This week, that year, 1946: Supreme court justices accused of 'brawling'

1946 advertisement

Two Supreme Court justices get hot under the collar during week of June 11-17, 1946

It wasn’t yet summer but two U.S. Supreme Court justices got hot under the collar and began a feud “such as the staid old court never has experienced since it was founded in 1789,” wrote the United Press. “The ramifications conceivably could include impeachment proceedings against one or both of the brawling members of the nation’s highest tribunal. The feud was reported to have been smoldering for more than a year.”

The story doesn’t mention if the argument became physical but the reporter called it “open warfare between two members of the U.S. Supreme Court.”

A case involving the United Mine Workers was the trigger that caused the feud to erupt. Justice Robert H. Jackson insisted Justice Hugo L. Black should have disqualified himself.

In Brazil, local folks were waiting for the Forest Park pool to be repaired so they could cool off.

The mayor, Clint Wilson, said the pool could be opened “about the middle of next week if the weather remains favorable.”

The pool was round, unlike the oblong one that is being managed by the YMCA this year. The pool had cracked and the cracks were filled with tar.

The pool manager was waiting for the tar to harden before filling it with cool, refreshing water. In 1946, it took about three days to fill.

In June 1946, the local Kiwanis Club was involved in a fundraising campaign to buy new uniforms and music for its library.

This week, that year, contributions had reached $2002.42, about half the goal.

The local Business & Professional Women’s Club was honored with the Extension Citation for increasing its membership by 20 percent in the past year and was honored for selling the second highest amount of war bonds in the previous year.

“This in itself is a high honor when the membership of the local B&PW club is compared with that of the clubs of the larger cities of the state,” stated The Brazil Times story.

Clay County American Legion Post 2 was sending two boys to the Boys State program on the Indiana State Deaf School campus. They were Robert Beaman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lori Beaman, and Albert Podkin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Barney Podkin.

The Brazil Rotary Club signed a contract with Tex Rollins of Rainbow Shows to provide carnival rides for the 11th Fourth of July celebration.

Rollins promised to provide “a large Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, a chair-o-plane, a Tilt-O-Whirl and two kiddie rides.

The local Veterans of Foreign Wars post had a baseball team that played a full schedule of games each summer.

On this week in 1946, the VFW was scheduled to play the Strand Steel team, which had a 6-0 record that season.

The Brazil Times reported, “This is a much better record than that of the local team. Their second baseman Perry, has had pro experience with the Finley of the Ohio State league. Miller, their 6’4” first baseman, played with Chattanooga in the southern association before the war. He leads the club in hitting.”

The Thursday night contest promised to bring out the local baseball fans.

The Chamber of Commerce put on an industrial exhibition that week in the “large assembly room at the Chamber of Commerce headquarters.”

One edition of The Times that week said a delegation of people from outside Clay County planned to attend the event.

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Congratulations to the folks who correctly identified Virgil Butts, Mark Adamson, Fred Adamson and Dee Moon in our mystery photo last week.

Next week, we look back to 1947.

Remember you can always research local history in the files of the Brazil Public Library.