Last week I attended funeral services for Evelyn Groom of Grant City, Mo. After the graveside service at Kirk Cemetery northeast of Allendale, Mo., Dave Hardy brought to my attention some unusual grave markers to the north of us. Those graves were of Jo Ross, Jim Ross, Hubert “Whitney” Wiseman, Hazel Davis and Obra Davis.…

This is another picture postcard from the Linda Swanson collection. It shows the north side of the Mount Ayr square before 1915. I’ve written about the north side many times so I’ll try to give the readers some fresh information this week. The Timby building (100-102 W. Madison) was built in 1890 and bears the…

This week’s photo comes courtesy of Nancy Thompson and shows the house at 206 S. Lincoln St. in Mount Ayr, but I’m not certain of the year. Writing at the base of the picture says, “Frelands (Freelands) 1929-1932.” Montgomery Edward “Ned” Freeland moved to 501 W. Madison in 1924. M. E. had a twin brother,…

This week’s picture was scanned from the book, “The Ghost Town of Caledonia,” written by Holland Foster and published in 1978. Mr. Foster explains that the photos used in the book were mostly taken by Foster’s father, Homer Foster, a businessman in Caledonia for many years. This is the second photo I’ve seen of the…

This week’s picture comes courtesy of the Linda Swanson collection and shows the west side of the Mount Ayr square about 1914. I have a similar photo from this angle and from about the same time frame, but that picture doesn’t have the quality this one does. I know this photo is from September 1913…

I made a mistake in the last article. In the last paragraph I used the surname “Mullin” which was incorrect as it should have been “Mull.” My further research also uncovered multiple closeout sales at the Ringgold City store. The first one was in August 1932 with Mrs. J. M. Mull & Son as proprietors.…

I took this photo in March 2010 at Ringgold Cemetery. The gate faces east, so a morning shoot is best. This is the oldest man-made site in Ringgold County. The cemetery was established by Charles Schooler about 1847 when he buried his wife and child there. Of course, these graves are unmarked and it is…

I was asked about the life and career of Mount Ayr attorney Frank Wilson. I don’t have much on Frank, but his father was once one of the most well-known men in Ringgold County. Plus, there is a legacy to discuss, so let’s look at the Henry Havelock Wilson family. Page 71 of the “Early…

By Mike Avitt Many years ago, the Mount Ayr Depot Museum was gifted a scrapbook from the Ringgold County Cattlemen’s Association. I can no longer locate that scrapbook, but I had some success searching different words and phrases on the digitized newspapers. Let’s take a look at the beginning of that association. The August 22,…