Ozona History

September 5, 1935

Opening formalities for the school term of 1935-1936 were held in the Ozona High School auditorium Monday morning which marked the beginning of the 44th school session in Crockett County. 
At the close of registration Monday, enrollment figures in the office of Superintendent C. S. Denham showed the highest registration of students for the high school courses in the school's history. The high school enrollment reached 103. Last year the registration was 90. Inclusive of the school in the Mexican colony, the enrollment figure of the Ozona schools showed 355 students registered. Crockett's two other schools, Live Oak and Powell, registered 8 and 27 respectively.

September 6, 1945

Rudolpho Martinez, tank truck driver for the local Humble Oil and Refining Co. whole station, is in a San Angelo hospital suffering from serious buns about the chest, face and head as the result of a freak accident at Barnhart Tuesday morning. Martiez was delivering diesel oil in Barnhart and had spilled some of the oil on his clothing. After completing the delivery, he walked away from the truck and struck a match to light a cigarette, igniting the oil on this clothing. Flames enveloped his chest and face, burning the hair from his head and inflicting serious burns about his chest, neck and face.

September 2, 1965

A mysterious mid-air collision last Thurs. of three T-38 jet trainers from Laughlin AFB remains a mystery at press time today exactly one week after the tragedy which took the lives of three Air Force men, 25 miles southwest of Ozona. After a three-day search by Air Force officials, with Ozona airport as a base of operations, identification was confirmed late Sunday in Del Rio. The victims were identified as 1st Lt. Luther Lee Threadgill, 27, of Brady; 2nd Lt. Nicholas M. Zopolis, 24, of Shelton, Wash. and 2nd Lt. Robert Jung of Trenton, Ill. 
At approximately 1:40 p.m. last Thursday Chon Bravo and Carlos Reyes, employed on the Ira Carson ranch, saw four Air Force planes in the sky above the shearing pens where they were working. The two men said it looked as if three of the planes touched and after a deafening explosion, they only saw one plane still in flight and the two pilots eject from a crippled plane. They saw no sign of the other two planes. Two officers parachuted to safety, 1st Lt. Howard B. Newton of Westerville, Ohio, and 2nd Lt. Frederick Beatty, of Parkersburg, W. Va. 
Two employees of the J. W. Henderson Jr., ranch heard the explosion and looked up to see the two chutes. They took the officers to the ranch house, where Henderson, awakened from a nap by the blast, took them into Ozona and to the airport. Neither pilot was injured, though badly shaken, and they asked not to be questioned. However, Henderson said he heard them asking each other if they had seen anymore chutes. 
The area was swarming with Air Force personnel before night and two of the planes were found on Howard’s Draw about four miles apart on the Henderson ranch. Bits of wreckage, indicating the planes apparently disintegrated on collision, were scattered over a wide area. 
Friday morning, there was an air of secrecy about the entire operation. Planes, helicopters and buses of AirForce personnel poured into Ozona. Entrance to the crash area was guarded, with no one permitted to enter except the Air Force searchers. Offers of help from local officials and residents were refused, and rescue operations were conducted only by the Air Force Friday, though a unit of Del Rio's Civil Air Patrol helped in the aerial hunt. 
Because of the rugged hills and canyons in the crash area, an aerial search yielded next to nothing. However, permission was granted by the county coroner to remove parts of bodies found Friday to Del Rio for autopsy and wreckage of the third plane was found. All day Saturday the search went on, and enough parts of the dead men were found Saturday afternoon to make positive identification.

September 4, 1975

MISS AMERICAN JUNIOR RODEO ASSN. QUEEN OF 1976 is Ozona’s Ann Tillman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tillman. Ann won the title at the national finals held last week in Odessa. She was selected by the AJRA membership over six other contestants. She is presented the traditional bouquet of roses by a former Ozonan, Steve Bland, president of the association. Ann graduated from Ozona High School in May and is presently a student at Texas Tech. She has been a consistent winner in junior rodeo circles for years.