	19	Sam's Club is robbed of $100,000

Page maintained by Richard Grosenbaugh - Last updated February 6, 2003