The Frisco Railroad (now Burlington Northern-Santa Fe) and the Missouri Pacific (now Union Pacific) previously had depots in Aurora. The trainmaster for the Missouri Pacific Railroads White River division was headquartered in Aurora until the mid-1950s. Between 1911 and 1920, the virulently anti-Catholic newspaper The Menace was published in Aurora by W. F. Phelps and Earl McClure. It achieved a national circulation of over one million, according to the March 1932 issue of American Mercury. The local newspaper is The Aurora Advertiser. In the 1950s, the elementary school on the North Side (of the railroad tracks) was Lowell School (the building has since been torn down). There were two small grocery markets on the North Side: one across from Lowell School, called the Hilltop Market, but known to all as Eds, owned by Ed Jaque, and one several blocks down the road, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Herman Jackson. Mr. Samuels operated a barber shop in a room behind his garage at his home. The doctor on the North Side was K.L. Kelsey, who still made some house calls at that time. Most businesses were located on the South Side, where the two railroad depots and the U.S. Post Office were located. The Frisco Railroad telegraph operator during most of the 1950s was Virgil L. Walker, Jr. The Missouri Pacific trainmaster for many years was J. Kelly Hobbs, Sr. Bob Beatty worked at the post office. There was a Western Auto store in the main business district. Also in that business district were a Ben Franklin Store, Dryers Shoe Store, Toffs Department Store, the Aurora Bank, Dryers Shoe Store, McNatt Insurance, B&T Supermarket, MFA Market, Princess Movie Theater, Alexanders Cafe, Sullivans Jewelry, Neimeyer Shoe Repair, Wootens Rexall and a number of others. Dr. Brown was one of the dentists. The Methodist Church was downtown, behind the B&T supermarket, and the pastor was Rev. Carlton Knight. Four of the major industries were the MFA Mill, the MWM Color Press, a Coca-Cola bottling plant and what was known as the Cheese Factory. Also on the South Side was an IGA Supermarket. Another Mr. McNatt had a service station there. Further out on the highway that passed through town were Pearce Lumber Company and Dillards Drug Store. One nightspot, near the edge of town, was the Cockatoo. During at least part of this time, Finis King was mayor, and a Mr. Elderbeck was a councilman from the North Side, though he died of cancer sometime during the 1950s.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 15:47:01 +0000
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