The 1940 Census - Bethany, Missouri

My mother's family is from a small group of farm communities in Harrison County, Missouri, close to the Iowa border.  This is a view of Bethany's main square in 1935, and since it looks basically the same today, I'm sure this is what the local residents saw in 1940 as well:

In 1940, the new courthouse was completed.  Love the very distinct architecture for the time period.

Another interesting piece of trivia is that Hy-Vee grocery stores were started in the 1930's, and by 1940 there were 23 stores, including this one in Bethany:

Lots of hustle and bustle in a small town in 1940!!

Helen Gannan Eberhart

It's been a year since my grandmother's sister, Helen Gannan Eberhart, passed away.  Aunt Helen was a wonderful person, full of life and good stories.  In spite of battling lung cancer and losing her eyesight, becoming a widow when her husband (Uncle "Pint") passed away after suffering through Alzheimer's, and spending her last years in an assisted living facility, she remained upbeat and positive until the end.

She was buried on a beautiful, crisp, clear New Year's Day in 2011, as the sun was setting over Gilman City, Missouri, the small northern Missouri town she had called home in her youth.

Her obituary does not begin to describe the wonderful life she lived, and how much she is missed.

Graveside service and burial for Helen Eberhart will be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, January 1, 2011, at the Masonic Cemetery in Gilman City [Missouri].  The family will receive friends from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany.  The family requests memorials to the Masonic Cemetery in care of Roberson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 46, Bethany, MO 64424.  
Helen Arlene Eberhart, 90, Gilman City, died in Dallas, Texas on December 24, 2010.  
She married Charles Marion Eberhart.  He preceded her in death on February 1, 2001. 
Survivors include one son, Carl Eberhart; one brother, Don Gannan; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

First Lieutenant Glenn W. Jones

While organizing my office today, I ran across a book called "The First Hundred Years, Belton, Missouri 1872-1972."  One of the sections in the book is called "These Paid The Supreme Sacrifice," a listing of local boys who had gone off to war and were killed in action.

From the book, author unknown:

First Lieutenant Glenn W. Jones entered the Air Corps in December, 1942.  After attending Officers Training School, he was commissioned in 1944.  He was the first pilot of a B-24 bomber and was assigned to the 15th Air Corps based in Italy.  He was sent overseas August 15, 1944, and was on his 24th mission when he was killed over Italy, March 8, 1945.  His family received word that he died in an effort to save his crew.  At least three did escape death.  His body was returned to Belton in December, 1948, and he was buried in the Belton Cemetery.

I'm grateful that men like Lt. Jones are willing to serve and protect, even if it means they may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Tombstone Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Tombstone of John Gannan, Fairview Cemetery, Harrison County, MO (near Blue Ridge).