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UPCOMING
MEETING--JANUARY 7, 2010
Business Meeting. Speaker: Wayne Holmes, author
of "Rocky Comfort" and other booksElection Results-2010
Officers:
Susan
Sparks, President
Ray Brown, Vice President
Leta Gass, Secretary
Julie Trout, Treasurer
Ben Gravely, Director at large
PCGS
Library will be closed for Christmas Break,
Thursday, December 24-Friday, January 1, 2010!
INCLEMENT
WEATHER POLICY:
If Bolivar schools are
closed because of weather, the library will also
be closed.
There will be no night meeting, either, if school
is closed on a Thursday. If bad weather
develops on a Thursday afternoon before the
regular monthly meeting, members can
call 417-777-2820 to find out the status of the
meeting. Click here
for school closings
list at ky3.com
PCGS
pictures available on Flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pcgsmo/
See
below for links to particular photo albums.
Annual Group Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pcgsmo/sets/72157622475932100/
Renovation of the Polk County Genealogical
Society Library:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pcgsmo/sets/72157622476798784/
"Who
are We?" Click here to look at some of the unidentified
pictures of PCGS
Celebrate
the history of Polk County with a set of Limited
Edition souvenir playing cards!
For more information, see below or click here.
GEOCACHING--Geocaching
is an activity in which the participants
use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or
other navigational
techniques to hide and seek containers (called
"geocaches" or "caches")
anywhere in the world. PCGS is now part of the
geocaching community.
For more
information, please see this website Grandma's
Little Stash
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=48059b6f-fd44-4c45-88ae-07c7d0d0be53
President's
Corner
I have many fond memories of taking my son to the
park when he was little. It was cheap
entertainment to buy a
loaf of 40-cent white bread and spend some time
feeding the ducks. To this day my son, now 20,
calls all white
bread “duck bread.”
I thought in my “history nerd” way that
some might enjoy a brief history of Dunnegan
Memorial Park
In December of 1920, Judge T. H. B. Dunnegan
offered a 44.2 acre tract of land known as
Dunnegan’s Woods to
the city of Bolivar through the Commercial Club.
The land had been used for the last two or three
years as a
reunion grounds for the old settlers’
picnics, Grand Army of the Republic, and various
other groups.
In March of 1921, the city council accepted the
land and named it Dunnegan Memorial Park. The
city was responsible
for the care and beautification of the new park.
The first thing they did was hire a landscape
gardener to map out the
park and develop a plan of improvement. The local
newspaper reported, “The park [plan] is an
ideal layout for a
beautiful city park. It is nearly a half-mile
long and extends out midway to almost a quarter
mile. It contains 44.2 acres
with a fine growth of native oak covering it all.
It includes two ravines that intersect well to
the north end. A large lake
has been formed at the north end that is large
enough for swimming and rowing. By just a little
attention, a fine driveway
can be made.”
The city approved the landscaping plan and put
out a call to the citizens of Bolivar for a
“Park Working Day” to be held
on Friday, June 23, 1922. The event was to last
all day and citizens were invited to bring an
“ax, grubbing hoe, scythe,
picks, shovels and rakes” and
“everybody works, even Father.”
The official public presentation of the park to
the city was held on July 4, 1922. Judge T. H. B.
Dunnegan addressed
the crowd at the presentation saying,
“Realizing that as the years go, that the
people will more and more be in need
of a breathing ground, and as my people have
lived among this [sic] people from the earliest
settlement of this county,
I have concluded to donate this plot of land to
the City of Bolivar and Polk County as a public
park to be known as
Dunnegan Memorial Park, to the memory of all who
have fallen in defense of our land [and]
country[.] [A]nd to you,
Mr. Mayor, I present this plot with the
injunction that you, and your successors,
preserve and beautify it for the use and
pleasure of all the people.”
The day was filled with fun and games. Events
started at 9:30 in the morning with a parade and
concerts from the
community band and choir. The day was supposed to
end with a “big open air picture show”
at the park. Unfortunately,
the electric current was not strong enough to
power the projector at the park, so the picture
show was moved to the city
square. The day was not without other hitches.
The newspaper followed up with this report,
“The deplorable and very
unsanitary tank of drinking water which was so
grossly polluted at the Bolivar Public Park on
the Fourth of July, and
which was not discovered by the Health Officer
until he returned from Halfway at three
o’clock has caused much
sickness. The tank was dipped into by
children’s dirty fingers, cups dropped in
the mud were dipped in the water and
water poured back into the tank from the
cups… A crawfish was found in the lemonade.
We wonder what else was in
it too small to see.”
The park quickly took shape and by 1925, the area
was fenced with wire, wood, and concrete posts.
Water service and
electric street lamps were also installed in the
park the same year. In 1926, a log house was
built from timbers from
the land and John A. Farmer, the park’s
caretaker, resided in the park. Native stone was
hauled to the park to erect a
gateway, which was completed in 1928 and the road
in front of the park was graded and improved. One
of the uses of
the park in its early days was as a tourist camp.
Small signs would point the way from the main
road to the park where
tourists were allowed to set up and camp for
free. This was later disallowed.
During the summer of 1931, the drive through the
park was improved and included the draining of
the lake so that the
dam could be widened to a two-track width and
concreted. A gravel swimming bar was added to the
lake for the children.
The octagon shelter house and bandstand (now
known as Pavilion 1) was added to the park in
1933. It measured 30 feet
in diameter and was built by John Woskoski. In
the 1940s, improvements such as cooking
fireplaces, native stone tables
and benches, a shuffleboard and oversized
checkerboard were added. In 1949, the park board
improved and blacktopped
the drive and added more children’s
playground equipment near the shelter house.
The Polk County Genealogical Society Research
Facility has an undated cloth poster of rules on
display from the park
that likely dates from the 1940s: “Notice to
everyone visiting the Park - All well-disposed
persons are cordially invited
to visit the park. In driving into the park, keep
to the right. Do not try to turn in the driveways
but keep on till you come
out. Owing to depredations committed at night,
the Park Board has ordered the gates shut and
locked at 9 o’clock at night.
The trees, shrubs and flowers are for all
visitors to see and enjoy, so please do not break
or pull them. For if you do there
soon will not be any left for anyone to see. No
hunting with dogs or guns allowed. Leave your
dogs and guns at home.
Be careful with fires. Leave no trash scattered
about. Do not molest the birds, squirrels, or
other wild animals about the
park. State law regulates fishing in the lake.
See the park keeper about fishing permits. No
gambling or improper conduct
allowed. Camping in the park is prohibited! This
rule will be strictly enforced by the
keeper.”
This park is truly one of the “Gems of the
Ozarks”, so pack a lunch and enjoy, as Judge
Dunnegan said, “the breathing ground.”
Susan Sparks
Orphan Train comes to Bolivar
The Children’s Aid Society of New York
was founded in 1853. The mission being that they
could take
children from the streets and orphanages of New
York and send them to a better life in the
Midwest. The
orphan trains, which ran from 1853-1929, were
designed to transport orphans and half-orphans to
a better
life in the Midwest. This must have been a
culture shock to children that had never
experienced the hills and
hollows of the Ozarks. Most had never seen such
wide-open spaces, cows, deep woods, orchards and
ticks.
In December of 1889, the first train of
orphans from New York arrived in Bolivar. The
trip was a success
with seventeen of the children being placed in
homes around Polk County. The process for taking
in the
children was, as follows: committees of men were
chosen by the Society to screen potential
families. The
Polk County committee consisted of D. W.
Faulkner, T. H. B. Dunnegan, J. J. Akard, J. W.
Ross and F. A.
Affleck.
The families had to agree to the following
conditions: children fifteen years old are
expected to work until
they are seventeen years old for their board and
clothes; then they are at liberty to make their
own arrangements.
Children between twelve and fifteen are expected
to work for their board and clothes until they
are seventeen,
but must be sent to school for a part of each
year, and after age fifteen they should receive
some wages. Children
under twelve are expected to remain until they
are eighteen and must be treated by the
applicants as their own
children.
When the train reached Bolivar they had
seventeen children on board, thirteen boys and
four girls, ranging in
age from seventeen to four years. An agent
accompanied them from the Children’s Aid
Society of New York,
Mr. E. Trott. The citizens of Bolivar, who met
the train, were pleasantly surprise by the
appearance of the children.
Instead of being rough, uncouth and ignorant the
children appeared well-dressed and
intelligent-looking. The
newspaper reported "It is to be feared that
the impression made upon the children by the
citizens was not so
favorable, for one little fellow exclaimed, as he
stepped from the car and looked at the crowd,
"Well, is this
Bolivar’s best! "
The children were transported to the
courthouse and seated in a row of chairs within
the railing of the courtroom.
When applications for children were called for by
the Mayor, the responses were so numerous that it
soon became
evident that there were not enough children to go
around. The names of the applicants were given to
the local
committee whose approval had to be obtained
before a child could be awarded. The approved
applicants were
then allowed to make their choices. It fell to
Mr. John F. French of Rondo to make the first
choice. He picked
out a "bright thirteen year old boy"
named Henry J. Smith.
The following is a list, as it appeared in the
Bolivar Free Press, of the children spoken
for:
Robert Hicks, ten years old, taken by S. S.
Carrier, of Bolivar;
Mary Hicks, nine years, taken by R. J. Gage, of
Bolivar;
Sarah Hicks, ten years, taken by W. R. Spoon, of
Bolivar;
Mary Hicks, eight years and six months, taken by
F. W. Adams, of Bolivar.
(The first two children named above are
brother and sister, and the next two are sisters,
and cousins of the first.)
Willie Gardner, nine years, taken by H. F.
Caldwell, of Bolivar;
James Gross, seven years, taken by W. W. Lusk, of
Halfway;
Frank Buck, aged five, taken by C. M. Bowman, of
Bolivar;
Geo. A. Owens, aged six, taken by E. S. Bronson,
of Bolivar;
James Devine, aged six, Ira P. Warren, of
Bolivar;
Wm. J. Brooks, aged seventeen, E. F. Mayfield, of
Goodnight;
James Jackson, aged sixteen, taken by S. A.
Griffin of Shady Grove;
John L. Davis, twelve, R. B. Lee of Bolivar;
Arthur Van Orden, aged ten, W. H. Branham of
Halfway;
Annie Schlinder, eight years and three months
old, taken by Alexander Griffin of Brighton;
Freddie Wodruff, four years, taken by W. J.
Wallace of Bolivar;
and Jacob Good, aged six, taken by Rev. J. F.
Martin of Bolivar.
After the children were awarded to a local
family, they were encouraged to write to the
Society about their
care and could be removed if it was not adequate.
The Society also planned yearly trips to check on
the children.
Since the children were dispersed in 1889 and
the 1890 census does not exist anymore, I turned
to the 1900
Federal Census of Polk County to try and find
these children. I did not have much luck but did
find three of
them still living in the county in 1900. One of
them was embraced by the family and even took
their surname.
The other two were listed as laborer and servant
under different families than the ones that
originally took them
in.
I found it interesting how small towns like
Bolivar helped a huge city like New York take
care of their
cast-off children. I can only hope they found
peace and happiness in our Ozark Hills.
Susan Sparks
Fossils and Footprints (See
The Rest of the Story below)
Bolivar's first streets were made of mud and
crushed rock. At each of the crosswalks around
the
square there were large flat rocks so that people
using the rudimentary sidewalks of the time would
not have to dirty their feet, or the ladies their
long dresses, while crossing the dirt street. The
streets
surrounding our courthouse were paved for the
first time in 1912. The entire project cost
$9,000,
with the county paying $5,300 and the business
owners on the square picking up the remaining
amount.
As soon as the paving was completed, the city
crew started tearing up the crosswalks so that
they could
also be cemented. While tearing up the crosswalk
on the northwest side of the square, a geological
discovery, of great importance at the time, was
made. When one of the large flat stones was
turned over,
the underside was found to contain two
impressions of a child's foot. One of the tracks,
the one made by
the right foot, was very distinct. All that
remained of the other was the heel mark, the
balance having
eroded away or having been chipped off when the
stone was quarried. The footprints were shod in
moccasins and were as clear as if they had just
been made. The stone was quarried about 20 years
previous to its discovery. This stone was taken
to a local expert, J. M. Leavitt. Leavitt had
been a
collector of Indian artifacts for years and had a
house full of items that he had collected in Polk
County
during his lifetime. Local photos were taken of
the stone and then the U. S. Geological Survey
was
alerted to the find. Where are these today? No
one knows but they may have been sent to
Washington,
D.C. or used as a doorstop until lost to time.
Susan Sparks
THE REST OF THE STORY
By Jean Pufahl Vincent
I received my monthly edition of
the Polk County Genealogical Society's newsletter
and, as usual, read
it with great interest. I found Susan Sparks'
article about the "Moccasin Rock" to be
the most interesting
thing I had read for some time. She mentioned
that the rock had been given to J. M. Leavitt and
that no one
knows where the rock is today. However, David and
I do know where the rock is, and here's the
"rest of the
story."
I grew up in a neighborhood populated by many
family members. My Grandparents Pufahl lived
across the
street in one house, and my Aunt, Uncle and
Cousin lived next to them. They all lived in
wonderful, big old
houses--ours wasn't nearly as big as theirs, but
we all had free access to the houses, the yards,
and the fields
out behind. My uncle, Pete Leavitt (son of J.M.
Leavitt), had marvelous things in his back
yard-all kinds of
animals in cages (including skunks) that he took
in when they were injured and 'doctored' them,
and he also
had a fascinating rock. It had a depression in it
that looks just like what a moccasin-clad child's
footprint
would look like if the child stepped in the mud.
I always thought the rock was a wonderful thing.
When Uncle Pete and Aunt Helene
died and my cousin, Lorraine, moved to a smaller
home she took the rock
with her. In time, the rock came in to my
possession. I've tried to keep it under the eaves
and protected from
the weather. When I moved to Maryland the rock
stayed here on the farm. The folk who rented the
place also
cared for the rock until we moved back in 2006.
The rock was in residence when we moved back;
there was
a lot of remodeling and landscaping still going
on at that time. David and I were afraid the rock
would get
covered up, and talked about moving it to a safer
place. Then we went back to Maryland to conclude
some
business and pick up our car. We didn't think
about the rock for some time except to wonder,
now and then,
"where could it be?". Then we read
Susan's article and that set things in motion. Up
to that time I had no idea
about the history of the rock… I only knew
it hadbelonged to Uncle Pete. I went out and dug
a trench around
the porch where I thought the rock should be. It
wasn't there. Uncle (Mynatt Scott) brought out a
probe, and
between Uncle, David and myself we probed the
whole flower bed and dug up about half of it. We
found
bricks, rebar, all kinds of rocks and several
sections of the foundation of the house that used
to be here, but
no moccasin rock. We were all afraid it was gone
forever.
Later that same day, David and I were walking
across the barn lot when a particularly
square-shaped rock
caught our eye. Susan had mentioned that the rock
had been quarried. We walked over to it. David
turned
it over, and there was the moccasin print! Rarely
has such excitement ensued in Polk County over
the location
of a rock! After we found the rock David
remembered moving it to keep it safe before we
went back East. As
soon as he said it I remembered him telling me
about it while we were on the trip. We shall use
the excuse
of having too much on our minds at the time.
We're just glad this piece of Polk County History
is still safe
and secure.
Note : The rock is now on
display at the PCGS library for all to see. Come
visit us!
SPECIAL ITEMS
FOR SALE
Limited
Edition Postcards are now available from PCGS! Two
versions--one with a picture of
the PCGS Library; the other stating
"Greetings from Polk County, Missouri"
with a picture of the
Polk County Courthouse in the background.
Postcards are 50 cents each or five for $2.00.
More information and pictures coming soon.
 Polk County
Souvenir Historical
Deck of Cards!
Limited quantities. Get yours today!
Only $10.00 per deck plus $3.50 shipping.
For more information, click here.
 Polk County
Souvenir Military
Deck of Cards!
Limited quantities. Get yours today!
Only $10.00 per deck plus $3.50 shipping.
For more information, click here.
Polk County
Souvenir
Deck of Cards!
Limited quantities. Get yours today!
Only $12.00 per deck plus $3.50 shipping.
For more information, click here.
A set of all three
decks is available for $25.
That is a $7 discount off buying them separately.
This is a limited time offer, so buy yours today.
Shipping
charge on the set of 3 card decks is $5.
For more info., please contact the PCGS at info@pcgsmo.com or 417-777-2820
Polk County Courthouse Centennial Print . . .
$25.00 + $10.00 s/h
(For
more information on the Courthouse print, click here
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