On most Wednesdays you will find me at the Historical Society from 10:00am until 3:00pm.  On a good Wednesday, I have a visitor. One Wednesday last spring, seven people came in to look around. That’s a record! About half of the time no one visits.
     We have tons of “stuff” we have been collecting at the Historical Society since the early 1990s.  Shortly after we moved into this building we received the entire collection of artifacts from the Pink Hill Historical Society,  so on the days when no one visits I do lots of sorting which means I do lots of reading.  For the next few weeks, I will be sharing some stories about Pink Hill.
     With the exception of the old Pink Hill Methodist Church, only farmland and newer homes cover all signs of what was once the thriving town of Pink Hill whose residents awaited the coming of the railroad. The railroad never came but the Civil War did and those two events destroyed the small town.
     In the early 1850’s, the Chicago and Alton Railroad surveyed land in Sni-a-Bar township. Blue Springs was the only town until November 21, 1854, when George Love and David Neer filed an Abstract in the office of John A. Sea for an area of ten acres off the west side of the northeast quarter of Section 24, Township 49, Range 30.  There they established a town of 40 lots with a Main Street and a Locust Street each 33 feet wide plus two alleys 16 ½ feet wide. The area was one mile south of the old Spring Branch Road, now Truman Road.
     The town was built on property belonging to R. G. Pinkard, but did not honor him with the name Pink Hill.  The suggestion for the name came from Robert St. Clair, who settled in Jackson County about 1848.  Meeting with a group of men, he is credited with saying, “The land is covered with pink roses and pink verbena, it should be called Pink Hill.”
     According to Abstract notes, the first of the 40 lots was sold to Rosamah Sanders. Asa Booker purchased some of the lots the following year. The town was placed on the map by the United States Post office department in the same year, 1854. One history stated the Pink Hill Post Office was the second in Jackson county preceded only by Independence. (Other towns have made similar claims.)
     The first mail carrier, Charles St. Clair, brought honor to the town when he brought the first load of mail. He met the boat at the Sibley Landing and rode horseback overland to carry home the mail in a red bandanna handkerchief.
 
Next Week: The citizens, their businesses and their homes.
 
     The Grain Valley Historical Society Museum is located  at 506 South Main Street and online at www.grainvalleyhistory.com.
 

​     One could say the East Kansas City Airport in Grain Valley began out of necessity.  In the early 1950s a number of private airplane owners learned they would no longer have a home for their planes. The Heart of America Airport located on U. S. 40 Highway near the Little Blue River was closed and the property was turned into a trailer park.
     At that time several of the private plane owners and pilots decided they would purchase land and construct their own airport.  Some of the original 11 stockholders were Frank V. Mawby, lawyer; Walter Jennings, lawyer; Jack Barnhart, Barnhart Construction; Bill Perkins, Perkins Restaurants, Earl Wade, manufacturer, and Ruffs Wilson, electrical contractor, to name a few. Together, they formed an organization which resembled a well-run flying club, but instead of just owning airplanes, the group owned the airport.
     Much work was done by the group to incorporate, draw up sound and workable rules for operation, find land, secure the title, layout the runways, line up local financing, bulldoze the runways, build the hangars and other facilities, and last but certainly not least, convince the townsfolks and the city fathers that the airport would be an asset to the community.
     A parcel of 80 acres was found on the western edge of Grain Valley on Kirby Road at the end of Walnut Street.  In the 1800s this land was owned by Britton Capelle. By the early 1900s it was part of the E. E. Kirby Orchards.  The corporation purchased the land from Tom Cairns, owner of Cairns Flowers in Independence, Missouri.
     The airport started with two runways, one running east to west and a second runway running northeast to southwest. Barnhart Construction Company did the grading for the runways and Jack Barnhart built the first small hangars. By 1978, the cooperative airport association included some 39 members. 
     Over the years many improvements have been made. Asphalt was installed in the older hangars; numerous new hangars were built, and runways lights were installed that can be turned on by the planes’ radios. In addition, an aircraft maintenance hangar, a radio communications area, and a radio repair service shop were added. The current airport has a business office, a main lobby, restrooms, and a pilot’s lounge.  
     Much of the information for this article was furnished by John Washburn of Grain Valley.  Although not an original stockholder, he was one of the very early stockholders. He served on the Board of Directors for many years and served a term as its President.  
     The Grain Valley Airport Co-operative was officially incorporated in 1956.  Its’ uniqueness is still relevant today.  It is one of the very few in the nation that is a privately owned/public use airport and is a testament to the average American businessman.  No government aid was forthcoming for this private enterprise—there is no city, county, state or federal money invested.  
     Mr. Robert Williams is one of the seventy-five to eight current owners. In visiting with Mr. Williams, I learned that the FAA has been involved with the airport over the years, mainly with antenna radio contact to ensure planes land at the proper angle. He also views the airport as “a large green space, like a park.” He pointed out another important feature.  The airport is largely agricultural, noting the large hay crop that is cut each year.
     The current manager, Robert Hackett, has been in his position for over a decade. He tells me the airport has planes available for flying lessons, rides, charters and field trips.  The airport also boasts a team of mechanics known for their excellent work.
 
     The Grain Valley Historical Society Museum is located  at 506 South Main Street and online at www.grainvalleyhistory.com.
 

The Sni-A-Bar Voice, described as “a journal devoted strictly to the interests of Blue Springs and Eastern Jackson County”, was managed from approximately 1903 to 1911 by D.C. (Dave) Herrington of Blue Springs and son of M.M. Herrington of Grain Valley. According to Vol. XI dated January 5, 1911, publishers were Almae C. Hall, Editor and Manager, and William L. Hall, Asst. Editor.
     The following snippets from past Novembers were extracted from film ordered from the State Historical Society of Missouri.
 
From the November 30, 1906 Edition:
Willie A. Adams and Miss Leora Smart married in Blackwell, Oklahoma Wednesday, November 28th. The groom, son of George A. Adams from Blue Springs. Mr. Adams is a brother of Mrs. Cora Fields Duncan of Liberty, MO.

Grain Valley felt the jar of the explosion Monday night. There was considerable excitement. A large quantity of powder and dynamite exploded supplies for a rock crusher about 12 miles from Blue Springs.
 
It was voted to have a Christmas tree at the Christian Church.
 
There is talk of a box supper at the school-house on Friday night before Christmas for benefit of a public library. Already have quite a collection of books from other box suppers.
 
From the October 29, 1915 edition:
Zed O. Webb is going out of business in Grain Valley, moving stock to Blue Springs by November 15.
 
From the November 26, 1915 edition:
Mrs. Sarah Frances Herrington, wife of M.M. Herrington, died at her home just north of Grain Valley, Sunday morning, November 14, after an illness of more than four months.  She is survived by her husband, nine children, 17 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.
 
 
From the November 9, 1917 edition:
Mr. and Mrs. Willis Lynch received word that their son Riley arrived in France.
 
And some advice from the December 1917 edition:
You will benefit yourself and help others by eating less sweets at Christmas time. Sugar is needed “over there”.
 
     The next Historical Society Meeting will be held November 21, 2019. Join us for a pot luck dinner at 6:00pm followed by our program and meeting.
 
     The Grain Valley Historical Society Museum is located  at 506 South Main Street and online at www.grainvalleyhistory.com.

​     Known now as Acquaint Gathering, the oldest continuously used building in Grain Valley was dedicated as a church in 1889.  The original structure was erected on lots 3 and 4 in Finnell’s Addition. The land was purchased from Mary Wright and her husband J. B. Keshlear. The first church trustees, Joseph R Hudson, David T. Johnson and W. L Williams purchased the lots for $60 and $75 respectively.  They were on Capelle Street just south of the Grain Valley School.
     The Methodist Episcopal Church South began in 1888, and was the third church building in Grain Valley.  The Christian Church was established in 1883, and the First Baptist Church was established in 1884.
     Lumber for the church was hauled to the site from a nearby lumber mill by William Armstrong.  With very limited funds, only the main room or sanctuary was able to be enclosed and furnished with simple benches and a pulpit.  First called Pleasant Valley Chapel, Perdee Chapel on Moreland School Road in Stony Point, was sold and the proceeds were used to finish the walls and plank floor and equip the new church.
     The church building remained unchanged for nearly 60 years. By 1948 the growing little church was in need of Sunday School rooms, a kitchen, a dining room and an attic for future classrooms.
     Then in 1962 a legacy of $6,300 was received which made it possible for the church to purchase a new heating system (to replace the huge jacketed stove in the back corner) and a bathroom. Years later additional classrooms were completed upstairs, and the entire interior got a facelift.
     With limited space and even more limited parking, the congregation had to seek land for a new church. In 2007 Faith United Methodist Church relocated to Eagles Parkway, but the building is still very much in use.
     The owners of Acquaint Gathering have kept the integrity of the building, as they turned it into a facility for special events. They provide a great venue for weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties and family reunions.  They even hosted a prom there for a small Christian school.
     And for the past two years, Faith United Methodist has filled the old church for their Ash Wednesday Service. The roots run deep in this old building.
 
     The Grain Valley Historical Society Museum is located  at 506 South Main Street and online at www.grainvalleyhistory.com.
 

​     Charlie Richard was inducted into the Baker University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1995, the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004 as a coach, and the Grain Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. 
     He quarterbacked Grain Valley to a winning record in 1958 and William Jewell College to a 9-1 conference championship and national ranking in 1962. After coaching at Odessa and Moberly high schools, he was an assistant coach at Central Missouri State while he completed his master’s degree and Educational Specialist. 
     In 1976, Richard became the football coach, track coach and athletic director at Highland (Kansas) Community College. Then, in 1980, Charlie became the head football coach at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas and, as they say, the rest is history.
     Charlie built the football program at Baker into one of the best small college programs in the nation compiling a 14-season record of 123-28-1. He led Baker to 11 Heart of America Athletic Conference championships, 10 NAIA playoff appearances and a victory in the 1985 Sunflower Bowl.
     Richard’s team won nine games nine times and, at the end of the 1994 season, had been ranked in the NAIA Top 25 for 128 consecutive weeks. He produced 32 All-Americans, 25 Academic All-Americans and was named the conference coach of the year six times.
     Charles Allen Richard was born on May 30, 1944 to William D. “Dub” and Charlene Stephenson Richard. He was the oldest of their three sons and grew up on the family dairy farm on Nebgen Road, south of Grain Valley.  His roots run deep as the Richard family tree can be traced back to the Dennis and Martha Costigan, one of the first families in Eastern Jackson County.
     Charlie’s mother was the youngest of the Stephenson family. Her oldest sister taught at Oak Hill School in 1913 & 14. Les and Lloyd Stephenson (Stephenson’s Apple Orchard and Restaurant 1946-2007) were first cousins.
     Charlie graduated from Grain Valley High School in 1959. In perusing the 1959 Treasure Chest yearbook, his photo turned up on many activity pages.  Charlie was on the newspaper staff, the yearbook staff, student council vice-president, National Honor Society vice-president, the senior play, football, basketball, track and Lettermen’s Club.  In addition to all of these activities, perhaps his greatest high school accomplishment, Charlie was valedictorian of the Class of 1959.
 
     The Grain Valley Historical Society Museum is located  at 506 South Main Street and online at www.grainvalleyhistory.com.
 

     While perhaps not a “household” name, Steven A. Beebe is known worldwide in “communications” circles. Steven, Muriel and Russell Beebe’s third of five children, was born September 19, 1950. He grew up on his family’s farm on Little Road, north of Grain Valley; attended Grain Valley schools K-12 and graduated from GVHS is 1968.
     After graduation, Steven attended Central Missouri State College which became Central Missouri State University in 1972, the year he obtained his B.S. Ed in Communications. He continued his studies there and receive a Masters of Arts before moving on to the University of Missouri in Columbia where he completed his Doctorate of Philosophy. In 1975 he received an Outstanding Teaching Award at Mizzou and in 1976 he was recognized for Scholastic Achievement (Perfect 4.0 Grade Point Average on all graduate course work) at the University.
     Dr. Beebe was a tenured member of the communication faculty at the University of Miami for 10 years prior to joining the faculty at Texas State University in 1990. There he has served as chair of the Department of Communication Studies for 29 years and concurrently as associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication for 26 years.
     He has been a visiting scholar at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities and was elected a permanent member of the Common Room of Wolfson College, Oxford University.
     Other leadership roles for Beebe include serving as president of the National Communication Association, the largest professional communication association in the world, founding member of the Russian Communication Association and co-director of the first Russian Communication Association conference held in Pyatigorsk, Russia.
     He has also served as president of the Florida Communication Association.
Dr. Beebe is considered an authority on C. S. Lewis. He made international headlines when he discovered a manuscript written by Lewis that was the partial opening chapter of a book that was to be co-authored with J. R. R. Tolkien about communication (Language and Human Nature. ) while examining Lewis' documents in the Oxford University Bodleian Library.  In 2016 he discovered an unknown poem by Lewis.
     He is author and co-author of 12 books and more than 55 articles and book chapters, plus more than 160 papers and presentations at professional conferences. Steve’s research, with a focus on instructional communication and skill development, has appeared in such journals as Communication Education, Human Communication, Communication Research Reports and several Russian academic journals.
     His alma mater, the University of Central Missouri, named him a Distinguished Alumni in 2010 and the National Speaker’s Association has named him Outstanding Communication Professor in America. In 2003, he and his wife, Susan J. Beebe, set up a scholarship at their alma mater, the University of Central Missouri, for communication students who are also involved in the forensics program.
     Dr. Beebe is a member of the Grain Valley Education Foundation.  If you wish to know more about Steve, just Google him. In this short article I’ve only had space to mention a few of the many honor and awards he has received over the past 40 years.
 

​     Robert C. “Bob” Harmon (1912-2008) grew up in Odessa, Missouri, graduated from Central Missouri State Teachers College in 1932 and completed his education at the University of Missouri in Business and Public Administration. On May 23, 1937 he married Mildred Irene Johnson, a teacher and native of Grain Valley, Missouri.  Mildred grew up near Oakland School where she and her older sister, Grace (Johnson) Storms each taught for a brief time in the 1920’s and 30’s.
     Bob learned about radio while serving in the Marine Corps in the 1930s.  During World War II, he worked for a manufacturing company in Kansas City which provided two-way radios for the military.  When the company failed to find a civilian market for their radios they were forced to close.
     To provide work for himself and the many skilled individuals unemployed after the war, in September 1946 he started his own firm, Harmon Electronics.  The company began in Independence with the goal of using radio and other electronics to inform railroad engineers about overheated axle bearings called hotboxes. If these were ineffective, the train wheels could lock up and cause trains to derail.
     With a contract from Southern Railway to use the equipment, in 1958 Harmon Electronics moved from Independence to its first owned facilities, a building on farm land next to the Harmon Home on Argo Road.  For the next twenty-years Harmon Electronics remained a custom engineering firm to help clients find technical solutions. The work was done by only two dozen employees.
     Robert E. “Gene” Harmon graduated from Grain Valley High School in 1958. After obtaining an engineering degree from Georgia Tech in 1962, he returned to Grain Valley to assume a position in the company founded by his father. 
     His first contribution was an electronic switch that improved the timing on railroad crossing gates. Crossing gates would not open for cars until trains had gone 100 feet or more down the track, but Gene’s device opened the gates after just two feet of clearance. His father liked the idea, and by 1964 the company had a major product to sell.
     Harmon Electronics remained a private company until 1972 when Gene Harmon took the company public.  For the next fifteen years Harmon Electronics went through many  acquisitions and innovations resulting in restructuring. In 1987 Harmon Industries, Inc., formed as a holding company. 
     Bob Harmon’s vision that begin in an upholstery shop in Independence, played a huge role in supplying the nation’s and eventually the world’s railroads with advanced systems for signaling, inspections, and train control and safety.  By 1998, Harmon Industries was operated by a ten-member Board of Directors chaired by Bob Harmon, the only family member still involved in the firm.
     The company was sold to GE Harris Railway Electronics and by 2000 it was known only as GE Transportation.  Today, the plant at the corner of Argo and Dillingham Roads is known as Alstom Signaling Operations. It’s approximately 500 employees are still manufacturing railroad safety equipment and train and highway crossing signals.
 

​     Recently, I was asked to write about any “famous people” from Grain Valley. My mind went to presidents, novelists, musicians, movie stars and professional athletes. I came up empty!
     However, when I changed the question to ask if Grain Valley had any “salt of the earth” citizens who have made a difference in the lives of others, I came up with many names. 
In the past several months I’ve written about some of the early pioneers like Jacob Gregg.  Jacob and Nancy Gregg and their nine children lived at Stony Point prior to moving into Grain Valley. Gregg held many positions in government throughout his life. They included Jackson County Sheriff (1832-36) and one term as a member of the Missouri State Legislature (1850). 
     Over the next few weeks, I will tell you about some of the more recent citizens. 
     The Costigan name has been around since the late 1800s and more than five generations of the family have called Grain Valley home.  Dennis (1849-1935) and Martha (1854-1927) raised nine children here, so in the early 1900s most everyone in our town, including my family, could claim at least one Costigan relative. 
     Harold Elvis Costigan (1916-2004), their grandson, is my subject today. He was the fifth of seven children of Joseph Patrick and Mary (Taylor) Costigan.
     Harold  grew up in Grain Valley, quarterbacked the football team and graduated from GVHS in 1934.  He and his wife Merle both attended the University of Missouri where he earned a degree in agriculture and was an officer in the ROTC. 
     After graduation, Harold joined the Missouri National Guard in St. Joseph, Missouri. He became a member of the 35th Divisional Tank Company and was called to service in February, 1941. Designated B Company, 194th Tank Division, they trained at Fort Lewis, Washington until September, 1941.
     On August 23, 1941, Harold and Merle Houston were married, eleven days before he left for active duty in the Philippines.
     When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941), they also launched an assault on Clark Air Force base in the Philippines. Harold survived the Japanese attack on Clark Field. A few weeks later his tank platoon was ordered north to slow the advancing Japanese who had landed troops at Lingayen Gulf.
     On Christmas Day the platoon took positions west of Carmen.  When they began taking fire from a strong Japanese force, 1st Lt. Harold Costigan ordered the tanks to open fire with their machine guns. Realizing they had a very good chance of being cut off, he ordered his tanks to withdraw through Carmen.
     A massive ground invasion forced the American troops to fall back to the Bataan Peninsula. The battle lasted for months with American troops cut off from supplies and reinforcements. On April 9, 1942 the American General King surrendered. On that day, Costigan became a POW.
     For the first 10 days following the surrender they marched some 60 miles along the road to the first prison camp. Years later, Costigan stated, “That was the death march.”  Of the over 12,000 men surrendered or captured on Bataan, fully two-thirds lost their lives. 
     By the time of their liberation on February 4, 1945, Harold weighed only 100 pounds, half of his former weight. He spent nearly two years in hospitals around the United States before being discharged on disability in 1947. He was legally blind and deaf, due to his years of torture and starvation.
     He and his wife bought a farm in Maryville, Missouri, and later in Oak Grove. In the 1950s he began teaching farm skills to vision-impaired students. He returned to Mizzou in 1960, earning a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling.
     Merle also returned for her master’s. They raised two daughters.  Harold Costigan passed away on December 25, 2004.
     Visit the Historical Society to learn more about Harold Costigan, the Costigan Family and the Houston Family and their story. Merle’s father was in the first graduation class at GVHS in 1909.
 
 

​     In Pearl Wilcox’s book Jackson County Pioneers, we find on page 81 the following excerpt:  
     “Bad feeling due to the (Civil) war still existed and sometimes precipitated quarrels and fights between (Pink Hill) neighbors.  Many of the men had engaged in guerrilla warfare; some were Confederate veterans restored to citizenship and full rights; others returned Union men. Old feuds flared.
     One night in the fall of 1871 during a service in the unfinished Methodist Church, three men lost their lives in a shooting scrape.  Elijah Gardner, Robert St Clair and Grandville Love were killed.”
     Some corrections are necessary. Gardner’s first name was Elias.  He died on February 24, 1869.  Originally buried in the Gardner Family cemetery, his grandson had the graves of Gardner and his wife moved the Buckner Cemetery. 
     Robert St Clair died on April 10, 1869. He is buried in the St Clair Cemetery on Holloway Road.  Love’s first name was Granville without the “d,” and he was the only one shot at the Pink Hill Methodist Church. He was shot in his leg and died from his wound.  He is buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery.  Having visited all three gravesites, I can attest to the accuracy of the names and dates IF the tombstones are correct!
     According to an account I located on Ancestry.com, Gardner was born in Kentucky in 1816. The 1850 US Census listed his residence in Kentucky; however, by the 1860 US Census he owned a farm in Jackson County, Missouri, presumably near Pink Hill.  A family researcher related that Eli Gardner was drinking in a saloon after the Civil War.
     An argument broke out between he and his friend, Lewis. Gardner’s first shot took off Lewis’ hat and his second shot hit Lewis in the chest and killed him. Robert St Clair, a prominent man in Pink Hill, attempted to stop the argument. He was shot in the arm which had to be amputated. He died a few weeks later from gangrene.
     Gardner said he had killed one man and he would kill others who provoked him. A posse led by Young Keasler arrived at the Gardner home where Eli had fortified himself in a barn and refused to surrender. He shot Keasler but eventually Gardner was shot and killed.
     George A. Gardner, 18-years old at the time,  witnessed the killing of his father. Two years later on September 16, 1871 at the Pink Hill Methodist Church, Gardner challenged Keshlear and both men were wounded by gunfire. Granville Love, a bystander was shot and later died from his wound. 
     This resulted in a complaint by the citizens of Sni-A-Bar Township against carrying of firearms.   The protest read:
     “We, the undersigned, citizens of Sni-a-bar township, Jackson County, Mo. deeply regret the homicides lately committed in our township, by which Elisa Gardner, Robert St Clair and Granville Love lost their lives; and believing that no justifiable cause existed for any of the said homicides and feeling it is our duty, as peaceable and law-abiding citizens, to do all in our power to prevent any future occurrences of the same sad and disgraceful character.
     We hereby enter our solemn protest against the practice of carrying pistols and other deadly weapons in a peaceable community—believing as we do, that no necessity exists for any man to so arm himself…..and abandon habits which only produce evil and immorality…..”
     This protest was signed by 99 citizens.  Obviously, outlawing guns is not as easily done today.
 

​     If you are looking for the Historic Slaughter Family Cemetery, it is located in the northeast corner of Swan Lake Memorial Gardens, 3105 S. Slaughter Road.
     Josiah and Elizabeth (Koger) Slaughter were married on April 19, 1826 in Patrick County, Virginia. According to the 1840 U. S. Census, they were living in Sni-A-Bar Township with their six children. Their daughters were Sarah (Cox), Mary Jane (Harris), Sinea E. (Potts) and Elizabeth M. (Gibson),
     The two middle girls married cousins and moved a few miles south to the Stony Point area.  They lived on adjoining farms on Harris Potts Road.  The Slaughter’s younger son, William Ryland moved to Salisbury, Missouri.
     The older son, John Henry married Mary Jane Bowman in 1867. He purchased land adjoining his parent’s property and to the south.
     The Historic Slaughter Family plot is probably on the land owned by Josiah, as the first grave in the cemetery was that of Mary Koger, his mother-in-law who died in 1845. Josiah, Elizabeth, Sinia and Levi Potts, John, Mary Jane, and their two infant children are buried at the cemetery.
     Also buried there are Robert and Melinda (Stringer) King. They were the parents of Sarah Catherine King, better known as Kate Quantrill, wife of William Clarke Quantrill. 
     Kate was only 14-years old when she met Quantrill. He and his raiders, numbering some 100 men. were camped at a small spring on her family’s farm (northeast of Blue Springs).  She left with him, and they lived mainly in tents for the brief time they were together. After one of the groups more infamous raids, when they burned Lawrence, Kansas, Quantrill left and went to Kentucky. Kate went to St. Louis. When Quantrill was shot, Kate joined him in Kentucky and was with him when he died.  They were married only three and a half years. Kate was seventeen.  Like Quantrill, she had taken his middle name, Clarke, to avoid being recognized during the war. 
     In the 1870 U. S. Census, Kate Clarke was living in St. Louis.  She was 22- years old and her listed occupation was “whore.”
     She ran a high-end business in Old St. Louis for several “successful” years.  After the birth of a son, she moved to Oklahoma where she purchased a “ligament” hotel which she ran for many more years. Kate was married three or perhaps four more times.
     Eventually Kate returned to Jackson County and lived with a nephew, Authur Dealy until she was quite elderly. She was put in the Jackson County Home for the Aged, commonly known as the Old Folks Home or the Poor Farm.
     A newspaper article mentioned she was buried in an unmarked grave at the Maple Hill Cemetery in Kansas.  A marker was place there within the last 25 years.
     In 1971, a marker appeared at the Slaughter Cemetery, next to the graves of her parents.  It was erected by Arthur Dealy and Fred Ford, a neighbor of Dealy. 
     According to their story, when Kate died a local mortician with the Ketterlin Funeral Home had contracted to bury paupers from the Poor Farm in Maple Hill Cemetery. The body was embalmed, but the mortician suddenly moved to the Ozarks and left the funeral home full of embalmed bodies.
     A month passed before Kate’s family was notified. When Dealy learned she had not been buried, he and Ford retrieved the body and brought it to the Slaughter Cemetery to be laid to rest by her parents.
     The more one reads about Kate King, the more confused you might become.  Was she ever married to Quantrill? While she did live with a nephew near the end of her life, some say it wasn’t Dealy.  In fact, some writers do not believe they were even related. In all likelihood, she is buried in Kansas, but then again….
     You can visit the Old Slaughter Cemetery and see her memorial gravesite.
 
Visit the Grain Valley Historical Society online at www.grainvalleynews.com and on Facebook at @grainvalleyhistory.