Ozona History

October 29, 1925 

At a meeting held in the District Court room last Tuesday night, several citizens of the town organized the Ozona Rifle Club. This club has offered its purpose the advancement of individual members in the way of perfecting themselves in the art of pistol and rifle shooting.  

The club will be associated with and a component part of the National Rifle Association, an organization that is endorsed by the Federal government as being the best in the line. All arms, ammunition and other necessary equipment will be furnished by the government free of cost to the local club. The allotment of arms to the club will consist of one .30 cal. Springfield rifle and one .22 target of best make for each five men in the club.  

October 31, 1935 

Its secret fastened in a pot cave near the Pecos River where it was found this week, a portion of a skeleton supposedly that of an aged woman, was brought to Ozona Tuesday by Sheriff Willis after it had been discovered by a man by the name of McDonald at the Noelke ranch on the Pecos near Sheffield. In the secluded retreat of a small cave on the Noelke ranch, the explorer stumbled upon a bone protruding from the dusty soil. Examination disclosed the bone to be the shin bone of a human skeleton and the cave visitor soon dug up other parts of the skeleton, including the skull, two ribs, four bones from the legs, shoulder bones and bones from the arms. After digging up the buried skeleton, McDonald notified Sheriff Willis of Ozona, who went to the scene to investigate. 

November 1, 1945 

An early-morning explosion of accumulated butane gas in a hallway on the second floor of the Crockett Hotel last Thursday morning cost the life of M. L. Hurst, 18, of Seminole, Texas, employed here by the R. B. Miles Drilling Co. Hurst suffered fatal burns when he was enveloped by a sheet of flames which swept through the room in which he was asleep in the hotel. Only one other guest in the hotel, George Johnson, was injured in the fire. He suffered slight burns on his feet. Considerable damage to the hotel resulted from the explosion, but the flames were brought under control within a few minutes. 

October 27, 1955 

Installation was completed and the cut-over was made about five o’clock Wednesday afternoon to the new four-place switchboard at the General Telephone Co. exchange here. The new equipment will make places for four operators to work simultaneously instead of the two previously handling calls. Also, district manager Ted Maxwell explained, the new addition will provide 100 new numbers for the local system, thus permitting the exchange to take care of present demands for phone service. 

October 28, 1965 

Reflecting smart new lines for 1966 is this Chery II Nova Super Sport Coupe. New body panels combined with a new extruded aluminum grille and redesigned front and rear lamp treatments complement the sparkle of the new interiors and instrument panel. New sedan and coupe roof lines with restyled windows and 6 new colors point up the styling surge made by the ’66 Chevy II. Chevrolet dealers throughout the nation will display the new cars on October 7. 

October 30, 1975 

OZONA VOLUNTEER FIREMEN IN ACTION - Ozona firemen make short work of a pickup fire seven miles south of Ozona last week. Apparently, the wiring caught fire in the late model vehicle. The motor and cab were extensively damaged. The pickup belonged to the Mark III Corp. An employee, James Bright, was driving the pickup.