Around Town

Donations of historical documents, photographs and, in some cases, clothing, continue to be made by Ennisites to the archive being assembled by local historian and Ennis News contributing writer Randy Bryan Bigham, recently re-hired as a correspondent following an absence of over a year and a half due to a corporate layoff resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some of the contributions came from former Ennis City Manager Steve Howerton, who wrote Bigham that he would like to see a number of civic documents included in the archive.

The Parent Teacher Association in Ennis in 1922 approved the purchase of a motion picture projector for use in the public schools and also announced that a radio connection would be installed for the schools.

A story that was picked up by the wire services in May 1924 told of a car accident between Ennis and Palmer that killed all three in the automobile when it was struck by an Interurban train. The victims were Perry E. Thomas, operator of an oil well in Corsicana, and Kathleen McKnight and Geddis Manning, local school teachers.

Worry over the spread of Scarlet Fever was gripping Ennis in November 1923. According to the city’s health officer, Dr. W. P. McCall, there were four cases of the sickness and one known death resulting from it. McCall issued a warning, telling parents to “keep their children off the streets and out of schools when they show signs of illness, fearing spread of the disease.”