1917 :: Bats in City Hall

The city hall is being overhauled and the bat roosts which have so long made the place a nuisance are being destroyed and the cracks sealed up so that the bats may not again take over this valuable piece of public property. Carpenter Jim Copeland is at the helm, with Alderman O.K. Phillips supervising the work. The wainscoting in the auditorium was removed yesterday, and several bushels of bats were killed. The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger (Rockdale, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 17, 1917

1912 :: Found Frozen to Death

Special to The News. Rockdale, Tex., Jan. 17. -- Carl Walter, aged about 70, was found dead in the field of a neighbor seven miles west of Rockdale yesterday afternoon, having been frozen to death in the blizzard last Thursday night. Mr. Walter was a carpenter and had been to a neighbor's some two miles distant, where he had several days' work. He told his family not to expect him home for a week. Thursday night, after the blizzard blew up, seeing that he would be unable to do any carpenter work for several days, he decided to return home and told his employer he would be back Monday. He started home about dark and was seen no more until his lifeless body was found the following Tuesday. His family thought he was staying out the blizzard with his employer, who supposed that he had reached home in safety. Dallas Morning News, January 18, 1912

See also . . . The Rockdale Reporter and Messenger (Rockdale, Tex.), Vol. 38, No. 45, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 18, 1912 Page: 1 of 8