1943
J. Parr Godfrey, Publisher
The Royalton Banner costs $2 a year.
Jan 21 The village of Royalton is debt free to begin 1943; Last water bond paid; wipes out bonded indebtedness.
Jan 21 -35 below is registered in Royalton. Coldest Minnesota weather in 7 years. “Frank Gilmer said it was so cold at his place that his thermometer ran down the post and three feet into the ground!”
Feb.6-7 The Walt Disney cartoon “Dumbo” will be shown at the Palace Theatre. Adm. Adults 20 cents and children 9 cents.
Feb 25 A large crowd of interested prospective airplane “spotters” gathered at the Palace Theater Saturday afternoon to hear Lt. J.W. Flory explain the spotting service.
Mar. 11 The Palace Theater gets insulated on the inside. A few years ago the Civic Club put a new roof on the building and now they are having the ceiling insulated to cover up the water spots and to help with sound. No more crepe paper will hang from the ceiling to help with noise.
Apr. 1 By order of the Army Central Defense Command, at Omaha, a revised air raid warning system had been established.
Apr. 23 Classes will be dismissed at 1:45 p.m. to free the rural students for farm work during the planting season. Classes will resume to their normal hours once the planting is finished.
Apr. 29 Raymond J. Masog, USN is reported missing. His brother Carl was killed in action November 8th, 1942.
May 6 A “surprise” black out is planed for this Friday between the hours of 9-11 p.m. Three different siren sounds will be tested for different levels of threat to the village. All persons are to participate in the drill.
May 13 Twenty-four tons and 500 pounds of old rail road rails were dug up from the Mississippi River shore line near the Bowlus/Royalton Bridge. The old rails were sent by train to a steel mill for scrap iron.
June 1 21 students graduate from high school. Two boys will not be there to receive their diplomas as they have already left for basic training. This will be the first year in a number of years that caps and gowns will be worn. The class of 1943 left a gift behind of a new davenport and chair for the auditorium stage.
June 10 July 1st is the deadline for renewal of car stamps and the new 1943-44 stamps, to be affixed to the windshield of every automobile in operation. Stamps will be on sale at the Royalton Post office. The stamps cost $5 each.
June 10 Persons who have not yet mailed in their applications for Ration Book No. 3 have until June 10.
July 8 Water Tower Painted. “All ready for a black out”, villagers remarked when they saw the water tower being painted black instead of silver. Aluminum paint is no longer obtainable, and it is necessary to use graphite paint to protect the steel tower.
July 15 Slot machines were ordered out of Morrison County by July 21. Operators of slot machines or other gambling devices will be prosecuted.
July 15 A shed owned by the Town of Bellevue, located in lower town between Hwy 10 and the Northern Pacific tracks, caught fire from a grass fire and is a total loss and much of the contents were damaged.
Aug. 12 There are 128 Armed Forces men and women who receive The Banner each week. The cost is $1 a year.
Oct. 21 A numbers of improvements are being made in the portion of the Bouck block occupied by the Royalton Drug Store. Entrances to the store are being changed and the doors made smaller to aid in heating the building.
Nov. 4 The skating rink on the school playground is ready for flooding as soon as the weather is cold enough.
Nov. 18 Dr. E. H. McGonagle purchased the Graham block. The block housed four businesses until about a year ago. Now only The Banner is housed in the ground floor of the building. In spring improvements will be made to the block and new businesses will move in.
Nov. 25 This is the first issue of The Banner printed on the shop’s new Huber two-revolution cylinder press. It was installed this past week.
Dec. 9 Ivan Foote is reelected for a second term as President of the city council for 2 years.
Dec. 21 Over 500 school children from Royalton School and surrounding communities attend the annual Civic Club’s Christmas party at the Palace Theater where a western movie was shown and each child received a bag of candy.