After eight-and-a-half years, sometimes it is hard to write a full story each week. Thank you for allowing me this week to share some interesting tidbits I have found in old issues of the Springfield Herald.
“Cap” Burns was featured in another story with his grits mill and blacksmith shop that was located about where the Springfield United Methodist family life center is now. He and his wife Nora Burns lived in the house that is now the State Farm Insurance Office owned by Ronnie Brooks at 104 E. 1st St. “Cap” George Roland Burns was born in 1883 and died in 1959. His wife Nora Dugger Burns was born in 1893 and died in 1976. They had no children. The Herald featured a photo of their 50th wedding anniversary celebration (see accompanying photo).
The FFA 1957 chapter farmer degree winners are shown in the accompanying photo. They are left to right: Darryl Neidlinger, Gene Hart, Laurie Ambrose, Reggie Loper, Madison Morgan Jr., Eugene Pevey, Alvin DeWitt and Grady Rahn. These degrees were presented at the FHA FFA Mother-Daughter and Father-Son Banquet at Effingham County High School in the cafeteria.
The following story was published at some point in the Springfield Herald. The undated clipping was shared by his granddaughter Carolyn Gnann. The story is titled: Freak Tomato Grown by Ellis R. Burns.
Ellis R. Burns, whose hobby is raising tomatoes, brought to the Herald office Tuesday one of the freaks that occasionally grows in this family. The tomato weighs one pound, has a large body and a second growth that resembles a head. It resembles a hippopotamus. Mr. Burns stated he was afraid to pull it at first because he had killed two rattlesnakes in his garden and did not know but what the tomato had been “influenced.”
The two Burns gentlemen discussed above lived within a block of each other and were certainly colorful characters in the history of the city of Springfield.
This was compiled by Susan Exley of Historic Effingham Society. If you have photos, comments or information to share, contact Exley at 754-6681 or hesheraldexley@aol.com.
