Dr. Grace M. Ketterman

Dr. Grace Marie Ketterman (1926-2021) - Author, Medical Director, Medical Doctor, Psychiatrist.  Grace was born the 6th of seven children to Elizabeth (Winey) and Titus Horst, in Harvey County, Kansas on September 11, 1926. Grace's entire family, along with any grandparents or guests who happened to be there, gathered together every morning in the living room for family devotions.  Her father, Titus read wisdom from the Bible and prayed for all. 

After she graduated from high school, she attended two different colleges. One in Bethany, Oklahoma and one in Lawrence, Kansas to obtain her medical degree. She was one of 5 women in her Medical School graduating class of 1952. She received an award as an outstanding intern at the Menorah Hospital in Kansas City when she completed her work there and accepted a position as an assistant director of public health in Kansas City, KS. Then she was practicing pediatrics in Ruskin Heights, a postwar neighborhood in south Kansas City, MO when the  terrible tornado roared through in 1957. She later obtained her degree in psychiatry. Early in her practice she became the Medical Director of the Florence Crittenton Center for Unwed Mothers and the Director of the Crittenton Center in Kansas City, a residential home for troubled children, serving for more than 20 years. She counseled privately in the 199o's, at her downtown office which was in the Country Club Plaza, an upscale shopping district. She authored more than 30 books, was a guest on Dr. James Dobson's radio program (see links below to a couple of recorded ones) and lectured at the Nazarene Theological Seminary. She wasn't above praying for her patients either. 

Not only was Dr. Grace a busy doctor, but she was also a wife and mother. She married Dr. Herbert L. Ketterman (1926-2002) on 2 September 1950 and in the following years they had three children, two girls and a boy.  Her children were the light of her life. 

She passed peacefully away at her home in Leewood, Johnson County, Kansas at the age of 94. 

More to Read: 

1. Ketterman Family History. By Luther Clay Ketterman.

2. "Activities of Members." Journal of the Kansas Medical Society. By Kansas Medical Society. Topeka, KS. 1953. p. 484. Internet Archive. 

3. Caught Ever After: Children of the Ruskin Heights Tornado. By Carolyn Glenn Brewer. 

4. Caught in the Path: The Fury of a Tornado. The Rebirth of a Community. By Carolyn Glenn Brewer. 

5. "A Forgotten Monster - The Ruskin Heights F5 Tornado." By Meteocube. 3 Mar 2024. YouTube. 

6."Kansas City, MO. (NAE)" Women's Fellowship of NAE. The Brethren Evangelist, Ashland, OH, 1970. Internet Archive. 

7.  "The Father - More Than a Biological Necessity." By Rev. Truman Dollar and Dr. Grace Ketterman. Advent Christian Witness to the World. By Advent Christian General Conference of America. 1980. pp. 10-13. Internet Archives. 

8. "A Nov. 5 Trial Date was set Monday for..." US News, Olathe, Kan. 10 Sept 1984. 

9. Biographical Directory: Fellows and Members of the American Psychiatric Association. 1989 edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1989. American Psychiatric Press, Washington, DC. 

10. Dr. Grace's First Obituary 

2nd Obituary

3rd Obituary

4th Obituary

11. Grace's Husband's obituary

12. Findagrave Memorial #

Places to Visit: 

1. Clark-Ketterman Athletic Field Park, 8049 E. 107th Street (east of Blue Ridge Blvd), Hickman Mills, South Kansas City, MO.  Named for medical practice partners, Dr. Howard Clark & Grace's husband, Dr. Herbert L. Ketterman. Established in 1967. Has a tennis court, baseball field, playground and a picnic shelter. 

2. Highland Cemetery, Newton, Harvey County, KS, USA

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You can find many of these books on the Internet Archives Open Library website. If they aren't available there, some may be found on World Cat library as loaners. The two shown here are in my home library. 

Some of Dr. Grace's books:

199 Questions Parents Ask. 

A Circle of Love: How You Can Nurture Creative, Caring, and Close-Knit Parent-Child Relationships. 

Before and After the Wedding Night. 

Call Me Blessed: Becoming a Mother of Honor

The Complete Book of Baby and Child Care for Christian Parents. 1981. 

Depression Hits Every Family 

Don't Give In, Give Choices: Winning Your Child's Cooperation

Fathering: A Practical Guide for Dads

Family Matters Handbook: Expert Advice on Developing the Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Well-Being of Your Children

How to Teach Your Child About Sex. 1981. 

Ketterman on Kids: Answers to the Questions Parents Ask Most. 

Book 1 in the Framing Better Families Series 

Marriage: First Things First

Mothering: An Expert's Guide to Succeeding In Your Most Important Role. 

Mothering: The Complete Guide for Mothers of All Ages

Parenting the Difficult Child. 

Preparing for Parenthood

Real Solutions for Caring for Your Elderly Parent

Surviving the Darkness

Teaching Your Child About Sex: An Essential Guide for Parents. 

Teenage Rebellion. 1979

Verbal Abuse: Healing the Hidden Wound

When You Can't Say "I Forgive You:" Breaking the Bonds of Anger and Hurt. 

When You Feel Like Screaming!: Help for Frustrated Mothers.

You and Your Child's Problems: How to Understand and Solve Them. 1983.  

2014 and 2017. Radio Broadcast with Dr. James Dobson - When You Feel Like Screaming, Part 1, by Pat Holt and Dr. Grace

2017. Radio Broadcast with Dr. James Dobson - When You Feel Like Screaming, Part 2

Personal Note: 

A nurse who attended our church mentioned she had worked in Dr. Grace's office when she practiced in Ruskin Heights during the 1957 tornado. 

During the mid-1990's,  Dr. Grace and I shared a primary physician, Dr. Sharon Prohaska (1952-2006).  

One evening, I introduced Dr. Grace to a parent's meeting in our son's public elementary school (we began homeschooling before his 5th grade year) and afterwards,  they held a book signing. She autographed our copy of her book "When You Feel Like Screaming!" (see book above)  I'm grateful for her kindness and wisdom in counseling with our family during a very stressful time in our lives.  

Citation: "Dr. Grace M. Ketterman." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 16 January 2026. History Nut of Missouri, USA.  

Warren E Comstock

 Warren Ennis Comstock (1859-1928) = Advertising Sales Rep. Poet. Born in Calhoun County, Michigan, on May 3 to Hattie (Ennis) and Nicoll H. Comstock, grandson of Congressman Rev. Dr. Oliver Cromwell Comstock, Sr. and nephew of American Baptist missionary to Burma , Rev. Grover S Comstock. 

Warren married Maria Wilson "Boxie" Chiles (1869-1955), daughter of William H. and Mary (Graves) Chiles of Lexington, MO. on 17 October 1888.  They had three lovely daughters, Gladys (b.1889-90), Catherine (b.1892) and Grace (b.1893) and they spent many happy hours in Lexington visiting their daughter's maternal grandparents.  

Near the end of the 19th century, Kansas City's Commercial Club (Chamber of Commerce) was inspired to create their own version of a New Orleans' Mardi Gras festival to bring people into Kansas City, so they invented the Priest of Pallas festival complete with a large parade with floats. Invitations were sent to all the socialites to attend a ball (it ran annually until about 1912).  Boxie wore a brown satin ballgown with a Persian waist, overlaid with blue velvet bands, pink carnations and diamonds to the 1896 Pallas Ball. 

Gladys, in October of 1912, married a Mr. Rollins Smith in her parent's home at 806 East 41st Street. The ceremony was performed by Rev. J. C. Armstrong of the Westport Baptist Church. Catherine, Gladys' sister, was her maid of honor and Mr. Henry Clay Chiles, Glady's uncle, was the best man. 

Warren wrote poetry during his leisure hours when he wasn't engaged in traveling for an advertising sales agency. In 1917, Mr. Comstock was elected as the President of the Quill Club of Kansas City and was a member of the Writer's Guild in Missouri.  

He took a trip to England and returning, he left Liverpool on the ship Cedric and arrived back in New York on 17 Oct 1927 almost a year before he passed away on 17th of September 1928 of cancer and was quietly buried in the Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City. His tombstone carries the inscription "Missouri's Beloved Poet." 

Warren's Writings:

1. "The First Woman and Other Poems." By Warren E. Comstock, Bishop Press, Kansas City. 1907.
2. The days of long ago and Immortality (antithesis of "The Rubaiyat"), by Warren E. Comstock. Richard G. Badger, Boston, MA, 1908. Internet Archive.
3. Poem: "Evolution." By Warren E. Comstock. The Lexington Intelligencer. Lexington, MO. 13 Nov 1909. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
4. Various Poems. By Warren E. Comstock. Livezey Studio, Kansas City, Missouri, 1910. UMKC Library.
5. Poem: "Hail! and Farewell!" by Warren E. Comstock. 1910.
6. "Mother" By Warren E. Comstock. The Lexington Intelligencer. Lexington, MO. 24 Sept 1910. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
7. The days of long ago and immortality (antithesis of "The Rubaiyat"), by Warren E. Comstock. Foss Publishing Co, St. Joseph, MO. 1912.. UMKC Library.
8. Poem: "The Great Southwest." By Warren E. Comstock. 1912.
9. Poem: "Mental Hospitality." By Warren Comstock. The Detroit Times, Detroit, MI, 15 July 1916. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
10. Poem: "If". By Warren Comstock, President of the Kansas City Quill Club. 1917. 
11. Poem: "Made-In-Japan" Banquet. By Warren E. Comstock (Kansas City). The Daily Missourian, Columbia, MO. 30 May 1917. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
12. "Courage & Culture," "The Willow Tree, or A Legend of Old Japan." By Warren E. Comstock of Kansas City. 1920. 

Farewell forever to the past;

Regrets to leeward we must cast.

Live well the Present; ne'er despair;

Hail to the Future bright and fair. 

By Warren E. Comstock, 1910. 

More to Read:

1. His mother's family's genealogy = Genealogy of the Descendants of Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick of Salem, Mass.: the original emigrants, and the ancestors of the families who have since borne his name. By James Moore Caller (1813-1884), J. H. Coate & Co, Salem, MA, 1881. p. 278, 425. Internet Archive.
2. "Rev. Grover Smith Comstock." By Rev. Pharcellus Church, D.D. Brandon, VT. 
    American Missionary Memorial: including biographical and historical sketches. By Hamilton Wilcox Pierson. Harper & Brothers, New York. 1853. p. 149. Internet Archive.  
3. "Personalities." The Intelligencer. Lexington, MO. 13 October 1888. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
4. "The Priests of Pallas Shaped Kansas City's Spirit." by Diane Euston. Martin City and South KC Telegraph. Kansas City, Missouri.  1 July 2019. 
5. "Pallas' Tenth Annual Ball: Scene in the Ballroom." Kansas City Daily Journal. Kansas City, MO. 8 Oct 1896. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
6. Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, MO. 21 Feb 1897. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
7. "Was Like a Dream." and "Invitation List." Kansas City Journal. Kansas City, MO. 5 Oct 1899. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
8. Some Descendants of Samuel Comstock of Providence, R.I. who died about 1660. Edited by C. B. Comstock. The Knickerbocker Press, New York, 1905. p. 127-128, 190, 221. Internet Archive, HathiTrust. 
9. The Lexington Intelligencer, Lexington, MO. 8 July 1905. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
10. "A Clever Poet." The Lexington Intelligencer. Lexington, MO. 1 Feb 1908. Chronicling America Newspaper. 
11. "Local Briefs." The Lexington Intelligencer, Lexington, MO. 5 September 1908. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
12. The Annual American Catalog, 1900-1909. The University of Michigan, 1901. Vol. 6., p. 1908. Google Books. 
13. The Lexington Intelligencer. Lexington, MO. 8 Jan 1910. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
14. "Talk About Ads: Big Men in Business World at Leavenworth." The Topeka State Journal. Topeka, KS, 21 Feb 1912. Chronicling America Newspapers.  
15. "Smith-Comstock." The Lexington Intelligencer. Lexington, MO. 25 October 1912. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
16. The Daily Missourian. Columbia, MO. 14 May 1917. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
17. "MO. Writers Open Journalism Week." The Daily Missourian, Columbia, MO. 14 May 1917. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
18. "Journalism Week Notes." The Daily Missourian. Columbia, MO. 15 May 1917. Chronicling America Newspapers.  
19. "Missouri Ranks High in Literary Field: Active and Associate Members." The Daily Missourian, Columbia, MO. 18 May 1917. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
20. "Paddling" Impresses Visitor: Warren E. Comstock of Kansas City Tells of Journalism Week Incident. The Daily Missourian, Columbia, MO. 31 May 1917. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
21. "Echoes of Journalism Week: An Honor to Missouri." The Daily Missourian, Columbia, MO 21 June, 1917. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
22. "Journalism Week: Switzler Hall." Two Poems," Warren E. Comstock of Kansas City. 
23. The Evening Missourian, Columbia, MO. 3 May 1919. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
24. "Guild Opens Tenth Journalism Week." The Evening Missourian. Columbia, MO. 5 May 1919. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
25. "I. D. Mullinax First on Week's Program." The Evening Missourian, Columbia, MO. 3 May 1920. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
26. "Script-Crafters Please." The Evening Missourian. Columbia, MO. 4 May 1920. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
27. "Will Hear Missouri Writers on Monday." The Evening Missourian. Columbia, MO. 1 May 1920. Chronicling America Newspapers. 
28. USA Census Records
29. Missouri Death Certificate #30591 and Marie's Missouri Death Certificate #4700. 

Places to Visit:
Elmwood Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri. 

XXVIII

We'll dwell throughout Eternity, and Wait

For other Pilgrims who have traveled Straight

The Narrow Path that leads to Heaven's Gate. 

By Warren E. Comstock, Immortality (Antithesis of "The Rubaiyat")

Citation: "Warren E Comstock." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 4 October 2022. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Dr. John S. Sappington

Dr. John S. Sappington (1776-1856) = Author. Doctor. Store-keeper. Best known for creating a quinine pill to treat malaria.
He was born to Dr. Mark and Rebecca Sappington in Maryland on 15 May 1776. He was the third of seven children.
When John was nine, his family moved from Maryland. His father trained he and his brothers as physicians. Out on the frontier, they were in high demand.

In 1804, he married Jane Breathitt. The couple had nine children together, seven girls and two boys.  The future 15th Governor of Missouri, Claiborne Fox Jackson (1806-1862), married three of their girls, Jane (1831; she died of the "ague" or malarial fever),  Louisa (1833), and Elizabeth (1838). 

In 1819, upon the advice of Thomas Hart Benton, a future US Senator, Sappington moved to Saline County, Missouri.
He established two stores, one at present day Napton and another at Arrow Rock. Once financially successful, Sappington experimented with the bark of a South American tree to create a chemical called quinine.  Malaria, scarlet fever, yellow fever, and influenza, diseases carried by mosquitoes, were pestilential along creeks and rivers. He wanted to use quinine to treat the fevers caused by these diseases, but eventually it was used to prevent the onset of malaria.
In 1844, Dr. Sappington wrote the first medical treatise west of the Mississippi River. It was called "Theory and Treatment of Fevers." Following a long illness, he died in 1856. An inscription over his grave reads: "A truly honest man is the noblest work of God. He lay like a warrior taking his rest."

Historical Note: George Caleb Bingham painted his and his wife's portraits in 1834. Click here and here to view.  

More to Read:

1. The Theory and Treatment of Fevers. By John Sappington. 1844. FREE Google e-book. 

2. Dr. John Sappington of Saline County, Missouri: 1776-1856. By Thomas B. Hall. Friends of Arrow Rock, 1975 

3.Claiborne Fox Jackson. By Christopher Phillips, University of Mo. Press, Columbia, MO; 2000.

4. "Historic Missourians," The State Historical Society of Missouri. 

5. "Dr. John Sappington."

6. Sappington's Papers
7. Panama Canal Online Exhibit; Clendening History of Medicine Library, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, KS , 2015.
8. Findagrave #11994.

Note: Infectious malaria is not caused by a bacteria or a virus, but by a tiny worm parasite that enters your bloodstream via a mosquito bite! To prevent the spread of malaria, it is best to drain standing water where mosquitoes breed, to use fine metal mesh screens on your windows and doors to keep them out and/or tuck in mosquito netting over your bed when you sleep at night in warmer climates. Spray insecticide on your clothing to ward them off if you must be out at dusk, their prime feeding time. 

Places to Visit:

1. The Santa Fe Trail 

2. Napton, Missouri Supplemental Route E, SE Saline County

3. The Missouri River

4. Dr. John S. Sappington Museum, 108 High Street, Arrow Rock.

5. Son, William B. Sappington's home called Prairie Park, 3 mi. SW of Arrow Rock on  CR TT. National Register of Historic Sites. (please respect the privacy of homeowners).

6. The Miller-Bradford House, Arrow Rock

7. Sappington Cemetery State Historic Site

8. Visit Missouri Sappington Cemetery, Route AA, Nelson

Citation: "Dr. John S. Sappington." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 10 May 2020. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Rose O'Neill

Rose O'Neill (1874-1944) = Self-taught Artist/Illustrator. Author. Free-Spirit. Poet. Best known for her Kewpie characters. Rose was born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1874 to "Meemie" Alice and William Patrick O'Neill as one child of seven. She attended a Catholic primary in Omaha, Nebraska and taught herself to draw by looking at illustrations in her father's books.

The Kewpies first appeared in 1909 as cartoon characters in the Christmas issue of Ladies' Home Journal and were regularly featured in other women's magazines for the next twenty-five years, however by 1912, German porcelain doll makers were creating dolls based on her Kewpie illustrations. She said  she wanted her Kewpies to teach people to be happy and kind.

She married twice, but chose not to become a mother of any chubby babies herself as she was supporting her large family with her work.  

Bonniebrook in the Missouri Ozarks (Taney County) was Rose's favorite home. At the height of her career, she purchased other homes in New York, Connecticut, and in Italy. Near the west side of Bonniebrook, a small brook gurgled its way downstream which was said to have inspired the name for her home. At the top of the house was Rose O'Neill's studio, filled with treasures from friends and family. Her unusual, but favorite mode of dress for the times  were blousy aprons or kimonos over a Greek style tunic. 

In the spring of 1944, Rose died of heart failure at the age of 69. She was buried near her family and Bonniebrook.

For Your Info: While I find Rose's Kewpies appealing, some of her other illustrations I find dark and disturbing.

More to Read:
1.) Rose O'Neill: An Autobiography. Edited by Miriam Formanek-Brunell.University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Mo; 1997.

2.) American Illustrator: Rose O'Neill. By J. L. Wilkerson. 2001

3.) Collecting Rose O'Neill's Kewpies. by David O'Neill and Janet O'Neill Sullivan. 2003.

4.) Historic Missourians

5.) Kewpies and Beyond: The World of Rose O'Neill. By Shelley Armitage. 1994.

6.) Rose O'Neill - The Girl Who Loved to Draw by Linda Brewster. 2009.

7.) Representative Women. By Lois Oldham Henrici. 1913.

8.) The Kewpie Primer. By Elizabeth V. Quinn. Illustrated by Rose O'Neill. Frederick A. Stokes Co, New York. 1916.

9.) Titans and Kewpies: The Life and Art of Rose O'Neill. By Ralph Alan McCanse.

10.) The Adventures of the Kewpies: A Coloring Book.  Saalfield Publishing Co, 1962.

11.) Missouri newspapers at Chronicling America

12.) Findagrave #21784408

Places to Visit:
1.) Branson's Kewpiesta in April.
2.) Drury University: The Rose O'Neill House, 900 North Benton Ave, Springfield
3.) Nelson-Atkins' Collections, 4525 Oak Street, Kansas City (2 pieces of Kewpie art)

4.) O'Neill Museum, 485 Rose O'Neill Road, Walnut Shade, Mo.

5.) Ralph Foster Museum, College of the Ozarks, 1 Cultural Court, Point Lookout (south of Branson)

"Do good deeds in a funny way. The world needs to laugh or 

at least smile more than it does."  

~ Rose O'Neill

Citation: "Rose O'Neill." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 5 February 2020. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Thor Hagen

1955

Thor Hagen (1925-1982) = WWII Navy Vet. 1943-1946. Professional Wrestler. Founder of New Life Ministries for underprivileged children.

Born as Orion Clemence Heskin in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota on 24 November to  Bertha M. (Sveen) and electrician, John S. Heskin. All his grandparents were born in Norway and emigrated to the United States before his parents were born. Life was rough growing up for Orion. By the time he was fourteen, his parents were divorced and he and his mother were living with his maternal grandmother. 

His military registration records described him as a white young man, but having a ruddy complexion with brown-eyes and hair. He stood at 5 ft. 11 in. and weighed 195 lbs. at the time of his Navy enlistment in Los Angeles, California. 

  

He married his wife, Lenore E. Hagg (1929-1985) in September of 1949 while living in California. 

He wrestled from 1952 until 1971, won 385 times and was a Central States Heavyweight Champion and a World Tag Team Champion several times. 

But none of his titles meant anything when God got hold of his heart and he began working with the Salvation Army, Young Life, Youth for Christ and founded New Life Ministries. He purchased  an old broken down, 3-story mansion in central Kansas City, Missouri and remodeled it so the young people in the area would have a nice place to hang out. 

Sadly, Thor died 14 December 1982 of cancer and was buried in the Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, KS. 

More to Read: 

1.  Ancestry. com Records

2. Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2nd ed. By Harris M. Lentz III., p. 140. Google Books.  

3.  Daily Colonist News, (Victoria, B.C.), 17 Jun 1955. p. 9. Internet Archive

4. Facebook: Thor Hagen

5. Findagrave #367093

6. Focus on the Family with Dr. James C. Dobson, Pomona, CA.1997. Vol. 21-22, p. 48.

7. Memoirs of Oscar and Gladys O'Neal. Satanta, Kansas. Aft. 1977. p.28. Ancestry.
8. NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship

9. Online World of Wrestling

10. Professional Wrestling Historical Society

11. "KETV, Channel 7: Omaha's All-Star Wrestling."  Sponsor, (New York) 3 Oct 1959, p. 62. Internet Archive. 

12. Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho), 26 Sep 1954, p.15  Internet Archive
13. Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho), 15 Sep 1954, p. 13. Internet Archive

14. Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho), 16 Nov 1954, p.19. Internet Archive
15. Times-News, (Twin Falls, Idaho), 24 Jan 1955. p. 8  Internet Archive. 

16. Times-News, (Twin Falls, Idaho), 25 Jan 1955. p. 8. Internet Archive
17. Times-News, (Twin Falls, Idaho),14 Feb 1955, p. 7. Internet Archive

18. Wrestling Classics Message Board

19. Wrestling Data

20. Wrestling Legends

1954

Citation: "Thor Hagen." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 20 September 2019. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Albert E Brumley

Albert Edward Brumley, Sr. (1905-1977) = Singing School Teacher. Gospel songwriter. Best known for " I Can Hear Them Singing Over There (1927);" "I'll Fly Away (1932);" "If We Never Meet Again (1945);" "They Have a Good Time on Sunday (1951);" and "Turn Your Radio On (1938)." Best guesstimates are that he wrote between 600 to 800 songs in his lifetime.

Albert was born near Spiro, Oklahoma to Sarah Isabelle (Williams) and William S. Brumley. He, the middle child of three, grew up in the cotton fields and on the family farm - hoeing, picking cotton, and chopping down the spent plants. It was hard work, but music made life bearable - his father played the fiddle,  his older brother played the guitar and he learned to play an instrument too. After completing the tenth grade, between 1926 and 1931, he studied at Eugene Monroe Bartlett's (1884-1941) Hartford Musical Institute in Hartford, Arkansas. 
He married Goldie Edith Schell (1912-1988) in 1931 and together they raised six children - five bouncing boys and one sweet girl. It is said that Mrs. Goldie was a good encourager and wife for Mr. Albert. He was like Fred MacMurray in the movie "The Absent-Minded Professor" when he was in the zone, writing and creating and Goldie kept him on track.
In 1970, Brumley was inducted into the Nashville, Tennessee Songwriters Hall of Fame. He would go on to be  inducted into seven more Halls of Fame such as the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
Albert was a member of the Fox Church of Christ and was buried in the church cemetery after he passed into glory on the 15th of November 1977. Goldie graduated from earth to heaven ten years later. His work lives on. 

More to Read:

1. "Albert E. Brumley, A Living Legend." By Gene Gideon. Albert E. Brumley's All-Day Singin' and Dinner on the Ground. Camdenton, Mo; 1972. Repository: Author's Home Library.
2. Albert E. Brumley's Songs of the Pioneers. Pioneer Song Book, Camdenton, MO.; 1970. Repository: Author's Home Library.
3. Albert Edward Brumley (1905-1977) Biography

4. A photo of his Powell, Missouri Home 

5. Brumley Music Company

6. Arkansas Historical Encyclopedia Biography

7. Sing Me Back Home: Southern Roots and Country Music by Bill C. Malone. 2017. Ch. 7.  Google Books. 

8. "The Gentle Genius." Listening to the Jar Flies: Growing Up in Wheaton and Rocky Comfort. By Jimmy R. Lewis. 2015. Ch. 28. Google Books. 

9. “Granddaughter retraces Oklahoma roots of gospel hit ‘I’ll fly away’” by Amanda Taylor. Oklahoma City, OK. 24 Sept 2026. Channel 9 News. 

10. Findagrave #5659883

Quote: "I may be a little old-fashioned, but my Savior was old-fashioned too." ~ Albert Brumley

Places to Visit: 

1. Powell, McDonald County, Missouri

2. Albert E. Brumley Parkway (a 13 mile strip between MO Highway E and MO Highway 76; between Rocky Comfort, Mo to  Pea Ridge, AR. It was dedicated in 1987)

3. Powell Bridge across Big Sugar Creek (This one lane bridge was built in 1915, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is only open to foot traffic.)

4. Brumley Gospel Sing, Cowan Civic Center, 500 E. Elm St, Lebanon

Homeschool Educator Helps:
Albert's favorite books were a rhyming dictionary and a thesaurus. He also carried a pen and paper with him wherever he went.

Citation: "Albert E Brumley." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 11 April 2019. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Thomas Sears Huffaker

Thomas Sears Huffaker (1825-1910) = Methodist Missionary. Postmaster. County Commissioner. Probate Judge.  Kansas Legislator.  Born on March 30 to  Catherine (Lowe) and George Smith Huffaker, an ordained minister of the Methodist Episcopal South church in Clay County, Missouri.  

Eliza Ann Baker was born in Illinois to Agnes (Inghram) & blacksmith, Joshua W. Baker in 1836, raised in Iowa and married Thomas on 6 May, 1852 at the age of 16 in Council Grove by a missionary traveling to Mexico, one Rev. Nicholson.

Previous to their marriage, in 1850, Thomas  was sent to Council Grove, Morris County, Kansas as a missionary to teach the Indian children by the Methodist Episcopal South Board of Missions after he taught at the Shawnee Manual Training School in Johnson County for two years. Few Indians allowed their children to attend the Kaw mission school, so the mission closed within a few years. After awhile, when settlers began to settle around and in Council Grove, he taught the children of those settlers and began a Sunday School there. In addition to teaching, he engaged in a mercantile business, farming and raising farm stock. 

They lived at the mission until a new fourteen room house was built for their family, eventually numbering twelve members, one quarter mile north of the mission. Thomas and Eliza celebrated their fifty-third anniversary there. After her father passed, a daughter, Anna Carpenter, sold her home on Second Street and moved to the mission in 1911 with her mother (1836-1920), living there until her death in 1921. 

Both Thomas and Eliza were buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Council Grove, Kansas. 

More to Read:  

1. Some Boone Descendants and Kindred of the St. Charles District. By Lilian Hays Oliver. Chedwato Service, 1964. p. 267-270. Repository: Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, MO. 

2. "Old West Kansas." Kansas Heritage website

3. History of the State of Kansas. By William G. Cutler. A. T. Andreas, Chicago, IL, 1883. p. 805-806. Repository: Google Books. 

4. Kansaspedia. Kansas Historical Society website

5. "Homer Huffaker." A Standard History of Oklahoma. by Joseph Bradfield Thobum. Vol. 5. p.2133-34. Repository: Google Books.

6. Photo of the Kaw Mission in Council Grove, Kansas. Kansas Memory.

7. Thomas Sears Huffaker, Ancestry.com

8. Findagrave #20168737

Places to Visit:

1. Santa Fe Trail Historic Markers from Independence, MO to Council Grove, KS. 

2. Shawnee Indian Mission Historic Site & Museum, 3403 W. 53rd,  Fairway, KS.

3. Kaw Mission State Historic Site, 500 North Mission, Council Grove, KS. 

Citation: "Thomas Sears Huffaker." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 17 January 2019. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Dr. James Naismith

Dr. James Naismith (1861-1939) = Presbyterian Minister. Physician. Professor. Best known as the Inventor of Basketball. Born in Canada to John & Margaret (Young) Naismith who passed away when he was but eight or nine, he was raised by his grandparents and an uncle.
He attended courses at both the Presbyterian College and McGill University in Montreal, Canada and from there, in 1890 he entered the School for Christian Workers college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was there that James Naismith came up with the new game. He was inspired by a Canadian game he played as a child, but instead of using rocks, he created his game to be played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets.

From Springfield, Naismith went to Denver where he finally acquired a medical degree at the Gross Medical College in 1898 and later, in the same year, he joined the University of Kansas faculty at Lawrence, Kansas. He initiated the first collegiate Jayhawks basketball game at the University.
Following the 1936 Olympics, he was offered thousands of dollars for endorsements of various tobacco products, which he rejected on principle -- tobacco was harmful to young people.
James was a papa to several children and a happy husband. He remained at Lawrence until his death in 1939. 

More to Read:

1. Basketball: Its Origin and Development. By James Naismith. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE; 1996. 
2. Basketball History

3. Canadian History for Kids

4. Kansas Medical License Application

5. Kansas Sampler

6. Ten Interesting Facts about James Naismith

7. Where Basketball was Invented

8. Findagrave #753 

9. Naismith's Obituary

Places to See in KS:

1. Allen Fieldhouse (Booth Family Hall of Athletics Museum), KU Campus, 1700 Naismith Drive, Lawrence

2.  Naismith Hall-Campus Student Housing, Lawrence

3. Watkins Community Museum of History, 3rd floor, 1047 Massachusetts, Lawrence
4. Memorial Park Cemetery, East 15th, Lawrence 

Citation: "Dr. James Naismith." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 7 January 2019. History Nut of Missouri, USA. 

Lee Mace

Lee Mace (1927-1985) - Entertainer. Bass String musician. Best known for Lee Mace's Ozark Opry. Born to Lucian Thomas and Anna Jane "Clare" (Buster) Mace on a summer day (30 July) near Brumley, Missouri, almost a year after his parent's marriage on 8 Aug 1926. He was the oldest of three children.
Lee grew up in Tuscumbia, Missouri in the quarters above the jail when his dad, Lucian, was elected Sheriff (1940s). Lee's dad was later elected to the Missouri House of Representatives and served as both a Judge and a school teacher. His mother wrote a column for the local paper. She, a Baptist, adopted a Bible verse (Philippians 4:8-9) that was her philosophy of life.
Lee received a shiny red Western Flyer bicycle one year for Christmas and a new baby sister.
He graduated from Tuscumbia High School in 1945 and then served in the Navy during the last part of WWII and in the Army during the Korean Conflict. Lee married Joyce Williams on 16 Aug 1950.
Three years later, Lee founded his Ozark Opry. He got some folks together from the area and began putting on hillbilly music shows. His wholesome, family shows grew so much that he built a new auditorium in 1957 with a seating capacity that eventually reached 1000 seats. They performed from mid-April to mid-October every night except Sundays as well as a half-hour show on television by 1966 which aired in the central Missouri region.
Lee died in a private plane crash on 16 June of 1985. Joyce continued running the show until she retired in 2005. Lee is buried in the Gott cemetery in Ulman. Look for the big bass fiddle carved on Lee's tombstone. 

More to Read:
1. Ancestry.com Census Records

2. Hillbilly-Music dot com 
3. Lee Mace's Ozark Opry

4. Lee Mace Biography 
5. The Story of Lee Mace by Joe Pryor, former President of the Miller County Historical Society museum. 2008.
6. Miller County Historical Society's YouTube Channel
7. Findagrave #14789856 

Places to Visit in MO:
1. Miller County Historical Society Museum and gift shop, PO Box 57, 2005 Hwy 52, Tuscumbia 65082, 573-369-3500 

2. Old Jail, Tuscumbia

3. Lee Mace Memorial Highway, Osage Beach

4. Mace Ozark Opry Museum, 54 Hwy, Osage Beach
5. Gott Cemetery, Ulman, Miller County

🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

Memories of that Mountain Music! 

Citation: "Lee Mace." Written by Dolores J. Rush. 3 January 2019. History Nut of Missouri, USA.