Waggener High School - RingBrothersHistory.com

The Voice of St. Matthews, January 6, 1955: St. Matthews Story In 1954St. Matthews Story In 1954 Was One Of Growth With More To ComeThe most strenuous efforts on the part of the St. Matthews Committee of the Louisville Chamber of Commerce, led by KarlStraub in its first year, could not break the deadlock. Some stores stay open late Friday, others late Thursday, and othersboth nights.The City of St. Matthews continued its devilment, although hampered on every side. A city hall was opened in January,and the State Legislature declared it a fourth class city, with a population of over 6,500.A suit filed in February to keep St. Matthews from collecting taxes resulted in utter confusion when the courts ruled againstSt. Matthews. A new tax ordinance was passed and this too was challenged by a suit last month. Meanwhile the City collectedmore than half its taxes and set about providing municipal services.Garbage collection was started in April, and about $5,000 worth of street repairs in July. Ronald C. Kelsay, 24, was namedpolice chief the same month, and patrolman William Tolliver was added to the force in December. Police court opened tohandle violators.In an era when taxes continue to mount, several sixth class cities, to the public amazement reduced taxes. Bellewood tookthe lead in January, cutting levies from 52 cents down to 48 cents per $100 valuation. Later the same month, Richlawntaxes were reduced from 60 cents to 40. Druid Hills in July cut taxes in half, from 20 to 10 cents.The new City of Parkside was established and Clifford Ziegler, 321 Norbourne Boulevard, was elected Mayor.The cities found they had traffic problems and Norbourne Estates, St. Matthews, and Beechwood Village began crackingdown on speeders. Over 125 violators were ticketed and fined.During the dry summer the Cities of Richlawn, Cherrywood, Beechwood Village, and Norbourne Estates found themselvesin the evenings without enough water pressure for ordinary household needs. The Louisville Water Company promisedrelief in 1955.The cities also found they had other common problems and in December, under prodding of the St. Matthews Committee ofthe Louisville Chamber of Commerce, 20 of the 31 in Jefferson County began an organization in an attempt to solve theproblems through joint action.But civic-wise, sport-wise, and culture-wise, it was a good year.A new service club was organized, the Optimist, “friends of the boy” and Richard Wheeler was elected first president. TheSt. Matthews Community Theatre gained in size and strength, after staging its first production in December, 1953. Thegroup staged four plays in 1954—”The Man Who Came to Dinner,” “Chicken Every Sunday,” “The Night of January16th,” and “Strange Bedfellows.” Profits exceeded one thousand dollars, most of which was donated to the CommunityCenter, whose building was used as a theatre.But it was in the field of sports that St. Matthews was most successful. Eastern High School’s great basketball squad camefrom behind to overcome a 19-point deficit and defeat the Valley Vikings 52-49 for the County title.The Eagles in March whipped Valley again and Fern Creek for the 26th District championship, and wre barely stopped byMale, 49-45, in the Regionals, after leading for three quarters. Llew Spears, Dick Ewing, Phil Barker, and Hugh Durhammade the All-Regional and All-District teams.It was a thrilling farewell present for Coach Earl Duncan, who transferred in the fall to Waggener, where he is now dean ofboys. The team’s record was 16-6, and 7-0 in County play.Eastern tennis stars Jack and Jimmy Tarr won the Kentucky High School doubles championship and Max Brown of IndianHills won the singles. Holy Trinity ended its first year of sports, awarding letters to 15 cagers and 23 baseball players.Jeep Quire named athletic coach, and under the Jeep’s direction the Shamrocks recently completed a mildly successful footballseason, and have started a sensational basketball year, winning their first five this season in a row.Little League Baseball opened its second season under president Charles Siegel, with four teams in each of two leagues.The American League race, a thriller, saw the Colonials rise from nowhere to nose out the Taylors on the last day of play.Sparked by the hitting and pitching of Mike Lawson, the Colonials overcame a four-game deficit by winning their last sixin a row and their last nine out of 10, to finish with a 13-5 record. Taylors, which had led all year, finished with 12-6.Lawson led the league with seven wins, on loss, and 85 strikeouts. He was the leading hitter with an average of .549, making20 hits in 51 at-bats. He tied for the league lead with two homers, and led in R.B.I. with 18.The Citizens, with an all-star lineup, made a shambles of the National League race, winning 15 and losing only three. Pryorstrailed with 9-9, to capture second place.