Julys past, 75 years ago.

From the LaGrange Daily News, 1941.

Front Page News

Electric Fountain May Be Installed On Court Square — Members of the Troup County Board of Commissioners, members of the City Council and members of a committee from the LaGrange Chamber of Commerce made a trip to Atlanta Wednesday evening to see the electric fountain in Hurt Memorial Park.

The fountain there was erected recently by the City of Atlanta. A similar project has been under consideration by the LaGrange Chamber of Commerce in a beautification program for Court Square.

This trip was made to acquaint members of the official family of the city and county, and other leaders with the proposed project. Preceding the visit to the fountain, under the personal direction of W.A. Pauley, architect of the Hurt Memorial Fountain, the group was the guest of Fuller E. Callway Jr. at a dinner at the Capitol City Club in Atlanta.

Red Cross Presents Special Radio Program On WLAG Tonight — The theme of this week’s broadcast of the local chapter of the American Red Cross on WLAG tonight will be “The Red Cross Aids In War.”

A play dealing with the mobilization for war relief in LaGrange since 1939 will be presented by young men and women of LaGrange. Enoch Callaway Jr. will be the announcer; Darnell Brawner will be narrator.

Seven other young people will represent local groups. Allison Wood will sing several war songs and taps and reveille will be given by Eugene Poteat. Miss Bernice Freeman will direct the program.

Free Air Show Here On Fourth — Air Stunts, hillbilly bands, everything will be at the LaGrange Airport on the Fourth of July for the enjoyment of local residents.

Everything is for free. “Wally” Schanz, who made a fine showing at the Birmingham Air Races recently, will be on hand to do everything in the book with a tiny Culver Cadet. Pop Eckler and all the Younguns, direct from Radio Station WAGA in Atlanta, will furnish musical and comical entertainment.

Seventeen Army Planes Land Here Thursday Afternoon — Seventeen Army pursuit planes, flying in perfect formation, gave citizens of LaGrange a taste of pre-Fourth of July excitement by landing at the local airport Thursday afternoon around 3:45 o’clock.

Flying from Augusta to Montgomery on a training cruise, the planes were forced down here by unfavorable weather. A large crowd gathered at the airport to watch the flight commander take off and circle the field after the storm subsided.

Finding conditions OK, he circled the field, streaked across the sky and rocked the wings of his ship as a signal for his students to take off. It was an impressive show to see the remaining planes climb into the air, circle the field and fly away in perfect formation again.

The local viewers were impressed with the thoroughness in which pilots of the United States are being trained today.

Enough Old Pots And Pans To Make 2,000 Planes — Approximately 10,000 pounds of aluminium are needed in the manufacture of one airplane and statisticians have figured that there are enough outworn and discarded pots and pans in basements and attics in American homes to produce 2,000 fighting aircraft.

The reclaimed aluminium will not all be used to manufacture airplanes, but will be used to free an equal amount of new aluminium that can be used for the airplane industry which is essential to our defense program. This week and next week have been set aside in LaGrange for the collection of outworn aluminium articles as a part of a nation-wide effort.

Sons Of Legion Will Get Aluminium Drive Underway With Parade Here Monday — A citywide collection of scrap aluminium will get underway in LaGrange Monday at 8 o’clock with a parade led by the Sons of the Legion Drum and Bugle Corps through the business section of the city.

Aluminium will be collected in a house-to-house canvass made by LaGrange Boy Scouts under the direction of the scout masters of the various troops in the city. The city urges us to participate.

Harriette’s Letter — LaGrange women, scores and scores of them, are working steadfastly for the Red Cross, cutting, sewing and knitting, making garments for the multitudes of refugees in war-wracked Europe.

An orchid of the rarest variety however, goes to the Jewish women here for their splendid work during the recent months. Under the leadership of Mrs. Joe Delaney they have purchased a machine with their own money, planning to sell the machine when the volunteer work is no longer needed.

Mrs. James C. Guinn, chairman of the sewing for the local Red Cross chapter, and Mrs. Coley Glenn, who directs the cutting, are enthusiastic in their praise of the group of Jewish women whose work is always done to a T.

Editor’s note: Article retains the archaic spelling of aluminum as printed in 1941.