St. Clair County Courier
St. Clair County, MO
1 June 1950

Sell More Than 1,000 Poppies Here Last Week
Over 1,000 poppies were sold Friday and Saturday in Osceola, Lowry City, Roscoe, Vista and Collins and receipts amounted to $115.54, according to the Women’s Auxiliary of the American Legion which was in charge of Poppy Day.
Members of the Girl Scouts conducted the sale on the streets of Osceola. Virginia Nash ranked first in number of poppies sold and teams consisting of Nancy Lasswell and Carol Taylor, and Patty Chaney and Kay Knight ranked second and third, respectively. Prizes were awarded these five for their achievement.
Receipts from Poppy Day go for the assistance of needy veterans and their families.

“Follies Begin This Saturday
Will Begin at 8:00, Weather Permitting
Saturday night at 8:00 the courtyard follies will convene for the regular summer session, weather permitting. These programs will be held every Saturday night during the summer and are sponsored by the people of Osceola.
Bill Smith, the master of ceremonies, has asked that all those who wish to take part in the program this Saturday night or any Saturday come in and see him at the bandstand. The public is invited to attend every week.

Lightning Strikes House
Lightning struck the home of Ott Durnell Friday morning about 6:00 o’clock when a bolt hit a large tree not far from the house and then entered the living room on the aerial of the radio, causing some damage to the radio and setting fire to the wall. The flames were quickly extinguished by Mrs. Durnell, who happened to be close by. The tree was split from top to bottom and splinters were found some distance away. The storm was accompanied by a heavy rain.

Hospital News
Mrs. R.I. Butcher who has been convalescing from a broken leg for the last several weeks was taken back to her doctor in Joplin Saturday for a check up and while there the cast was removed. She has returned home and is now able to be about the house some.
Mrs. Gladys Wetzel who underwent a major operation in Elletts hospital May 24, has been released and has returned to her home. Mrs. Wetzel who is day operator at the Osage Valley Telephone office is making a splendid recovery.

Here From California
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Caldwell of Redonda Beach, Calif., arrived Tuesday to visit her parents, Mr. and Mrs. B.R. Lewis and Larry. They expect to be here about 10 days.

Mrs. A.J. Moore left Friday for Pierce City, where she will visit old friends and neighbors and attend Memorial exercises Tuesday.

Memorial Day at Iconium
The largest crowd in several years attended memorial services at Iconium Sunday to enjoy a bountiful dinner at the noon hour, visit with relatives and friends and decorate the graves of loved ones. The flowers, recently mowed lawn and partially completed fence made an attractive appearance.
In 1928 Lark Scott of Eaton, Colo., visited relatives at Iconium and started the fund for the cemetery with a $10.00 gift which was turned over to J.S. McClain. Mr. McClain and W.S. Gover went ahead with collections and each year more improvements would be made. This year Lark, with his family, visited again and expressed his thanks to everyone for the progress that had been made. He claims it is the best kept cemetery he ever has seen and gave another donation for its upkeep.
Sunday there were visitors from Chicago, Ill., Gary, Ind., Kansas city, Sedalia, Garden City, Ash Grove, Clinton, Warsaw, Lowry City and Osceola, most of whom were former residents in the Iconium community. We were glad to have them and want everyone to know he is free and welcome to come at any time.

Dr. and Mrs. G.W. Chaney moved this week to their new home which they recently purchased in Clinton. We regret losing the Chaneys as they are old timers in this part of the county.

Marvin Gunter of Lincoln, Nebr., came this week to visit his uncle, Posse Critchfield. Marvin has been attending school at Lincoln university.