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Malinda was born April 24, 1850 in Greenville, TN.
In Nov. 1869 she married William Franklin MILLION, a younger brother of
Arthur Robert MILLION.
William was a farmer and Malinda was a homemaker and cared for their
five children.
AN AGED WOMAN PASSES AWAY
MALINDA MILLION BORN IN TENNESSEE
WIDOW OF WM. MILLION WAS ALMOST 82 YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF DEATH.
Malinda Million, for sixty years a resident of Atchinson
County in the centennial neighborhood, died Wednesday, April 13th, at the
home of her daughter, Mrs. Wiley Bartholomew. She had been ill about
a week, the infirmities of old age contributing to her demise.
Funeral services were held at the High Creek Baptist
Church by Rev. Stephen Mihlfeld on Friday afternoon, April 15th.
Internment was at High Creek Cemetery.
Mrs. Million’s maiden name was Malinda Blakely.
She was the daughter of Joseph and Charity Blakely. She was born
at Greenville, TN, April 24th, 1850. Had she lived but a few days
longer, she would have attained her eighty-second year.
She was united in marriage with William Million
in 1869. Five children were born to this union, all of whom survive
the father and mother, Mr. Million having died March 14, 1927. The
children are: Mrs. Lee Bartholomew, Mrs. Wiley Bartholomew, Bovell
Million. Mrs. John Hall and Lee Million. There are also 16 grandchildren
and five great-grandchildren to mourn the death of this pioneer mother.
Deceased was a faithful member of the High Creek
Baptist Church for many years. She was always ready to help in every
way to advance the Kingdom of God here on earth. She reared a family
under the trying conditions that confronted the woman who helped establish
a home more than sixty years ago. Her impress is on the community
where she lived and labored for so long.
DEATH, CAME TO PIONEER MONDAY
Wm F. MILLION BURIED TUESDAY
Survived by Wife, Two Sons and
Three Daughters Was Born
in Tennessee.
Wm. F. Million of High Creek, known to practically
all his acquaintances as, Uncle Bill, passed away at his home about 4 o'clock
Monday morning after a lengthy illness. His condition had been serious
for some time, growing critical frequently and then showing some improvement.
Funeral services were held at the High Creek Church
Tuesday afternoon. Rev. D. W, Griffith preaching the sermon. Interment
was at High Creek Cemetery.
William Franklin Million was a native of Tennessee.
where he was born June 25, 1851, the son of James G. and Ellender Million.
He was the fifth in a family of eleven children.
He was married to Miss Malinda Blakely in November
1869. Five children were born to this union; two sons and three daughters.
The children are Mrs. Lee Bartholomew, Mrs. Wylie Bartholomew, Lee and
Bovell of the home neighborhood and Mrs. Dicey Hall of Coldwater, KS. Besides
the wife and five children. deceased is survived by 16 grandchildren
and five brothers.
Mr. Million was a member of the High Creek Baptist
church many years and was a regular attendant until falling health intervened.
A frequent visitor to Rock Port In the years that
he had lived in Atchison County, his figure was a familiar one and few
were who did not know Uncle Bill Million. Though his step had become
faltering in late years he was keenly alive to everything that took place
and he kept pace with affairs of the day. His death removes
a figure that will be missed by not only his immediate family but by a
host of friends as well.
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Front row; William F., Lee L., Malinda |
Dora Bell Million |
NATIVE DAUGHTER ANSWERS THE CALL
MRS LEE BARTHOLOMEW DIED SUNDAY
Survived by Two Daughters and
Two Sons as Well as Other Relatives
Funeral Tuesday.
Mrs. Lee. Bartholomew, who had been ill at the home
of her daughter, Mrs. Lois Deatz of Tarkio neighborhood, passed away there
Sunday afternoon, December 12th. Mrs. Bartholomew's home was, in
the Centennial Community.
Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Loren S.
Goings at the High Creek Baptist church, Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 14th,
with burial at High, Creek Cemetery.
Dora Bell Million, daughter of William Francis and
Malinda Million, was born in the High Creek community on November 8th.
1874. She died only a few weeks after reaching her sixty third birthday.
She was married on December 24th, 1893 to Lee
Bartholomew, who died; several years ago, three daughters and two sons
were born to this union, one daughter being deceased. The surviving
children are Mrs. Lois Deatz of Tarkio. Mrs. Helen Rapp of Hamburg, Jess
M. Bartholomew of Michigan City, IN, and William B. Bartholomew of Rock
Port.
Mrs. Million is also survived by two sisters and
two brothers, Mrs. Vannoye Bartholomew, Lee Million and Bovell Million
all of Rock Port and Mrs. Dicey Hall of Coldwater, KS. The deceased
was a member of the High Creek Baptist church.
Having been born and lived throughout her life in
the High Creek and Centennial communities, Mrs. Bartholomew was known to
all residents of that part of Atchison county. The families of both herself
and husband were long time residents of that section, known as respected
and enterprising citizens. Bereft of her husband Mrs. Bartholomew
carried on to the end.
Mrs. Leona May Bartholomew Herron obituary
from the Atchison County Mail
Rock Port, MO Friday June1, 1917
DEATH OF MRS. R. P. HERRON
Mrs. Leona May Herron wife of R E Herron,
died at her home in Centennial neighborhood, on May 29th 1917; after an
Illness of only a few days. Her remains were,interred at Grange Hall Cemetery
an Wednesday, Rev. Johnson. pastor of the Centennial M. E. Church, preaching
the funeral at Grange Hall Church.
Mrs. Herron was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Bartholomew
of Centennial neighborhood, and she was born on Juno 21st, 1894.
She leaves her husband, Her parents, one brother and two sisters to mourn
her untimely death. Only a short time ago she was married to the young
man so sadly bereft by her untimely death seemingly with her people to-day
active In life's rounds of duty and love, but gone to-morrow. To
the brokrn hearted husband, father, mother, sisters and brother, sincere
sympathy is extended, and when they have drained the cup may the peace
that passeth all understanding come to them.
Robert Herron obituary
from the Atchison County Mail
Rock Port, MO Thursday April 28, 1966
Rites Held for
Robert Herron,
Lifelong Resident
Robert Earl Herron died Friday, April 22, at his
home north of Rock Port. Mr. Herron spent his entire life as a farmer in
the Centennial community. He was born Nov. 15, 1887, in Watson, the oldest
son of the late. Mr. Mrs. W. H. Herron.
Mr. Herron is survived by four of six brothers and
by his five sisters. They are: Jess Herron, Ross Herron and Mrs.
Tom Warneke, Rock Port; Albert Herron, Mrs Ono Millsap, Watson; Mrs. Mary
Ferguson, Roy Herron, Shenandoah, IA; Mrs. Nina Lawless, Tarkio; and Mrs.Marie
Mortiz, Hastings, NE.
Services were held at the Rock Port Methodist Church
at 2:00 pm Apr. 25 conducted by Rev. Neil Dubach. Internment was
at Grange Hall Cemetery.
The Atchinson County Mail, Thursday, Feb. 24, 1983
Services held for Forrest F. Rapp, 85
Mr. Forrest F. Rapp, 85, died Feb. 20 at a Hamburg Hospital.
Born Feb. 5,1898 on the family farm east of Hamburg. Mr. Rapp attended
school near his
home and graduated from the Rock Port High School.
On Feb. 12, 1924 he married Helen Bartholomew, Mrs. Rap died
in 1971.
Surviving is a daughter, Betty Shelton, Rock Port; three grandchildren
and two great grandsons.
Grave side services were held Feb. 22 at the Linden Cemetery,
north of Rock Port, with Pastor Robert Leifer officiating. Minter
Funeral Home was in charge
of the arrangements.
Rites held for
Mr. Bartholomew, 82
Mr Jess M. Bartholomew, 82. a former Rock Port resident,
died Oct 21 at St Anthony Hospittal, Michigan City, Ind.
Mr. Bartholomew was born on Jan. 20, 1901 in Rock
Port, the son of Lee and Dora MILLION Bartholomew. He had lived in
Michigan City since 1930. He worked at Joy Manufacturing Co there
for 36 years as an electrical engineer before retiring in 1966.
Sept. 9, 1922, he married Fern T. Pat Townsend in
Rock Port.
Surviving are his wife, a daughter, Lynn Petti,
Shaker Heights, OH and a sister, Lois Deatz, Rock Port.
Services were Oct. 24 at the Carlise Funeral Home in Michigan
City.
PAT BARTHOLOMEW obituary
from the Atchison County Mail
Rock Port, MO Thursday Jan. 14, 1988
Mrs. Pat Bartholomew 87, Michigan City, Ind., passed
away Jan. 6 at the Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass. She was born May
17,1900 in Rock Port, the daughter of John P. and Harriet (Grout) Townsend.
On Sept. 9, 1922, she married Jess M. Bartholomew
in Rock Port. He passed away in October, 1983.
She had been a resident of Michigan City, Ind. since
1930. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Amy Arndt
Circle of First Presbyterian Church, Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, Pottawatomie
County Club, and was a former member of Tri-Kappa Service Sorority.
She is survived by one daughter, Lynn B. Petti,
Concord, Mass.; one sister, Mabel Saunder, Rock Port; and three grandchildren:
Daniel Tanner Chilton, Newark, Del., Bart H. Chilton, Washington, D.C.,
and Elizabeth Chilton Whitlow, Liberty, Ind.
Services were held Jan. 9 at Carlisle Funeral Home,
conducted by Rev. Glenn F. Polzine. Interment was at Greenwood Cemetery.
William B. Bartholomew. 74-Year old retired
mechanic, Maryville, died suddenly at 8:30 a.m. Monday at his home.
Born Dec. 4, 1902 in at Rock Port, the son of the
late Lee and Dora Million Bartholomew, he was married April 12, 1954, at
Ravenwood, to Marie Partridge, who survives.
A resident of Maryville since 1946, he had lived
at the present residence 19 years. He was a member of Laura Street Baptist
Church.
Besides his wife of the home, he is survived by
a son, James Bartholomew, Kansas City; a stepson, Ron Partridge, Maryville;
a sister, Mrs. Lois Deatz, Rock Port; a brother, Jess M. BarthoIomew, Michigan
City, Ind.; two grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Wednesday at
the Price Funeral Home, with Dr. Clifford Rawley to officiate. Burial
will be in High Creek Cemetery, Watson. The family will meet friends from
7 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Lee Sutter Deatz Obituary from the
Atchison County, Missouri Mail Thursday Sept. 13, 1973
Last Rites for Retired Farmer Lee S. Deatz
Mr. Lee S. Deatz 67, a lifelong resident of Atchison
Count died Sep. 6, at his home in Rock Port.
Born the son of Frank and Hannah (Sutter) Deatz,
Sep. 3, 1906, near Rock Port. His education was received at High Bank Country
school north of Rock Port and he attended the Rock Port High School. Following
his schooling he farmed with his parents.
He was married to Lois L. Bartholomew, Apr. 26,
1928 at the High Creek Baptist parsonage by Pastor Chase W. Jennings. They
lived on the Fleda Gore Farm in the English Grove community. He continued
farming with the exception of two years when he was employed at an oil
company in Tarkio. They moved to Rock Port in December of 1945. He
was employed at Rolf Fertilizer and Supply from 1957 until 1960. Then he
and his son, Paul, along with their farming began constructing homes
in Rock Port. He retired in 1971. Mr. Deatz was a member of
the English Grove United Presbyterian church.
Survivors include his wife, Lois of the home; three
daughters: Mrs. William (Beth) Carey, Omaha, NE, Mrs. Delinas (Bonnie)
Howell, Rock Port, and Mrs. Joe (Jane) Amthor, Atchison, KS, one son, Paul
Deatz, Rock Port; one sister, Mrs. Phyllis McCartney, Fairfax; two brothers:
Merrill Deatz, Rock Port, and Stanley Deatz, Forest City, and nine grandchildren.
He was preceeded in death by one sister, Mrs. Lois
Erwin and one brother, Carl.
Services were held Sep. 8, at 2:00 p.m., at the
English Grove United Presbyterian church with Pastor Donald Bridges officiating.
Burial was at the English Grove Cemetery. Minter Funeral Chapel was in
charge.
Services were held at the Bartholomew Funeral Home
June 11 at 2:00 pm for Mrs Izetta Vannoye Bartholomew, Rev. Jerry Osstrom
officiating.
Izetta Vannoye Million, daughter of William Francis
and Malinda Million, was born in the High Creek community Nov. 20, 1877.
December 24, 1899, she
married Wiley Bartholomew of High Creek community. They made their
home on a farm and were members of the High Creek Church. Her husband
preceded her in death in 1973.
In the, spring of 1956 Mrs Bartholomew moved
to Rock Port where she lived The remainder of her life. She died
at the Fairfax Hospital June 7 after a short
illness.
Surviving are one sister, Mrs. Daisey Hall.
Denver. Colo, one brother Lee Million, Omaha, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Internment was at High
Creek Cemetery.
Wiley O. Bartholomew Obituary from the
Atchison County, Missouri Mail Thursday Sept. 13, 1973
W. O. BARTHOLOMEW OF HIGH CREEK
DIES IN ST. JOSEPH
Had Lived Entire Life In Community Where He Was Born. Wassick
for Several Weeks.
Wiley O. Bartholomew, a well known farmer of the High Creek neighborhood,
passed away at Ensworth hospital at St. Joseph, Saturday, March 22nd.
For some days before being taken to the hospital he had been
In a serious condition at his home, little having been held forth for his
recovery from an affection
of the brain.
The remains were brought to Watson Saturday afternoon and taken
to the home.
Mr. Bartholomew was born June 20th, 1874, near High Creek, Atchison
County. and entered into rest March 22nd 1924, aged 49 years, 8 months
and 26
days. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. George Bartholomew.
He was married to Izetta V. Million, December 24th, 1899.
He professed faith in Christ in November, 1898, uniting with the High Creek
Church, of which he
was a member at the time of his call to “come up higher.”
His life was spent in the community in which be was born and
every influence of that life was for good and for the uplift of humanity.
The writer had known
him intimately for 30 years and esteems it one of life's great privileges
to have baptized him and to have officiated at his wedding and to have
assisted as his
pastor. Rev. D. W. Griffith, in his funeral services, as well as to
have been privileged to write this tribute to his memory.
This good Christian man's life will continue to be an inspiration
long after his departure from earth. A friend who never failed to
reader assistance where he
could do so, always in his place In the Sunday School and church work.
He exemplified in his life the power of christianity. He lived for
his family and his
friends.
He leaves to mourn his departure, his wife, two brothers and
two sisters, besides many friends who will miss him sadly. The brothers
are Lee and Charley of
the home neighborhood, while the sisters are Mrs. Ray Chastain of Rock
Port and Mrs. George Downey of Raton. N. M.
He awaits our coming to "the city that hath foundations whose
builder and maker is God.” Therefore,”we sorrow not as those who
have no hope.” We shall
meet again.
The funeral services were held at Mr. Bartholomew's home
church at High Creek, conducted by Rev. D. W. Griffith. his pastor, assisted
by the writer (his
pastor from 1893 to 1899). The large congregation of sorrowing friends
and relatives attest the high esteem in which the deceased was held.
The Lord comfort all who mourn and bestow grace for our trials.
W. W. LAUGHLIN.
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Mr. and Mrs. Bovelle F. MILLION obituaries
from the Atchison County Mail
Rock Port, MO
BOVELL MILLION DIED
SATURDAY IN KANSAS CITY
Bovell Million, a native of this County but for the
past five years a resident of Kansas City, died at the General hospital
in that city last Saturday, December 7th, aged 66 years
The remains were brought to Rock Port and funeral
services were held at the Barthtolomew Funeral Home Monday afternoon, conducted
by Rev. A. W. Tandy of them High Creek Baptist Church. Internment
was at High Creek Cemetery.
The deceased, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Million,
was born in this county on April 1st, 1880, and lived here the greater
part of his life, engaging in farming.
He was married to May Yates in February 1904.
She died in 1918. Surviving are three Sons and two daughters-Clifford
Million of the home; Wm F. Million and Miss Helen Million, both of Washington
D. C.; Clarence Million. Stockton, Calif.; and Mrs. Mildred Smith of Ann
Arbor, Mich.
In addition to his sons and daughters, Mr. Million
is survived by two sisters and a brother, Lee Million and Mrs. Wiley Bartholomew
of Rock Port and Mrs. John Hall, Denver Colo., and six grandchildren, one
child is deceased. A sister, Mrs. Lee Bartholomew, died Dec.12th,
1937.
Here for the funeral were all of the children with
the exception of Clarence Million. Other relatives who came for the
final rites, were Arthur Hall of Topeka, KS and John Hall of Lyndon, KS.
MRS. Bovell MILLION.
After a struggle of some days against an attack of
influenza and pneumonia. Mrs. Bovell Million passed away at her home in
Centennial neighborhood, Thursday. December 12th, at 6 p. m.
Not only had Mrs. Million been sick. I but her husband
and children had also been sufferers from the prevailing malady.
May Yates was born at Basco, IL, April 20, 1884.
She was united in marriage with Bovell Million, March 1, 1904. To them
were born six children; three sons and three daughters, one daughter dying
in infancy.
The living children are: William, aged 13; Clarence, 11; Clifford,
8; Helen Lorene, and little Mildred, 16 months old.
Deceased was converted more than fourteen years ago and united
with the High Creek Baptist Church, of which,she remained a faithful and
honored member until called to her home above. She was devoted to her husband
five children and lavished a world of love on them. She leaves, to cherish
her memory, the sorrowing husband and children and two sisters Mrs. Ernest
Ward of Baxter Springs. Kans., and Mrs. Charles. A. Hall of near Linden,
besides a great number of other relatives and friends. She was loved
by all who knew her and will not only be greatly missed by the family,
but by the entire community. All feel a deep sympathy for the family,
who, because or the recent attack of influenza, were not able to accompany
the remains to the place of interment at High Creek Cemetery.
The funeral service was held at the home Saturday,
Dec. 14th, at 11 o'clock. Her pastor, D. W. Griffith. officiated
in the presence of it goodly number, who came to show their respect for
the sorrowing family. The beautiful flowers spoke of tributes of
loving hearts.
D. W. G.
Their five living children;
Mildred Million Smith’s autobiography.
CHILDHOOD
When our mother died in 1918, Aunt Nettie Hall (my
mother's sister) would have taken one of us girls and Aunt Vannoye the
other one, though neither of them wanted us both. Neither of them had children
of their own. Aunt Dora didn't think we should be separated, so she and
Uncle Lee took us both. although they probably had less room and less money
than anybody. Uncle Lee and Aunt Dora had two sons, Jess and Bill, two
living daughters (Helen and Lois) and one deceased (Leona). We called Helen
Bartholomew Big Helen and my sister Little Helen.
We lived on a farm, had a large yard and garden.
There was a cellar in the side of a hill where we went down steps. It was
like an underground basement. We went there when cyclones threatened, stored
canned goods, potatoes and other vegetables there. I remember us shooing
the chickens into the chicken house when a storm was coming. Aunt Dora
always made Helen and me go to the cellar, but she would never go herself.
She always said when the Good Lord was ready for her, He would take her
no matter where she was.
Helen and I don't have a lot of clear memories about
our early years. She spent a lot of time at Aunt Vannoye's, but it must
have been on weekends because we always went to the same school and Aunt
Dora and Aunt Vannoye lived in different school districts.
I remember when I was young enough to still take
naps, Big Helen would lie down with me until I went to sleep. I was always
angry when I woke up and she was gone.
When Helen was six years old and I was four, we
started going to Lone Cedar School. We walked to school--half or 3/4 of
a mile, but I'm not sure about the distance. The teacher always gave me
kid stuff and I didn't like that. I wanted to do the same things the first
graders were doing. She slapped me one day and I stalked out of the schoolhouse
and walked home. The folks made Helen bring her books home every night
and they would go over with me whatever she had had that day. Therefore,
when I was six, I had already had the first and second grade work, so I
started school in the third grade. This meant Helen and I were in the same
class.
Lone Cedar was a country school with 8 grades, though
I believe they combined some of the grades. There was a steep hill on the
school yard grounds. In the winter we would pour water down the hill to
freeze and then we would get a board and use that to slide down the hill.
The toilets were two holes!, smelly, and of course outside. Sears and Ward's
catalogs provided the toilet paper.
In winter we wore long underwear to school. Helen
and I hated that. When we were out of sight of the house, we would roll
them up so our stockings wouldn't be so lumpy.
I had a happy childhood. The toilet was a long walk
in bad weather. We did not have electricity. We did have running water--a
pimp in one of the outer rooms. We bathed in a washtub, usually on Saturday.
In the summer we would warm a tub of bathwater out in the sun. There were
two bedrooms, a living room with a davenport that made a bed, dining room,
pantry, kitchen, and a small room which had the sink and water pump and
the refrigerator. The iceman didn't come regularly, so perhaps he only
came in the summer. I don't remember. Sometimes we kept milk and butter
in the cistern. We always had books and I was an avid reader. The authors
I remember most are Zane Gray and Mrs. E.D.E.N Soothworth. We had a player
piano. My favorite piano roll was "Bye Bye Blackbird."
I had a lot of earaches when I was a kid. They would
line up two or three chairs in the dining room, put two or three blankets
on the chairs for padding and I would lie there while they heated cloths
to apply to my earache.
There was a large building close to the house which
we called the Wash house. The washing machine was in there, It had a stick
handle which you pulled back and forth to agitate the clothes, That was
my job on wash day. I liked to do that and recite poetry or sing songs.
White clothes were boiled in a large copper boiler on the cook stove.
There was a small, dark room in the wash house which
was used for meat storage, especially hams. There was another small room
with a ladder which to the attic. It was quite light and I read a lot up
there.
In later years, when I took my Cub Scout den to
the museum in Lima, Ohio, there was a washing machine like the one we had.
We used a horse and buggy to get to Grandma and
Grandpa Million's house. Uncle Lee took the horse and buggy to Rock Port
every so often when we needed groceries or he needed feed for the animals.
He usually traded eggs for things we needed.
We had chickens, pigs, cows and horses. The horses
were used to plow the field, not to ride. The barn and pasture for the
cows were quite a distance away from the house. You went up a hill, crossed
a stile and went down the other side. In later years when I read to my
kids about the old woman and her pig crossing the stile, I remembered our
stile back home. "Pig won't go over the stile and I shan't get home tonight.
For the benefit of my grandchildren, a stile is two steps up to cross a
fence, then two steps down the other side.
Uncle Lee had a large orchard, mostly apples and
peaches. He died in the mid-twenties. At that time families kept the body
in the house, not at a funeral parlor. Neighbors or friends would sit up
all night with the corpse. Usually sandwiches and cookies or something
similar were served to them. Some people called it a watch. I know wake
isn't the word I'm trying to remember.
I don’t think I knew we were having a depression.
We always had our own eggs, chickens, milk, pork, beef, etc. We also had
lots of canned vegetables and fruits as well as fresh ones. We ate a lot
of much, but Helen and I liked mush and didn't realize it was probably
to save money. Aunt Dora cooked it on top of the stove, then put it in
the oven for awhile to brown. Helen and I both liked the crusty brown top
and used to fight over who got it.
I had my tonsils and adenoids taken out at Clarkson
Memorial Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska. I think I was a brat. I know somebody
brought Helen to see me and I told them not to let her come in, but they
did anyway.
Aunt Vannoye made delicious bread. She used a starter.
I don't know whether it was like sourdough or not. Sometimes I would be
there for the week-end and our dad would come up and bring sirloin steak.
We would have steak, homemade biscuits and gravy for Sunday morning breakfast.
I always made good grades in grade school. When
I was in the fifth grade, I asked my teacher, Helen Rose (later to become
my sister-in-law) if she thought I would pass. She said I knew very well
I would pass if anybody did. Of course I knew. I guess I just wanted to
be complimented.
Lois Bartholomew had a good friend, Clara Armstrong,
who became pregnant when they were in high school. At that time, that was
quite a disgrace. The girl was ostracized by everybody and Aunt Dora forbade
Lois to associate with her any more.
HIGH SCHOOL
I enjoyed high school, I took the prescribed courses,
except I took two years of Latin, which I loved. Plane geometry was my
hardest subject. I never really understood it, but got through it with
good grades by memorizing a lot of it, I was a rapid reader. When the English
class teacher would ask who had read such and such a book, I would always
raise my hand. She would ask me to report on it the next day, so I would
get it at the library and read it that night and report on it the next
day.
I played basketball in high school. I was a guard
(substitute, not the main six). At that time there were two centers, a
jumping center and a running center. Only the forwards could shoot baskets.
I substituted often enough so that I got to go along when they had a game
at another school.
Our senior pictures were taken in Shenandoah, Iowa.
I assume Rock Port either didn't have a photographer or maybe just not
a good one. The photograph put a notice in his window saying “Next week
we will have the pictures of two million girls in this window.” The
next week Helen and I were the two million girls.
I ended up valedictorian. I wanted Aunt Dora to
come to graduation, but she said she didn't have anything fit to wear.
Helen worried about my valedictory speech. I pretended that I hadn't have
it prepared yet (right up to the day) Wasn't I mean? I used “Invictus”
by Henley as the basis of my valedictory speech. To save space I will not
type it in separate verses, but since you might not be familiar with it,
here it is: “Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole
to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. In the
fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the
bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place
of wrath and tears looms but the horror of the shade; And yet the menace
of the years finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how straid
the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my
fate. I am the captain of my soul.” Isn't it ironic that the author later
committed suicide?
I will hurry through college. I went three years,
made the honor roll the first two years, then started dating and my grades
dropped drastically. Jess Bartholomew, who lived at Michigan City, Indiana,
decided I should drop out and go to work, I really think he wanted to get
me away from my boyfriend, Anyhow, he talked with a good friend of his
in Fort Wayne, Indiana, James Cornell, Chief Engineer at Magnavox, into
giving me a job as his secretary. My future husband, Mervel Smith, was
a draftsman in the Engineering Department. When he first asked me for a
date, I told my roommate that he wasn't especially good looking, but he
had a car. On our first date we went to a Sonja Heinie movie. She was a
figure skating star. We started dating steadily and in a few months I returned
my engagement ring to Roger (back in Missouri).
Aunt Dora died in 1938. Jess picked me up and took
me to the funeral. It was a very hard time for me. I had a lump in my throat
the entire time.
Smitty and I had good friends. One couple in particular,
Bill and Mary Brown (Mary Belles at that time) were close to us. We spent
a lot of time playing monopoly or pinochle, popping popcorn, buying a 25
cent six pack of Pepsi, going to street fairs, etc.
Smitty got a job with an architect drawing house
plans. Magnavox had reorganized, firing my boss and Smitty, so we both
lost our jobs. I asked the manager of the employment agency how long it
would be before I would find something and she said nobody who could type
as fast as I would ever be out of a job for very long. She was right. I
started to work immediately at Indiana Michigan (the electric company)
as secretary to the purchasing agent. He was a practical joker and had
trouble keeping secretaries. You never knew when you would sit down on
a cushion which made an embarrassing noise or find a plastic snake that
would jump out at you when you opened the drawer. However, we got along
fine.
At Christmas in 1939 Smitty gave me a bottle of
perfume, a figurine of a lady carrying a bouquet. I had seen it at the
local drugstore and knew it only cost $1.00. I thought “What a cheapskate.”
Then I saw a ring around the bouquet the girl was carrying. Of course I
said yes when he proposed.
Smitty's mother died in January 1940. She had an
appendectomy and we always assumed that was what killed her, but we found
out later her heart gave out after the surgery.
I had taken a civil service test late in 1939 and
in February of 1940 1 received a telegram to report to the Social Security
Administration in Washington in a week. Smitty and I talked it over and
decided to get married and go together. We had a hurry up marriage I'm
sure my Missouri relatives thought I was pregnant (but I wasn't).
Perhaps my record of life in Ft. Wayne would not be complete
without saying that once Mary and I hitchhiked to Michigan City to see
Jess and Pat. I think they thought we went on the bus. Another time, Helen
Rainier and I hitchhiked to Toledo. Both times truckers gave us a ride.
Today that would be very risky. It probably was then also.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
We rented an apartment close to the building where
I worked. I had to go through a training session consisting mainly of shorthand
and typing. We were not allowed to make corrections with an eraser or Korec-type,
We had to do the whole thing over. After two weeks of training I was given
a job in the Office of the Actuary as a secretary. An actuary is a statistician
who computes insurance risks and premiums.
We did not have much money when we left Ft. Wayne.
The night before my first payday we were having a spaghetti casserole for
supper. I dropped it and it broke. We had nothing in the house to eat,
so Smitty went down to the corner grocery store and persuaded the grocer
to give him enough groceries to tide us over. He left his watch as security.
Smitty soon found a job at Mims-Speak, an architectural
firm, drawing house plans. One of his hobbies was model airplanes. He had
a large one which he took around to model airplane meets. Once we went
to one in Philadelphia.
We went to Luray, Va. for our honeymoon of 1941.
We went to the Luray Caverns. We enjoyed the scenery (Blue Ridge Mountains).
We ate at a restaurant called "Mims-land" which was partially owned by
Smitty's boss. That is the first and only time I ever had orange sherbet
served with the meal. They said it was to cleanse the palate.
Redbook magazine had a monthly article contributed
by readers “What’s On Your Mind?” They paid $100. One of our friends was
always talking about what bad shape the world was in, nobody had any business
bringing children into such a world where the men would die in battle and
the women and children would be left bereft. I sent in an article trying
to tear down his arguments and defending people's rights to have children.
I won $100, which was the first contest I ever won. At the time, that was
a lot of money. We used it as a down payment on some furniture and moved
to a row house in Alexandria, Va.
Karen was born December 18, 1941. She was born at
Georgetown University Hospital in Washington. I was in labor 38 hours.
I kept saying "Never again. Never again." The unsympathetic nurse said
"You'll be back in a year." I wasn't.
The war brought several new departments to the Federal government.
I started to work for the Office of Price Administration and Smitty started
to work for Coast and Geodetic Survey. That wasn't a new agency, but they
were making maps for the War Department. Smitty was 4F. His eyes were very
bad.
My brother Bill was in the military police and we
saw him frequently.
We were in Washington for Franklin Roosevelt’s third
inauguration. Federal employees were given the day off to watch the parade
and hear the inaugural speeches. I was part of the crowd on Pennsylvania
Avenue watching the parade.
In 1942 or early 1943 I talked my sister, Helen, into coming
to Washington. We weren’t there too much longer ourselves, though.
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN
In 1943 Smitty received a telegram from Ned Graef,
with whom he had worked at Magnavox. Ned wanted Smitty to come to work
for him or in Ann Arbor. Ned worked for Argus Camera Company. The only
reason Smitty could leave Coast and Geodetic Survey was because Argus was
listed as a defense contractor. We moved to Ann Arbor in 1943.
We had an apartment near railroad tracks. Karen
was afraid of trains and we cured her of that by having her wave at the
trains and saying “Bye, bye, choo choo.”
After living in an apartment for a few months, we
bought a new home, cost $5,000, a Cape Cod bungalow. It had an unfinished
attic, two bedrooms, basement, living room, bath and kitchen. We decided
to have another baby. This time I decided to plan the baby for March. It
would be early enough in the spring that I would be able to pick strawberries
and I wouldn't be pregnant in the hot summer months. Barbara was born at
University Hospital March 14, 1944.
It was in Ann Arbor that I started playing contract
bridge. Up until then I had only played auction. Our neighborhood consisted
of new homes like ours. We, the families, were all near the same age. Every
Saturday night we got together to play poker or pinochle. About every half
hour the parents would run home to check on the kids who were hopefully
still asleep. I guess we were lucky nothing ever happened to them.
This was during the war and everybody had ration
book. One book per person. Barb's birth meant a new ration book. Even with
four books, sometimes things weren't available. Sugar and butter were two
things I remember that were in short supply. Smitty was friends with the
local grocer, who often saved scarce items for him.
In Ann Arbor I won my second contest prize. Station
CKLW in Windsor, Ontario had a contest where some man played the piano.
If you could stump him on a song, you would win a Presto pressure cooker.
I looked through Smitty's guitar music and found “She Kept Running Like
a Sewing Machine.” That stumped him and I won the pressure cooker,
which I still use.
My dad died in 1946 and we went back to Missouri
for the funeral. I was pregnant with Dave at the time.
BLUEFIELD, WEST VIRGINIA
In 1947 Nick Nixon, with whom Smitty had worked at
Mims-Speak in Washington, wrote Smitty and said he was going into business
for himself (as an architect) in Bluefield, West Virginia and would like
for Smitty to go in with him as a junior partner. Smitty flew down (alone).
He had taken flying lessons. I was scared to death because he had to fly
over mountains.
If the temperature got to 90 the Chamber of Commerce
furnished free lemonade. Bluefield was in a kind of valley, with
East River Mountain providing some nice scenery. We had a basement apartment,
it was very shabby, in the house where Nick and his wife lived.
Karen was in the first grade. In Michigan you could
start kindergarten if you were 5 by the end of the year, when we moved
to Hoagland, she was a year younger than most of the children in her class.
Dave was born May 19, 1947. It was by far the easiest
of my four pregnancies. They gave me a shot in the arm and when I woke
up everything was over. They told me it was a boy and I kept saying, “are
you sure it’s a boy?” We had two girls and wanted a boy.
He slept in a dresser drawer for awhile. Then Nick and Ruth built a new
home and we moved into the upstairs apartment. Smitty decided to start
building a house for us. It was on the side of a hill, the bottom level
opening into the kitchen and dining room, the upstairs opening into the
living room. The bedrooms and bath were on that floor also. Dave’s crib
used to be in the living room. He would get up on all fours and rock
the crib clear across the room. The living room was a huge room with a
huge picture window from which you could see East River Mountain.
Nick’s business wasn’t good enough to support two
families and we decided we had to come back to Fort Wayne. There was a
mechanic’s lien on the house, so I suppose they sold it to pay the bills.
HOAGLAND, IN
Smitty found a job with Paul Berg, a civil engineer.
He also drew house plans for Winfield Moses, a building contractor. A few
months later he started work for an architect, John Martindale, drawing
house plans.
He took some night classes at Purdue (the Ft. Wayne
location) and worked as a mechanical engineer at U.S. Rubber Company until
they (or at least his department) closed. His boss there told a friend
that Smitty was available and they called him to work at Magnavox.
I started to work at the Hoagland My job was to
weigh the corn and beans, keep the books, wait on the customers, sell the
feed and sprays, etc. I worked there until I became pregnant with Dennis.
Dennis was born in Decatur, In. I told my doctor how wonderful it had been
when Dave was born. He said it was probably “twilight sleep” but he wouldn’t
give me that.
When we went shopping, people would tell me what
a cute grandchild I had.
We had a large orchard, mostly apple trees, the
majority of them being Red or Yellow Delicious, though we had a Lodi, a
Winesap and a summer apple tree. I think it was Summer Champion. We had
strawberries, grapes, red raspberries. We had two peach trees, but after
two or three years the trees died.
Karen, Barb and Dave used to fight over who got
to sit by the window when we went on a Sunday drive. One Sunday out in
the country Smitty got exasperated with their fighting. Since their
was no traffic he stopped the car, made them get out and told them they
could walk home. We drove about half a mile, then went back and got them.
Soon after that he bought a yellow Plymouth station wagon with three rows
of seats so they could all sit by the window.
Smitty had several hobbies, including stamps, coins,
model planes, photography and fishing. He was very active in the Masonic
Lodge and joined Eastern Stars so he could, serve as Worthy Patron when
I was Worthy Matron. After he quit drinking (after getting sick one week
end while on a fishing trip), he started getting active in the church and
became a lay speaker. He would go around to the different churches when
the regular ministers were on vacation or ill and he would give the sermon.
He was very good at it.
I went back to work full time for Maumee Valley
Corporation, a firm that sold farm equipment. I found a job as secretary
to the manager, Roger McCrady. Part of the hiring involved a quiz
on various things. I think he was impressed because I knew who the Secretary
of State was. He had the reputation of being hard to work for. Once
in a letter he had dictated I changed “irregardless”
to “regardless.” Naturally he spotted it right away and wanted
to know why. I told him there was no such word as “irregardless.”
He didn’t believe me and checked it out, finding I was right. Thereafter,
when he introduced me to different people he would say “This is the secretary
who taught me there is no such word as irregardless.”
I had to quit after two or three years because the
woman who baby sat for Dennis quit her job as baby sitter. Maumee Valley
still called me back every year to type their catalog. I also did temporary
work occasionally.
We went to Washington one year on vacation and visited
Helen and Ed. We often went to some lake on vacation and the last several
years before Smitty died we went to Minnesota every year. Some good friends
had bought a resort up there.
When Dennis was old enough for Cub Scouts, Smitty
became Scoutmaster and I became a den mother. I kept that up for a few
years after Dennis outgrew Cubs. Then Lola Fuller and I started a Brownie
Troop (Barb said “Where were you when we needed a leader?”) After our Brownies
were ready for Juniors, I started a Junior troop and kept at it for 12
years. We did lots of fun things; two different groups over the years got
their roller skating badge, cooking badge, etc. We put on the play “Alice
in Wonderland” for the PTA and a nursing home, made trips to Kings Island
(an amusement park), put out a newsletter, made a comforter for a poor
family at Christmas.
In July of 1975 we had just returned from our trek
to Minnesota. Smitty went back to work and his boss informed him
that he would be terminated in October. Smitty would have been 60 his next
birthday and it seemed they were completely reorganizing with computers,
etc. They knew he was planning to retire when he was 62 and they decided
to put somebody younger in his job. We were shocked, of course, but they
promised him a full pension and a generous amount of severance pay. When
the final day October in arrived, the severance pay amount had dropped
to half and the pension was also much less than they had promised. He had
red hair and a temper to go with it. He was so angry he had a heart attack
and died the next day.
After Smitty died I stayed in Hoagland until 1980
when I sold the house and moved to Candlelite Apartments. In 1983
I bought a mobile home and have lived there ever since.
I think Smitty would have eventually invented something
important and perhaps he already had. When he worked at U.S. Rubber, he
had come up with an idea for child-proof caps on medicine bottles.
U.S. Rubber of course had claim on any inventions while he worked there,
I don’t know whether they ever pursued it or not. Also, he drew the Northrop
“Flying Wing” for airplanes a few years before they became a reality.
|
Daisy was born in July 1884 and married John Herman HALL. They had six children.
Arthur John Hall |
Arthur was born Sept. 6, 1906 and married Ella Winifred MOSES. Arthur died Jan. 16, 1968.
Alwyn Frank Hall |
The following and picture are from the son Elston Hall.
My father was Alwyn Hall. The son of John and Daisey
Hall. Alwyn went to high school in Coldwater, Kansas and graduated from
Northwestern State College of Alva, Oklahoma. He married Audrey McInteer
of Wilmore, Kansas. Alwyn started his teaching career as grade school principle
at Ford, Kansas. They had two children, Elston and Myrna. Alwyn took a
math teaching postion in Minneola, Kansas in 1943. He taught math and coached
baseball until his death in 1970. His wife Audrey was a housewife and mother
often assisting in school activities. Audrey passed away September 1997
at the age of 88.
Elston was born June 12, 1934 in Wilmore, Kansas.
Attended grade school in Ford and Minneola. Attended high school in Minneola
graduating in 1952. Elston was active in sports with four letters in football,
three in basketball and two in baseball and on in track. Captain of the
football team his senior year. Graduated from Northwestern State University
in Alva, Oklahmas in 1958. College classes were interrupted for two years
for service in the Army. Elston earned four letters on the varsity baseball
team. After graduation Elston spent 35 years with American Airlines mostly
at their DFW hub as Airport Passenger Service Supervisor. Elston retired
in 1995. Elston married Sandra Nugent after graduating from college. They
were married June 1, 1958. Sandra was also attending Northwestern and earned
her degree from Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma. Sandra did
a lot of substitute teaching and for the past eight and a half years has
been employed as a secretary in the International division of the Transport
Workers Union. Sandra (Sandy) plans to retire at the end of 200 1. Sandy
is active in sorority and church work.
Born to Elston and Sandy was a son, Kurt on May
15, 1963. Kurt went to grade school and high school in the Grapevine/Colleyville,
Texas school system. Kurt was on the tennis team and in the National Honor
Sociaty. Kurt graduated from North Texas State University in Denton, Texas.
Kurt has been employed by Unilever Corp. since graduation. Kurt and his
wife Lisa, have three children. Zachary (7), Taylor (4) and Bryce (6 months)
They currently reside in Overland Park, Kansas.
Myrna was born to Alwyn and Audrey December 12,
1935. Myrna attended grade school and high school in Ford and Minneola.
After high school graduation, Myrna went to work of Trans World Airlines
in Kansas City. She worked for TWA for many years. Myrna is now widowed
and working in Arlington, Texas.
Lee was born July 5, 1888 near Rock Port,
MO. He married mary Ethel TOLBY. Lee was a farmer. Lee died
March 24, 1968 in Omaha, NE and Ethel died in Aug. 1976 in Invale, NE.
They are both buried in Linden Cemetery, Rock Port, MO. They had
four children, the two daughters died as infants. Neither George
or James had children.
DIED IN OMAHA MAY 15th
George Orville Million, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Lee Million, died at an Omaha hospital Tuesday, May 25th, and the remains
were brought to Rock Port for
funeral services at the Bertram Chapel Thursday afternoon. Rev. W.
E. Schleiffarth conducted the final rites. Burial was at Linden cemetery.
The deceased. who was born June 13th, 1907,
was reared in the Rock Port community and died at the age of 43 years 21
months and two days. He was
married to Miss Anna Raff of Omaha on November Ist, 1947.
Besides his wife, he is survived by his parents
and a brother, James Olin Million of Omaha, two nieces, aunts, Uncles and
a large following of friends. Two
sisters preceded him in death.