Junes past, 75 years ago.

From The LaGrange Daily News, 1941.

Front Page News

Census Shows Climb In Troup Urban Population — According to a bulletin from the U.S. Department of Census provided to the LaGrange Daily News for publication, Troup County experienced a trend of increasing urban population from 1930 to 1940, a period of 10 years.

The Bureau of Census lists the percentage of urban population for Troup County in 1940 at 67.1 as compared to a 1930 percentage of only 54.8. This represents an increase in urban population during the 10-year period of around 12.3 percent, according to the census figures.

Troup County was listed as having a total population of 43,879 in 1940. Broken down, Troup was given 29,460 urban population and 14,419 rural population.

Other increases in urban population were experienced by Carroll, Coweta and Spalding counties in this section. Heard figures were not listed. Meriwether and Muscogee counties experienced slight decreases, the census figures showed.

Drum-Bugle Unit Performs Brilliantly At State Meet — The LaGrange Junior Drum and Bugle Corps, an organization which has completely dominated the field in this section for seven years, returned to LaGrange on Wednesday afternoon with the seventh consecutive championship in state competition.

Hundreds of voices joined in wild acclaim for this great musical organization, which performed brilliantly at Valdosta to take away the $500 prize and first place cup.

The corps will perform in Atlanta on Sunday at the Kiwanis International convention, and the following week will put on an exhibition at the Idle Hour Club in Columbus.

A.B. Brooks is captain of the Junior Corps and V.R. Sanders is musical director. Alberta Brooks is sponsor.

LaGrange Is Selected As Scene Of NBC Broadcast — LaGrange has been selected by the National Broadcasting Company for the scene of a broadcast in the “Defense of America” series, the broadcast to be arranged for Saturday, July 5, from 6 to 6:30 p.m.

The broadcast, which will be sent out from LaGrange over the NBC red network, will dramatize the part textiles play in the defense program of America.

The program will show the different products manufactured in local cotton textile mills and used in the vast defense program which is gaining momentum every day.

This series of broadcasts is made possible through the cooperation of the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Broadcasting Company.

Air Defense Post To Be Established — It has been learned in LaGrange that the Army is building a civilian air warning service to blanket the nation. Men with eagle eyesight and sharp hearing are being sought to man the 2,000 strategically located observation posts.

Such posts will be established in all 159 counties in Georgia which means that one will be situated in Troup County soon.

Dixie Mills Given Contract — The War Department yesterday announced the award of three contracts to southern mills for cotton duck material to be used by the Quartermaster Corps.

The bids went to Dixie Cotton Mills at LaGrange for 537,000 yards at $109,621; West Point Manufacturing Company at Langdale, Alabama. for 875,000 yards at $241,237; and Scottdale Mills of Scottdale, for 1,200,000 yards at $357,960.

Hell On Wheels Division To Reach LaGrange Saturday Morning — The Hell on Wheels armored division from Fort Benning is expected to reach the city limits of LaGrange Saturday morning at 6:55 o’clock. The “Parade of Arms,” which is about 60 miles long, will require two and one-half hours to pass through the city. The division will travel up Morgan street until it reaches the Franklin highway. They are headed for the war games in South Central Tennessee.

They will stop at Fort Oglethorpe before continuing north.

Harriett’s Letter — A real taste of war came to LaGrange today when we saw the caissons rolling along Main street, hundreds and hundreds of them, as two columns of the Second Armored Division from Fort Benning whizzed and lumbered by on the way to maneuvers in Tennessee where the Fifth, Sixth and Thirtieth Divisions are playing at war with a deadly seriousness.

Big trucks carrying human cargoes, other trucks carrying supplies, ammunition, gasoline, food and the awe-inspiring guns — little Blitz buggies, motorcycles that whizzed by with breath-taking speed, formed the procession that came up Main Street, beginning at 6:55 o’clock this morning and continuing far into the day. There were 1600 vehicles in all, 800 to the column.

Folks of LaGrange lined the streets to watch the columns pass, but there was no cheering. Only an occasional child waving to the boys — and that’s the tragedy of it — they are mere boys who are wearing our khaki for the general attitude nowadays seems to be not one of hilarity which characterizes an adventure, but a quiet purposefulness.

Let’s get onto a CHEERFUL SUBJECT.

“LaGrange is heaven,” one of the postmen told me the other day as I passed him on the street.

“What makes you say that?”

“I’ve just delivered a letter addressed to ‘Angel.’”