In April 18, there was an incident where elephants escaped from the Dailey Brothers Circus and ran amok for two hours in southeast Gonzales. One of the elephants, called “Little Butch,” was found several hours later and was driven back to the circus grounds in the owner’s Davenport’s Cadillac. In June 2, the first “Fryer Frolic” was held at Independence Park, and it lasted for three days. On July 2, it was reported that cotton was fruiting nicely, and the corn, sorghum, and pastures looked good. However, the Gonzales broiler market had held steady at 28 cents this week after a four cent drop from last week. On July 6, there was one of the biggest watermelon harvests on record in Gonzales County, but there was also sad news that “Little Butch,” the Dailey Brothers Circus elephant, had died. He was brought from India about eighteen months prior and was kept in the sunroom of the Davenport home on the circus grounds. A special Indian mahout was brought to the US to care for the tiny elephant. The circus was in Victoria, British Columbia, when he died. On July 7, Bill B. Barta of Weimar was awarded the contract for the construction of the Edwards High School new gymnasium/auditorium.
On July 9, DDT dusting occurred over the town to control mosquitoes, flies, etc. Housewives were urged to open doors and windows to get the full benefit. That same day, the mercury hit 101 degrees, setting a new record. Marrou was selling Buicks at 405 St. James Street. On July 11, Gonzales had its sixth straight day of temperatures over 100. M.F. Richter was selling attic fans, radios, and Venetian blinds at 901 St. Joseph Street, and T.J. Knight’s Dry Goods Store, “since 1907,” was selling stylish dresses for $10.95. Unfortunately, blackhead disease in turkeys had local turkey raisers concerned. On July 12, Gonzales was the hottest place in the state yesterday (Monday) afternoon at 104 degrees. On July 14, Merle Norman cosmetics advertised that they were at 409 ½ St. George Street, and on July 15, paving was being done on the 300 block of St. Michael Street and the 400 and 500 blocks of St. Vincent Street.
On July 20, bids were set to open for the Apache Field stadium, and on July 23, John Meneley of Meneley Motors was awarded the Studebaker franchise. He sold his interest in DeSoto-Plymouth to his partner, Henry Butschek, who would operate Butschek Motor Company at the corner of St. Francis and St. Joseph, across from Halamicek’s. On July 25, Lynn Smith announced plans for a “Drive-In” movie theatre that would accommodate approximately 500 cars. Final details concerning the construction planned at North Avenue School were being ironed out. The new 12-room classroom building would be constructed south of the existing building and close to St. Paul Street, and the cafeteria would be built between the two structures. On July 28, Irving Wruck – gas and home appliances, sold a Philco Console radio for $84.95, down from $124.95.
Construction of the gym/auditorium at Edwards High School began on August 2. On August 10, 121 people in Texas were affected by polio, bringing the total for the year to 1339. This year was not as bad as 1948, which saw 1765 cases. By August 17, Gonzales had 346 firms in business, not including professionals such as doctors and dentists. On August 20, GISD announced a record budget of $736,214.45. Legislation for Gilmer-Aiken school caused many common school districts in the county to close, leading to an increase in the GISD by August 26. A new St. James Parish hall was nearing completion on September 1. On September 9, C.E. Ince completed fifty years in the plumbing business in Gonzales, with his office located on St. Francis Street.
On September 12th, the First Baptist Church in Gonzales held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new $40,000 educational building to be erected on the north, facing St. Paul Street. The choir sang “We’re Marching to Zion” as the capacity congregation filed out of the auditorium Sunday morning at 11:45. As of October 1st, the county was enjoying a bumper crop of cotton, with 7,949 bales ginned. Sixty-five Gonzales students were enrolled at Southwest Texas State Teacher’s College in San Marcos as of October 17th. On October 21, Mr. & Mrs. S.J. Fischer took over the Red & White Grocery store, formerly operated by Mr. & Mrs. Henry Edwards, near the Lynn Theatre.
The Gonzales High School FHA girls hosted the Area 12 Conference with over 750 attendees on November 4. Gins in Gonzales County had ginned 9,307 bales of cotton, the most since the depression, by November 17th. On December 2, the Gonzales night school had 142 veterans enrolled, with the government providing $250,000 per year to subsidize the program so that vets could obtain their high school diplomas. The “TeePee”, a recreation and entertainment center for high school students, was expected to be operational by February 1 and would open on Friday and Saturday nights to provide a safe place for students to gather as of December 13th. On December 17th, the Gonzales Savings & Loan opened for business at 611 St. Paul Street. Miss Alma McElyea, who had served the telephone exchange for forty-two years, retired on January 1.
In addition, Beta Sigma Phi was organized, the Gonzales Garden Club was formed, the Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative moved to Gonzales from Cost after eleven years, John Mohrmann re-purchased Spohler’s Pharmacy, creating the new Mohrmann’s Drug Store, and the golf course opened at Independence Park.
