Marlee and Mrs. Owens Make Their Last Stop

While Marlee and Mrs. Owens made their way down the sidewalk. Marlee wanted to know where they were going. She told Mrs. Owens she was getting really tired and wanted to go to her Grandma B's Mini Farm.
Mrs. Owens said, "I'm sure you are tired. I have been talking your ear off, haven't I? Well, I tell you what, if we don't see anyone from your family while we are at the newspaper office, I will have them call your Grandma B. Does that sound okay with you?" Marlee nodded her head but she didn't know how much longer she could stay awake. The fresh air and exercise was really making her tired and sleepy.
Soon they were there. The newspaper's name was the Humansville Star-Leader.
She told Marlee a little bit about the newspaper and how old it was. This building is older than me if you can believe that, little one. But it wasn't always in this building. Long ago there was a D.S. McNeil that owned it. She also wrote a summary of stories about Humansville in 1934 that was in the library that we just left. You probably didn't see the lady showing it to us. It is full of information about Humansville. This newspaper used to be called The Headlight. Isn't that a funny name? I don't know what the original name was but it was built in 1887. Like a lot of businesses in this little town it was moved I think to where it is now.

I kind of think that McNeil sold it to J.W. Graves at one time. There have been several owners/publishers/editors throughout the years.
One couple that I knew well was Helen and Gary Sosniecki. They were wonderful folks and were very well liked while they were here. They moved and still stop in town once in awhile to say hello.

1953
Fall festival

The folks in the newspaper had been taking pictures of the Fall Festival for years and years. They also printed articles in their paper when Mary Owens had some landmark birthdays such as when she turned one hundred years old, and when she was in her nineties also.)

Marlee kind of shook her head. She thought she heard her Grandma B calling her. She was so tired she wasn't sure if it was her or not. She sure hoped she would come to take her back to the Mini Farm pretty soon.
Additional information from the book written by  D.S. McNeil 1934:
" Our first newspaper here in Humansville was brought here in 1867 and was called the Vedette. We have had several editors and the paper has had several names. It has had the name Star-Leader since the late 1800's. Our paper is about 93 or 94 years old. Our present owners are Mr. and Mrs. Carroll Piper."
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Tomorrow's story Mary will give her something of hers just like she did for other folks for years and years.

There Was A Surprise At The Library

Marlee and Mrs. Owens were having a good time chatting. She would tell Marlee little stories that she thought a child Marlee's age would like to hear. She said to Marlee, "You know I used to know a little boy just about your age. He and his family lived across the street from us. He loved to come over to our house and visit. I always let him play with some of my things that I  had collected over the years. She laughed and said, I may have given him a treat once in awhile too. One day my husband and I went to work. In those days you didn't lock your doors. Folks for the most part were pretty
honest back then. Well one day this little boy's mama couldn't find him anywhere. She looked and looked, finally she called my house on the telephone. Of course, I wasn't home, remember? Well, guess what, that little boy answered my telephone! (What a fun story. That story was a wonderful reminder of neighbors being friends. The old adage "it takes a village to raise a child" comes to mind.)
"Well let's go across the street and peek in the new library's window. I always wanted a nice library to be built in this town. There is a need, that's for sure."
Mrs. Owens told Marlee that an old post office used to be there as well as a bank and probably other businesses. (It is said that Mr. Human actually started the first Post Office.) But with the help of people paying some taxes the library in Humansville was able to be part of the Polk County Libraries System.
The lady that greeted them was a very nice lady whose name was Sharon. She  had a feeling that they might visit and had things all ready on her desk that she thought they might like to look at. (She may have looked out her nice big window and had seen Mrs. Owens giving Marlee the tour around town.)
Mrs. Owens chuckled when she saw some booklets that she had written. Some with memories and some with stories and poems. The library had several of them. They also had newspaper clippings and books about Humansville there as well.  Oh and there were pictures of her and birthday celebrations as well. That people had admired her enough to save all of those things made her feel proud. This was really a surprise as well as an honor.
There was even a big book about the Buchanan Family.
Edgar Buchanan was a member of that family. He was born in Humansville.
 Marlee was too young to have ever heard of him, but Mrs. Owens had. She thought to herself, "If this child's family doesn't come soon I will sit down with her in one of these big comfortable chairs and tell her about him. He was a very famous movie star."
First though, they went into the new addition they added on to the new library. It is called the Meeting Room. That addition used to be an old barber shop. It took a lot of work. It needed a new roof and some deconstruction and tearing down again. But it turned out just beautiful. It has a popcorn popper and a chairs and tables. Sharon shows movies once a month for free for anyone that would like to come. They also have a Pinterest Thursday once a month. Other activities are being planned for the Humansville folks to participate in and enjoy. (Guess what Marlee, even you can go. It is all Family Friendly.) Mrs. Owens thought that there just might be story time in the main library for children. What a wonderful gathering place.

Edgar Buchanan

The new popcorn popper was amazing to Mrs. Owens also. It was a far cry from the popcorn stand that she and her husband made. Her husband had helped her paint and letter it. He pretty much did the outside while she and a friend decorated the inside.
When the movies went to the big Community Building she got an even bigger trailer which she eventually sold to a carnival in Florida.
The nice lady, Sharon, had also told them that folks can have lemonade, or water while they are watching a show. She said that there are usually about twenty-two (22) or more folks that come for the movies.

Cover of the Centennial Book
Found in the Humansville Library

She said that she had to get back into the main library where there are a lot of computers and tables and chairs for both grownup people and little folks like Marlee.
 Marlee and her new friend said goodbye and thanked her for the tour as well as the information.
********************************
The next and last stop for Mrs. Owens and Marlee will be at the newspaper office. It is just down the street a ways....

Marlee And Mrs. Owens Go To City Hall

Marlee and Mrs. Owens decided to walk a bit further down the street. At the end of the block she pointed straight down the street. See down there, Marlee? That's where I used to live right next to where City Hall is now. I actually sold them a couple of feet of land one time so they could build a bay for their fire truck.

Down the street in a brick house is where the Blacksmith used to live. Oh, I could tell you all about this little town and how it was through the years. Did you know at one time it had over fifty (50) businesses? It had a enough business for everyone to make a fairly decent living.

Marlee took Mrs. Owen's hand with her little sticky hand (from her candy) and looked up her and said, "Did you ever have a husband? My daddy is a husband, you know." Mrs. Owens smiled at Marlee and said, "I sure did. His name was Glen but everyone called him Rick. He was born right here in Humansville, but his family was from Kentucky. He was a Private in the United States Army during WWl.
 He was a few years older than me, but that didn't matter. We got married a long time ago in 1922. We got along good. I kept a watchful eye out for him and he did for me too. I never did drive a car, but he drove a truck for his business."
"He was a hard worker. It's been told he painted so much that he probably at one time had painted every building in town. He did a lot of lettering on signs and even on trucks that wanted to advertise their businesses. He taught some of our neighbor children how to do lettering. He enjoyed teaching them. He was a pretty good artist too. Want to see some of his paintings?" Marlee nodded her head and away they went across the street to City Hall. There on the wall were several of Rick's paintings.
"See this one here? He told one of my friends that he would point to a spot on the water where he had painted a boat, but it sank. Isn't that funny? He was quite a man. He always signed his paintings Rick Owens. Here are some more. He even painted a cabin that was supposed to be Mr. Human's store."
Marlee noticed that there was a big picture hanging up high. She asked what that was. Mrs. Owens explained that her little home town had a celebration a long time ago because it was a hundred (100) years old. It was called a centennial. It was fun. Everybody dressed up like they did back then. Ladies wore long dresses and bonnets on their heads. How would you like that?" Marlee didn't know what to think of wearing long dresses and a hat on her head all the time. She didn't think that she would like that very much. Mrs. Owens said that there were old cars and a parade, picnics and all kinds of activities that weekend. A lot of the men even let their whiskers grow and wore beards just like they did in the olden days. Everyone had a good time. They were also very proud of their little town and the people that had worked so hard to make it a good one.

City hall
Fire station bays

 Those little pictures in that big frame are what some of the buildings looked like way back then."
"My husband did the lettering for a fleet of trucks that hauled gasoline too. A little boy loved to play with a handmade replica of those trucks that he loved so much."
The bottom picture was a painting of an old homestead in Cedar County that may have been painted on masonite. His "canvases" were not always of the same materials. He usually framed his paintings himself too."

About then the lady at City Hall said that there were books at the library they might like to look at.
"There were some very famous people that were born here. Someday we will talk about those folks if you would like to." Mary Owens looked down and noticed that her new little friend was yawning. She needed to find this little one's mama. The next stop/step was to go to the library to look for her.
                                         ********************
There are some of Rick Owen's paintings hanging in the Humansville City Hall. However, some of the ones in this story are owned by folks that were once friends of Mr. Owens. He was a very well known man and would sometimes mumble under his breath about his wife. (Just like many married couples do.) He was well liked from what I have gathered from talking to folks that once knew him. He passed away at the age of 84 years. He and his wife, Mary are buried in a Humansville cemetery. Mary passed away at the age of 105+ years.

Marlee Asks Mrs. Owens To Tell Her A Story

Marlee loved the band music. They listened to it for awhile and kept walking up the street. Mary Owens showed Marlee what the main strip used to look like. It had drug stores, grocery stores and banks. There were all kinds of things  that weren't there any more. She pointed to the left and then she pointed to her right. "Things keep changing in my little town. People buy and sell their property all the time. Some stores stay for years but sometimes people just decide to move to a different town. I know you are awfully young, but I have seen some buildings built and torn down four (4) times."

dirt streets

Marlee said, "Well that store over there looks like a cafe that we go to eat sometimes." Mrs. Owens barely acknowledged her as she seemed to be on a mission. She held Marlee's hand tightly as they crossed the street. She said, " I want to show you something."
Well it seemed to be too much for Marlee. Her little legs were tired. There were benches all along the front of the stores. People were just sitting there visiting with each other. A lot of the people were standing around and some were even sitting on their knees. They seemed like they knew each other and if they didn't they still visited and said, "Hello."
"I want to sit down for awhile, I'm tired. Okay?" Mary couldn't refuse this cute little girl. She reminded Mary of someone, but just couldn't put her finger on it. Two year olds have a tendency to have a short attention span and Marlee was no exception. She looked up at Mrs. Owens and said, "Do you know Grandma Lu? Mary shook her head "no." Well, my Grandma Lu isn't really  my grandma. "B" and Lollie are my grandmas but Grandma Lu tells me stories sometimes when I ask her. Will you tell me a story?' Grandma Lu always tells me stories when I say please. Will you please tell me a story?"
Mrs. Owens looked down at Marlee and asked her if she would like a funny story. Marlee grinned and said, "Yes, I like to laugh. Will I laugh?" Mary said, "Well you just might. I think it's funny now, but I sure didn't think so when it happened."
Well about 1940 I guess it was. Years and years ago, my husband and I and his father and our son, Dude, and my husband's nephew who was about fifteen at the time all lived in an old one room house. Up north of town, up where the Care
Center is now in that area anyway. Well, you are probably too little to understand, but it kind of made me frustrated. When I was home I constantly tried to figure out a way to make more room for all of us plus our furniture so I guess I rearranged furniture a little too often for my husband's liking. He told me repeatedly not to move the furniture around because he was always stubbing his toe on furniture when he walked in. He said that I always moved it right in his way. That's what he said anyway. Well one day while I was downtown you know what he did?" Marlee shook her head no. First of all she couldn't imagine five (5) people sleeping and eating and cooking all in one room.

Google credit

"That husband of mine mixed up some cement and cemented the bed to the floor which was also cement. When I got home I asked him why in the world he had done that. He said, "now you won't be able to move things around anymore." I was not a bit happy with him, but now I think it was pretty funny. Eventually we bought a place right down the street a ways which had a lot more room. It used to be the old telephone building."
Of course, Marlee didn't understand what a telephone building was because she lived in the time where most folks carried their phones with them. They were called cell phones, Smart Phones, I Phones, and some people had little flip phones. They fit in ladie's purses and and men's pants pockets. Some people even had a watch that was called a Smart Watch. Grandma B and Grandma Lu also had what they called land lines which meant that the phones would stay in the house and some would even work without electricity.
                                                   **************
The house that Mary and her husband, Rick bought was the old telephone building. At one time it had a real switchboard in it that required a switchboard operator.
At one time I had a close friend that lived in a very small town in Iowa that had a switchboard in her home. It was in her living room and it would buzz when someone wanted her to call someone for them. Of course, she listened in to their conversations I am sure. She was a 911 operator in those old days when there was not such a thing in her town. She would call the Sheriff if someone was in trouble. She also knew everyone's names and their children's names. Interesting times and only about 60 years ago. (Big grin.)

Marlee Is Getting Tired Of Walking

Marlee is getting tired of walking and listening too! Mrs. Owens is a "no nonsense" woman, but is also very kind. She is realizing that she has been talking a mile a minute as she and Marlee took a stroll around the park
she had an idea. She found a place that not only had playground equipment, but a place called a pavillion. A pavillion is a place where folks can have big family picnics and family reunions. She and Marlee went over and sat down in the shade at one of the tables. Mrs. Owens told Marlee that this pavillion had sixteen (16) pillars. They were all made of concrete. Mary was always in awe of this. It was so beautiful.
 She just happened to have some of her Popcorn stand treats in her pocket and gave Marlee some. She really wanted to explain to this little girl what it used to be like when she first got here. Oh how things had changed. It was just about here that the railroad tracks were. Oh how the railroad brought not only people but business as well to this little town.

Steel and wooden
Spin and go puke

Mrs. Owens said, "Marlee have you ever been on a train ride?" Marlee shook her head. "No, but I think some of my friends have. Cooper, maybe?" Marlee had seen toy trains, but had never been inside one.

"I have some pictures of the trains that came through Humansville, She gave Marlee the booklet. Now see this picture? It was a train and also the depot that was in Humansville. It brought the President of the United States right here to our little town. Lots of people came to meet the train. I didn't live here yet, so I didn't get to see him. His name was President Taft. This was taken in 1910.
There's another picture of a train depot that went from Collins to Humansville.
You will see a picture of the waiting room at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. where Mary waited to catch a train to Humansville in 1922. This picture was not in one of her books, but on line. Union Station has always been a beautiful place.
Candy and a rest in the beautiful park can only last so long for a two (2) year old. One of the reasons for that was music! Yes music in her time travel was a band right there in the street! Marlee's little toes were a tappin'!

           *****************************************************
The railroad tracks were removed in 1934 and made transportation difficult. We will talk about transportation in Mrs. Owens future and how her husband helped make that possible on a post solely about Glen (Rick) Owens. He was also a very interesting man.
Tomorrow we will talk about dentists and movie stars and poets and others that were from Humansville or had roots there. Who would think that such a small town could produce folks that would forever more influence the history of not only this little town, but the United States as well for generation after generation.

Marlee Goes For A Walk In The Park

Marlee really wanted to go to the "cowboy show", but Mrs. Owens said, "Lets go over here to the park. A very famous man built this park and the hospital for Humansville. As they walked she told Marlee all about Mr. George Dimmitt.

Mrs. Owens said, "Although he was born in Illinois, Charles E. Dimmit grew up in Humansville. His daddy was a pastor of an early Humansville church. It was called the Shady Grove Methodist Church. It changed names to the Humansville United Methodist Church.
 He decided like a lot of young men to go west to see if he could get rich. He met a lady and got married. They had  a son that they called George whom was born in Humansville. So sometime or another they had moved back to Humansville. Charles managed the local lumber company for several years. Then they moved to Great Falls, Montana where he became involved in the general mercantile business. That means like the big department stores like you and your family go to now, little one. It was called the Golden Rule corporation which operated mercantile stores in several western states. A man called James Cash Penney began working for them and in 1907 he bought out the other partners. In 1913 Golden Rule incorporated as the J.C. Penney Company and as such rapidly got bigger and bigger. Mr. Charles Dimmitt held some top jobs there in New York and got really rich. I bet your mama and grandma and friends have all shopped at J.C. Penney sometime or another."
"After a while the Dimmitt family returned to Humansville and donated money for constructing and equipping the hospital, as a memorial to their son with the stipulation that the hospital be operated without profit. That means that the hospital couldn't get rich and wouldn't charge folks much money if they got sick." They were to charge just enough to cover their expenses.
Marlee said, "Well, Marleewood must be non-profit then, cause we don't charge much money. And we donate stuff too. That's good, isn't it?"Oh Mrs. Owens smiled really big and said, "Oh, I wish I could meet your family and friends. They are doing just what they are supposed to do to help people when they need some help." She patted Marlee's head and started to walk some more. (I'm surprised Mrs. Owens didn't ask Marlee what Marleewood was....)
"At the same time Charles Dimmitt also bought and donated the site for a city park. There was lots of land maybe a couple of acres. They put some toys on it for children to play on too. One was circular and they could sit or stand on it. The "old timers" called it the "spin and go puke". Marlee made a bad face and said, "I don't like to puke. That means I'm sick." Mrs. Owens said, "Well, sometimes the children would get sick on it and throw up." Then she laughed and continued her story.

 "That family made a substantial donation toward a $75,000 Community Building. See it? It got built in 1929 just before or rather during there was some trouble with the Stock Market which I'm not going to trouble you with. But, wow it is big. They had movies in there with sound like you have now. You will never
guess how many seats it had in it." Marlee  guessed seven (7). Mary laughed and said, "No, it had 825 seats. The whole town didn't have much more than a thousand (1000) people so everyone that wanted to see a show could be assured that they had a seat. There aren't any movies shown in there now, but that big old building serves it's purpose and helps people all the time. I'll tell you about it someday."
                                              ********************
There were many famous people that were either born in Humansville or had lived there at some time. That will be in one of the stories in this series. It is a fun one.
Tomorrow's story is also fun. Mrs. Owens shows her "no nonsense" attitude when Marlee starts to fuss about doing what she is told. Mrs. Owens had a  "black and white wrong vs. right attitude" and would set people straight if she didn't think they were acting just so, whether they be young or older it made no difference to her. (One of her friends conveyed that to me. Thankfully, I wasn't a recipient of that attitude in the visits that we had."

Mrs. Mary Tells Marlee About Mr. Human

When Mrs. Mary handed Marlee the little booklet there was a picture of a man whose name was James Gilliam Human. Marlee pointed to his picture and asked Mary who this man was and did she know him.
Mrs. Mary smiled and said, "No I didn't know him, but he sure was an important man in these parts. He was married three (3) times and had a total of nineteen children of which seventeen survived. He lived in the same county I did only he was a lot older than me. His father ran off so his mama had to raise him by herself. I'd say she did a really good job. He was kind of like me. He wanted to see new places and do new things. He went to Tennessee and Illinois before he settled in this county of Polk in Missouri. He was a soldier (Lieutenant in the Black Hawk War and briefly as a Private in the 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry during the Civil War which would later be commanded by his son, Captain William C. Human. Oh he did lots of things. He was a judge, he was a Representative for Polk County, but if you asked him he would say he was just a farmer. He was holding the office of Justice of the Peace in his latter days. I know he had a little store up the street there a ways a long time ago. I wrote a little something for his new marker to make sure folks knew how much Mr. Human meant to all of us.
Do you remember how much you liked the taste of the water? Well, Mr. Human discovered that big spring and decided right then and there he wanted to live here. He doesn't know that as time went by there was what folks call progress. Progress about the spring water meant that folks would put things in the water so there wouldn't be germs in it and they said it prevents tooth decay. That made the spring water taste like everyone else's.
The original Spring House is still there as well as the spring. This is a small picture of it in back of a care center now. It is still very beautiful.
The care center is appropriately called Big Springs Care Center. It was originally three stories high, but it too, was torn down to make it more modern and easier for the folks that live there to walk and enjoy the wildlife and fresh air. See the gazebo? (Grandma Lu's best friend started working for the Big Springs Care Center years and years ago. She did laundry and told her friend Grandma Lu how she would hang up sheets on the clothesline for hours. It was hard work, but that got her foot in the door and eventually became a social worker for another care center for more than twenty years.)
Marlee said, "My Grandma B makes me brush my teeth all the time and so does my mama." Mrs. Mary smiled and said, "That's a good thing. Got to keep them clean."
"Mr. Human bought some land so long ago you can't even count how long. I think it was in 1837 then a year later he built a log cabin on that land.
His home is gone now, but he surely will be remembered because this little town is named after him; Humansville. That's quite an honor isn't it to have a town named after you? Guess what, little one, It's the only town in the world with that name. It is so special, but you already know that don't you?" Marlee nodded her head, but not really looking at her.
Mary was pretty much talking to herself because Marlee was looking around at something that was really exciting to a little girl. There was a building called an Opera House. They had real people dressed up like the Wild Wild West going to do a play for folks. I think it may have cost twenty-five cents to go to that show. The name of the play was called The Cattle Rustlers. I don't know about you, but it looks exciting to me too! Guess what, Mrs. Mary's husband, Rick was in that picture too.
Mrs. Owens could tell that Marlee was getting restless and ready to see some more of her hometown in the twenties. Tomorrow I think they will take a walk in the park.
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These are four (4) of the little booklets that Mary A. Owens wrote. Many with pictures with texts that describe who originally had the buildings, how many times they were torn down, or burned and rebuilt.
I will continue to add and delete as this series continues because new things keep coming to my attention and facts will be inserted so that Marlee's family will not only enjoy the story but get the majority of it correct as I can write it for them.
This picture as well as some others were sent to me by Pat Kelly. Mrs. Owens had given her husband, Mike some of these as well as pictures when she visited him on "her rounds" as folks call Mrs. Owens walks.

Popcorn Mary Had Many Names

Popcorn Mary couldn't see Marlee very well from her stand. She closed up shop since the movie was about over anyway and went over to the tree where Marlee was eating her popcorn. Well, Marlee was still awake. She was watching the people with wide open eyes. Mary sat down beside her and said, "How ya doin' little one?" Marlee  shook her head and said, "I have never seen cars and horses on the same street before. Your cars are funny looking too. Hey, you got any little kids like me?" Mary chuckled and said, "No, but I used to. I had two (2) little boys. One of them died when he was just a baby, but the other one I named Richard Owens. Folks called him Dude. Marlee said, "Why did you come to this place anyway? It sure doesn't look like my small hometown."

Rick and Mary
and son "Dude"

"Oh my goodness, I've been here a long long time. Say, what's yer name anyway?" Marlee was so proud because she knew her complete name. She said, "My name is Marlee Ada Weaver and I have a baby sister, Whitlee Jo. She cries a lot, but mama says she'll get over it. Whew, I sure hope so. What's your name?"
Mary said,  "I have lots of names. Are you ready?" Marlee nodded her head yes. "Okay, here goes. My legal name is Mary Ann Dabney Culler Owens. My husband's name is Glen, but folks call him Rick. He has a painting and decorating business down the street. I help him sometimes. Someday I will tell you all the different things that he paints. He is pretty talented, my guy is.
You know little Marlee, I just love this town. I was just a newly wed when Rick and I came to town. I think we were only married for two (2) weeks. I was 20 years old when we got here. We wanted an adventure. We traveled quite a ways to get here. Yeah we did. Clear from Kansas City, Missouri.  I remember leaving at 9:15 in the morning and we didn't get here until 4:45 in the afternoon. My husband said it was a bad day because it was raining. I didn't think so I felt like I was coming home. I loved everything about it.
 I was born in a little town called Edina, Missouri. But we were young and excited to get on with our lives. We've been here ever since. That was in 1922."
"Well, how did you get here, Mrs. Mary? Did you drive one of those funny looking cars? Mary answered her with a smile and said, "We came on a train. Oh it was a drizzly rainy day. That old train leaked like an old tin can. But we are happy here and so busy. Lookit here, little one. I have a picture of my husband and my son and me at my popcorn stand. What ya think of that?" (Mary often gave pictures and booklets to folks, so Marlee was no exception to the rule for her.)
Marlee looked at it and said, "You said you have lots of names how many others do you have?"
Mary chuckled and said, "Well, sometimes people called me Greyhound Mary and Poor Mary and some just say "there's Mary."
"Why would they call you Greyhound Mary?"
"Well when I got older after my husband passed away and I was all alone I just got this feeling that I needed to go places. I traveled all over the place. Most of the time I wouldn't stay where I traveled to. I would just get on the bus and take another one right back home. I just loved to ride on those big buses for some reason. I went to Memphis, Tennessee a lot. Pretty country down there. I always took a Greyhound bus. They were so nice to me. They didn't charge me anything for my rides. Good people that's what they were. One day they even gave me a plaque that hangs in the City Hall up the street a ways."
One day I got a telephone call from a television station in New York. They wanted me to fly there on an airplane, but I was scared to fly. They talked to me on the telephone. The man that was the head of that show was called David Letterman. They put that conversation on television. Not a big deal. I'm glad I didn't go there. Not worth the time and effort. He only talked to me a couple of minutes. Not my kind of idea of an interview in my estimation anyway."
It seemed to Marlee that as Mrs. Mary visited with her she started to change. Her brown hair started to turn a little bit gray kind of like Grandma Lu's.
 Marlee thought that this adventure was really fun. A little scary, but lots of fun. She wanted to find out more about Mrs. Mary and this place that looked a little bit like her small hometown, but it was very very different.
                              ***********************************
These stories were given to me by friends of Mary Owens during her later years as well as Google. I will be adding pictures of not only Mary but of other founding fathers to this lively small town that Marlee knows now as her hometown in these stories.
As Marlee visits with Mrs. Owens she will become older as she was in her later years.
Mary will show Marlee some little booklets that she wrote. Marlee will be told these stories in the future posts. Thanks for reading.

Marlee Meets Popcorn Mary

When Marlee realized that she was in a different time, but in the same place as her Marleewood. She looked around in amazement. Her small hometown didn't have a movie theater, but this place did. It was called the Liberty Theater. Since Marlee was only two (2) years old she didn't know what a movie theater was. She needed to find that out. When Marlee was almost to the theater she saw a lady standing outside the theater. She was selling popcorn and hot dogs. She had sandwiches and candy and drinks too. Marlee loved all of those things. It was almost her supper time and she was getting hungry.

So she just walked right over to that lady and asked her for some popcorn. The lady grinned at her and said, "Well, okay, little girl. You got some money?" Well, of course, Marlee did not. She gave Popcorn Mary a really sad look. Guess what, she got some popcorn.
Marlee was just full of questions. She started eating popcorn and got thirsty. She asked Mary if she could have a bottle of water. Popcorn Mary looked at her with a frown and said, "Little girl I don't know what you are talking about. We don't have bottles of water. I can get you a lemonade or a dipper of water out of my water pail." Marlee had no clue what a dipper of water was, but she was on an adventure so she said, "Will you give me a dipper of water please?" Once again Popcorn Mary gave her a grin and said, "Of course, I will. I can't have you tellin' folks I let a little girl thirst to death, now can I?" Mary gave Marlee a choice of three (3) different water dippers. Marlee didn't know what to do so Mary dipped her some fresh cool water out of her own water bucket. Oh, Marlee loved it. It was so cold and good. She closed her eyes while she drank her water. She said, "I have never had such good water ever! Where did you get it? Mary replied, "Why out of the big spring, of course. Boy, you don't know, nothin' do you?" Well, Marlee started to get a sad face again and Popcorn Mary took her over under a shade tree in the park. She said, "Okay, now, you sit here and eat your popcorn and rest awhile. You look tired. Why don't you take a nap under this big old tree. Then go find your mama and go home. She's probably lookin' for ya."
But she wasn't...
Where Marlee first saw Popcorn Mary she was standing on the corner of the street close by the Liberty Theater. They did not have movies with sound at that time. They were called Silent Movies. That building has an insurance company in it now, that both Marlee's Grandma B and Grandma Lu know the lady that used to own it. Where Popcorn Mary took Marlee for a drink and a rest was katty corner across the street where the park is now which will also be in a later story. Oh and what a story that is!
This writer had the honor and privilege of not only caring for her (Mary Ann Culler Owens) while she lived her last days in Marlee's small hometown nursing center, but also interviewing her before she was a resident as a very respected and well known citizen. She had accepted my request to be a speaker for a special occasion at the center. You shall hear more about this fantastic lady as this series goes on. I wrote this little story the way she used to talk to me. She usually left off the "g" on her words and was like my mother used to say, "a little rough around the edges." When you hear more of Mary's story you will understand why.

Marleewood In The Roaring 1920's

Grandma B was tired of cleaning and helping Marlee pick up things that had been left by folks that had come to the party. Marlee had found an old picture of a little girl and a chicken. Grandma B just shook her head and told Marlee to put it in the Lost and Found Closet. She wanted to go home and relax. Marlee didn't do as she asked right away, so she once again reminded Marlee to "get going" and get ready to go back to the Mini Farm.
Marlee had heard her Grandma B, but wasn't moving very fast. She just kept staring at that old picture. Something seemed to fascinate her about it. She had seen chickens before at Mrs. Liz's house when they were snowed in. So it wasn't the chicken that had her hang on to that picture so very tightly.
Grandma B startled Marlee and said, "You run along now and put that old picture in that closet I showed you. I am going to get your black hoodie for you. You left it in the kitchen. You and I both need a nap. You are so tired you can't hardly wiggle." Marlee grinned at that. Grandma B sounded just like Grandma Lu. She said that too.

Marlee did as she was told. She took off the soft blanket that she had been wearing around her shoulders and took the picture and opened the door to the Lost and Found closet. "Oh, it's pretty neat in here, she thought. It's a lot bigger than a regular closet." She put the picture on the table with the other things they were saving for people. It was pretty dark in there, but she could see another picture. This picture was hanging on the wall. Marlee put her hand up to touch it because those people looked familiar and the wall moved. "Whoa, what was that? I must be really tired. I just thought I felt that wall move." Marlee again reached up and touched the picture and suddenly felt herself being catapulted into a land that she had never seen or heard of before. It was the land of Marleewood in The Roaring Twenties!

That was a time of fun and gay times of singing and dancing. The people that lived there had a movie theater and places to eat and shop. The men had lumberyards where they could buy wood to build houses and barns. Marleeland had a lot of churches. There was a design house where ladies could look through catalogs to see pictures of the newest fabrics and furniture for their homes. There were grocery stores and ice cream shops. There was a barber shop where sometimes if ladies were really brave would get their hair cut in a "bob". It was a really short hair cut.
There was a lady called Popcorn Mary that sold popcorn and hot dogs to people that were going to watch a movie. They had a railroad called the Kansas City Clinton Springfield Railway that came through town also. Soon there would be a hospital also. It would be built in 1929.

 The older ladies that were rich and stylish who lived in the newly built Marleewood wore long dresses, but the young women that lived closer to town wore short dresses. They wore hats that were big and floppy almost covering their faces or if they wanted to, they wore feathers in their hair. It was the new dress style in those days.You could hear loud music coming out of the windows and doors of the ballrooms at night in the downtown area.
Oh, Marlee was going to learn all about Marleewood and her small hometown long before she was born.
What a fun adventure for Marlee. I wonder where she will be in tomorrow's story.