Cold temperatures did not appear to be hindering construction workers Thursday morning as they continued to erect a new building on the site where the Grand View Nursery’s structure had once stood just south of Hannibal on U.S. 61.
A diehard movie fan, Ron Givan of rural Hannibal had long dreamed of having his own cinema in which to watch motion pictures. This past summer his wife, Earline, made his dream come true, building a 14-seat theater featuring stadium seating and a cinema-like concession area in the family’s basement.
A description of the barns constructed for the Hatch Dairy Experiment Station in Hannibal during the Great Depression wouldn’t be complete without a mention that the state-owned farm, which operated into the 1960s in the Oakwood region of Hannibal, was built in conjunction with the WPA program.
The Works Projects Administration (WPA) was designed to put people to work. J. Brad Willett, who purchased two barns on the site of the state-owned former home and farm of U.S. Rep. William H. Hatch (1833-1896) in the mid 1970s, said the craftsmanship on the barns was spectacular. Over the course of three months, Willett would literally get to know those barns, inside and out.
“Those barns were built like homes, it was all finished lumber,” Willett said, including yellow pine and fir.
Willett’s affiliation with the Hatch farm was born of necessity.
Pike and Ralls County Soil and Water Conservation Districts hosted an informational workshop for area contractors at Frankford First Christian Church Wednesday Feb. 16.
Hallye Bone, quilt appraiser certified by the American Quilters Society of Paducah, Ky., will be appraising quilts at the Hickory Stick in Hannibal on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, March 3, 4, and 5, 2011. To schedule an appointment to have a quilt appraised, contact Ellen A. O’Bryan, at (573) 221-7282.
A gardening conference is planned from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the JWCC Student/Administrative Center on the Quincy campus at 48th and Harrison.
Friends of Historic Hannibal will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, at the Dubach Inn, 221 N. Fifth St., Hannibal, which is owned by Steve and Kristine Russell.
J. Barry Wright will be the featured artist for February at the Alliance Art Gallery, 112 N. Main St.
The Great River Genealogical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011, at the Quincy Senior and Family Resource Center, 639 York St., Quincy, Ill.
Travis Spratt & Family will perform in concert at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 13, at the First Baptist Church, 201 E. Third St., New London. A free will offering will be accepted.
The public is invited. For information, call (573) 985-7201.
