Snoop Dorky Dork

Fred York Pulaski County Poor Farm Superintendent

2009-10-24T18:31:00.003-05:00

Pulaski County Obits recently posted the obituary for Fred A. York. Mr. York was one of the superintendents of the Pulaski County Poor Farm, although the exact years of his tenure are not known at this time.

Who Killed Bonnie Huffman?

2009-09-15T14:46:00.002-05:00

The following article is from The Forensic Examiner, summer 2007, volume 16, number 2. Many thanks to Karissa Scott, Editor in Chief, who kindly granted me permission to publish the full length article on this forum, so that it may be read, in it's entirety, without having to pay a subscription fee to the various services that were charging to access this article. I republish it here, in hopes that it may find a new audience and jog someones memory. The Huffman family, especially Bonnie's niece, Wanda Ross, deserve to know who murdered their loved one all those years ago.

Who Killed Bonnie Huffman?
By Kristin Crowe, Associate Editor

On the night of July 2, 1954, a young, dark-haired schoolteacher known to be prim-and-proper left her friends and headed home shortly after midnight, but she never reached her destination. Searchers found her decomposing body in a road ditch 59 hours after she was reported missing. Her name was Bonnie Huffman, and her case is the oldest cold case in Missouri.

Bonnie left her Delta home on Friday, July 2, after telling her mother that she might spend the night with relatives in Cape Girardeau and not to worry if she did not come home. She lived with her mother and half-brother about 8 miles north of Delta, where she stopped at a gas station to buy a tire and call her friend, Mrs. Bess. The Besses met her at a movie in Cape Girardeau and afterward they all went to the Colonial Tavern to eat. Bonnie’s boyfriend, Doug Hiett, had broken up with her the day before, and Mrs. Bess said that she “had never seen Bonnie quite that upset before.” When Bonnie realized it was near midnight, she said she needed to go home. According to Sgt. Friedrich, the officer currently assigned to the case, the Besses tried to get Bonnie to stay with them. in Cape Girardeau, but she insisted on going home. Shortly after midnight she got in her 1938 Ford and started making her way toward Delta. The Besses just assumed she made it home, and her mother and brother assumed that she spent the night in Cape Girardeau. The truth—she did neither.

A person reported passing Bonnie’s empty car, which was sitting in the road with the lights on at 1:30 Saturday morning. However, no one reported her missing until mid-morning on Saturday. Bonnie’s half-brother Bobby Thiele found her car in the road about 8:30 a.m. Saturday on his way to Delta. He thought she must have had car trouble, left the car, and gone back to Delta, but the car started and he moved it out of the road. After checking with Hiett and calling the Besses, Thiele went home to tell his mother what he had found. Together, they went to Delta and called the police department in Cape Girardeau to report her missing. After an extensive search, the body was found at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, July 5, 1954, by a couple that noticed the smell. Her killer has never been found. The Delta Community has not changed much in the last 50 years, according to Sgt. Friedrich. The tight-knit community still talks about the murder, and it is as if the case never went away. Wanda Ross, Bonnie Huffman’s niece, has kept the case alive and in the forefront of people’s minds. If she had lived, Huffman would be around 73 this year, and the family would like to find closure.

At the time, there was much speculation concerning who committed the murder and how Huffman was killed, neither of which were ever positively determined. Some thought that Huffman’s boyfriend Hiett, who is still alive, committed the murder, but three other people verified his account of the evening. Many thought that she had been killed intentionally and then left in the ditch. Some speculated that the killer felt guilty and left her body where he thought it would be easily found, while others speculated that the killer placed the body there shortly before searchers discovered it. One of the primary tools investigators used to determine whether a person knew anything about the murder was the newly created polygraph machine. A 1956 article reported, “between 65 and 75 persons had been requested or had volunteered to take the [polygraph] test” in relation to the case. The police conducted many interviews and tried to ascertain whether the killer was someone Huffman knew or a transit visiting the area. The communities in the Delta area began collecting money for a reward soon after Huffman’s body was found. By July 14, 1954, The Southeast Missourian reported that someone had given or pledged $1340.75 to the fund, which would have been given to the person who provided information that led to the arrest and conviction of Huffman’s killer. Authorities eventually returned the funds to donors.

In 2004, an anonymous witness sent a letter to the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Department detailing what he or she saw that night. Friedrich said the kind of information given in the letter could only have come from a witness. The person was coming home from a dance and came upon a car stopped in the road. There were two men in the ditch, and when the person stopped to see if they needed help, they tried to pull the person from his or her car. The letter writer managed to get away, but said that there was “someone in the Ditch hollering.” Friedrich said that the location the letter writer gave of the car is the same location Huffman’s body was found. The writer, however, has not come forward or given any other information. Friedrich (2007, March 12) said, “I don’t understand why they can’t come forward and give this family some closure. It’s the right thing to do.” However, he also admits that the writer may have passed away, as all suspects and people living at the time are either deceased or in their later years.
There are many aspects to this case that are not common knowledge. In 1954, police actually arrested a suspect. The Scott County Sheriff arrested Roy Wilson Jr., but the charges were later dropped. Many believe that this was a political move on the part of that county’s department used to garner attention. A psychiatrist determined that Wilson did not have the capability to perform the act of homicide and that his confession had been forced. Wilson later recanted his statement. According to the original officer on the case, Sgt. Percy Little, myriad rumors of how Huffman was murdered circulated in 1954, hampering the investigation from the start. Some of these rumors still persist today. The Southeast Missourian commented on these rumors: “Meanwhile, rumors all without foundation spread like wildfire over the weekend. How they started no one could tell.” Friedrich (2007, March 12) said that it “seems like that area was the wild west down there in the 50s,” with families and clans feuding against each other and trying to blame Huffman’s homicide on whomever they liked the least. There were rumors that she had been held in a cabin in the woods and that her body was carried in the trunk of a vehicle, but neither rumor had any substance. According to photographs, Huffman’s body was bloated around three times its normal size due to decomposition, and the ground beneath the body was reported to have been saturated with bodily fluids. Anything in which the killer(s) stored or transported the body would have contained physical evidence from the body, but investigators only found such evidence in the ditch. Recently, a man reported to the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Department that he thinks his father committed the murder. The St. Louis man’s parents were from the Allenville community. When he was 7, he overheard his father and another man speaking, and the other man said to his father, “I think we should’ve shoved her up in the culvert farther.” However, there is no physical evidence, and both suspects are deceased.

The case proves frustrating to Sgt Friedrich for a variety of reasons, one of which is the case file, or lack of one. Only a single latent fingerprint taken off the rearview mirror has survived. No other physical evidence remains. The fingerprint did not lead anywhere when it was sent through AFIS, the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System. A “boatload of polygraphs” and seven or eight black-and-white photos still exist, but that is all (Friedrich, 2007, March 12). The Highway Patrol destroyed all other evidence in 1974, and the case information from which Friedrich is working is not the complete case file. Sergeant Little was called to the National Guard, leaving State Trooper Swingle to continue the case. Friedrich is working from Swingle’s paperwork. The case file tells who the officers talked to, but not why they chose to talk to each particular person. With so much information missing, Friedrich is unable to follow any sort of coherent thought pattern or evidence trail.

What Friedrich does have, though, is enough to posit a possible scenario. The coroner’s report states that Huffman died of a broken neck—“a displacement of the third cervical vertebra upward and to the left.” Huffman was 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighed 133 pounds, and was very pretty by all accounts. Her good reputation was known throughout the area. Friedrich (2007, March 12) said that the 20-year- old, petite, attractive schoolteacher was known to be “a virgin—prim and proper.” The pathologist stated the following in the autopsy report: There is a single area of contusion and abrasion on the left side of the vaginal wall approximately 3 cm. within the vaginal canal. The speculum is introduced rather easily into the vagina. There is no evidence of a hymen and the introitus is intact with no evidence of blood or damage to the hymenal ring. (Lovinggood, 1954) While decomposition of the body prevents definitive proof the killers raped her, the contusion “suggests that rape was at tempted” (Friedrich, 2007, March 12). When searchers discovered Huffman’s body, the only article of clothing that was missing was her underwear. Her glasses, watch, necklace, and purse were missing, but she was still dressed in her dress, brassiere, and shoes when found. The physical evidence of possible rape, coupled with the missing underwear, provides a semblance of motive. The post-mortem changes and insect larvae on the body indicated that time of death was between 48 and 72 hours before the autopsy. In the autopsy report, the pathologist noted a “superficial abrasion over the left knee” (made before death) and the “dislocation of the 3 rd cervical vertebra and a dislocation at the left tempero-mandibular joint,” or a displaced jaw. There were no other wounds or broken bones. It appeared that Huffman’s killers forced her car over. People found her seat cushion and earrings scattered outside, indicating a possible struggle. Huffman left the car with the keys in the ignition, three-quarters of a tank of gas, and the running lights on. A toy gun was either in the car or in the road near the seat cushion and then placed in the car when Huffman’s half-brother moved the car off the road. Two different witnesses who saw Huffman driving home that night said she was alone. One passed her and saw her pass his house after he arrived home. He also saw “a two-tone green Chevrolet go northwest on the road at a very high rate of speed” shortly after. As the car reached the edge of town, the driver began blowing the horn steadily, which the witness said continued until the car was out of hearing distance. Within 15 minutes, the car came back through Delta, again traveling at a high speed.
The most plausible theory is that Huffman was driving home that night, and as she passed one of the taverns on her route someone noticed that she was alone. It was likely a crime of convenience, not premeditation. She had no known enemies and seemed to get along with everyone. The man (or men) followed her in his car, but allowed her to get a distance ahead of him. He then began honking his horn and sped up, attempting to get her to stop. Huffman stopped and the man drug her out of the car, leaving the keys in the
ignition and scattering the seat cushion and earrings in the scuffle. As he was trying to get her into his car, the letter-writing witness came upon the scene and was scared off. The man forced Huffman into his car and took off quickly enough to leave skid marks in the gravel. Huffman, trying to escape, opened her door and jumped out of the car, thus making the abrasions on her knees. The fracture of the third cervical vertebrae is result of “classical whiplash motion” from Huffman hitting the street. She was killed upon impact and the man sped off after realizing she was dead. At some point, he had attempted to sexually assault Huffman, possibly when the letter- writer came upon the scene.
There is one piece of evidence that has not yet entered this discussion of the case. A VFW magazine, American Legion, was found in the ditch in close proximity to the body. The magazine was the July issue and had been recently mailed to the address on the magazine, which was 150 miles north, in Saint Louis, MO. When police talked to the subscription holder, he admitted to being in Hiram, near the Bollinger-Wayne county line, over the Fourth of July to visit relatives. He had no reasonable explanation concerning why his magazine was found in the ditch with Huffman’s body. The man drove to the area from Saint Louis with his nephew, who says that his uncle then turned around and left that very day—a fact that leaves Friedrich suspicious. The magazine was “something that could have fallen out of the car if there was a struggle” (Friedrich, 2007, March 12). It was later determined that the nephew had raped someone in Bollinger County and had been placed in jail, casting even more suspicion on the uncle and nephew. However, the uncle was investigated and given a polygraph test, which he passed. Friedrich believes “they [police investigators] should have pounded on that and pounded on that.” The man is now deceased, leaving us wondering—was he the speeding man on the road behind Huffman that night? Was the uncle, or uncle-nephew team, responsible for Huffman’s death? Although the man passed a polygraph, Friedrich thought that the situation should have been more thoroughly investigated. While he readily agrees that the investigators at the time were “quickly over- whelmed” by the amount of information to be processed, Friedrich (2007, March 12) said that, as a new tool at the time, investigators “shouldn’t have used the polygraph as the sole tool to eliminate suspects; it is only as good as the operator.” Today, a well-done polygraph takes between three and four hours to complete, but some of the polygraphs given to suspects in the case took less than 40 minutes. As a new tool, it was somewhat unpredictable and the basic standards used to garner more accurate results had not yet been established. Another mistake investigators made at the time, Friedrich said, was to dismiss the case as just a disgruntled girlfriend who had run away. Huffman’s car was not processed for several days, before which her family was allowed to drive it home and let it sit for days in a dusty barn. Friedrich (2007, March 12) mentioned that, because the running lights were left on and the driver was missing, the investigators “should have taken greater care and processed the car.” A lack of manpower contributed to these and other such mistakes.

If the Huffman case had happened today instead of in 1954, Friedrich (2007, March 12) “would like to think we would have solved it.” Southeast Missouri has created a Major Case Squad that can be called in on special cases, contributing a vast amount of manpower and expertise to the specific case. Medical examiners now have better resources, and forensic knowledge has increased tremendously in the last 50 years. Additionally, all evidence is now run through the centralized database of the Highway Patrol, enabling crosschecking and cross-referencing between cases. The lack of preserved evidence and lack of a case file, however, continue to plague the Huffman case. Unless the missing glasses, necklace, watch, or purse are found, it seems unlikely that our improved methods will crack this case.

While he has gotten to know the family and would like to provide closure for them and the entire community, Friedrich (2007, March 12) said that the “chance he’s [the killer] still alive is slim to none.” Huffman’s killer was unlikely to be much younger than Huffman herself, meaning at the youngest he would be in his seventies. At this point, Friedrich’s hope is that the killer, if alive, will come forward, or that someone with information on the case, such as the letter-writing witness, will offer more information that could lead to answering who killed Bonnie Huffman?

References

Clues fade as hunt goes on for slayer of school teacher. [sic] (1954, July 10). The Southeast Missourian, pp. 1, 8. Lovinggood, T. A. (1954). Autopsy report: Miss Bonnie Huffman. Huffman Official Case File. Missing teacher found. (1954, July 6). The Southeast Missourian, pp. 1, 14. More cleared in slaying case. (1956, April 2). The Southeast Missourian, p. 1. No new clues at inquest into mystery killing. [sic] (1954, July 13). The Southeast Missourian, pp. 1, 4. Press hunt for killer in death of teacher. (1954, July 7). The Southeast Missourian, pp. 1, 12. Redeffer, L. (2004, July 6). Letter may be from witness to 1954 murder. The Southeast Missourian. Retrieved February 20, 2007, from http://www.semissourian.com/story/141049.html Remsberg, C. (1964, Summer). Schoolteacher murdered after the movies. Unsolved Murders, 30–37. Reward fund in slaying probe mounts to $275. (1954, July 9). The Southeast Missourian, p. 1. Reward grows in hunt for slayer. (1954, July 12). The Southeast Missourian, p. 1. Spur search for mystery killer. (1954, July 8). The Southeast Missourian, p. 1, 12. Why was body of slain teacher left by killer on public road? (1954, July 7). The Southeast Missourian, p. 1. $1340 reported in reward fund. (1954, July 14) The Southeast Missourian, p. 1.

New Annonymous Memorial Cross for Bonnie Huffman

2009-09-14T14:31:00.002-05:00

The following was published in The Southeast Missourian, June 29, 2008. I republish it here, in hopes that it may find a new audience and jog someone's memory. The Huffman family, especially Bonnie's niece, Wanda Ross, deserve to know who murdered their loved one all those years ago. A discussion forum concerning the article can be found here.

Memorial cross appears at site of '54 Huffman killing

Memories of Bonnie Huffman, a Bollinger County woman found dead July 3, 1954, are still strong, though her case remains unsolved. Last week, someone anonymously left a cross at the scene where her body was found along Route N near Delta across from the Baptist church, continuing hope that information to solve the case is still available.

Huffman's niece, Wanda Ross, was 6 years old when her aunt was killed. She said the cross wasn't left by a family member but must have been put there by someone who knew specifics of the scene where her aunt's life ended.

Ross said the handmade cross was new but identical to one left at the scene 53 years ago. She said the new cross caught her family by surprise.

"My husband and I drove through there on Monday evening, and it wasn't there," she said. "Then when he drove through Wednesday it was there."

Huffman's friends and family have held several benefits to raise money for a reward for information leading to an arrest, conviction or resolution to her case. Ross said each benefit has resulted in a new lead.

"We had a candlelight vigil at the 50-year anniversary of her death," Ross said. "Then the sheriff's department got an anonymous letter."

The letter was sent anonymously to the Cape Girardeau Police Department, which forwarded it to the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department. In the letter, the writer described a frightening encounter with two men the night Huffman disappeared on the same stretch of the highway where her body was found.

Last year's vigil in June was followed by another anonymous letter in the fall.

Last month, another benefit was held with a dance and silent auction to raise more funds for the reward.

"This time we got a cross," Ross said.

Although the cross was placed at the scene after the benefit, Ross doesn't think the same person who wrote the letters left the cross.

She said it was a kind thing to do, and the family would like the opportunity to thank whoever left it.

Ross also said she's unsure how long family and friends will continue to raise money for the reward fund.

"If there's no closure to this, we're going to make sure some kind of memorial is made for her later," she said. "But I feel in my heart that there's still someone out there who knows something about what happened to her -- and if someone saw something like that, I know they wouldn't forget it even in all this time."

According to Lt. David James of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department, last week's mysterious cross "does give us hope that someone has the information we need. What I don't understand is the hesitancy this person has to come forward. I can assure them complete anonymity. And even if they think they don't know enough to solve the case, they may have knowledge that is exactly what we need."

James asks that anyone with information call the department at 243-3551.

Bonnie Huffman's Cold Case Murder-2008 Update

2009-09-14T13:30:00.009-05:00

Bonnie Huffman, murdered near Delta, Missouri in 1954

Tips on unsolved '54 murder still come in

Sunday, June 29, 2008
By Bridget DiCosmo Southeast Missourian

For 15 years, what's left of the Bonnie Huffman homicide case file has sat in a cardboard box underneath Sgt. Eric Friedrich's desk in the criminal investigations office at the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department.

Old, dog-eared police memoranda and dozens of yellowed polygraph transcripts are the only remaining keys to the unsolved murder.

Every few months, someone will call Friedrich offering information they claim could unravel the 54-year-old mystery of the young schoolteacher found curled up with her neck broken near an open culvert along Route N just north of Delta.

The ditch along Route N where Bonnie Huffman's body was found July 5, 1954. Photo from the files of The Southeast Missourian.

Thursday marks the anniversary of the day Huffman's little 1938 Ford was found parked in the middle of Route N, six miles from her home, just two miles from the overgrown ditch where a strong odor alerted an Allenville couple to the site of her body about 60 hours later.

Since then, numerous suspects have been interviewed and many have died, yet authorities are no less mystified by the case, nor any closer to shedding light on what Huffman went through between the hours she left her home to see a movie with friends July 2, 1954, and the discovery of her body in the weeds.

Most recently, a Texas woman contacted Friedrich, saying she'd become aware that one of her late relatives, before his death in 1998, had confessed to the rape and murder of a woman near Delta, but like every other tip, proving it true seems nearly impossible.

Every time the case resurfaces in the media, the cycle repeats itself: A few tips will roll in, and Friedrich will drag out the box of aging documents and drop everything to run down the new lead.

But so far, nothing has panned out.

"We try to keep it in the news because you never know when that one's going to count," Wanda Ross, Huffman's niece, said Friday.

Like Friedrich, Ross knows the frustration of receiving vague tips from callers who won't identify themselves.

They usually say they know who did it but can't tell her, she said.

Ross has even tried listing her number in the newspaper, letting tipsters know they can call her if they aren't comfortable talking to police.

"None of the tips seem to hold any water," she said.

Still, when a "good, hot lead" does cross his desk, Friedrich says he'll chase it as far as it can go, but it does tend to get frustrating.

He still believes that a 2004 letter sent from Florida contained such detailed description that it had to have come from someone who had been at the scene of the killing that night.

The writer recalled driving back from a dance that evening and seeing a car stopped at the curve of Route N about a half-mile from Delta.

"Back then, people would stop to help someone. I did," the person wrote.

When the writer pulled over, two men began hollering for that person to get out, and one tried to grab the driver and pull them out of the car, the letter said.

"Why I tried to help I will never know, because without the help from God I would have been killed," the person wrote.

While the men struggled to get into the car, the person managed to get the clutch in and shift, only to have the two assailants rush to their car and try to block the road.

The letter included a roughly drawn but accurate map of the area near where Huffman's body was found. Friedrich noted that it had been mailed to 40 S. Sprigg St., the address of the Cape Girardeau Police Department, where Huffman's body was taken after its discovery.

Most of what was it the letter was "right on the money," Friederich said, including the fact that there had been a dance nearby in Ancell that night.

Now, four years after the letter worked its way to Cape Girardeau, the section of the sheriff's department Web site dedicated to the county's unsolved homicides reads "unknown from Florida, we received letter. Thank You. Please Call," with the promise of anonymity.

Just about every year, Friedrich has resubmitted a latent fingerprint found on Huffman's car to AFIS, the national database containing prints of convicted felons, but so far, like everything else in the case, no hits have been returned.

Bonnie's disappearance

Temperatures soared past 100 degrees the week Huffman vanished as a blistering heat wave blanketed Cape Girardeau.

Huffman left her mother's home in Bollinger County around 3 p.m. July 2, 1954, to see a movie in Cape Girardeau with Mary Lou and Cramer Bess, friends of hers who had recently gotten married.

The willowy brunette was 20 years old. She had just finished teaching her third term at Buckeye School near Old Appleton and was preparing to start an office job at the Missouri Utilities Co.

She and Mary Lou Bess had become close friends when Huffman taught Bess' younger brother in school, Bess said.

Douglas Hiett, Huffman's boyfriend of four years, had just returned from military service in Korea.

Though the couple was not officially engaged, Huffman had thought they would marry, but Hiett canceled their plans together that evening, and told her he wanted to break things off.

Huffman was upset and talked about Hiett a lot that evening, Bess recalled.

After the movie at the Broadway Theater, they'd gone to Wimpy's drive in to get a bite to eat, and stopped at Cape Rock to watch the barges float by for a while.

Then Huffman asked if they could drive past one of the taverns, near the bridge, presumably to see if Hiett's car was outside, Bess said.

"It used to be kind of a rough joint," Bess said.

Her husband would not let them go inside the bar, and they dropped Huffman off at her car, which she'd just gotten overhauled, Bess said.

"That was the last time I saw Bonnie alive," Bess said.

Huffman planned on spending the time in Cape Girardeau with her cousins, but they weren't at home, so she began the trek back home.

Around midnight, two people spotted her car rattling along Highway 25 at about 30 miles per hour. An hour and a half later, a driver saw Huffman's vehicle parked in the middle of Route N, and Huffman was nowhere in sight.

Bobby Thiele, her half-brother, and a friend were walking into Delta the following morning and saw Huffman's car.

At first, Thiele assumed the old beast had clunked out on her. But the keys were still in the ignition.

Thiele moved the car to a safer spot at the edge of the road, and as he did so, found a Gene Autry cap gun on the pavement near the car.

Authorities later theorized that the toy gun may have been used to threaten Huffman into getting into a strange vehicle.

Chief Percy Little examined a toy gun that might have been used to stop Bonnie Huffman's car the night that she was murdered in July 1954. Photo from the files of The Southeast Missourian.

In 1975, highway patrol documents showed that most of the physical evidence in the case, including Huffman's clothing and the toy pistol, were destroyed, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported four years ago.

The location of Huffman's vehicle was strange enough that investigators, acting on the missing persons report filed by Huffman's mother, suspected foul play but didn't become certain until the body was recovered the night of July 5, 1954.

Only Huffman's Delta High School ring, inscribed with 1950, the year she'd graduated valedictorian of her class, and her initials, B.L.H., let authorities know that was the woman they'd been searching for.

The sweltering heat had badly decomposed the body. Though sexual assault was suspected, the autopsy results were inconclusive because of the decomposition.

Huffman's checkered shirt was torn, and her underwear, purse, white beaded necklace, watch and shell-rimmed glasses were missing.

The serial number of the watch is known and could provide a link to Huffman's killer if it were ever located, even after so much time has passed, Friedrich said.

Her neck had been broken at the third cervical vertebra, and her jaw had been dislocated.

Hundreds of tips poured in to investigators. Two grand juries examined the evidence in the case, and police conducted dozens of polygraph tests.

Percy Little, former Cape Girardeau police chief, who then investigated the case for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, called the case the most baffling he'd ever faced.

False confession

In 1956, Scott County authorities thought they'd solved the case when they obtained a partial confession from a Chaffee man who claimed to have known Huffman for several years.

"Bonnie was a fine good-looking girl, and I always wanted to go out with her, but I was afraid because she wasn't in my class," the man said in a statement taken by the Scott County Sheriff's Department.

The man claimed to have seen Huffman's car that night on Route N and bumped it several times from behind with his own vehicle, trying to scare her.

He finally forced her to pull over and made her get in his car, the statement said.

He began driving toward town because he wanted people to see them dancing together at the dance hall, but Huffman got scared and leapt from the moving vehicle.

After an hour of searching for her, he said he gave up and went home.

Scott County investigators issued an arrest warrant for first-degree murder for the man based on his statement, but after talking to the suspect, the highway patrol investigators handling the case dismissed the charges.

Police reports said he was of "such mentality that he would respond to a suggestion" and that the confession was "made entirely in response to suggestions rather than being volunteered on his own."

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said the warrant would not have been valid anyway because an element of the crime would have had to occur in Scott County for them to make an arrest.

A second witness corroborated the man's statement, saying he drove Route N that night and saw the man intentionally bump Huffman's car, but that man was deemed mentally unsound after also describing seeing a submarine rise out of the river, according to police reports.

The arrest, though later unfounded, was the only one made in the 54-year-old homicide.

"If the opportunity ever comes along, we'll get it done," Friedrich said of the case, and wishes he could devote more time to it.

Swingle said the case has always been of interest to him because his father, the late Morley G. Swingle, was one of the original highway patrol investigators.

"I'd love it if it would get solved, but time is critical," Swingle said.

As more potential witnesses and suspects die with the passage of time, chances of solving the case may slip further away, Swingle said.

Ross said she knows there's a strong chance Huffman's killer may be dead but that deep down she doesn't believe that's true.

One year after Bonnie Huffman's body was found, a cross was anonymously placed at the location. Photo from the files of The Southeast Missourian.

Eighth Graders Take On Bonnie Huffman Murder Cold Case

2009-09-14T13:16:00.006-05:00

The following was published in The Daily Dunklin Democrat, May 22, 2007. I republish it here, in hopes that it may find a new audience and jog someone's memory. The Huffman family, especially Bonnie's niece, Wanda Ross, deserve to know who murdered their loved one all those years ago. A discussion forum concerning the article can be found here.

Inquisitive Gideon students investigate cold murder case

Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Deanna Coronado
A group of inquisitive eighth grade students in Denise Yount's classroom at Gideon have been working on a classroom project investigating the 1954 Missouri cold case murder of school teacher Bonnie Loretta Huffman, talking to family members of the victim and making some of their own interesting and controversial discoveries along the way.

On July 5, 1954, 59 hours after her automobile was found abandoned in the middle of the highway not far from her home, a farm on the outskirts of Delta, Mo., where she lived with her parents Mr. And Mrs. Millard Thiele, police located the badly decomposed body of 20-year-old Huffman in a ditch on Route N, about one half mile northwest of Delta.

According to the newspaper reports detailing the nearly 53-year-old murder mystery, an autopsy performed on Huffman's body concluded that the nearly six foot tall brown haired, brown eyed Huffman sustained a fractured neck at the third cervical and that her left jaw was broken.

The autopsy also revealed that her knees were skinned and badly bruised and although the evidence could not prove that she had been criminally assaulted physically, the pathologist entered into his report that it was a probability.

The clothing and accessories that she had been wearing were reported as being missing from the location in which her body was found and were also not located in her car. The Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case, spending much of its efforts polygraphing suspects with inconclusive results. No one was ever charged in the murder.

The murder of the valedictorian of her graduating class in 1950, Bonnie Huffman would remain one of the, if not the single oldest cold case murder cases in Missouri's history.

According to Yount's students, the investigation into the murder they launched as a class project turned out to be one of the most interesting assignments they have taken on.

"This was a really neat project," said Brittany Campbell, a student who participated. "We really got excited about it because we actually got to talk to someone who was connected to the victim and knew a lot about the case."

The person Campbell was referring to is Huffman's niece, Wanda Ross of Allenville, Mo.. Ross was only 6 years old when her aunt was murdered.

The fact that people remember and new kids learn about the mystery encourages Ross, providing her with hope that her family that someone out there who knows what happened may yet come forward.

Ross visited with the students at Gideon and with KFVS channel 12 Heartland News to discuss the case and talk about what is still being done to find out more and determine who is responsible.

"We talked about a lot of details into the case and different theories that we and others have came up with. There is a lot of things about the case that just doesn't add up," said eighth grader Slayton Moody.

Moody and his classmates said that they also talked with Ross about a reward fund that has been created to help continue investigation efforts and solve the Bonnie Huffman Case.

According to the eighth-grade investigators, Ross said a bank account was established to build a reward fund for information leading to either an arrest of her killers or closure of the case.

"She hopes the publicity of the fund will jog someone's memory or tug at their conscience to do the right thing and call police," their teacher Denise Yount said.

Moody and others said that the project surrounding the murder mystery was so interesting mostly because it happened in Missouri and that Huffman was a teacher.

"The real-life aspect of it all made it so much more interesting than something we could just read in a book," another student, Dylan Cornett, added.

The students in Yount's class dug deep into the past uncovering newspaper articles, letters sent in from anonymous authors who claimed to witness the murder, and Internet articles following the case, providing a written look inside the murder and into the life of Huffman.

"Everything we have ran across in researching this case has only made us want to know more," eighth grader Tamara Shafer said of the experience. "From the beginning, when Mrs. Yount first told us about this story, we were all ready to get in their and investigate it for ourselves."

The students are even taking their efforts a step further by writing to humanitarians any anyone that they think could help. Students were in the talks to write letters to famously charitable people such as Oprah and Bill Gates.

"We just want to see if people who are in a position to help would be interested in helping with this case," Moody said. "I am thinking about writing Bill Gates a letter."

Gideon Principal Keenan Buchanan said that he supported his students' investigative research efforts and that he was happy to see all of the students so involved with the project.

"This is something that has certainly caught their attention and interests," Buchanan said. "I am glad to see them all learning through this project. Mrs. Yount and Mrs. Rudeseal have done an excellent job with these kids and keeping them involved."

Yount and fellow faculty member Sande Rudeseal have helped the students at Gideon gather a multitude of resources to be utilized in their investigation. Many of the students used the resources to also help them write a final thesis on the real-life murder mystery and tell what they thought about the case including their theories into the who, what, where, when and why's surrounding the case.

Family members and friends marked the 50th anniversary of the killing with a candlelight vigil and memorial service at the cemetery where Huffman is buried in 2004.

Today, they and others like the students at Gideon, still remember Huffman and continue to hope for more answers.

Anyone wishing to donate to the Bonnie Huffman Reward Fund can do so by mailing a check to the Bank of Advance at P.O. Box 400, Advance, Mo., 63730. Checks should made out to the Bonnie Huffman Reward Fund.

1954 Bonnie Huffman Unsolved Murder

2009-09-14T03:07:00.002-05:00

The following information is found on Cape Girardeau, Missouri Sherriff's Department web site. If you have any information about this case please contact Sgt. Friedrich at 573-204-2915.

Bonnie Huffman was a school teacher in Delta, Missouri and was found dead in a drainage ditch on Missouri Route N just outside of Delta, Missouri on July 05, 1954.

Letter may be from witness to 1954 murder

By: Linda Redeffer ~ Southeast Missourian (Reprint)

Fifty years ago on July 3, Delta schoolteacher Bonnie Huffman went to the movies in Cape Girardeau with some friends, then left them after midnight to drive home in her 1938 Ford.

She never made it.

Her car was found in the middle of Route N, keys in the ignition, half a mile from Delta, 6 miles from the home she shared with her mother and brother. On July 5, 1954, her body was found in a culvert about two miles from where her car was found. She had died of a broken neck. She was 20.

Huffman's murder remains unsolved. Like all unsolved murders, the case remains open because there is no statute of limitations.

Recently investigators came perhaps a little closer to solving the mystery.

Shortly after KFVS12 ran a recent segment on how investigative advances could have helped the Huffman case, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department received an anonymous letter that Sgt. Eric Friedrich believes may be from a credible witness.

"It had some information that I would think only a person who might have been in that area at that time would have," Friedrich said.

The letter is handwritten, has no signature and no return address other than Cape Girardeau, where it was postmarked.

Part of it reads: "I was driving back from a dance either Sat or Sunday night about 1 AM turned on Route N and a car stooped at the curve about 1/2 mile from Delta. Back then people would stop to help someone. I did.

"When I stopped 2 men came in a hurry and hollering what the hell are you doing, get the Hell etc. out, then I saw some one in the Ditch hollering. Why I tried to help I will never know because without the help from God I would of been killed. Because one of the men grabbed me and tried pulled me out of my car. I got my foot against the car-body, and my hand on the steering, my other hand was on the door handle, the other fellow was trying to get in the other door luck is that the door was locked.

"How I ever got the clutch in and shifted I will never know."

Fear of retaliation by Huffman's killers kept the writer from coming forward earlier, the letter said.

Friedrich said much in the letter matches other information he already has. He thinks this person may know more and hopes the writer will come talk to him in confidence.

In 1964, investigators tried to reach witnesses by releasing details of Huffman's murder to True Detective magazine, which published a story about the case.

Yet who killed Bonnie Huffman and why remains unknown.

'No place for us'

What is known is that the day before her murder, Huffman's boyfriend, Doug Hiett, had broken up with her. Huffman called her friend, Mary Lou Bess, suggesting they go to the movies.

"She was very upset," recalled Bess, who now lives in Perryville, Mo. "I had never seen Bonnie quite that upset before."

The two women and Bess' husband went to the Broadway Theater in Cape Girardeau. After that, Huffman said she wanted to drive by a certain tavern by the bridge because, according to accounts of that time, she thought it would be fun to watch the people going in and out. Some speculated she was looking for Hiett. Bess said that if that's what Huffman had on her mind, she didn't say it, but she thought it was unusual that her friend would want to go to that area.

"It was no place for us," Bess said. "I certainly would never get out or be seen in a joint like that."

Huffman also did not drive home on her usual route, accounts indicated. Investigators at that time speculated that she took a different route to pass by other taverns where she suspected Hiett might have gone. Hiett was among dozens of men questioned as a suspect at that time. He later was reported saying he regretted breaking up with Huffman and realized too late that he loved her.

"He has the feeling that if he had not broken up with her, none of this would have happened," Friedrich said. "He has a little bit of guilt."

Hiett is still alive but declined to be interviewed.

Sometime around 12:30 a.m. that night someone got Huffman to stop her car. A toy gun found at the scene led investigators to believe someone wielding it made her think it was real. She was apparently forced from her car and taken to another location and killed by a sharp blow that snapped her neck.

A police search turned up nothing, but a passing couple found Huffman's body in a ditch two days after she disappeared.

Because her underpants were missing, police think she may have been sexually assaulted; however, the body was too decomposed when it was found to be certain.

Suspects were questioned and polygraphed. Reward money offered eventually was returned to the donors. It yielded no results.

With a case half a century old, witnesses are becoming scarce. Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor Morley Swingle said it's possible Huffman's killer is still alive. People who commit murders are generally between 15 and 25, he said, leaving open the possibility that her killer is 75 at the most. Then there's the matter of 50 years of a guilty conscience.

"It's not unusual for someone who has done such a terrible thing, if he's getting closer to Judgment Day, to start feeling more and more guilty about it," Swingle said.

Looking for closure

Swingle, who has not yet seen the anonymous letter, said he has special reasons for wanting to prosecute Bonnie Huffman's killer. His late father was one of the Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers who worked on the investigation the year before Swingle was born. Swingle has read the entire file in the sheriff's department.

"It would be nice closure for me if I could have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of prosecuting a case my father helped investigate," he said.

Huffman's family wants closure, too. Wanda Ross of Chaffee, Mo., Huffman's niece, is planning a candlelight vigil Saturday at Huffman's grave in Bollinger County Memorial Cemetery. She hopes someone will come who can answer a lifetime of questions.

Ross has grown up listening to rumors about who might have killed Huffman. After reading the anonymous letter, Ross said it firms up her belief that at least two men were involved.

Swingle said DNA evidence, unheard of then, could solve the crime now. He and Friedrich both said they have heard of killers who kept souvenirs from their victims. Such souvenirs could yield DNA evidence. No one has been able to find Huffman's watch, jewelry, purse, glasses and underpants. Someone somewhere might have something with Huffman's DNA on it, Swingle said. If that is the case, Ross said, the family would not hesitate to have Huffman's body exhumed for DNA testing.

Swingle said he wants the killer to know that the death penalty will not apply. It was in effect in 1954, he said, but its constitutionality was then under question. The most he can, and will, go for is life in prison.

After 50 years, the case remains a classic murder mystery.

"It's like picking up a book and reading halfway through," Friedrich said, "and the conclusion is missing."

Looney Vagrants in Cape Girardeau County

2009-09-14T02:58:00.000-05:00

The following was published in a Macon, Georgia newspaper, January 16, 1884.

Auction of Vagrants

The negro is free in Missouri; but white slavery still exists in that commonwealth. A few days since there was posted on the courthouse at Jackson in Cape Girardeau county, this notice:

"Public Hire of Vagrants--Notice is hereby given that I, the constable of this county, will on January 12, hire out to the highest bidder, cash in hand, at the court house door in Jackson, the following vagrants for a term of six months: Tabitha Looney, aged forty-five; Barbara C. Looney aged eighteen, and Fanny Looney, aged twenty.
(Signed) "Henry D. Loomis, Constable."

The local paper says of the sale that followed: "The above notice drew quite a crowd to the court house steps in Jackson to-day. The vagrants were brought to the front one by one and their services auctioned off. The crowd and the manner of the auctioneers savored of the days of slavery, but the bidding was not as brisk as it used to be in those times. The oldest vagrant's services were not in much demand, and were taken for $12. Barbara brought $18, and Fanny $24."

Zalma, Missouri 1917 Killer Twister

2009-09-14T02:44:00.000-05:00

My mother and her three sisters hail from Zalma, Missouri. Zalma lies on the banks of the Castor River. Until recently, Main Street was dirt. Through tornadoes and floods the town troops on, a testimony to the pioneer spirit that still runs through the resident's veins. My grandfather Cletus O. Cato was two years of age when this tornado ripped through town.

Loss of Life From Tornado Placed at 79. Death Toll in the Missouri Storm Continues to Increase

St. Louis, Mo., May 21.--Seventy-eight persons were killed in the tornado that swept through several counties in southeast Missouri and southern Illinois Wednesday, according to dispatches received from various sources tonight. Hundreds were injured and property loss was enormous. Wires are down in the storm swept districts and communication virtually is impossible.

The greatest loss of life was at Zalma, a village in Bollinger county, Mo., where it was reported by the Globe-Democrat correspondent at Marble Hill that twenty-five lives were lost and 200 were injured. This report was taken to Marble Hill by Dr. Farrar, who said he was certain his estimate of the dead was conservative.

Fourteen persons were reported killed near Chaonia, in Wayne county, three at Ardeola, three at Aquilla, two at Salem, one at Lenox, four at Dongola, one at Advance, one at Bismarck, and several of those hurt at Mineral Point died, the total dead there now being placed at nine. Four negroes were killed in southern Illinois. The storm in Missouri was most severe in Bollinger, Scott, Wayne and Washington counties.

Started at Salem

The tornado evidently came into existence near Salem, Mo., early Wednesday afternoon.

There was no loss of life until the storm reached Mineral Point, in Washington county, where four were killed and twenty-six injured.

Relief has been sent to stricken points from St. Louis

A woman was reported dead at Dongola, and a boy was killed at Advance. Diehlstadt reported two deaths. A telegram from Cairo, Ill., stated that four negroes were killed in a storm that struck the southern part of Illinois last night.

Ha Ha Tonka's Double Murder

2009-09-14T02:38:00.000-05:00

The following was published in a Kansas City, Missouri newspaper, February 28, 1899.

To Prison for Double Murder. Brockaway Killed His Wife's Mother and Sister in Camden County, Mo.

Linn Creek, Mo., --John Brockaway, aged 26 years, who murdered his wife's mother and sister near Hahatonka April 22, 1898, was found guilty by a jury of Camden county and his punishment fixed at ninety-one years in the penitentiary. Insanity was his plea.

Brockaway married Ella Vinson one Sunday last April and the following Friday shot and killed his mother-in-law and sister-in-law. His case was continued several times on account of the excitement of the people here. A lynching was narrowly averted.

123 Year Old Man, Formerly of Vienna, Missouri

2009-09-14T02:31:00.000-05:00

The following was published in a Columbia, South Carolina newspaper, January 11, 1894.

Cole county, Mo., can boast of the oldest man in the State of Missouri, and perhaps in the United States. His name is Richard Hoops, and he is a negro. He lives in a small shanty on the banks of the Osage river, at Osage City. According to the records of his own statements he was born in Chatham county, N.C. on December 20th 1770, and consequently, was 123 years old on the 20th of last month. He came to Missouri with his then master John P. Haydon, settling at Lane's Prairie, Gasconade county. A few years later he was transferred to the man whose name he now bears, and lived with him near Vienna, Maries county, until the emancipation of the slaves.

Since that time he has lived at Westphalia, but for the past twenty-five years he has made his home at Osage City. Hoops is remarkably well preserved, and lives alone in his shanty. He fishes a great deal for the big catfish that frequent the waters of the Osage, and is never happier than when he can catch a big one and make soup of its head. He is still able to do some work, and it was only a few years since that he contracted with a farmer in the vicinity of his home to remove the stumps and roots of a newly cleared tract of land. He fulfilled his contract, doing all the work himself. His mind is still clear on many of the events that happened towards the close of the last century, and he recalls with great pride that he once held the horse of Gen. Greene of revolutionary fame.

In appearance Hoops is said to resemble a mummy; his skin looks like parchment, and he is toothless and hairless, but his step is remarkably firm and his eye bright and clear. As stated, he lives alone, having no relatives as far as known. He is a member and regular attendant of the A. M. E. Church. His neighbors take a great interest in him, and do him many acts of kindness, as they would supply his simple wants gladly, but he is independent, and says that he intends to earn his own living for many years to come. His house stands under the approach to the Missouri Pacific railroad bridge across the Osage, and, except when absent on his fishing trips, "Uncle Hoops," as he is called, can be found at home. He has the record of his birth, and there is but little doubt that he is the oldest person in the country

Rooms to Let, Fifty Cents

2009-09-14T02:26:00.000-05:00

The following appeared in an Aberdeen, South Dakota, newspaper, January 14, 1891.

Jefferson City, Mo., Jan. 13--A double murder occurred at Tuscumbia, Miller county, Missouri. Mrs. Freeman, proprietress of the Tuscumbia hotel; became enraged in a quarrel with a photographer named Fulkerson. She seized a shot-gun and fired at Fulkerson, the charge striking him in the chest, but not producing instant death. Fulkerson snatched the gun from the woman's hands and shot her in the head killing her instantly. Soon after he himself expired from the effect of his wound.

John Wilson's Whiskey

2009-09-14T02:22:00.000-05:00

The following appeared in a Kansas City, Missouri newspaper, June 30, 1892.

The New York Sun publishes a story which appeared several years ago in the Jefferson City Tribune to the effect that, in 1822 John Wilson went from Ireland to Missouri and took up his abode in Miller county of this state where he lived in a large cave; and that on his death he was buried in a smaller cave close by, with a demijohn of the best liquor to be had, where he still reposes.

The story as now told in the hills and hollows of the Osage river country in the above, "with variations." The local annalist relates that Wilson was a remarkably tough citizen, who traded with the Indians, and was known to everybody, white and red, throughout a wide and wild region. He entertained all travelers who passed through the country, making it a point, however, never to ask a man his name, where he was going or whence he came. When Wilson was about to die, so the story goes, he directed that his abdominal cavity should (after his death, of course) be filled with salt--that being his idea of embalming; that his body should be placed in the little cave, with two jugs of whisky, one at his head and the other at his feet; and that the cave should then be sealed up with masonry. He further directed that at the expiration of a certain number of years the seplucher was to be opened by certain jolly good fellows and the jugs removed and the contents thereof drank and then the jugs, after being refilled, should be placed in the former positions; then the cave was to be sealed up again, and to so remain till the expiration of the second term of years. The story ran that these provisions were complied with at the expiration of the first period, but the arrival of the second anniversary found the Osage country all torn up by the civil war, and the pall bearers, mourners and friends of the late lamented so scattered that a reunion was impossible; so that, since then, the salted remains of the old pioneer have remained with the attendant jugs in the narrow resting place in the wild hills of the Osage.

To settle the truth of history in regard to old Wilson and his queer funeral an expedition might well be set on foot. If Wilson and his whisky should not be discovered, the explorers would still be repaid by the scenery of the most picturesque region in the state of Missouri.

A Miller County Bushwhacker Tale

2009-09-14T02:17:00.000-05:00

The following appeared in a Columbus, Georgia newspaper, March 7, 1866.

Bushwhackers are very troublesome in upper Missouri. A few days ago the house of Mrs. Berry in Miller county, occupied by herself, two sons and a widowed daughter, was entered by two of these miscreants, who, after a few moments of friendly conversation, began firing on the party with their revolvers. Instantly killing the daughter and one of the sons. The other son and Mrs. Berry fled from the house and although fired at repeatedly, they contrived to escape unharmed. The fiends then set fire to the house, which burned to the ground, consuming the dead bodies within it.

The 1907 Houston Hatchet Murder

2009-09-14T02:08:00.000-05:00

The following was published in a Kansas City, Missouri newspaper, May 7, 1907.

A Son Accused of Murder

Aurora, Mo., May 7--John Barkoff is on trial in Texas county, Missouri, on a charge of murdering his father, and the case is attracting much attention in the southern part of the state. The crime was a brutal one and aroused much indignation.

George Barkoff, who was 70 years old, was found dead January 17 in his store in the little town of Huston. He had considerable property, including the store. He lived with his son, who is married. The two are known to have quarreled repeatedly, but so far as is known they always adjusted their differences amiably. It is not known that they had quarreled just previous to the death of the father.

The elder Barkoff was found dead in his store one morning. His head had been crushed with a hatchet and his throat cut. Apparently the store had been pillaged. Suspicion at once centered on the son, due in part to the fact that he declared his father had committed suicide. Physicians declared that this would have been an impossibility and the hatchet and the knife or razor with which the old man's throat was cut were not found. In spite of these things the son insists on the suicide theory.

The Siamese Twins of Texas County

2009-09-14T02:05:00.000-05:00

The following was published in a Columbus, Ohio newspaper, March 3, 1849.

The Missouri Twins

These wonderful children are now being exhibited in St. Louis. They are the children of Mr. Benj. Ross, Texas county, Missouri, and were born on the 16th of December 1847. They are connected from the breast bone and abdomen, measure 20 inches in height, and weigh 20 pounds. Their connection is such that they stand face to face, heads coated over with fine black hair, and in all other respects perfect in form and features.--Missouri Statesman.

The Unfortunate Lot of Gertie Trost

2009-09-14T01:08:00.000-05:00

The following account appeared in a newspaper in Olympia, Washington, April 14, 1904.

A Baby Bride Seeks Divorce. Child From Ozark Mountains in Missouri Tells Shocking Story in Iowa Court--Her Husband an Iowan Aged 60 Years.

Washington, Iowa, April 14.--Clad in dresses scarcely clearing her knees, and with her dark brown hair falling in long curls over her shoulders, Gertie Trost, 11 years old, today filed a petition before Judge Scott for the annulment of her marriage with John Leeper, 60 years old, a resident of Brighton, Iowa, whom, she declared, she had been forced to wed when she was 9 years old.

The girl's story is a shocking revelation of the primitive theory of life that is followed by the scarcely civilized dwellers in the wild mountainous districts of Missouri. Two years ago, according to her story, she lived with her mother in one of the most inaccessible regions of the Ozark mountains, near Lebanon, Mo. She was then scarcely 9 years old. It was there she first met Leeper. He made a contract, of the details of which she is ignorant, with her mother. Leeper stayed in their cabin. Then a traveling preacher--Buck was his name, so far as the child could remember--came to the cabin. There was a ceremony, the nature of which she did not understand, and she was told that she was Leeper's wife. More than that, her mother told her, she said, that she was Leeper's slave and must obey him in all things so long as he lived.

Leeper was bent and crippled with age. He had already been married three times, the girl said, and she hated him, but did not disobey. Some months after their marriage Leeper returned to his home in Iowa. The girl put off the long dresses her mother had forced her to wear for the ceremony and was a child again.

About a month ago the old man sent for his child bride, and her mother sent her to him. Since then she has lived with a family near his home in Brighton. She begged the people with whom she lived to keep her from the man whom she detested. When they heard her story they refused to let her live with him. Angered, the old man threatened to send his child wife to a reform school unless she lived with him. Neighbors, indignant at the fate that had been forced upon the little girl, told her story to the authorities. County Attorney Balley refused to believe until he heard the story from the girl's lips. He brought the matter to the attention of Judge Scott, who today ordered the police to bring Leeper before him.

Laclede County's First Woman Sherriff

2009-09-14T00:54:00.000-05:00

The following was published in a Kansas City newspaper, January 27, 1912. I have not researched this further, but at this time, I believe that there is a good chance that Nancy Williams may be Laclede County's ONLY woman sherriff. If anyone knows different, please comment below, or email me at snoopdorkydork71@gmail.com.

A Missouri Woman Sheriff. Until an Election is Held Mrs. Nancy Williams Will Serve in Laclede County

Springfield, Mo., Jan. 27--Mrs. Nancy Hays Williams of Lebanon occupies the unique position of being the only woman sheriff in Missouri. The Laclede County Court held a special meeting today and appointed her to the place until a special election is held to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husbnad, Sheriff W. J. Williams. Sheriff Williams died in a hospital here last week. Mrs. Williams will attend to the duties of sheriff for only a few weeks, however, as the special election will be held February 17. A lengthy petition was sent to the county court asking that Mrs. Williams be named until a successor is elected.

The Ugliest Man in Missouri

2009-09-14T00:12:00.000-05:00

I mean no harm, or disrespect in this posting. I am merely reprinting what was published in a newspaper in Olympia, Washington, April 6, 1894. An early example of tabloid reporting? I bet the headline of then, much like mine today, grabbed readers attention and sold newspapers. I wonder if Scott Swartzlander was what would be considered an Albino?

His Face Was His Fortune. The Ugliest Man in Missouri Gets Out of Trouble in an Unexpected Manner.

On the southern edge of Phelps county lives Scott Swartzlander, who is considered the ugliest man in Missouri, and there are some of his neighbors who will bet his equal cannot be produced from any quarter. Swartzlander, who is thirty years old, says the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, has white hair, eyes like a Chinaman, no eyebrows, a nose of abnormal proportions, which lops over almost to his cheek bone, and is ornamented at the end with a beautiful comic bulb. He is lank and tall, and there are numerous other imperfections that add to this picture of general and particular ugliness. Swartzlander was arrested about a year ago for cutting timber on government lands in Pulaski county, and when his trial came up at Springfield before the United States court the prisoner was promptly arraigned. While the district attorney was reading the judge said, addressing the district attorney: "You may enter nolle prosequl in the prisoner's case. After a careful scrutiny of his physiognomy I am convinced that any man who is compelled to carry that face is punished quite enough for the amount of lumber which he is charged with having unlawfully taken from government lands. You are discharged, Mr. Swartzlander. Go as quickly as you can, and don't forget to take your face with you."

Undoubtedly this decision of the learned and discriminating judge at Springfield, MO., entitles Scott Swartzlander to the undisputed title: The Ugliest Man in Missouri."

Finally! A Bushwhackers Name Is Revealed!

2009-09-13T23:55:00.003-05:00

I have read many accounts of "bushwhackers" and the mayhem that they wreaked during, and after the Civil War. Every time that I come across a mention of them, I make sure to scrutinize it, mainly because my interests in the murderer of Callaway H. Manes, who was shot and killed in cold blood at Conn's Creek, Missouri. The book "The First Hundred Years Of Crocker", makes several references to bushwhackers, and even recounts a female bushwhacker who continued to openly live in Pulaski County, Missouri, after The War Between The States. Unfortunately, the book's author, Nellie (Stites) Willis, does not disclose names of the purported bushwhackers. The following was published in a Boise, Idaho newspaper, October 6, 1866. It is the first time that I have been able to attach a name to a Civil War Guerilla in the Pulaski County and surrounding areas. The search for the name of Reverend Manes' murderer continues.

Bushwackers in Southwest Missouri

--The St. Louis Democrat of Sept. 6th has the following:

"One of the most noted of the bushwhackers in Missouri, Dick Kitchen, appears to be still keeping up the war in Southwest Missouri and Arkansas. On 12th ultimo he conspicuously figured in a bloody tragedy, resulting in the death of a highly esteemed Union citizen. A gentleman from Rolla narrates to us the circumstances substantially as follows:"

"Kitchen has never surrendered, boasts that he has not, and swears that he never will. Since the peace, has been roving through the border districts of Missouri and Arkansas, always very abundantly armed, usually accompanied by a band of desperadoes like himself, and sometimes alone. He and his men are said to have this season raised a crop somewhere in Arkansas, meanwhile continuing their robberies of Union people, and since then entering fresh upon a premedatory life. Numerous outrages upon the rights of property convinced the Unionists that Kitchen and his bandits were still ranging the country, and a short time ago it was learned that he was at a place known as "The Widow Mace's House," just north of the southern boundary of Phelps county, Missouri. This intelligence was brought to a township near to the line of Texas and Dent counties, Missouri, the residence of several ex-Union soldiers and guerrilla hunters. Among the citizens was Rev. John Samples, widely known for his active Unionism in the war, a Methodist Episcopal minister, yet true son of Mars, at present preaching over 'the Salem circuit.' His son, James Samples, volunteered to be one of the party to go after and arrest Kitchen. Four others--George Reed, Randall, and two more whose name our informant cannot recall, went with Samples.

On the afternoon of Sunday, the 25th ultimo, they reached the Widow Mace's, surrounded the house, and one of them called upon Kitchen to surrender. Three were guarding one door, and two--Samples and Reed--the other. Suddenly Kitchen ran out to pass these two and Samples bade him halt or they would fire. He paid no attention to this, and the two then fired with revolvers he at the same instant turning and firing back with one of his revolvers. All the shots failed effect. Samples and Kitchen then came together and the latter fired first, wounding Samples in the groin. He fired as he fell and missed. Reed then fired, and Kitchen ran, unhurt, then turned and fired at Reed without hitting him.

On Sunday Kitchen reappeared at the Lenox Farm, where, during the war, they massacred Andreas Darling. This place is but eight miles from Rolla, and parties who formerly lived there became so obnoxious to the bushwhackers that the latter have repeatedly called, in the hope of finding them returned. But the obnoxious Unionists of Lenox farm are now permanently located in St. Louis, whither they came just in time to escape the fate of Mr. Darling.

Italians Go To Missouri (1898)

2009-09-13T23:50:00.000-05:00

The following was published in a Little Rock, Arkansas newspaper, February 5, 1898.

St. James, MO., February 5., --Ten of the Italians under the management of Tullio Malesani, who have purchased 1,200 acres of land in Dawson Township, Phelps county, for the purpose of forming an Italian colony, have arrived in this city from Sunny Side, Arkansas, and are making extensive preparations to improve their land. They have received a car-load of lumber from St. Louis, and are busily engaged in building houses, etc.

The colony at Sunny Side, which is composed of 900 people, was compelled to look for another location on account of the malaria at that place, and Mr. Malesani has certainly used good judgment in making the selection he did. It is expected that the majority of the colony will come to this place, while some will go to South America, and others will return to Italy. Mr. Malesani is but 24 years of age, and has been in this country only twenty-three months, but he is well posted in regard to the American ways, and handles the language in an excellent manner for one who has been here such a short time.

He reads, writes and speaks five different languages, and is an exceptionally smart young man, and also transacts all business for the colony. At their former home in Arkansas they were well organized, have their own churches, schools, stores, brass band, orchestra, etc., and it is expected that they will do the same thing at this place as quick as arrangements can be made.

One hundred and thirty Italians are expected to arrive as quick as there are buildings enough to accommodate them. Work at this place is being pushed as rapidly as possible, and no time will be lost until everything is completed. The loss of this colony to Sunny Side is greatly regretted by the people of that place, as they were considered good citizens and very industrious people, and used every effort possible to build up the community in which they live. Mr. Malesani is the agricultural engineer.

Smallpox in Missouri Legislature (1907)

2009-09-13T23:45:00.000-05:00

The following was published in a newspaper in San Jose, California, February 23, 1907.

Smallpox in Missouri Legislature--Legislators Are Shunned.

Jefferson City, Mo., Feb 22.--Representative
W. J. Salts, of Phelps county, was taken down with smallpox while in his seat upon the floor of the House today. Much commotion occurred among the other members.

The House this afternoon, after its hall had been fumigated, adjourned until Monday. The Senate voted to work a few hours this afternoon, and then adjourn until Tuesday next.

Many boarding house keepers have refused to allow Legislators to enter their homes, and Governor Folk a short time offered the use of his mansion to those who are unable to obtain quarters elsewhere.

Representatives Salts was in conference with Governor Folk a short time this morning. The Governor said: "I noticed the pimples on Mr. Salts face, but thought nothing of them at the time. Possibly I shall have to get vaccinated now, but I do not feel at all alarmed.

The Governor was vaccinated about three years ago, he said.

Missouri Murderer Suicides to Escape Lynching (1901)

2009-09-13T23:40:00.001-05:00

The following was published in a newspaper in Aberdeen, South Dakota September 26, 1901

Bullet Through His Heart. Missouri Murderer Suicides to Escape Lynching.

Kansas City, Sept. 26.--A special to The Times from Rolla, Mo., says:

Surrounded in a barn, but a few blocks from the scene of his crime, Professor J. S. Croswell, who Monday night murdered his sweetheart, Miss Mollie Powell, a prominent young woman of this city, at 11:15 p.m. sent a bullet through his own heart to prevent being lynched by an angry posse.

Ever since the tragedy at the Powell home Monday evening, Croswell had been hiding from a large posse of citizens and college students that ransacked buildings and searched almost every spot in the city.

Croswell was located in a barn near the center of the town, where he had been hiding probably ever since his flight from the Powell home. When discovered he ran to another barn near by and here the posse bayed him.

Just as the attack was to be made the report of a pistol was heard inside the building and when the pursuers broke in they found the murderer prone upon the floor. A bullet had pierced his heart and death was instantaneous.

Honey, I'm Home!

2009-09-13T23:14:00.000-05:00

This was published in a Fort Worth, Texas newspaper, September 8, 1909. I reprint it here because 100 years later, it is still an interesting story.

24 Years Gone; Returns. Missouri Man Found Wife on Farm Where He Left Her.

Springfield, Mo., Sept. 7.--Twenty-four years ago Jacob J. HILL homesteaded a quarter section of land in Pulaski county but before he proved up on it he disappeared from home. Years elapsed and nothing was heard from HILL. His wife was permitted to prove title to the land, and with her five children she clung to the old hillside farm, barely eking out an existence. Some years ago Mrs. HILL was forced to mortgage a portion of the original tract.

Much to her surprise, her husband put in an appearance a few days ago, and has claimed his farm and his wife, who had not been divorced nor married again. The only explanation HILL offered was that he has been living in Texas all these years. When he returned he claimed ownership of the farm, and, it is stated, declared he would not pay the mortgage put on it by his wife. The story of HILL's disappearance and return after so many years became known when holders of the mortgage executed by Mrs. HILL appeared at the government land office here to ascertain whether or not they can collect their claims on the patent issued to Mrs. HILL

Updates & Corrections For August 2009

2009-09-01T21:27:00.007-05:00

The Irish Cemetery is referenced in the book Tombstone Inscriptions of Pulaski County. It states "Several Irish workers who died while building the railroad are buried near Keeling's Diner on the Spur to Ft. Leonard Wood."
This moves the location further away from the Main Gate, which makes more sense to me. I had wondered how the U.S. Army had not uncovered their remains when they built the gate and then revamped it after September 11, 2001. Of course, Keeling's Diner has been replaced by a gas station, and I do not recall hearing about any bodies being uncovered during the digging for pumps and tanks. Surely that would have been big news in this small town. The description does say, near Keeling's Diner, though, not under the parking lot, so who knows.

I apologize for jumping the gun and commenting that the Pulaski County Historical Society overlooked the Poor Farm in the book mentioned above. I based that off the list of cemeteries included in the Table of Contents and neglected to look in the "Unknown Gravesites and Lone Graves" section. It is included there and I am including it here for posterity:

"The Old County farm Cemetery, near Waynesville is marked by sandstones only."

I have two additions to add to the list of confirmed burials at the County Farm:
BROYLES, CORA BELLE APR 8, 1871-AUG 29, 1951
GATES, ELIAS H. NOV 13, 1866- DEC 24, 1946

Hopefully, if the Historical Society prints an update or a revision to their book, these twenty three names will be included. The book, along with other publications, is available for purchase at the 1903 Pulaski County Missouri Court House Museum. The search for more confirmations of burials at the County Farm Cemetery still continues.

I have been asked about making a database of cemetery info and a compilation of the locations of the places from the past that we have sought out over the summer. Those are both big projects to undertake but I have not thrown those ideas out the window yet. Keep the comments and emails coming, I cave under pressure rather easily!

I have started an online repository of Pulaski County, Missouri obituaries for genealogical research. It can be located at:

http://pulaskicountyobits.blogspot.com

As of September 1, 2009 it includes 210 obituaries. A majority of them are from this summer, but a good portion are from the John J. Watts collection. John J. Watts hailed from Warren, Maine and moved to the northern Ozarks of Missouri sometime after the Civil War. He was a circuit-riding Baptist Minister and his territory covered Phelps, Pulaski, and Texas Counties and parts of Maries and Dent Counties. He established a cemetery, Watt’s Lawn, which is located 1 mile West of J Highway, near the Pulaski County-Phelps County line. This collection covers 1878-1912. I am posting them in blog format, simply because of search functionality. To search by name simply type the name in the box and click "search blog" in the upper left hand corner. If you have a full obituary, other than an abstract, that you would like included, simply email me at snoopdorkydork71@gmail.com.

I have spent a lot of time with the deceased this summer, whether by walking through the cemeteries, searching through death certificates, or reading hundred year old ledgers. I want to take a moment to return to the living and celebrate a special occasion of two of my dear friends. Mike Elmer and Terrie Runion were married August 29, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Terrie is one of my dearest, and oldest friends and I am happy to count Mike as my brother-in-law. I wish you two a long, joyful, and prosperous marriage. Congratulations!

Laura a/k/a Snoop Dorky Dork

The Southern Pulaski County Railroad

2009-08-30T13:15:00.006-05:00

1861 Lloyd's Map showing the proposed original route of what would later be the St. Louis San Francisco Railroad line through Pulaski County, Missouri.

Above is an 1861 Lloyds Map. I am assuming that it is showing the projected railroad through the county as it shows the line being south of Waynesville. Keep in mind that the railroad line was originally planned to go through this part of the county before the Civil War. After the war, the line was re-platted North of Waynesville because of topography. Supposedly this new alignment followed a road that was blazed by the armies during the war. Take note of the town names of Greenville, Colby, Iron Ore, Finley, and Pine Bluff. These places are not on the map anymore.

In Mabel Manes Mottaz’s book, “Lest We Forget”, published in 1960, she states "There is still evidence of some of the fruitless tunneling and grading.". I have came across accounts that an abandoned tunnel is visible a half mile from the main gate of Fort Leonard Wood." Some portions of the work that were completed before 1861 were destroyed by Confederates during The War Between The States.

I have also read that the Irish Laborers worked intensely on the proposed line near Wildwood, or present day main gate of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Legend has it, that the tunnel mentioned by Mrs. Mottaz was dug by Irish laborers. Irish Immigration was high after the Great Potato Famine of 1845-1852. Some of those who had fled disease and starvation in their homeland lived and worked in the railroad construction camps in Pulaski County before the United States Civil War. Unfortunately, cholera and smallpox, made their way through some of these railroad camps. Many succumbed, in a matter of days, and were buried in unmarked graves. It has been reported that some are buried in Dry Creek Cemetery, which is either near the Water Plant by the Gas Station on Fort Leonard Wood, or on the Fred Gray farm, East of St. Robert in Township 36, Range 11, Section 25. The latter physical description is from “Tombstone Inscriptions Throughout Pulaski County”. There is also a written report in “History of Pulaski County, Missouri Volume 1” that mentions an Irish grave site near Devil’s Elbow, Missouri although it does not give an exact location. Yet another report, by an author that I only know as Smith, refers to “the Irish Cemetery, now the gates of Fort Leonard Wood”. That same author also sheds light on this subject with these sentences: “Also by that time Irish and German laborers were working on the railroad bed and digging a tunnel in what is now known as Tunnel Hollow near the north gate of Fort Leonard Wood. Legend has it that many Irish laborers died from disease and were buried in a mass grave near the post gate along modern Route 17.”

Skagg's Bridge, the first bridge across the Gasconade River between Waynesville and Crocker, Missouri. Remnants of this bridge can still be seen two miles downstream from the 1932 Pike's Peak Bridge.

Another side note, a railroad spur from Crocker to Waynesville was proposed during the early 1900's. Some grading was finished before the financing for the deal fell apart. The abandoned railroad bed from this effort was later rehabilitated and converted into New Highway 17, bypassing the Old Waynesville Crocker Road, and Skaggs bridge, by approximately 2 miles west.

The three books that I reference in this article are available at the 1903 Pulaski County Missouri Courthouse Museum.

The Train Wreckers Part VI

2009-08-28T10:16:00.002-05:00

The conclusion of the articles concerning the 1877 case of The Train Wreckers in Pulaski County, Missouri. Most of the records of this case were lost in the fire that destroyed the courthouse in Waynesville in 1903. The beginning of the story can be found in "The Train Wreckers Part I." and continues in “The Train Wreckers Part II”, followed by “The Train Wreckers Part III“ and “The Train Wreckers Part IV“. The last newspaper article can be found in “The Train Wreckers Part V”. The following is quoted from Goodspeeds 1899 History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps, and Dent Counties, and was the first reference that I saw concerning the case. It should be noted that Goodspeeds thought the case was still noteworthy twenty-two years after the fact.

A case of great interest occurred in 1878; it was a case against some Richland men, Gibson, Long, Greenstreet, et al., who were accused of wrecking a passenger train near what is now Swedeborg, in which three men were killed; there were pistol-shots an other evidence to show that the wrecking might have been done for robbery, but there was not sufficient proof of complicity of these men to warrant anything less than acquittal. The public feeling at the time was very strong.

The Train Wreckers Part V

2009-08-26T11:42:00.004-05:00

Part V of the articles concerning the 1877 case of The Train Wreckers in Pulaski County, Missouri. Most of the records of this case were lost in the fire that destroyed the courthouse in Waynesville in 1903. Thankfully newspaper coverage of the events have survived, and I am posting them here so that others can read this colorful tale. The beginning of the story can be found in "The Train Wreckers Part I." and continues in “The Train Wreckers Part II”, followed by “The Train Wreckers Part III“ and “The Train Wreckers Part IV“. This is the last of the newspaper articles covered by the Phelps County New Era, based in Rolla, Missouri. A newspaper in Lebanon, in Laclede County, Missouri, covered the story in depth. The New Era editor noted that “The Lebanon Rustic should change it’s name to The Trainwreckers Gazette.” This story is mentioned in Goodspeeds 1899 History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps, and Dent counties.

Who Were the Murderers?

The Pulaski County jury have declared that the men charged with wrecking a train on the St. Louis and San Francisco railroad and with murder in doing it are not guilty. If this is a true verdict, then some other parties did the deed. Who are they? We hear of no effort being made to answer this question-no attempt to discover who was guilty of the crime of which Gibson is declared innocent. The crime was peculiarly coldblooded and devilish, and yet the acquittal of Gibson ends all endeavors to detect and punish the authors of it. Why is this? There can be but one explanation offered: the people and authorities of the Southwest, including the court that tried and acquitted Gibson, have not a shadow of doubt that he was one of the authors of the crime-and that it is not necessary to look beyond him. It is estimated that the trial at Waynesville will cost the state $3000. If there is another state in the Union that can expend as much money not punishing murderers we would like to have it pointed out. [Republican

The Train Wreckers Part IV

2009-08-25T21:36:00.005-05:00

Part IV of the articles concerning the 1877 case of The Train Wreckers in Pulaski County, Missouri. Most of the records of this case were lost in the fire that destroyed the courthouse in Waynesville in 1903. Thankfully newspaper coverage of the events have survived, and I am posting them here so that others can read this colorful tale. The beginning of the story can be found in "The Train Wreckers Part I." and continues in “The Train Wreckers Part II”, followed by “The Train Wreckers Part III“. This story is mentioned in Goodspeeds 1899 History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps, and Dent counties.

A Court Room Scene from the 1880's

The Trial of the Train Wreckers.

Phelps County New Era March 16, 1878 The trial of Gibson, one of the train wreckers, at Waynesville, Mo, drags it’s weary length along. The evidence in chief for the prosecution has been closed and evidence for the defence is being heard, the attorneys for the defense having omitted making a statement to the jury as to their line of defence. It is supposed that the trial will last a week longer before a verdict will be reached. So far on the direct examination the evidence has been very conclusive of Gibson’s guilt and it is the general opinion that he will be convicted.

The Train Wreckers Part III

2009-08-24T12:57:00.010-05:00

Part III of the articles concerning the 1877 case of The Train Wreckers in Pulaski County, Missouri. Most of the records of this case were lost in the fire that destroyed the courthouse in Waynesville in 1903. Thankfully newspaper coverage of the events have survived, and I am posting them here so that others can read this colorful tale. The beginning of the story can be found in "The Train Wreckers Part I." and continues in “The Train Wreckers Part II”. This story is mentioned in Goodspeeds 1899 History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps, and Dent counties.

An Ode to The Frisco, Rolla Missouri Picture by Snoop

Phelps County New Era September 8, 1877 THE TRAIN WRECKERS,

CROCKER, Mo,; Sept 5- The little village of Waynesville, nestling in the close embrace of the Ozarks hills, has been thronged for two days in anticipation of the trial of the train wreckers, whose fiendish attempt to glut their greed by the sacrifice, if necessary, of the lives of a trainload of passengers is still fresh in the minds of the public. This morning the attorneys for the defence filed a motion to continue the case of Geo. Gibson, who may be regarded as the chief conspirator in the horrible plot against human life.

The motion was based on the alleged absence of nine material witnesses for the defense, and set forth that the latter would testify that Gibson was at Richland prior and subsequent to the train-wrecking; and could not have participated in that affair. Judge Hill granted the motion.

A similar request was made at once in the case of Allen M. Greenstreet and granted.

An Ode to The Frisco, Rolla Missouri Picture by Snoop

THE OTHER CASE.

In the case of James Long and James Woodward, two lesser lights in the gang, the prosecution asked a continuance, preferring that the case of Gibson and Greenstreet should first be tried. In consequence the cases will not come up in court until the first Monday in March.

The tactics of the defense as plainly revealed to-day are delay. In case the state had insisted on a trial objections would have been made, in accordance with the law passed last winter, to Judge Hill presiding in the case, and another attorney would have been chosen from the bar; whereupon the defense would have probably filed a motion for a change of venue to another county. The policy of the defense is to weary out the State and by a series of delays to avoid coming to trial on absence of material witnesses.

An Ode to The Frisco, Rolla Missouri Picture by Snoop

It is a notable fact that all the witnesses whose presence is now deemed imperatively necessary were in Richland but four weeks ago and it is more than hinted that the absence was secured as a necessary manoeuvre in the game of cheating the gallows of their due.

Again, it is made apparent to the people of this Judicial district that it has the misfortune to have a judge who has permitted himself to stand in the way of the swift execution of justice.

PULASKI COUNTY POOR FARM INMATES BURIED IN COUNTY FARM CEMETERY

2009-08-23T09:53:00.002-05:00

In an article written by Adlyn Shelden Willits in History Pulaski County Missouri, Volume II, she states “There is a large cemetery on the grounds where there about a hundred people buried.” Since these people were considered paupers and the County paid for their burial, there are few markers. The exact location of the County Farm Cemetery is being researched (August 2009). The cemetery has been abandoned and forgotten by most residents. The Pulaski County Historical Society published two volumes in 1984. These volumes included recording 124 cemeteries in Pulaski County. The Pulaski County Poor Farm Cemetery was not included. The following burials in the County Farm Cemetery were determined by searching the names recorded in the Poor Farm Ledger in the Missouri Death Certificates Database 1910-1958. It is doubtful that we will be able to determine burials before 1910, partially due to the fire that destroyed the Courthouse in 1903. Based on the names in the ledger we have positively identified 21 people whose final resting place is the County Farm cemetery. Their names are below. The list below only represents 35 years of the Poor Farms 83 years of operation. Ongoing efforts are being made to determine other burials on the grounds of the Pulaski County Poor Farm. The research is being conducted by Laura Huffman, Terrie Runion, and Jeff Huffman. We wish to Thank Marge Scott and The Pulaski County Courthouse Museum for granting us access to the Pulaski County Poor Farm Ledger. We also wish to Thank Ruby Carter who donated the Ledger to the Museum, Adlyn Willits who authored the 1987 article, and Betty Pritchett who has given us clues as to the location of the cemetery. This list will be amended as we find more people who are buried here. It is our hope that they continue to Rest In Peace and are never forgotten. To learn more about the Pulaski County Poor Farm see "Pulaski County, Missouri Poor Farm" and "Suggestions as to Sanitation & Management of County Almshouses", and "Inmates of Pulaski County Poor Farm 1874-1957"

ADMIRE, MARY J. FEB 25, 1820-JAN 11, 1916
ADMIRE, PHILLIP O. SEP 20, 1852-JAN 5, 1916
BALLARD, JESSE FEB, 1843-OCT 27, 1925
BALLARD, LAVINA OCT 1, 1854-NOV 5, 1932
BLACKWELL, SARAH CIRCA 1865-MAY 18, 1936
BRUFF, SAMUEL WESLEY APRIL 30, 1868-DEC 11, 1945
CURLEY, MARGARET MARY CIRCA 1860-JUNE 2, 1926
DUNCAN, JOHN MARSHALL AUG 12, 1854-JAN 12, 1922
FARR, JOHN ANDREW JAN 21, 1861-JULY 18, 1934
MASON, FRANK APRIL 11, 1872-FEB 5, 1944
McCULLOUGH, JOHN M. OCT 10, 1855-OCT 19, 1929
McCULLUM, RICHARD JAN 1860-JAN 30, 1928
McREA, E.M. CIRCA 1856-MARCH 27, 1919
PEEL, JAMES JULY 24, 1837-JAN 17, 1916
RICKERSON, CHARLES H. CIRCA 1833-JUNE 17, 1922
STROUP, THOMAS EDWARD AUG 8, 1877-SEP 8, 1928
SWINNEY, CHARLES EDWARD MARCH 28, 1866-DEC 13, 1948
WILLIAMS, ISAAC M. CIRCA 1847-OCT 20, 1913
WILLIAMS, JOHN FEB 12, 1869-FEB 17, 1918
VANGORDON, JAMES SCOTT APRIL 14, 1867-OCT 2, 1930
ZUMWALT, ZINC CIRCA 1847-OCT 15, 1929

UPDATE #1
BROYLES, CORA BELLE APR 8, 1871-AUG 29, 1951
GATES, ELIAS H. NOV 13, 1866- DEC 24, 1946

UPDATE#2
HENDERSHOT, WILLIAM JUNE 5, 1871-JULY 18, 1942

INMATES OF PULASKI COUNTY POOR FARM 1874-1957

2009-08-22T00:36:00.010-05:00

The list of the inmates of the Pulaski County Poor Farm has been presented to Museum Curator, Marge Scott. I am posting this list online to assist relatives who are researching their family's genealogy and to shed light on a part of Pulaski County's history that has been, mostly, overlooked and forgotten. This list of names is not a car wreck for bystanders to rubberneck, the names on this list are people who led lives and have stories to tell. They were mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends to the people in their lives. Some were Veterans, some were helpless infants and children. A majority of names on this list are older people, who by no fault of their own, simply had no one left to take care of them, so their Golden Years were spent in the almshouse. Some people on this list were unable to take care of themselves, sometimes because of a disability, or a mental illness. Some just met unfortunate circumstances. This list is not a spectacle, but a labor of love and the desire to see that their names are not lost. If you have a family member on this list, and have something that you wish to share about their life, please leave a comment below, or email me at snoopdorkydork71@gmail.com. To learn more about the Pulaski County Poor Farm see "Pulaski County, Missouri Poor Farm" and "Suggestions as to Sanitation & Management of County Almshouses".

INMATES OF PULASKI COUNTY POOR FARM
1874-1957

THE FOLLOWING LIST MAY NOT BE COMPLETE. THIS LIST DOES INCLUDE THE ADMISSION DATE OF ALL PERSONS THAT ARE RECORDED IN THE PULASKI COUNTY POOR FARM LEDGER, AS WELL AS THE RECORDED DEATH DATE FOR PERSONS WHO DIED WHILE IN RESIDENCE. THE INDIVIDUALS AGE AT TIME OF ADMISSION IS IN ITALICS. THESE AGES MAY NOT ALWAYS BE CORRECT. ANY MISSPELLING OF NAMES IS UNINTENTIONAL. THE LEDGER IS VERY FRAGILE, AND SOME ENTRIES ARE WRITTEN IN PENCIL, MAKING IT HARD TO DECHIPER. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE NO ENTRIES FOR THE FOLLOWING YEARS, WHICH MAY INDICATE SEPARATE LEDGERS THAT MAY BE LOST:
1875-1878, 1880-1886, 1888-1890, 1892-1899, 1901-1902, 1904, 1909, 1945, 1947-1957

SKAGGS, CHRISTINA 65 JULY 1, 1874
ROAM, NANCY 45 JULY 20, 1887
SKAGGS, ELIZABETH 40 JULY 15, 1887 DIED SEPT 22, 1899
ADAMS, LEE 32 FEB 10, 1879
TAYLOR, LANDIS 50 JULY 11, 1887
WILLIAMS, JOHN 24 AUG 8, 1891
WHITEMOR, JOSHUA 54 FEB 19, 1900
BRYANT, JOHN 83 APRIL 19, 1900 DIED APRIL 25, 1900
BRYANT, SALLIE 75 APRIL 19, 1900
MUSGRAVE, ??? 76 APRIL 3, 1903 DIED MAY 15, 1903
BRYANT, SALLIE 78 SEP 22, 1903
BRYANT, JOSHUA 87 AUG 8, 1905
WHITEMAN, JOSHUA 59 MAR 7, 1906
ALLEN, NANCY UNK JUNE 14, 1907 DIED AUG 11, 1909
JERDEN, TOM 59 JUNE 30, 1907 DIED JULY 24, 1907
HURST, FAMILY OF SIX JUNE 26, 1908
HURST, TILLMAN T. UNK JUNE 26, 1908 DIED AUG 11, 1908
MATHEWS, T.M. 52 (MALE) NOV 20, 1908 DIED MAR 8, 1909
EATON, CARL 3 M/O INFANT MAY 31, 1910 DIED SEP 12, 1910
EATON, LULA 24 NOV 10, 1910
JONES, TOM 83 MAR 15, 1910 DIED APRIL 26, 1910
EARLY, MARY 51 DEC 10, 1911
YATES, JAMES 83 MAY 13, 1912
HULY, ??? 63 (FEMALE) JULY 17, 1912
WILLIAMS, J. 65 (MALE) SEP 30, 1912 DIED OCT 20, 1913
NOWLAND, TENNESSEE 68 (FEMALE) JULY 29, 1913 DIED SEP 15, 1923
BUCKNER, ALICE J. 40 MAR 10, 1914
BUCKNER, LIGGIS 13 (FEMALE) MARCH 10, 1914
BUCKNER, MAND 7 (FEMALE) MARCH 10, 1914
BUCKNER, BIRTHA 5 (FEMALE) MARCH 10, 1914

The Pulaski County Poor Farm Ledger. Photo by Snoop.

TOMLINSON, J.H. 85 (MALE) MAY 20, 1914
TOMLINSON, E.G. 85 (FEMALE) MAY 20, 1914
ADMIRE, PHILLIP O. 85 AUG 1, 1914 DIED JAN 5, 1916
ADMIRE, MARY J. 86 AUG 1, 1914 DIED JAN 11, 1916
*RICKERSON, CHARLES H. 102 SEP 11, 1914 DIED JUNE 17, 1922
THE AGE FOR MR RICKERSON IS PROBABLY INCORRECT, AS HIS DEATH CERTIFICATE LISTS HIS AGE AS 88
WALTONS (or WALTERS), HENRY 75 DEC 3, 1914
CLARK, MAY 11 JUNE 15, 1915
LOUTZE(?), JAMES 68 APRIL 7, 1915
MOLOS OR MOLDS, ??? UNK MALE AUG 15, 1915
QUATTEN, HENRY 75 JUNE 1, 1914
GERDES, ??? 20 (MALE) AUG 15, 1912
PEEL, JAMES 78 NOV 11, 1915 DIED JAN 17, 1916
VANGORDON, JAMES SCOTT 49 MAY 23, 1916 DIED OCT 2, 1930
GAEAN, LESTA 26 (FEMALE) AUG 15, 1916
SCHOBELL, SAMUEL 77 OCT 5, 1916 DIED OCT 30, 1916
SAMUEL’S DEATH CERTIFICATE IS RECORDED WITH THE LAST NAME OF “CLAPBELL”
SCHOBELL, LAVINGIA “LOVING” 62 FEMALE OCT 5 1916, RETURNED DEC 18, 1916
BLACK, N.A. 79 (FEMALE) JUNE 2, 1917 DIED JUNE 12, 1917
PLATT, NANCY A. 76 JUNE 6, 1917
NOWLAND, TENNESSEE 72 (FEMALE) JUNE 12, 1917
STONE, HENRY A. 67 AUG 17, 1917 DIED MAY 26, 1920
SHANNON, PAT 72 (MALE) AUG 20, 1917
STONER, MAY 24 DEC 29, 1917
STONER, JOHN HENRY BORN AND DIED FEB 17, 1918 (STILLBORN)
PLATT, MARY A. DIED JUNE 29, 1918
WILLIAMS, JOHN DIED FEB 17, 1918
ZUMWALT, ZINC 70 MALE OCT 12, 1918
WHITE, ARCHOY 70 NOV 10, 1918
MCCREA, E.M. 62 (MALE) DEC 30, 1912
RAY, JOHN 71 APRIL 10, 1919
MCCOLLUM, JOHN 69 MAY 7, 1919
DEAN, AMOS 77 JUNE 25, 1919
CLARK, IDA 56 OCT 13, 1919
WILLIAMS, MARION 70 MAY 7, 1920
BULL, WILLIAM 72 JULY 1, 1920 DIED NOV 23, 1921
VAN GORDON, JIM 53 DEC 12, 1920
BULL, JESSIE 44 JULY 1, 1920

BALLARD, ??? 78 1921
SAN FRANCISCO, OLIVE 16 FEB 9, 1921
BALLARD, JESSE 70 APRIL 12, 1921
GREEN, CELESTIA 32 APRIL 1, 1921
GURLEY, MARY 51 DEC 10, 1911
DUNCAN, J.M. 69 NOV 11, 1921 DIED JAN 18, 1922
SHLOTZHAUER, J. (MALE) DEC 22, 1922
JONES, GENIE 63 MAY 7, 1923 DIED MAY 2, 1924
MURRAY, JAMES 81 OCT 18, 1924 DIED DEC 11, 1924
MURRAY, JAMES MRS. 50? OCT 18, 1924
TIDBALL, MARGARET 67 AUGUST 15, 1925
BLACKWELL, SARAH 62 OCT 1, 1925 DIED MAY 18, 1936
HARRIS, NANCY E. 80 FEB 3, 19??
BALLARD, LIVONIA 62 0CT 12, 1921 DIED NOV 5, 1932
MABES, CURLEY 51 (FEMALE)
BAKER, JOHN THOMAS LORANZO 65 NOV 20, 1923
SVENGY, JOE 74 APRIL 18, 1923
SHLOTZHAUER, JAMES NOV 28, 1926
STROUP, THOMAS EDWARD 51 JUNE 21, 1927 DIED SEP 8, 1928
VAN GORDON, JAMES B. 60 OCT 30, 1926
BRAUN, NILES P. 75 NOV 7, 1925
HILLHOUSE, JAMES W. 68 FEB 16, 1928
CLAYTON, JOHN 76 AUG 15, 1928
KELLEY, CORA ETHEL 19 NOV 20, 1928
COMILL, EDMON 23 DEC 20, 1928
STROUP, CALVIN HOUSTON 70 MARCH 2, 1929
BRUFF, SAMUEL W. 62 FEB 24, 1930
MILLER, CHARLEY HERMANANNE 55 NOV 18, 1929
VAN GORDON, JAMES 63 JAN 10, 1930
GOSLIN, LUTHER M. 49 APRIL 13, 1930 DIED MAY 18, 1930
RICKERSON, WILLIAM 66 AUG 31, 1930
VAN GORDON, JAMES 63 SEP 23, 1930 DIED OCT 25, 1930
STROUP, CALVIN HOUSTON 71 NOV 10, 1930
BENDER, ELDEN 34 DEC 29, 1930
BRUFF, SAMUEL 63 JAN 5, 1931
STROUP, CALVIN HOUSTON 73 MARCH 13, 1932
PETTERS, JOHN RAYMON 18 JUNE 25, 1932
STROUP, CALVIN H. 73 JUNE 30, 1932
CLARK, EVA 42 JULY 29, 1932 DIED NOV 10, 1943
FARR, JOHN ANDREW 71 NOV 23, 1932
BRUFF, SAMUEL 64 FEB 14, 1933
GREY, HARRY JOHNSON 67 MARCH 12, 1933
WISEMAN, DAVID 72 MAY 6, 1933
STROUP, CALVIN H 73 JUNE 15, 1933 DIED JULY 2, 1933
MOORE, JAMES HENRY 73 JULY 31, 1933

The Pulaski County Poor Farm Ledger. Photo by Snoop

FARR, JOHN A. 72 NOV 17, 1933
CAMPBELL, WILLIAM F. 76 DEC 28, 1933
SCHAPP, JOHN 61 FEB 10, 1932
MOLES, JON 37 JAN 22, 1934
BRUFF, SAMUEL 65 JAN 1, 1934
LEWIS, ADDIE 70 APRIL 10, 1934
STEWARD, LOLA 36 APRIL 12, 1934
LYNCH, EDMOND 35 APRIL 12, 1934
WISEMAN, DAVID 73 APRIL 19, 1934 DIED OCT 8, 1935
MOORE, J.H. MAY 4, 1934
WILSON, MARY UNK MAY 11, 1934
MARY WAS TRANSFERRED TO STATE ASYLUM HOSPITAL #4 IN FARMINGTON. SHE RESIDED THERE 22 YEARS, 6 MONTHS, AND 14 DAYS BEFORE HER DEATH.
BARTLETT, GEORGE W. 68 JULY 3, 1934
CHRISTESON, LAFEYETTE 79 JULY 11, 1934
BRUFF, SAMUEL 66 OCT 1, 1934
TOOMBS, AMANDA 68 DEC 3, 1934
MALONE, SARAH BELLE 51 FEB 5, 1935
HOSS, ANDREW J. 76 MARCH 20, 1936
MARTIN, EDWIN H 68 DEC 13, 1936
HARRIS, NANCY E. 80 FEB 3, 1937
ELDREDGE, HOWARD UNK JAN 23, 1938
MITCHELL, GEORGE 65 JULY 11, 1938 DIED OCT 15, 1941
PLANTON, SIMON 58 DEC 19, 1938
CUMMINS, ELI 66 APRIL 22, 1939 DIED SEP 20, 1939
PAYNE, SID 60 SEP 7, 1939
HENDERSHOT, WILLIAM P. 68 MAY 15, 1940 DIED JULY 17, 1942
HERMAN, DOROTHY 12 JUNE 10, 1940
CAQULORD, GENE 62 NOV 28, 1940
MEALES, JOHN 43 SEP 20, 1940
GROVES, TOM 50 FEB 28, 1941 DIED MAR 23, 1941
CLARK, RILEY 31 MAY 28, 1941
SWINNEY, CHARLES 75 JAN 21, 1942 DIED DEC 16, 1948
KING, BOB 21 JULY 14, 1942
BOY, CORD 71 (FEMALE) AUG 6, 1942
MASON, FRANK 71 OCT 12, 1942 DIED FEB 5, 1944
HENDERSON, ISSA MAE 15 (FEMALE) OCT 7, 1942
WAGNER, ANN D. 47 DEC 12, 1942
MALONE, SALLY R. 70 MAY 9, 1943
ELLZEY, CYNTHIA 65 SEP 4, 1943
DIBBLE, EDD 88 SEP 11, 1943 DIED SEP 25, 1943
KENNEDY, SQUIRE 73 JAN 23, 1944
MAUS, NANCY ALICE 72 JUNE 25, 1944
OLIVAR, JOHNLSEE 86 JUNE 25, 1944 DIED JAN 26, 1947
BELL, KULL 66 (MALE) JUNE 1, 1946
YATES, ELIAS H. 87 DEC 16, 1941
BURKS, LA 97 (FEMALE)
CHRISTESON, IVA (FEMALE)

The Pulaski County Poor Farm Ledger. Picture by Snoop

The Train Wreckers Part II

2009-08-21T14:23:00.008-05:00

Part II of the articles concerning the 1877 case of The Train Wreckers in Pulaski County, Missouri. Most of the records of this case were lost in the fire that destroyed the courthouse in Waynesville in 1903. Thankfully newspaper coverage of the events have survived, and I am posting them here so that others can read this colorful tale. The beginning of the story can be found in "The Train Wreckers Part I." This story is mentioned in Goodspeeds 1899 History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps, and Dent counties. To learn more about Wood End, the settlement where this tragedy took place, please visit Mike Weber's article, "And Now, the Rest of The Story".

View of a railroad wreck. Date and Location Unknown. Picture courtesy of the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

Phelps County New Era June 23, 1877- Hon. V.B. Hill, Judge of this Circuit, we are informed, has ordered a special term of the Circuit Court, for this County to be holden at Waynesville on the 9th of July, (second Monday) for the trial of the parties under arrest with wrecking the train on June 2nd, near Woodend, this county. This will afford them an early opportunity of establishing their innocence, if innocent, as they claim, or mete out to them speedy punishment, as they deserve, if found guilty. [Richland Sentinel of June 22

Phelps County New Era July 14, 1877 The Train Wreckers.
WAYNESVILLE, PULASKI Co.,Mo.. July 10.- The men who, on the night of June 2, are supposed to have deliberately detached a passenger train just south of Woodend, on the St. Louis and San Francisco Road, killing Frank Caton, the engineer, his fireman, and E.L. Atkinson of Pacific, arrived here from Springfield at noon yesterday, in charge of Sheriff Hendricks and a large posse of deputies.
The names of the imprisoned quartet are: Geo. B. Gibson, son of a wealthy farmer living in Richland. Allen M. Greenstreet, a blacksmith, who did business in the same village. James Long, who never had an occupation. Leroy Oliver, who, like Gibson, is the son of a respectable farmer, living on the road between Waynesville and Crocker.
The prisoners are confined in the worst apology for a jail ever tolerated in a civilized community, the structure being built entirely of wood and affording neither protection for prisoners nor security against escape. The Grand Jury convened at noon yesterday, and were occupied all the afternoon in disposing of a couple of unimportant cases. This morning they gave their undivided attention to the case of
THE TRAIN WRECKERS
Which is being conducted on the part of the State by J.L. Johnson. Prosecuting Attorney of the county; assisted by John O’Day, Attorney for the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad; Gen. E.Y. Mitchell, of Jefferson City, and O.H. Travers, of Springfield, Mo. The interests of the accused will be cared for by T.J. Moore, of Richland; Nixon of Lebanon, and Bland of Rolla; but Moore is the only one of the trio at present on hand. Mr. O’Day arrived this morning from Springfield, via Crocker, and at once went to work with a vim to expedite the investigation before
THE GRAND JURY.
In order that the prisoners might be punished or liberated as quickly as possible, as the testimony warranted. There does not seem to be the slightest foundation for whispered rumors which have been current, to the effect that it was altogether probable that the citizens of the county would take the law into their own hands. Diligent and judicious inqury by your correspondent reveals the fact that there is surprisingly little interest manifested in the case, which, owing to its diabolical character, has obtained almost hational notoriety. While it is conceded that the
OBJECT OF THE SCOUNDRELS
Who wrecked the train was to slaughter all who were not killed in the ditch, for the sake of securing what paltry sums of money, and articles of value, they might have on their persons, the atrocity of the crime does not seem to have agitated the community any more than if it had been an ordinary occurrence in the criminal line. Sheriff Hendricks has not the remotest fear of mob law, and does not anticipate a particle of trouble. The
DEMEANOR OF THE PRISONERS
also denotes that they are not in the slightest degree uneasy. En route to this village the sang songs and told stories in the most jocular manner. but whether their air of braggadocio was mostly for the sake of keeping their courage up could only be conjectured. The only St. Louisan present, except the newspaper correspondents, is John Eagan, the famous detective, who is known all over the land, from the extraordinary success which he achieved in hunting down such expert and sly old counterfeiters, as Driggs, Boyd. Wookey, Bebusch, Trout, Copping, Driggs, and nephew, Guthrie, and others of that ilk.
On the morning of the tragedy railroad officials sent for
DETECTIVE EAGAN,
who had previously been in their employ, and placed the case in his hands. On Monday morning--the accident occurred Saturday night--Eagan proceeded to Lebanon, where he met Assistant Superintendent D.H. Nichols, to whom probably more than any other one man the credit for discovering the perpetrators of the foul crime is due. After an interview, in which the programme to be adopted was laid out, Eagan went to Springfield, where he met that efficient officer, Deputy United States Marshall Langston. And the pair then took the night train to Richland, a station about five miles south of where the murder was enacted, and where some
LIVELY WORK
was accomplished. Oliver, who had allowed his tongue to wag a little, was the first man placed under arrest, and he was prevailed upon to squeal in a very short time. Oliver detailed the particulars of the diabolical plot, and his three associates were at once placed behind prison bars. The particulars of their arrest have already been published. Oliver was the first witness taken before the Grand Jury this morning, and the confession which he made to the detectives was rehearsed for their benefit. George Morgan, the postmaster at Richland, had several
CONVERSATIONS WITH GIBSON
the morning after the wreck, in which many damaging admissions were made, was also examined at length in relation thereto. Smith, the brakeman, and Wilson the conductor of the ill fated train, were also heard. The former, who was out with his red light that morning, saw Gibson in its glare, and, it is said, can swear positively to his identification. The conductor, who was shot at, the ball passing through his hat, just above the band, gave the particulars of the shooting, but failed to identify his assailant. On the testimony of the brakeman who recognized Gibson, Morgan, to whom Gibson gave himself away and on
OLIVER’S CONFESSION
the testimony against Gibson is probably more conclusive than against any of the others, although it is most positive against them.
The indictments as drawn up occupy about thirty-eight pages of foolscap. The first indictment is for the killing of Frank Caton. It contains eight counts. The first count charges James Long, Allen Greenstreet, and Geo. Gibson, as principals, and Leroy Oliver and others, to the Grand Jury unknown, as accessories, with killing Caton, the engineer, by tearing up the railroad track, precipitating the engine into the ditch and scalding and burning him to death. The other indictments charge all four with killing Dr. Atkinson and Sam Richardson, the fireman, in the same way.
Less than a decade later, the town of Woodend had been renamed Swedeborg. 1888 Commissioners Official Railway Map of Missouri
DELAY PROBABLE.
Although this special term of Court was called for the express purpose of trying these cases, and the prosecution has announced its readiness to go on with them; it is not likely that anything will be done untill the October term, the defense being anxious for a continuance mainly for the reason that the State law, which permits defendants in criminal cases to testify in their own behalf, goes into effect the 30th of the present month. Old man Greenstreet stated this morning that he was anxious to have the charges against his son investigated at once, but the others are not so willing.
RICHLAND, Mo., July 11.--The Grand Jury, before adjourning, last night, placed a fifth one of the Richland train-wreckers, who has not yet cut any figure in the case on, the road to the scaffold or the Penitentiary. The name of the individual is Jas. Woodward, who lives about twenty miles below Dixon. Woodward bought Greenstreet & Gibson’s saloon, at Richland, and ran it for two or three weeks, selling it back to to the original proprietors a day or two before
THE KILLING.
Of Caton, Atkinson and Richardson. While in the whiskey business Woodward violated the revenue law, for which he was arrested and placed in Jail at Rolla, where he now lies, but will probably be surrendered to the State authorities on the grave charge of murder. The prisoner is a gambler of the worst class, and border ruffian of the most pronounced type.
ONE MORE,
Your correspondent learned this afternoon that another man, in addition to Woodward, had been indicted for complicity in the train wrecking and murder. His name could not be ascertained, but the arrest will follow in a day or two, his whereabouts being known. It is stated on good authority that there were ten scoundrels engaged in the affair, and it will be proven on the trial that they intended to murder every soul on the train. They had clubs in readiness to brain to brain those who were mangled too badly to run, and intended shooting all who attempted to get away. The bodies were then to be thrown into the wreck; to which the torch was to have been applied, thus destroying all evidences of the crime. It has been stated that the affair was
POORLY PLANNED.
because the Saturday night run is always the lightest of the week. This idea is a false one. It is true that passenger traffic is always light on Saturday night, which was a big point in favor of the robbers, their main object being to capture the express matter from Texas, which on Saturday nights only goes via the St. Louis and San Francisco Road, the Missouri, Texas, and Kansas not running a train on that night. At a late hour in the afternoon, the prisoners, Greenstreet, Gibson, and Long were
BROUGHT INTO COURT.
After which their shackles were removed. State Senator Wallace, of counsel for the defense, then made application for a continuance, which Judge Hill granted at the defendants’ costs. A request was then made that subpoenas be issued for certain witnesses, which was granted, and court adjourned for the term. The continuance granted throws the case over until the first Monday in September.

The Train Wreckers Part I

2009-08-20T01:22:00.008-05:00

I first heard mention of "The Train Wreckers" in Goodspeed's 1899 History of Pulaski County, Missouri, while I was researching The Pulaski County Poor Farm. Since the trial was in 1878, twenty five years before the Courthouse was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, I assumed that the details of this case were lost to time. I was thrilled when I came across accounts of the incident in the Phelps County New Era newspaper. I have copied the full text of the articles, as they were printed, and will be posting them in this forum.
An 1880's Era St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Engine
A Murderous Act

Daring Attempt To Wreck and Rob A Train

Phelps County New Era June 9, 18777- A daring attempt by a band of would be train robbers caused a serious accident on the St. Louis and San Francisco railway on Saturday night last, about 11 miles west of Wood End, a point 155 miles from St. Louis. The particulars of the occurrence as obtained from D. Wishart, general passenger agent of the road, are as follows:

The regular Saturday night Texas Express which is due in St. Louis Sunday morning at 6:15, encountered last Saturday night a severe storm of wind and rain some two hundred miles from St. Louis. The storm was so fierce that the speed of the train, consisting of baggage, second-class, first-class, and Pullman cars, was slackened to 10 miles per hour. While running thus through the heart of the Ozark Mountains and on a very lonely point on the road the engine was
THROWN FROM THE TRACK.
By some misplaced rails and turned completely over down a forty foot embankment. The engineer, Frank Caton, was so badly injured that he died in two hours, and the fireman and a DR. E.L. Atkins, of Pacific City who was riding on the engine, were instantly killed. The baggage car was partially overturned, but no one within it received any injury. The other cars remained on the track, and with no damage to their occupants. The engineer lived long enough to testify to have seen a man upon or near the track, and also some slight obstruction. He reversed the engine, applied the air-brakes, and was at the same instant whirled with his engine down the embankment. The first imitation of catastrophe received by Conductor Wilson of the train was a sudden checking of the train, as though the air-brakes had been applied. He sprang to the door and perceiving at once that something serious had occurred, jumped from the car and proceeded as fast as the darkness would permit him toward the front of the train. While scaling a fence which he found was in his way some half dozen pistol shots were discharged at him, one ball passing through his hat. The passengers, many of whom heard the shots, were much alarmed. One passenger claims to have seen
1872 Asher & Adams Railroad Map of Pulaski County, Missouri, showing the settlement of Woodend between Crocker and Richland.
FOUR OR FIVE MEN
By the light of the pistol flashes, but Conductor Wilson saw no one. The dastards, who by misplacing the rails caused the accident, had evidently expected that the passenger cars would be thrown down the embankment, but finding that this had not happened they were not bold enough to attack the train, and so sneaked away into the woods. As said before-the fireman, Samuel Richardson, was instantly killed, as also Dr. Atkison. As soon as lights could be had, an examination of the cause of the accident was made. It was then found that two rails (one on each side) had been unjoined and swung around so as to tip the engine over almost to a certainty. The work had been skillfully done, and close by were found a new monkey-wrench, a claw-hammer, and a pick, which may be of great service in tracing the perpetrators of the foul deed.
Before any aid could be obtained it was necessary to walk back seven miles to Richland, the nearest telegraph station. From Richland an engine was sent up to the scene of the accident, with a physician, but when it arrived the unfortunate engineer had breathed his last. The train with its twenty passengers was eventually brought on to St. Louis, arriving in this city yesterday at 2:30 P.M.. Mr Wishart, general passenger agent of the road, was at the time on his way down to Springfield. He returned to the city with the disabled train.
FRANK CATON,
The engineer, who was killed, was one of the oldest and best engineers upon the road, having been ten years running upon it. He left a wife and three children living at Pacific.
Samuel Richardson, the fireman, was a single man, who also lived at Pacific. Dr. E.L. Atkison had been for some time located at Pacific, but came originally from St. Louis, where he had a mother, brother, sister, and many friends. He was acquainted with Caton, the engineer, and when the train stopped for supper, the latter invited him to ride a little while on the engine, which invitation he readily accepted. The accident occurred at 9:20 P.M.----[Ex.
LATER.
Four of the desperados who wrecked the train at Wood End on Sunday night last, have been captured; their names are Leroy Oliver, Geo. B. Gibson, Jas. Long, and Allen M. Greenstreet, and all are residents in the immediate neighborhood of the scene of the deed. Oliver, who is only 20 years of age, has turned States evidence and made a full confession, giving the names of all the parties concerned in this dastardly deed. Four of the gang are still at large, but the large reward of one thousand dollars that is offered for their arrest, has stirred up every officer for miles around, and it is not likely that they will be able to get away. Gov. Brockmeyer is determined to have them prosecuted with vigor. and will request the judge of the circuit court to hold a special term for the trial of those already arrested. A speedy conviction will no doubt follow, whatever the sentence may be, it cannot be too severe---hanging is too good for such miscreants.

Devil's Elbow Motel, Ruins Of Route 66

2009-08-19T13:25:00.016-05:00

I do not know any of the history of this place, so if anyone has any information, please email me at snoopdorkydork71@gmail.com, or comment below. I would like to be able to piece together the story of this place. I was able to find a vintage postcard of the old motel. The Devil's Elbow Motel is still standing, but is not in any type of a livable condition. It looks like the owners of the property may have turned it into apartments at one time, the present day fate of S&G Motel in Buckhorn, Missouri. However, the units today are uninhabitable, but the office building has been converted into a private residence and is a rental property. The brick wall pictured in front of the office is only a memory. No trace remains of the sign and what became of it is unknown.

A Vintage Postcard of Devil's Elbow Motel

Devil's Elbow Motel, Summer 2009. The backside of a billboard on Interstate 44 can be seen on the right side of the picture. The construction of I-44 was the end of the Route 66 heyday in the Devil's Elbow, Missouri area. Picture by Snoop

Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows.-The Atlantic Monthly. Photo by Snoop.

The section of the motel shown on the right side of the vintage postcard as it looks in August 2009. Picture by Snoop

The two sections of the motel meet. Photo by Snoop.

The section that runs parallel to Route 66. Picture by Snoop.

Another view of the section that runs parallel to Route 66. Picture by Snoop.

The end unit, behind the office. Not visible from Route 66. Photo by Snoop.

Interior of a unit in The Devil's Elbow Motel. Picture by Snoop

Interior of a unit in The Devil's Elbow Motel. Oddly, I do not recall seeing any toilet or shower facilities in this unit. A far cry from the refuge that a traveler of Route 66 would have found during the motels heyday. Picture by Snoop.

Old Brownfield, Missouri?

2009-08-18T22:48:00.007-05:00

My brother has been searching for the old town of Brownfield, Missouri. We have located the location of the Brownfield Store, near the Brownfield Baptist Church on Highway K. We are assuming that this area is New Brownfield. Google Maps shows Brownfield as being at the intersection of Flagstone and Fairview Road.

However, on a recent "off the beaten path" trip in Kyle's Bronco, we saw some old buildings that made us think that maybe it was actually located down Fair Road, off of Fairview Road. If you can identify these structures, please email me at snoopdorkydork71@gmail.com

A structure on Fair Road, that we believe may have once been a store. Photo by Snoop

A wonderful old barn on Fair Road, not far from the Pulaski County Line. Photo by Snoop

A sign, done in the style of the sign on the M*A*S*H* television show, pointed us further down the road to Blackberry Meadow, Eagle Point, Gasconade River, Gravel Bar, and Katie Spring. Fair Road was gated before we reached the Gasconade River, but before we got to the gate we found this beauty:

Farm House at End of Fair Road. Photo By Snoop.

I am not an expert on old houses, but I am guessing that this was built in the mid to late 1800's, with the Victorian style front addition built on later. I bet this grand old lady has quite a few stories to tell. If anyone knows of any of them, please share!

I have also learned that there are two cemeteries in Old Brownfield, Missouri. Jeff pointed out a "cemetery" somewhere on this road trip, but I do not recall where we were when we found it. He pointed back off the road, at what he had been told was a cemetery. We will have to go back when the leaves are off the trees to be able to tell for sure.

Nicks Cemetery: Laclede County, on a farm owned by Dr. Harvey Nickels. Highway 17 South to Old Brownfield.

Nicks Cemetery: Pulaski County, on a farm owned by Earl Nicks. Highway 17 South to Old Brownfield.

Cemetery directions from "Tombstone Inscriptions Throughout Pulaski County" available at the 1903 Pulaski County Missouri Courthouse Museum.

Plane Afire; Falls; 30 Die

2009-08-18T12:28:00.004-05:00

The following is a newspaper article reporting on the doomed American Airlines Flight 476 which crashed August 4th, 1955 just shy of the runway at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. There were no survivors. It was printed in the Chicago Tribune, August 5, 1955. For more newspaper articles concerning this flight please see: "AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 476 AUGUST 4, 1955", 30 Killed In Flaming Airliner", "Pilot Had 4 Children"

Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Aug. 4 (AP)--An American Airlines Convair, with one of its wings burned off and desperately trying for an emergency landing carried 30 persons to a flaming death on this military reservation today.

There were no survivors. Among the dead were four Chicagoans.

The two engine plane crashed in woods not far from the reservation's housing area where about 5,000 persons live.

Rescue workers, hampered for hours by intense heat from the wreckage and burning underbrush, finally recovered all the bodies. Fewer than a third of the bodies could be readily identified; the rest were charred beyond recognition.

Pilot Struggles to Land

The 27 passengers and three crewmen included eight women, two children and a Catholic priest.

Witnesses said veteran pilot Capt. Hugh Barron of Tulsa, Okla., fought desperately to glide his crippled plane onto the military airstrip for an emergency landing even as one of the wings dropped off in flames.

The plane plummeted in flames a quarter-mile from where the wing burned off.

Eyewitnesses at the housing area told how the stricken plane roar overhead, only a few hundred feet above the ground.

"At first we thought he (the pilot) would make it," said Beverly Streeter, a WAC private from Asbury Park, N. J.

"Then we heard muffled explosions. Parts seemed to be dropping from the plane. We lost sight of it after that."

Near Landing Filed

Over Lebanon, 30 miles away, smoke had been seen pouring from one of the engines.

The heavily wooded area where the plane crashed was only one-half of a mile short of the post landing field. But the terrain was so rugged it took bulldozers two hours to slash a temporary road to the scene.

Between 150 and 200 soldiers joined in fighting the forest fire which spread over a one-third square mile as a result of the crash.

The Convair had taken off from Springfield, Mo., only a short time earlier. It was winging its way from Tulsa, Okla., to La Guardia airport, New York, via Chicago, under clear skies.

Seeks Emergency Landing

Suddenly one of the engines caught fire. Capt. Barron radioed that the No. 2 (right) engine was afire and he was goin to attempt an emergency landing.

An onlooker said the plane barely cleared the reservation administration buildings at a height of about 200 feet. One wing was tipped downward. Seconds later if fell off. And then came the flaming crash.

The priest aboard was the Rev. George L. Krock, 47, a Roman Catholic missionary and member of the Maryknoll order who recently returned from Guatemala where he was assigned in 1950.

With Barron who had been with American since 1942, were First Officer William G. Gates, also of Tulsa, and Stewardess Thelma Ruth Ballard of Salisbury, N.C.

Another American Airlines plane, also a Convair, crashed last March 20 with the loss of 13 lives in coming in for a landing at the Springfield airport, 80 miles southwest of here.

(Capt. Barron was the central figure in a dramatic crash landing at Glenview naval air station last November. His Convair, with 43 persons aboard, including Mrs. William Stratton, wife of Gov. Stratton of Illinois, circled Chicago for 68 minutes while its crew struggled to release the right main landing gear. Then with its fuel supply almost exhausted, the Convair crash landed on the jet runway at Glenview. The airplane rolled on its left landing gear for 4,000 feet before the right wing tip dipped and dragged, and the plane came to a stop. None of the passengers was hurt.)

Suggestions as to Sanitation & Management of County Almshouses

2009-08-17T13:58:00.003-05:00

This is part of my ongoing efforts to research the history of the Pulaski County, Missouri Poor Farm. The text was copied from a document found in the 1903 Pulaski County Courthouse Museum. The original document that is in the museum is typewritten on faded, yellowed paper. I do not know if it is an original document to the Poor Farm itself, or if it is a copy that someone typed up at a later time. At this time, I have not done research on this particular document to attempt to date the paper. For further reading, please see my blog entry "Pulaski County, Missouri Poor Farm".

Suggestions as to Sanitation & Management of County Almshouses

The county Almshouse and inmates are under the control of the superintendent. No inmate shall leave the premises without permission from the superintendent.

Inmates shall arrive at once when the signal sounds and promptly respond to the call to meals.

After breakfast each inmate shall go to work as directed by the superintendent or his assistants.

No lights will be allowed after eight o’clock p.m. except in rooms where there are sick persons.

Quarreling and use of profane or obscene language is expressly forbidden.

No spitting or filth of any kind will be allowed on the floors, or to be thrown out the windows. Spittoons must be cleaned everyday.

Every inmate will have to bath when admitted, and once a week, or oftener, thereafter, if required by the superintendent.

Smoking in the sleeping apartments, or in other rooms, except the sitting rooms, is prohibited.

Inmates in good health will not be allowed to occupy the sleeping apartments during the day. The rooms will be closed when the inmates leave them in the morning and remain closed until bedtime.

Each person will be held responsible for the care of his room, seeing to it that the same is kept in good order.

It is the duty of the superintendent to enforce these rules strictly and impartially. Inmates refusing to comply herewith are liable to be punished as the superintendent may deem necessary. Any inmate showing violence, disobedience, or disrespect to the superintendent or his family, or to any assistant, shall be liable to be imprisoned or discharged.

Some kind of chemical fire extinguisher should be placed on each story of the building and two or more members of the family taught to use it.

Complete medical and physical examination should be made by a physician of each patient on his or her entrance to the County Home.

A sufficient supply of clothing should be furnished to the inmates in order for them to present a clean and tidy appearance.

When inmates are sick their relatives should at once be notified of same. When death occurs, if the body is not claimed after sufficient time has elapsed, the body should be interred at institution and the name, place of birth, and age marked upon a stone and placed at head of grave.

Pulaski County, Missouri Poor Farm

2009-08-16T17:27:00.004-05:00

I intend to write articles about the Pulaski County Poor Farm as I research this overlooked piece of Pulaski County's past.

Pulaski County Poor Farm, Resident's Home, 2009. Photo by Snoop.

During the Summer of 2008, Terrie and I, went to the Old Courthouse Museum in Waynesville, seeking information on an old bridge located in Pulaski County. We toured the museum and at the top of the stairs, leading to the court room, is a display with an old ledger. The ledger grabbed my attention. This summer I decided to go back and take another look at the old journal. I returned to the Museum and after explaining my mission to Marge Scott, I was allowed to read and record the names listed in the book. Marge let me set up shop in the old vault of the 1903 Court House, armed with a notebook, a pen, and the camera on my cell phone. Some would think that I was crazy for wanting to spend an August Saturday afternoon in an 106 year old room, with no air conditioning, reading through a book that is possibly 135 years old. The people who are listed in this book have a story to be told, and I hope to be able to tell it.

The Pulaski County Poor Farm, or County Farm, is not often referenced. It is mentioned in Chapter 6, “The Late Nineteenth Century Landscape”, of an unknown book by an author whose last name, I believe, is Smith. I think this report was written in 1993. The author states:

“For the mentally incapacitated, and the destitute, a Poor Farm was established in 1876, two miles south of Waynesville. In 1889 it had 100 acres under cultivation but the buildings “are in somewhat inferior condition.” The farm had four male, eight female inmates, two of them being of “unsound mind.””

The author lists his source for this tidbit of information as Goodspeed Publishing, History of Laclede, etc., p. 809. I believe that Goodspeed may be off a year or two, because the earliest entry in the ledger is that of Christine Skaggs, who was admitted July 1, 1874.

Coincidently, the work by Smith, speaks of old roads in Pulaski County in the late nineteenth century. I was able to locate the Poor Farm by his description, but hesitate to disclose the location, as the property is currently abandoned. The property has 110 years of County Farm history attached to it, and I would hate for it to fall victim of vandals. For those genuinely interested in the history of the Pulaski County Poor Farm, please email me at snoopdorkydork71@gmail.com and I will provide you with directions.

Pulaski County Poor Farm is also mentioned in “History Pulaski County Missouri, Volume II” published in 1987. The article was written by Adlyn Shelden Willits. This book is still available for purchase at the Courthouse Museum. The research for her article also included conversations with people who remembered some of the residents of the Poor Farm. Mrs. Willits’ article states “There is a large cemetery on the grounds where about 100 people are buried.”

After conducting research on the names recorded in the Pulaski County Poor Farm Ledger, I have been able to confirm the burials of 22 souls who were laid to rest in this forgotten cemetery. I will post those names on this blog next Saturday after I have handed the list to Marge Scott, the Curator of The Pulaski County Courthouse Museum.

There is already a published record of one of the individuals whose final resting place is The County Farm Cemetery. The same volume of History Pulaski County Missouri, has a short article about the life of Charles H. Rickerson. The article was written by John Andrew Rickerson, a great, great grandson and confirms the burial of Charles H. Rickerson, a Civil War Veteran, in the abandoned cemetery of the Pulaski County Poor Farm.

Vernelle's Motel, A Survivor's Story

2009-08-14T11:39:00.015-05:00

Vernelle's Motel, a survivor of multiple road alignments, is still open for business. Photo by Snoop.

Terrie and I took a short trip exploring Sugar Tree Road on July 30th. Our first stop was to pop in and visit Ed Goodridge at Vernelle's Hotel. Ed waved us across and we visited with him and Foxy for a bit before we headed down the road to John's Modern Cabins.

Ed Goodridge, Proprietor of Vernelle's Motel, and his companion, Foxy. Photo by Snoop.

Vernelle's Motel opened in 1938 and has endured all the road alignments that have occurred in the past 7 decades. Ed was quick to remind us that he is still open for business. For those who love The Mother Road, an overnight at Vernelle's is a must. His business card advertises Clean Rooms and Reasonable Rates.

Vernelle's Motel, 8 Miles West of Rolla MO, on Historic Route 66

Vernelle's history can be traced back to the late 1930's when it first opened as Gasser Tourist Court. The name was changed to Vernelle's after Fred and his wife, Vernelle, bought the tourist court from Fred's uncle, E.P. Gasser. The couple expanded on the original tourist court, which consisted of six cabins, a novelty store, and a gas pump. In 1952 Fred and Vernelle Gasser built a hotel and a restaurant on the property. Travelers refueled at Cities Service Station. A petting zoo was used at one time to entice travelers to come off the road and part with some of their cash.

In the book The Route 66 Cookbook: Comfort Food From The Mother Road, written by Marian Clark, Vernelle states “We served a lot of barbecue and chicken. Soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood were some of our best customers.” Sadly, the restaurant closed in 1957, to make room for the new four lane alignment of Route 66. A part of Vernelle’s Café lives on in The Route 66 Cookbook. Marian Clark shares Vernelle’s recipe for Vernelle’s Café French Dressing.

Vernelle's Motel & Cafe before the "new" 4 lane alignment of Route 66.

The hotel has changed hands in it’s 71 year history. Forest Riley purchased the place and then sold it to Nye Goodridge in 1960. The Route 66 icon has stayed in the Goodridge clan since then with Ed at the helm today.

The Vernelle’s Motel sign, a mainstay, on Route 66 is original, dating back to 1952. The Route 66 preservation group, Friends of The Mother Road, gave the sign a fresh coat of paint in the last few years.

Vernelle's Motel On Old Route 66. Photo by Snoop.

Vernelle’s Motel is off the beaten path, not even visible from the most recent round of road improvements of Interstate 44, and almost 60 years from today's interstate traffic. A visit with Ed and a stay at the motel is good for the soul.

Vernelle's Motel, Life in The Slow Lane, Photo By Snoop

For more information or to make reservations at Vernelle's Motel, contact Ed Goodridge at:

10891 Sugartree Outer Road
Newburg, MO 65550

Phone: (573) 762-2798

http://www.route66motels.com/vernelles/vernellesmotel.html

Pilot Had Four Children

2009-08-14T01:16:00.002-05:00

The following is a newspaper article reporting on the doomed American Airlines Flight 476 which crashed August 4th, 1955 just shy of the runway at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. There were no survivors. It was printed in the Florence County News, August 5, 1955.

NEW YORK, Aug. 4 (AP) Capt. HUGH C. BARRON, pilot of the American Airlines Convair plane which crashed today at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., killing all 30 persons aboard, was the father of four children.
The 46-year-old flier, American Airlines officials here said, joined the line in 1942 after owning and operating a flying school at Macon, Ga. He was born in Laurens County, Ga., and lived at Tulsa, Okla.
Other crew members aboard the plane were:
First Officer WILLIAM G. GATES, 35, of Tulsa. Born at Tyrone, Pa., he had been with American Airlines since 1945.
Stewardess THELMA RUTH BALLARD, 21, a native of Salisbury, N. C., but now of Tulsa, was graduated only last May from the airline's school for stewardess at Chicago. She has a sister, MRS. G. O. BARGER, of 133 Jackson Homes, Charlotte, N. C. Her mother is MRS. MAUDE BALLARD of Salisbury.

Florence Morning News South Carolina 1955-08-05

Mystery Solved! Bridge Piers at Camp Ho Humm

2009-08-13T01:25:00.006-05:00

I have known Maxine for over ten years now. Back "in the day", we always tried to have at least one outing during the summer. These trips usually involved camping and a float trip. Getting to spend time around the campfire with her, and her son Jeremy, was a highlight of the summer. Jeremy is now just a few weeks shy of his 20th birthday, no longer a boy, but a Marine. Jeremy's favorite camping spot was a quaint, friendly campground, near Lebanon, named Camp Ho Humm. I was intrigued by the name, but once we arrived there the first time, I was intrigued by the mystery. On the right hand side of the campground is an old bridge pier. I remember sitting around the campfire for many an hour, after everyone else had gone to bed, pondering this "Bridge To Nowhere" . It seemed to me that any bridge would have ran right into the bluff, across the river. I could have asked the campground owner, but was always too busy during the day with floating the Niangua, helping Max prepare meals, cleanup, and just plain relaxing. Both times that we stayed there, I regretted not asking about the old bridge piers when we left. I even mentioned the place as a potential float trip this summer, and remarked on the odd bridge piers.

Tonight, while on a "Google Journey", I came across an old article, "Corkery Rediscovered", written by Rebecca Baldwin in 1979. The article was written for a publication by students at Lebanon High School, Bittersweet.

Rebecca's article tells the tale of a town named Corkery and a bridge that was never completed. The lack of a river crossing turned Corkery into a ghost town, remembered mainly by people who had lived there. It was a town with happy stories, tragic stories, stories of hidden treasure, and stories of illicit moonshine stills. It made me regret even more that I never took the time to ask the camp owner ( a descendant of the owner of the Corkery General Store) about the "Bridge To Corkery". I really would have loved to have visited this place ten years ago. But there are still a few weeks of summer left!

AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 476 AUGUST 4, 1955

2009-08-11T03:27:00.003-05:00

I recently learned of a horrible tragedy that took place on Fort Leonard Wood, MO. A little after 12:30 p.m., August 4th, 1955, a plane fell out of the sky. The plane was on fire as it began it's fatal descent. As it came careening toward the ground, the plane clipped a tree line, and ripped a wing off. The pilot had intended to "glide" to the military reservations runway, but was not able to do so with his plane so badly crippled. All 30 souls aboard the plane perished. No injuries were reported on the ground. This tragedy could have been compounded had the plane crashed into the Army Housing area, only 3/4 of a mile from the crash site. It was reported that between 150 and 200 soldiers fought the ensuing fire for hours.

I will post more details as I learn more about this American Airlines disaster.

30 KILLED IN FLAMING AIRLINER

2009-08-11T03:20:00.005-05:00

The following is a newspaper article reporting on the doomed American Airlines Flight 476 which crashed August 4th, 1955 just shy of the runway at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. There were no survivors.

FT. LEONARD WOOD, Mo., Aug. 4 (AP) “ An American Airlines two-engine plane desperately trying for an emergency landing with one engine afire, crashed in flames on this military reservation today, carrying 30 persons to their death.
The blazing ship smashed off a wing on a wooded hilltop and crashed its fuselage into a deep, brush-tangled ravine, starting a forest fire that still was burning four hours later.
Capt. R. D. SINEX, camp public information officer, said 18 bodies had been recovered. Capt. H. B. BRACEY, an investigations officer, said he had counted 21 bodies and others apparently were hidden in the charred debris.
The spot where the plane crashed was just three-fourths of a mile short of the post landing field, it was trying to reach. But the terrain was so rugged, bulldozers did not succeed in slashing a temporary road to the spot until two hours later.
Capt. BRACEY fixed the time of the crash at 12:30 p. m. CST. The bulldozers finished cutting an access road shortly before 4 p. m.
Between 150 and 200 soldiers were still fighting the forest fire late today.
Some of the bodies were thrown some distance from the wrecked plane and escaped the flames. Maj. WARREN PAULEY, aviation officer at the fort, reported.
Ft. Leonard Wood is 130 miles southwest of St. Louis, on the edge of the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.
The big Convair had taken off from Springfield, Mo., only a short time earlier. It was winging its way from Tulsa, Okla., to Syracuse, N. Y., under clear, blue skies.
Suddenly one of the engines caught fire. Veteran pilot Capt. HUGH BARRON of Tulsa radioed that the plane was afire and he was going to attempt an emergency landing.
PAULEY said the plane barely cleared the reservation administration buildings at a height of about 200 feet. One wing was tipped downward. Seconds later it was torn off. And then the flaming crash.
The stricken plane, streaming a plume of flame from one engine, was seen by residents of a housing area five miles from the crash scene as it flew low above their homes in its desperate bid for a safe landing. These witnesses variously estimated the plane's height at 200 to 500 feet.
American Airlines at St. Louis reported there were 27 passengers aboard, including two children, in addition to the three crewmen. Twenty-one of the passengers had boarded the plane at nearby Springfield.
"The pilot was lined up for the runway", PAULEY reported," and he crashed about one-half mile short of the runway, roughly three quarters of a mile from the housing area of the post."
A wing was ripped from the fuselage as it thundered into the trees. Fire spread over one-third of a square mile of brush and trees.
The Army rushed crash crews and firefighters to the scene but they were turned back by the searing flames. A bulldozer was moved in to root out a road to the burning wreckage so fire equipment could be brought up.
The plane crashed at 12:23 p. m. CST. It was due at St. Louis at 12:35 p. m. CST but it already had indicated to the airfield there that it was coming in late. Estimated arrival time at the St. Louis field had been posted as 12:53 p. m. CST.
With BARRON, who had been with American since 1942, were First Officer WILLILAM G. GATES, also of Tulsa, and the stewardess, THELMA RUTH BALLARD of Salisbury, N. C. The Missouri state highway patrol office at nearby Rolla, just before the crash, received a radio call to watch for a commercial airliner in trouble.
Minutes later the highway patrol heard a military police patrol calling its headquarters:"The plane crashed and is now burning."
Witnesses said BARRON obviously was attempting to stretch his glide with the burning plane to reach the military landing strip. But he found it impossible as the faltering plane plunged into the trees, setting fire to them and the brush around.
The plane, with a 40-passenger capacity, had made stops at Joplin and Springfield in Missouri. It also had scheduled stops at Chicago, Cleveland and Buffalo, N. Y., in addition to St. Louis.
Military police threw up a cordon around the crash scene, enforcing maximum security. Spectators were ordered out of the area.

A Lonely Roadside Grave

2009-08-09T00:00:00.007-05:00

Eliza Jane Laycocks Thomas Grave November 2004. Photo taken by Sharon Macormic

Off a winding two lane country highway in Phelp’s County, Missouri, lies an easily overlooked dirt road to the right. This road leads back into the Mark Twain National Forest and runs a ridge line. It also leads to the spot of an interesting mystery. On this road in the Ozark hills is a roadside grave belonging to Eliza Jane Laycocks Thomas. I first heard about this location referred to as “The Witch’s Grave” during the summer of 2009 after a float trip down the Big Piney River. Not much is known about Eliza Jane, but speculation would make one think that Eliza Jane was probably never referred to as a “witch” in her time, but her lonely grave has made her the subject of a “rural myth” in the Pulaski County area. The few facts that are known are that:

Eliza Jane Laycocks shows up on the 1880 United States Federal Census. According to this document her home in 1880 was the counties of Miller and Phelps, Missouri.

In 1880 she was 15 and her birth year was “about 1865”.

She was born in Missouri, the daughter of William A. and Susan A, Laycocks.

Her father was from Tennessee and her mother is from Missouri.

Using the 1880 census as a reference, one would think that she was the oldest of at least four children. Also living in the household were:

Willey Laycocks, age 12
William Laycocks, age 10
George Laycocks, age 8

According to a handmade marker, nailed to a tree above her gravesite she was the wife of Henry and died circa 1897. She would have been approximately 32. Most of her history, is lost. At least to a casual observer 112 years later. The question remains unanswered. Why was Eliza Jane Laycocks Thomas buried alone alongside a roadway ? The only other known cemetery in this area is further down the same road. I am sure that the road may have changed over the past century, but being on top of an Ozarks Mountain ridge, I doubt that it has changed drastically. Grave stones in the Mayfield Cemetery, not far from Eliza’s final resting place, are from the same era. My conjecture, at this point, is that she was traveling and died during the journey.

Eliza's lonely roadside grave August 2009. Notice the marker is no longer visible. Photo by Snoop

Big Piney Float July 2, 2009

2009-07-27T15:00:00.010-05:00

We packed up the "Joe Whiz" canoe and headed back to the Big Piney river for Terrie's birthday float. We decided to run the river a little differently this time so we put in at the end of the dirt road that runs along the Big Piney, near the Elbow Inn, and decided to take out at Piney Beach Resort near the "New Old Route 66 Bridge". Jeff had brought along a portable CD player this time so we listened to some old country music as we floated towards Bussmann's Resort. I can only handle so much of the classic country so Jeff surprised me with a mix CD of mine that I had misplaced. The setting was not quite right to hear 50 Cent and Eminem, but I hadn't heard that disc in a long time and I was stoked.

We spotted the hard to find piece of concrete that signified Bussman's and did some nifty paddle work to cut back across the river and banked. From the bank we could see the old footbridge but not much else than trees and landscape that made me think of snakes, ticks, and mosquitoes. We decided to trek through the underbrush even though we were in shorts and sandals. I am thankful that we did. It was a scenic spot and the growth made us feel like we were the first humans in the area for 20 years even though we weren't. We found the picnic area and decided to take a breather and dump all the rocks from our shoes. Near the picnic area were two old logs that someone had fashioned into "toilets". We decided to skip more in-depth exploration of those items and headed back further into the resort towards the two brick chimneys that are still standing. For me, it was easy to imagine "men of means" smoking cigars and drinking bootleg moonshine in this spot in the 1920's. We found the cabin, or the roof line of the cabin that Connor Watkin's describes and photographed in 2002 in his article titled "All Trips To The Beautiful Big Piney River Of The Missouri Ozarks" Other than Conor's description of the abandoned resort I can not find much history of the place. When was the place built? Who visited there? Why was it abandoned? Did it have ties to organized crime in St Louis? Do any pictures of it during it's glory days still exist? If you have any information or pictures of this place, please email me at snoopdorkydork71@gmail.com. We hung out at Bussmann's for a bit, gobbled down some sandwiches and did some swimming before we shoved off.

Our next stop was a gravel bar on the left just past Blue Springs. The sound of the spring rushing into the water would make you think that there is one heck of a stretch of rapids ahead if you do not know the river. There are some obstacles that could make this stretch tricky if you opt out of spending some time on the gravel bar.

Our next stop was the gravel bar underneath the Railroad Bridge. We spent quite a bit of time exploring the bridge. We partially climbed the ladder access to the top of the bridge but I am scared of heights so the mission was incomplete. We did walk back to the end of the trestle and got some great shots of the bridge. All the climbing, and hiking made us thirsty, and it was Terrie's birthday float so we floated to the Elbow Inn and climbed the stairs for a cold beer. The owner, Terry Roberson, was there so we chatted with him for a moment before he started preparing for that nights Bike Night. Bike Night is a tradition at the Elbow and is on Thursday nights. Free food and cold beer make this a popular place for most of our two wheeled friends in the area. After paying our tab we hiked back down to the canoe and shoved off, we figured we had another 30 minutes max, before reaching our take out spot. After the curve past the Elbow we noticed a very shallow area to our right so we headed left to skirt around it. We did not see the ridge line of rocks that popped up high enough from the water to swamp us. I was on the cooler in the middle and fared better than Terrie and Jeff. I did not even get my head wet, but saw Terrie completely underwater with the canoe coming straight down for her head. I reached out and grabbed her just before the canoe came down and started filling with water. Terrie was quick to react and started grabbing the canoe so we could flip the water out before it completely filled and Jeff made his way after the cooler. Giving up on the cooler he returned and we took stock of our supplies that had gone missing. Two coolers, various items of clothing and towels, a paddle, and the CD player. With my newly found "thuggin" CD. Soon after we remembered that Terrie's car keys were in the cooler. Luckily for us the cooler did not dump and we were able to retrieve it.

After beaching the canoe at Piney Beach only 10 miniutes after we had left the Elbow, Terrie and Jeff were able to swim out and retrieve the paddle as it bobbed lazily by. While they returned upriver to collect the Jeep, I chatted with a guy who knew Jeff. I can not recall his name but he told me that he had flipped his canoe in the exact same spot two days before and had just retrieved his car keys from the riverbed a few hours before we capsized. All in all it was another great day on the river and Terrie sported a huge bruise for a few weeks to remind her of that day. If you float the stretch of the big Piney between Elbow Inn and Piney Beach and see a shiny square box on the bottom of the river, grab it. The CD player will not work anymore, but I hope you enjoy that "thuggin mix" as much as I have. And beware of that rock!

Big Piney Float June 28, 2009

2009-07-27T13:43:00.008-05:00

It was a gorgeous Sunday morning in the Ozarks. We loaded up the fiberglass "Joe Whiz" canoe on the Jeep Cherokee and fought our way through all the church traffic to meet up with Terrie and Mike in the Price Cutter parking lot in Waynesville. Today's float was special because it was my nephew, Kyle's, first river adventure. A week shy of his second birthday, he was ready to start following in his Daddy's footsteps to become a river rat.

Terrie's fiance, Mike, is originally from Arizona, but he is a very outgoing guy and probably knows more people in my hometown than I do. He also knew a back way to a place that we used to go mudding at near the Big Piney River known as Mayfield Crossing. The dirt road beside Spur Cleaners leads to this area but after September 11, 2001 Fort Leonard Wood has closed access to most of the dirt roads that lead onto the installation. Mike was able to reroute us through a newer housing area off of Texas Road and back into the Mayfield area. Finding a way back into one of his favorite haunts made Jeff grin from ear to ear and he happily splashed and threw mud as he followed Mike through the puddles.

Kyle was excited to finally be out of his car seat but was not as excited when we then strapped him into a lifejacket. He and Terrie and Jeff splashed in the water a bit as we did final preps of getting the canoe off the Jeep, the two man kayak off the Surbarban, coolers loaded and the wrapping of valuables in ziploc baggies. We plopped Kyle into the very front of the canoe, in front of me and shoved off. He was content the first few minutes, taking in the water and Terrie and Mike in the yellow kayak beside us. Then he realized that Daddy was in the very back of the canoe and he wanted to be back there with him. I distracted him with a piece of ice from the cooler. This turned into an all day game of open the cooler, get a piece of ice, throw it in the river. I must have 70 pictures of that kid from that day and in 60 of them he is opening a cooler. He floated part of the way up front with me and after our first gravel bar swimming party he got in the back with Daddy. Daddy lets him move around more in the canoe than I did so he was a happy camper. He also enjoyed having easier access to the cooler for ice.

We stopped twice on this trip to let Kyle play in the water. Kyle got a kick out of seeing Popeye, hip deep, in the water with his fishing rod near the "old old Route 66 bridge". We floated to the Elbow Inn but we hadn't planned our trip very well. We didn't realize that the gate was locked so we portaged the canoes and supplies up from the river, and through the narrow stairwell that cuts through the buildings of the bar. Terrie, Kyle, and I camped out on coolers in the parking lot while Mike and Jeff went back to Mayfield to retrive the Jeep. We were unofficial greeters for the Elbow several times as we explained to people that yes, they were closed, but they should definitely come back when they are open because the food is excellent and the beer is cold. Jeff and Mike returned, with the Jeep splashed in mud all the way to the roof. We had everything loaded in a few minutes and Kyle was sound asleep in his car seat before we even reached the Devil's Elbow Bridge.

Gasconade Float June 29, 2009

2009-07-27T12:36:00.009-05:00

Snoop, Terrie, Jeff Gasconade Float

Woot! Woot! Our first float of the year! We grabbed the "Joe Whiz" fiberglass canoe off of Jeff's carport and loaded up on Shorty's truck. Shorty dropped me, Terrie, and Jeff off at the Barlow access of the Gasconade River and we floated to Hazelgreen Bridge. Hazelgreen Bridge is a stretch of original Route 66 pavement and I was excited about floating underneath it. The Gasconade is one of the crookedest rivers in the world and we have floated sections of it several times before, but this was a new stretch for all 3 of us. Not a lot of pictures from this float because we only had one cell phone with us and it didn't come out of the ziploc bags unless we were on dry land. This was a nice peaceful float even though we had 3 canoes behind us that were floating to Gasconade Hills Resort.

Thanks to my incredibly small bladder, and the help of three or four Busch Lights, we stopped at a gravel bar just in time to see a "chest high, knock your ass out of the boat" tree across the right channel of the river. After much debate and scouting downstream we decided to walk the canoe through the much narrower left channel. We waited for the first canoe of the other group, flagged them down, alerted them to the danger, and took off splashing through the rough water. We stopped at a gravel bar before the last eddy before the Hazelgreen Bridge and the sound of text messages coming in on Jeff's phone let us know that we were close to civiliization. The text message was about the death of Michael Jackson. We spent the last eddy debating among ourselves as to if the text was a hoax. The last eddy before Hazelgreen is LONG! With the recent flood waters receding the river was actually running backwards up the eddy so Terrie and Jeff got their paddles wet so we could get back to the truck and load up. On the drive home we learned that the King of Pop had indeed died and that everyones favorite "Angel", Farrah Fawcett had also passed. Sad news to end a beautiful day getting back to nature.

And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (Republic, MO)

2008-11-07T17:44:00.003-06:00

I saw some interesting things while in Republic, MO today. This is my first installment of “And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street”.
Our first innocuous stop was Cable America. The only thing that made this errand interesting was the fact that the local cable company is housed in, a house. I don’t have a picture, yet, but for now you will just have to believe me. The sign should have said “Cable Rural America” or something.

Next stop, the grocery store. I think that there are three grocery stores in Republic, but we stopped in at Price Cutter, because it was across the street from Cable Rural America. Our grocery list was small, carrots and onions for tomorrows stew, and brownie mix for my munchies today. While searching the aisles for the stoner food I stumbled across a product from Heinz, Spotted Dick. I was smart enough to grab my phone this time and take a picture. I wasn’t about to try it, and Maxine didn’t seem enthusiastic about the idea either. We are both picky eaters. Apparently, Spotted Dick is sponge pudding, a British treat. Drop the can in boiling water for 30 minutes and serve warm.

We decided to take the scenic route home and drove down Harrison Street. Harrison Street looks like most every other neighborhood street. The interesting thing about this particular street was that it intersects with George Avenue. Yep, George Harrison. I wasn’t as quick on the draw this time and didn’t get a picture and Max didn’t want to turn around. But thanks to Google technology, here is the map to back me up.

View Larger Map

Those are the things that I saw on “Mulberry Street” in Republic. And yes, the brownies were delicious!

Fast facts:

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street is a book written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss. Originally published in 1937, it was Seuss's first children's book.

Spotted refers to the dried fruit (which resemble spots) and Dick may be a contraction/corruption of the word pudding (from the last syllable) or possibly a corruption of the word dough.

Other usages for the word “dick” include a riding whip, an apron, an abbreviation for “dictionary”, a policeman, a declaration, and (of course), the penis.

Spotted Dick could also be a symptom of Syphilis, Herpes, Behcet’s Disease, or Reiter’s Syndrome.

Camera phones were first commercially available in North America in 2002.

The girl's name Maxine is of Latin origin, and its meaning is "greatest".

Maxine was the 359th most popular name for a baby girl born in 1959. The name was most popular in 1923 when it ranked 76th.

George Harrison was the first ex-Beatle to achieve a #1 single, “My Sweet Lord”.

George Harrison became the first Beatle to arrive on American soil, when he visited his sister Louise, in Benton Illinois, September 1963.

Louise Harrison now manages a Beatles tribute band in Branson, Mo, where she also lives. Branson is about an hour drive from Republic.

A New Day Begins

2008-11-04T23:19:00.004-06:00

What a proud day! Congratulations to President Obama and to ALL Americans. I truely hope that we will all follow the examples that Obama and McCain set in their speeches tonight. Hopefully Red & Blue REALLY will make Purple!

Red & Blue Make Purple

2008-11-04T15:19:00.002-06:00

Let me preface this by saying that I cast my absentee ballot last week. I voted absentee in Greene County because I would not be in Springfield on Election Day. This was the first time that I have ever voted absentee, and my first thoughts were that I preferred the absentee method. I had my ballot and was also armed with my laptop so I could do last minute research on the issues and candidates. Even with this ability, and prior research, Question 1 stumped me.

QUESTION 1
NON-PARTISAN COURT PLAN
31st CIRCUIT
Submitted by Petition
Mo. Const. Art. V, Sec. 25(b)
Shall the circuit and associate circuit judges of the 31st judicial circuit be selected as provided in
Section 25 of Article V of the Missouri Constitution?
YES □
NO □

The way this question is worded confused me AND my laptop. Who wants to vote AGAINST the Missouri Constitution? Apparently, I do, and did, but I worry that the wording will confuse some voters and cause them to vote opposite of their intentions. Time shall tell.

Even with the knowledge that I had researched each and every issue backwards, forwards, inside out, and upside down, something was missing. Something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

Until 8:20 am this morning. I arrived at the St. Robert Community Center with a friend. Her purpose was to vote, mine was to witness the fist shaking, foot stomping, spitting, rock throwing, bloody riot firsthand. I was disappointed. After two years of constant bombardment by campaign messages and 24/7 internet coverage of the Divided United States of America, I fully expected the anger evidenced online to spill over in the polling place, like a segment of “The View” gone horribly wrong. It did not happen. My voyeuristic voting experience was overall, boring. Two campaigners were outside the Community Center and inside the building the atmosphere was that of a….Community Center. Even though we were visibly separated by white lines that sorted us out by the first letter of our last name, the unspoken separation of Republican, Democrat, Liberal, Conservative, Christian, and Atheists barely rippled, not even the hint of an undercurrent. Instead people chatted about their children, their work, the Waynesville Tigers football team. The people who spew hate, on both sides, from the anonymity of their computers, were silent. Instead the overall feeling that I experienced at the poll, and had missed with my absentee voting experience, was that of camaraderie. By 8:50 am, my faith in the Undivided United States of America was temporarily restored. Sometimes, boring is good.

Cracker Barrel Architecture

2008-11-02T22:56:00.008-06:00

Most manufacturing companies in the United States see a demand for a certain type of product and then rush to patent and produce it. Hinkle Chair Company of Springfield, Tennessee seems to have a product that has created a market of it’s own. Not familiar with Hinkle Chair Company? They have been making rocking chairs for over 170 years, five generations ago, according to their website. A spokesperson for Lowes noted that the rocking chair is making a comeback. Why are rocking chairs becoming popular again?

Cracker Barrel.

The rocking chairs look so inviting and innocent

Cracker Barrel is a chain of “Old Country Stores” that are “Half Restaurant. Half Store. All Country.“. The company was started in Lebanon, Tennessee by Dan Evins. In October 2008 the company operates 581 locations in 41 states. Each and every one of those 581 stores has a long front porch that is lined with rocking chairs. Rocking chairs that are made by Hinkle Chair Company. Hinkle has provided Cracker Barrel with their rocking chairs since they opened in 1969.

Hinkle and Cracker Barrel are both shining examples of solid marketing combined with good products and sound business plans. They deserve a round of applause for this feat. However, I strongly feel that these two companies are behind an alarming architectural trend…

The Cracker Barrel Home.

I am not an extensive traveler, but I have recently relocated to my hometown of Waynesville, Missouri. Waynesville is located next to Fort Leonard Wood, a military installation, and has experienced a housing boom the past few years. New subdivisions with names like Ridge Creek and Hickory Valley have sprang up where livestock used to graze. I can not prove it, but I think that the majority of the local housing developers designed their spec houses while devouring Chicken n’ Dumplins and Fried Okra at our local Cracker Barrel. Continuing the snowball effect, consumers who are wistful for a Walton Mountain lifestyle buy the rocking chairs that dominate the long front porch of the chain. The downward spiral ends with the happy couple signing a thirty year mortgage so they will now have a front porch of their own to put their “authentic, ready to assemble Cracker Barrel / Hinkle Chair rocking chair”.

You Be The Judge…

The Cracker Barrel porch lends authenticity to this faux Colonial

With some retrofitting and an interstate location...

This home screams "Authentic' Cracker Barrel Porch

The owners opted out of the Cracker Barrel Wrap Around Porch upgrade

This porch can only be for showcasing the owners Cracker Barrel Rocking Chair Collection

All the homes pictured above are currently for sale in the Waynesville area. Feel free to email pictures of your Cracker Barrel Porch to snoopdorkydork71@gmail.com If you need me, I will be on the front porch, in my new rocking chair, wondering when The Waltons Season 9 will be released on DVD.

Guitar Hero In Store Display Democracy Guide

2008-11-02T16:07:00.006-06:00

Three games will most likely dominate the in store displays at Best Buy and WalMart this holiday season. Rock Band 2 was released September 14th and Guitar Hero World Tour was released October 26th. Guitar Hero on Tour: Decades will be released November 16th. Establishing a Guitar Hero democracy among a gathering of friends, whether at someone’s home or at the local tavern, is no easy task. Establishing a Guitar Hero democracy in the midst of an electronics super store or a shopping mecca is almost impossible. So with a Rock Band synthesized drum roll, I unveil the Guitar Hero In Store Display Democracy Guide.

Age Is Not A Factor. Whether you are 70 or 7 do not be afraid to step up to the plate and take your turn at virtual rock stardom. If you are a bystander in the crowd, do not judge a player by their cover. I have seen an eight year old rip a twenty-something to shreds playing guitar on “Satch Boogie” and watched a baby boomer who could have schooled Alex Van Halen himself on the game version of “Hot For Teacher”.

“Satch Boogie” footage on YouTube.com“Hot For Teacher” footage on YouTube.com

Take Turns. The mantra that we have heard since we were one holds true in a Guitar Hero democracy. First come, first serve is the standard for establishment of turns. Once you have played your song, if someone is in line behind you who obviously “has next” hand the controller over. If your onlookers have not established a visible line of players, turn around and ask if someone else wants to play. When someone steps forward hand the controller over. If no one is up to the challenge go ahead and play another song and repeat the process. If you have completed three songs and no one wants control of the game, set the controller down and walk away from the gaming area. Upon returning to the gaming area after two to three minutes, if no one else has started playing you can resume play. If someone else is playing take your place at the back of the line. Don’t be a bogart!

Song Failed. If you fail the song before 25% completion you are allowed one retry. If you fail the song after 25% completion your turn is over. Refer to “Take Turns”.

Song Difficulty. Player difficulty is completely up to the player whose turn it is. Play within your comfort level, now is not the time to try ramping up from easy to expert level.

Monday Morning Quarterbacking. If the player makes obvious mistakes or does not activate star power when you think they should it is NOT up to you to coach them. If a player is on their way to virtual stardom do not distract them with your play by play commentary. Keep your comments and your hands to yourself.