Ozona History

January 3, 1935
At least three wool producers of Crockett County were known here to have lost wool clippings in the fire last Friday morning which destroyed the plant of the Texas Stockmen's Supply Company of San Angelo. Of the more than 400,000 pounds of wool which went up in flames, about 50,000 pounds belonged to Jones Miller, the same amount to Will Miller and 20,000 pounds or thereabouts was owned by J. B Miller. Insurance carried by the wool house will carry the entire loss at the current market price, it was told here. According to local information, it is possible that a price of twenty-two cents may be obtained for twelve months wool.

December 30, 1954
Many Ozonans were startled at what they mistook for a slight earthquake shortly after midnight Sunday when houses rattled in the midst of what was described as a sort of muffled boom. They were equally startled the following morning to learn that the source of the disturbance was a little more than 100 miles away, an explosion of an estimated two tons of dynamite in two magazines of an oil well shooting firm stored near Odessa. The blast is said to have smashed windows in Midland and Odessa, jarred one house from its foundation and one woman was knocked to the floor in Odessa when she attempted to open a door in her home just as the blast struck.

January 2, 1975
The large spruce tree which has been a landmark for years on the Ozona High School campus was ruined by the weight of the ice during the ice storm last week. Many trees in town were ruined or severely damaged by the freak storm. Oak and evergreen trees seemed to suffer the most damage. Telephone service was interrupted and out of service for two days and electricity was off in most parts of town intermittently during the storm.

Jan 4, 1995
Consumers and advertisers can’t miss when they use The Talking Newspaper NewsBreak Hotline, a new service soon to be offered by The Ozona Stockman 7-days-a-week, 24 hours-a-day. The Stockman will be one of the first weekly papers in Southwest Texas to offer the new service which is not voice mail, but a system that is digital, giving excellent high quality sound reproduction and background noise reduction. In the last few years, The Stockman has expanded its news coverage of high school and middle school sports, and with the addition of this new service, the coverage can be expanded to an everyday update rather than once a week. The new service will be very easy for consumers to use. Each week, The Stockman will publish a directory listing services advertising with The Talking Newspaper Hotline and The Ozona Stockman. Simply pick up the phone and dial the main number and punch in an extension number chosen from a published index in the Stockman each week and you’ll hear that advertiser’s message or news break update. The Talking Newspaper News Break Hotline puts the paper into the broadcast business with 200 channels. Advertisers will not only be able to use the Stockman to get their message in print, they will also be able to take advantage of the spoken word.