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Referring to the Work Day on the Castell Road the previous week, The Llano News announced on January 20, 1916, that “Calloused Hands (are) a Badge of Honor.” “There were many sore men in Llano last Friday night,” the story reported, and “some have not yet recovered.” About 100 men and high school boys spent the day working with picks and shovels to repair the rough dirt road.

Editor Wilkes announced sadly that reporter Wallace Wever had resigned after four years of quality service to join his father in the “stock-raising business” in Fredonia.

A front-page article listed highlights of the previous year’s weather. The high temperature had been 102 degrees, while the low had been 20 degrees. Llano County had received 25.94” of rain in 1915, with the most in one day being 2.35” on December 7. The county had also had 8.5” of snow, with five of those inches falling in one storm on March 9.

The first news of “The Great War” in Llano in 1916 came in the form of an article detailing an ultimatum presented by England and France to the government of Greece. The German response was referenced in a sub-headline “Germans declare steps taken by French and British presage overthrow of Athens government.”

In a controversy of more local interest, the city council seemed ready to accept a generous offer by the Llano Milling and Manufacturing Company to put in a new filtering plant and provide water to the City of Llano. The headline said “Controversy appears to be nearing an end,” and the story made sure that readers understood that “the terms are unusually liberal.” The company would charge customers $1 for each thousand of the first 3,000 gallons, with descending rates to 14 cents per thousand after an 18,000-gallon threshold. The rate for fireplugs was to be lowered from $50 to $30, and the city was prepared to install 12 new fireplugs in residential neighborhoods.

A.J. Cotton, formerly of Burnet, was hired as the county’s first “Demonstration Agent.” M.B. Dabbs (“The Feed Man”) advertised the highest prices for poultry and eggs at “Two Big Chicken Days” February 1 and 2. He had hired a poultry car, and was offering 10 cents a pound for old hens, 20 cents a pound for old roosters and 12 cents a pound for turkeys. He would also purchase “eggs, ducks, geese and guineas” to fill up the railroad car.

Moss & Co. advertised an “Early Offering of Beautiful New Spring Gingham and Percals,” saying “Spring is the best time to sew.” They also sold groceries, and you could have them deliver simply by calling “Phone 29.”

The headline on February 3 had undertones of “global warming,” declaring “We Would Have Failed to Recognize Winter but for the Last Few Days.” Politics weren’t all that different back then; in another news story, President Wilson publicly scolded former president Theodore Roosevelt for “preaching war,” and vowed to keep America neutral.

The “Llano Colored Orchestra” provided entertainment at the opera house for the wedding of railroad conductor J.M. Clinefelter, of Austin, and Mrs. Anna Eaves, of Llano. The Llano News announced the planned visit of Governor James E. Ferguson to Llano for the unveiling of the Confederate Monument on February 22.

On February 17, a front-page story told of construction underway on “the new Castell Bridge.” An ad inside the paper announced that “Dodge Brothers Motor Cars will be sold in this city by Jernigan & Smith. Another ad (by Allan Newsom) touted the benefits of Albatross Flour (“Best on Earth”) and bragged about “fresh vegetables every week,” and “General line first-class groceries.”

A banner headline February 24 proclaimed “One of the Greatest Crowds in Llano History was Present at the Unveiling Ceremonies Tuesday.” One of the stars of the show (along with Governor Ferguson) was a little girl named Leonora Simpson, who “said a short speech,” then pulled a string to unveil the monument. An estimated 5,000 people were on hand to witness the event.

A short story on the front page told how T.S. Parker had sold a “Monroe” car to Dr. Douglas, of Pontotoc. Mr. Parker also sold Buick and Grant cars in 1916.

On March 2, The Llano News announced the “First Trade Days of 1916 next Monday,” and included a smaller story about how the Germans had almost surrounded the French city of Verdun. (The battle that followed was one of the bloodiest in human history, with more than a quarter-million killed and a half-million wounded.)

On March 9, the biggest headline I’ve seen in any issue of The Llano News screamed, “500 VILLA SOLDIERS CROSS BORDER.” The story told how Pancho Villa and his men had invaded Columbus, New Mexico, and sacked the town, killing several soldiers and an unknown number of residents in the town of 600, just 65 miles west of El Paso. A smaller story told of a “Spring Style Show” to be presented by Mrs. E.W. Heard.

In the following weeks, readers were told how American troops were pursuing Villa into Mexico, and had cut off two lines of retreat. In the mean time, Llano Trade Days were announced for April 3, and fires caused “millions” in damage across three states. Paris and McKinney, towns in north and east Texas, were especially hard hit.

An interesting story on April 13 told how a convoy of Llano boosters had “invaded Mason,” making stops in Castell, Fredonia, Pontotoc, Field Creek and Valley Spring as they promoted Llano “with banners streaming and horns tooting.” The trip took all day, even though Llano merchants boasted that they were ahead of Brady in their efforts to cultivate business in Mason because they had built a “good road.” Some of the banners read: “Llano, Texas, the Land of Opportunity,” and “Llano – City of the Hour, Every Hour of the Day.”

In a story titled “City Council has Important Meeting,” the newspaper detailed a plan to charge a “road tax” of 15 cents to raise $1,800 to repair the roads.

Easter Sunday was proclaimed “Go-to-Meeting Day,” and pastors prepared for “universal church attendance” in Llano. That was 1916; we’ll have more for you next week.