May 25, 1945

• In the chapter of the closing days of the war with Germany, when so many of the American servicemen were freed, Fairfax folks were intensely interested in the fate of Captain Larry Kennedy, who was taken prisoner by the Italians December 11, 1942, after his plane was shot down near Naples. This week, the first definite word of his release came to his community by a letter and postscript. For a while, Larry was a prisoner in Italy, but when that country was knocked out of the war, he was taken north and finally to Germany and from the information received, it is thought he must have been confined in one of the last German prison camps to be taken by the Americans.

• Long Branch School closed last Thursday with a program and basket dinner.

• On display in The Forum’s window is a bunch of Japanese currency, printed for use as occupation money in the Philippines. The currency was sent by Cpl. Gordon Glanville, who explains that under the old rules of exchange, a peso was worth 50 cents. There are three 1,000-peso notes in the lot, but now are worth nothing except as souvenirs.

May 28, 1970

• Webelo Scouts painted a trash barrel in the city park as one of their many summer projects and plan to help keep the park cleaned this summer. The Scouts include Mike Umbarger, Tony Pinzino, Guy Graves, Butch Grimm, Brandon White, and Don Davis.

• Mr. Hiroshi Hara of Suzano, Sao Paulo, Brazil, is the 1970 4-H International Farm Youth Exchange student. He is visiting from May 19 to June 12 with his first American host family, Mr. and Mrs. Dean Bolton, Deanna, and Barbara. At his home he grows lemons, corn, and tomatoes and raises poultry. Of Japanese ancestry, he speaks Japanese, Portugese, and a little Spanish and English.

May 25, 1995

• Georgie Stanfield of Victoria, Australia, visited the Fairfax Forum last Tuesday morning. She is with the Rotary group study exchange visiting in Atchison County. The town she is from is situated to the east of Melbourne. It has prime farming land, coal fields and power stations, mountainous forest, picturesque lakes, coastline and national parks, and an offshore oil and gas industry.

• Traci Burke and Jesse Johnson of Fairfax showed off their big mushrooms found recently. Both weighed over 1 pound.

• Gary Smith and Danny Kemerling, rural route carriers at Fairfax, were awarded safe driving pins last Wednesday.