Ruth Hooper’s 3rd Grade Airplane Ride at Eugene Field 1956

Posted on April 8, 2026 by roger

AI colorized/enhanced Forum photo of 1956 Mrs. Ruth Hooper, 3rd grade, Eugene Field Elementary School “class flight.”  The AI may have some misspelled names on the cardboard controls (which were too dark on the original May 12, 1956 issue of the Forum)  Caption says: THESE THIRD- GRADERS ARE “ALOFT** in their home-made airliner constructed of cardboard, and furnished with earphones and “instruments” and “steering columns” provided by the pupils in Mrs. Ruth Hooper’s third grade at Eugene Field. This picture shows Larry Moore as the pilot on the right side of the liner and Billy Baker as the pilot on the left side; passengers are, Angela Swanson and John Price, and the “stewardess” standing in her compartment is Ann Volker. Michael White and Mrs. Hooper are looking on.  Facebook Discussion. Below is the source image:

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Largest Concrete Bridge in Northwest Missouri Near Sheridan

Posted on April 8, 2026 by roger

Above is an AI color/enhanced postcard labeled “Largest Cement Road Bridge in Northwest Missouri, near Sheridan.”  I am not familiar with where the bridge is.  Below is the original image.  Facebook discussion

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First Drivers Education Machines at Maryville High School 1949

Posted on April 7, 2026 by roger

AI Enhanced Maryville Forum Hi-Lights photo of the new Drivers Education equipment at the Washington High School, published April 16, 1949  An excerpt of the article (edited) is below, including identifying the people involved

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Smoke Shop During Townsend’s December 1960 Fire

Posted on April 6, 2026 by roger

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Nodaway County’s Lafayette High School

Posted on April 6, 2026 by roger

In August 1921, Nodaway County had a Lafayette High School near Guilford.  It was billed as the only rural school district in Missouri to do this without state (most one-room schools sent their students to towns for high school).  The school forced the media to refer to the school near Guilford as “Lafayette Rural High School,” while the bigger one in St. Joseph, Missouri, always had to have the St. Joseph name attached to it.  The school was too small to offer basketball or football teams, but it did have a little track.

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Fire on the west side of the square in -20F Temps in 1918

Posted on April 3, 2026 by roger

A fire that occurred on January 30, 1918, destroyed most of the buildings west of the square.  Outside temperatures were reported at -20F, and it iced over. It was the second of three major Townsend fires (the others being in 1892 and 1960). More than 100 people moved bags of Townsend goods across Fourth to the Farmers Trust building (later Citizens and today Bank Midwest) in preparation for Townsend’s reopening on the north side of the square in a former grocer space.  Towsends was in the Michau Building on the corner, which later became Place’s.   Some items from Nodaway Valley Bank were moved to the First National Bank

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8,000 Meals Served at Nodaway Court House Picnic for Troops Going to Camp Funston for WWI Training in September 1917

Posted on April 1, 2026 by roger

On September 26, 1917, more than 8,000 meals were served on the grounds of the Nodaway County Courthouse, honoring county men who had been drafted in August for World War I training at Camp Funston (now Fort Riley) in Kansas. The crowd in town was estimated at 15,000. The men then went to the Burlington Station, where the Burlington had dispatched 2 cars to take them.  220 Nodaway men had been drafted and passed their physicals in the August draft and were not exempted from service.  The draftees went in waves through October for training, and each wave had its festivities, but none were as grand as the Sept. 26 event.

My aunt, who would have been 5 at the time, talked about how she got caught up in the excitement and ran down the track, throwing flowers.  She said she never realized what she was cheering for and contrasted it to a more somber visit when they drove to St. Joseph during World War II just to see my dad pass through on a train.

Most histories say that the Spanish Flu, which killed more people than the War (as many as 100 million in the flu vs. 23 million in the war) started its worldwide spread at Camp Funston.

The AI colorized/enhanced image is from the Nodaway Countians in History photos at the Maryville Daily Forum Aug 18, 1973.  The caption refers to Nov. 1, 1917 but it was September.

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“Human Fly” Harry H. Gardiner Climbs Nodaway Courthouse Tower, Nodaway Valley Bank Building, and First National Bank, June 15, 1916

Posted on April 1, 2026 by roger

On June 15, 1916, “Human Fly” Harry H. Gardiner climbed points of the Nodaway County Courthouse, Nodaway Valley Bank, and First National Bank Building in Maryville.  The above ad is from the Ravenwood Gazette.  The photo of him is from the St. Joseph News-Press when he climbed the Federal Building in St. Joseph.

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Dedication of First House Stone Boulder in 1921

Posted on March 21, 2026 by roger

The dedication of the First House 6-ton boulder on the grounds of the Carnegie Public Library occurred on September 8, 1921.  The dedication was intended to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Missouri’s admission to statehood, which occurred on August 10, 1821, but was delayed because of issues with the inscription.  The dedication also included the unveiling of new plaques on the World War I memorial pillars on Memorial Drive at Northwest Missouri State.

The boulder came from East 4th Street (and had been moved previously to West 2nd).  It was described as a 6-ton granite composite, supposedly the smallest of several boulders originally on East 4th, and the only one that could be moved (probably glacial erratics). 

In 2012, the site of the boulder and the old Carnegie pillars was carved off the old Nodaway Valley Bank parking lot (now municipal parking) and given to the Nodaway County Historical Society.

Here are associate stories.

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Ireland School

Posted on March 15, 2026 by roger

There is plenty of Irish going around in Nodaway County — what with the world’s shortest parade by Burney’s, the Irish settlement at Conception, the old St. Patrick’s Church, and bars seemingly everywhere.  But if you want to go to Ireland, all you have to do is go to Wilcox.

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