This article was found in the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection-Columbia, Lucile Morris Upton, Papers, 1855-1986.
OVER THE OZARKS EDITED BY LUCILE MORRIS UPTON
WITH OUR HISTORIANS, WRITERS AND POETS
80-AND-OVER DAY
WHEATLAND, SEPT. 3, 1961
Another big day for the 80-and-Overs at Wheatland, Sunday afternoon, Sept. 3, 1961, with the Rev. Irvin E. Allen officiating as MC in the absence of Mr. Wright, who attended a funeral and could not be present. About 160 people gathered to enjoy the eighth occasion of this event, being held in the Baptist church, where all could be seated comfortably and no steps to climb.
Some came who had been absent for several years. The Rev. J. E. Jones, 83, gave an appropriate invocation. The audience sang "In the Sweet Bye and Bye" and "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder."
The octogenarians and nonagenarians and the Golden Wedding couples were introduced and each received a special gift. The ladies received head scarfs, the men socks, and the couples a box of all-occasion cards.
Mrs. Molly Paul, 83, led the program by reading a poem, "Let Me Live,"; Willie and Dora Dorman, 84 and 79 respectively, sang, "How Great Thou Art"; Mrs. Retta Graves, 93, gave from memory, "My Mother's Grave"; Mrs. Stella Bryan, 85, of Hermitage, read "The Land of Beginning Again"; W. P. Morton, 82, of Bolivar, quoted "Room for All"; Mrs. Mary Sue Goans, 89, of Weaubleau, gave "The Model Church"; (her partner, Mrs. Nannie Brookshire, did not come this year because of sickness in the family); Mrs. Edna Largent gave some verses from "Growing Old," "Do Your Best," and "Keep on Keeping on"; Harry Bennett, 82, played three pieces on his old violin; Mrs. Annie Palmer, 90, of Weaubleau, read "Growing Old Together"; Alice Butler, 87, and her brother, Joe Tipton, 84, of Weaubleau, sand, "Amazing Grace" (Mr. Tipton married May 30, '61 to Mrs. Ada Gump, 76); Mrs. Mae Delozier and her cousin, Mrs. Rosa Romesburg, sang, "Where We'll Never Grow Old" (these ladies are double cousins, ten members living in one family and twelve in the other); Mrs. Chloe Bain gave the tribute to deceased members.
Two had passed on since last year, Mrs. Lillie Rountree, 85, of Elkton, and Mrs. Ida Wrinkle, 85, of Hermitage, also a member of the Golden Wedding couples, Dr. R. C. Nevins, who died on his 75th birthday, Jan. 17, '61.
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Mrs. Nellie Mae Wilson, 83, of Hermitage gave a reading, "Judge Gently" and closed with the benediction, after which we had refreshments and a "rushed visiting hour."
Mr. Allen did a good job as MC. He brought his recorder and we now have the voices of the oldsters telling their names, ages, and where they are from, also the program.
We were favored with piano music by Mrs. Mollie Paxton's talented daughter, Mrs. Dott Jackson of Kansas City. Mrs. Oleta Maurer of Kansas City presented each of the 90-year olds with a gift honoring her mother, Mrs. Martha Breshears, 91, of Wheatland.
The other members present were: W. T. Palmer, 93, Weaubleau; Tom Wilson, 93, Quincy; and Mrs. Cora Goodman of Wheatland who reached her 90th birthday September 22. There were five in the 90's who had already had their birthdays.
Those remaining in the 80 group not mentioned above were: Eric Agee, 81, Bertha Sanders, 80, of Hermitage; Franklin Bartshe, 88; Miss Ella Bennett, 80, Venia Breshears, 83, Belle McCaslin, 81, Tom Selvidge, 87, Will Tipton, 80, all of Wheatland; W. B. Carpenter, 88, Nan Carpenter, 84, Lou Cox, 83, John Rogers, 83, Grace Rogers, 81, of Weaubleau; Vella Donovan, 83, Springfield; W. P. Morton, 82, Bolivar; L. E. McShane, 84, Flemington; Mollie Paxton, 86, Elkton; nad Maggie Willett, 86, Jordan.
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There were nine couples present who had been married an average of 58.5 years, Wes and Nan (Campbell) Carpenter, 65 years; Willie and Mae (Thompson) Delozier, 50, Weaubleau; Willie and Dora (Stroud) Dorman, 60, Hermitage; Tom and Grace (LaRose) Jordan, 50, Wheatland; Ira and Lou (Roth) Moore, 54, Hermitage; Eli and Dilla (Rogers) Morton, 58, Green Ridge; William P. and Stella (Woodward) Morton, 59, Bolivar; W. T. and Annie (Vaughn) Palmer, 70, Weaubleau; and Will and Bertha (Ketchum) Tipton, 61, Wheatland.
There were four half couples present, Harry Bennett, John Tipton, and Tom Selvidge, whose wives were unable to be present; (Mr. Selvidge's wife is cared for by their daughter in Kansas City, they had their 64th wedding anniversary Sept. 12) and Mr. Jones' wife had company.
Mr. Palmer received the gift for the oldest man; Mrs. Graves for the oldest woman; Mr. Wilson for the oldest man who drove his car; Mrs. Butler for the oldest woman who walked the farthest; Mr. Bartshe for the oldest person with the largest family (11 children) with three of them present; and Mr. and Mrs. Palmer a gift for the longest married couple.
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The crowd was treated to ice cream, cookies and punch. They enjoyed the visiting hour, renewing old acquaintances and making new ones. The time goes too fast and the sky grew dark. Then came the rain, so the visiting hour was cut short. No pictures were taken this year, much to our regret.
There have been 18 persons in the 90 group who have attended these events and only seven have gone on since we began October 3, 1954. There are 84 persons who have attended in the 80's and only 27 have passed on. There have been 27 couples who have attended and eight of them have been visited by the Death Angel.
The church was beautifully decorated with seasonal flowers. The refreshments were enjoyed by every one and the group is looking forward to another year.
Various people were nice to help with the event and are fully repaid when they see how the oldsters enjoy themselves. It is their day and they make the most of it.
We hope to plan the future so they can have more visiting. Our program gets too lengthy to have enough visiting time. There were folks from Kansas City, Independence, Leavenworth, Springfield and Rocky Ford, Colo. They seem to enjoy it, too.
Yours for another year--
NANNIE JINKENS
Hermitage
Ed Note: The first Sunday in September has become an important day in Wheatland, where annually youngsters 80-or-over meet for a pleasant afternoon. I think, also, readers of this column have come to look forward to the annual report of Mrs. Jinkens about the event which she works so hard to arrange. As the busy superintendent of schools in Hickory County, she sometimes has difficulty finding time to write the story, and I am grateful to her. LMU.
Posted 20 May 2007 by Ginny Sharp
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