March 18, 1949

• Mrs. Margaret Beck, 89, long-time resident of Fairfax and one of the city’s oldest residents, passed away last week. Margaret’s father was a colonel in the Confederate Army and was killed during the Civil War. Her mother died when she was a child so she came to live with her grandparents near Nishnabotna when she was 10. Mrs. Beck lived through four wars – the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. She had six children, 20 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

• Seven hundred forty-five people registered and looked at the new Fairfax Community Hospital during an open house Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of last week.

• A few weeks ago, the teacher and pupils of the Langdon district moved into the new, strictly modern building just recently completed. The old Langdon school building, which has stood for about three quarters of a century, has been sold and will soon be razed. Thus “Gumbo College,” an old landmark, ceases to be.

• Mrs. M.M. Schooler of Fairfax recently won a pressure cooker for sending in a winning entry to the “Stump Us” gang on Radio Station KMA of Shenandoah. She submitted the name of a popular song which the entertainers could not play.

• Twenty-four new choir robes have been purchased for the choir of the Fairfax Presbyterian Church. They will be worn for the first time by the choir when they present their cantata Easter Sunday.

March 21, 1974

• The Community Hospital Auxiliary has ordered two beds for the coronary care units at the hospital. Two more will be ordered as soon as funds are available, as costs are $650 per bed.

• Mr. and Mrs. Jay Smith of Fairfax welcomed their first child, a little girl named Marisa Leigh, born March 18 at 4:13 p.m. She weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces.

• Orville Hecker, 77, long-time resident of this community, passed away March 18. Orville was a World War I veteran and 50 year member of the Rock Port American Legion. Heck, as he was affectionately known, was an excellent baseball player and at one time was offered a contract to play with the Kansas City Blues, which he declined.

• During a Community Betterment boosters meeting, W.P. Kincannon told of plans he has to open a retail outlet for walnut items. He has purchased a frontage from the Fairfax Development Corp. just south of Fairfax Manufacturing on U.S. 59. He will feature his own walnut picture frames and plaques as well as walnut smokers’ accessories from the Fairfax Manufacturing, as well as walnut bowls and other items.

March 18, 1999

• The public is invited to attend a dedication ceremony at two bridges built by the Atchison County Highway Department. The Hawkins Bridge, located on County Road #501, will be dedicated March 24. The old single lane, 104 feet long and 14 feet wide bridge was built in 1910. The Seymour and Schooler Bridge, located on County Road #463, will be dedicated March 30. It was also a single lane bridge built in 1910, measuring 90 feet long and 14 feet wide.

• The Fairfax Country Store advertised that soft serve ice cream is coming to the store beginning March 17 with green ice cream for St. Patrick’s Day. Ice cream will be served in cones, dishes, pints, and quarts every weekend until Easter and then it will be served daily.