Duchess' Snowy Domain

As we round the last corner of January 2010, we have had a couple or three days of reprieve from snow storms here in the San Juan mountains of Southwest Colorado, but it has been downright chilly with temps in the high 20s and low 30s during the day and dropping to negative figures at night. BUT . . . Isn't that to be expected during Wintertime?

Last Monday evening the snow began to fall here in the San Juan mountains of Southwest Colorado. With twelve hour breaks, it snowed for the next four days, adding an additional twenty-six (26) inches of fresh snow North of Bayfield. Our snow gauge at the end of Friday evening and into Saturday measured a total of 43 inches, of which 17 inches was the compacted base of the December 2009 snow. Do I have you confused yet?

Anyway . . . as of Sunday our 43 inches of snow compacted down to 38 inches. Thursday and Friday's snow were of the heavy, wet variety. There were some reports of avalanches and short power outages around Vallecito, and others areas near Durango.

They say that the 35 inches that fell in Durango is also Durango's total for January, which is more than twice the average January snowfall of 16.9 inches.

The historical record for snowfall in January occurred in 1916 when 74 inches fell. The 2nd- and 3rd-highest snowfalls for January occurred in 1980 when 58-inches fell -- in 1957 when 58 inches fell.

The photo above, taken by Robert L. Wagner, 22 January 2010, shows a panorama view from the backside of a cabin up at Vallecito Lake where the snow slid down the cliffs onto the back patio blocking the occupants from opening the backdoor.

There were other avalanches around here and near Durango, Colorado as well. On County Road (CR) 500, south of what some referr to as Wits Ends there was an avalance of snow measuring eight feet deep and 800 feet length that blocked CR 500.

The sun did come out, finally, Saturday, Sunday and Today, Monday. Looks like we have another snowstorm waiting on the horizon for Wednesday of this week. Southwest Colorado's average snowfall for January is usually around 16.9 inches. So . . . We have practically doubled that amount so far and January is not over yet. The skiers and resorts are loving, though.

As to this week's OkieLegacy ezine, we are exploring and sharing some history of that famous "Westpoint of the West," known as Kemper Military School, that our Uncle Robert Lee McGill attended in 1937 and 1938 before he advanced to University of Kentucky.

By the way, one of the students during that time was from a town in Oklahoma called "Wolco." Where is/was Wolco, Oklahoma? In Osage county? This NW Okie had never heard of Wolco. Can someone enlighten us and share some legacies of Wolco, Osage county, Oklahoma? Thanks for your help!
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Where Is Wolco, Oklahoma?

What little information I gleaned from the web is that Wolco was located in Osage county, in the Tulsa metro area and named for the Wolverine Oil Company. The latitude of Wolco is 36.538N, longitude -96.071W, with an elevation of 955 feet.


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On the Google maps search, Wolco, Oklahoma appears to be North of Tulsa and centered halfway between Bartlesville (on the north), Pawhuska (on the West) and Skiatook (on the South).

This NW Okie would love to learn more of the legacy of Wolco, Osage county, Oklahoma. Can YOU Help? Share your Wolco family legacies and tell us more of Wolco, Oklahoma. We would love to hear, learn from you!
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Kemper Military School Legacy & Alumni

The official Kemper Military School Alumni and College Alumni association website. -- Kemper Military school was a private military academy located in Boonville, Missouri. Kemper filed for bankruptcy and closed in 2002. The school's motto was "Nunquam Non Paratus" (Never Not Prepared).

According to Wikipedia Kemper Millitary School, on June 3, 1844, Frederick T. Kemper gave his first lesson at the Boonville Boarding school, an all male school designed to educate the sons of the frontier west. It started as a one room schoolhouse on the corner of Spring and Main Streets, and opened with just 5 students. The Fall of 1844 it had 50 students. The south wing of the lon time administration building constructed in 1845 and was utilized as both a boarding school and a classroom.

Names of Kemper Through the Years:
Boonville Boarding School, 1844-1845.
Boonville Male Collegiate Institute, 1845-1854.
Kemper Family School, 1854-1856.
Kemper and Taylor's Institute, 1861-1865.
Kemper's Family School, 1865-1874
Kemper Family School, 1874-1896.
Kemper School, 1896-1899.
Kemper Military School, 1899-1923.
Kemper Military School and Junior College, 1923-2000.
Kemper Military School, 2000-2002

In 1856 the school closed when Professor Kemper accepted a teaching, administrative position at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri.

In 1861 Professor Kemper returned to Boonville and reopened the school as the Kemper & Tayllor Institute in partnership with his wife's brother, Edwin H. Taylor. It was one of only a few schools in the state to remain open during the Civil War, partly due to professor Kemper's willingness to accept female students for the first time.

After the civil war, Taylor left and the school again became all male and was known as Kemper Family School until Kemper's death in 1881.

After Kemper's death, Thomas A. Johnston was named as the president and placed in control of the school. Johnston guided the school through its largest period of growth and established its national reputation and Johnston over saw the transition to a military school. The school officially changed its name to Kemper Military School in 1899, and began to advertise itself as "The West Point of the West".

Oklahoma's Will Rogers attended the school in the 1890's and went on to gain worldwide fame as an actor, humorist, political commentator and performer until his untimely death in a plane crash in 1935.

An unprecedented expansion of the campus occurred from the period of 1900 through 1925. In 1904 the physical plant began when "B" barracks was enlarged; then Math Hall was built in 1906 originally as a gymnasium; A barracks was erected in 1909; D barracks in 1917; and the Johnston field house and the indoor pool were constructed in 1924.

It was during World War I when enrollment soared, peaking at 502 students in 1918 -- almost more than the school could handle. Enrollment remained strong, in the mid-1930's. That is also the time when my Uncle Robert Lee McGill attended Kemper, 1937-1938.

Wikipedia also states, "The Kemperite was first published in 1912. Kemper's Standard of Honor was introduced in 1915. A formal ROTC program was begun in 1916, and in 1923, a junior college was added. By that time, the annual football game with rival Wentworth Military Academy and College in Lexington, Missouri had become a huge event on Thanksgiving, with both corps of cadets boarding trains and sometimes meeting on a neutral field in Sedalia or Marshall, Missouri. The Kansas City and St. Louis newspapers referred to the gridiron battle as the "Little Army-Navy Game", and gave front page coverage to the outcome."

In 2003, the Kemper facilities were auction and bought by the City Boonville and known as Frederick T. Kemper Park. The park contains 46 acres and 10 buildings on what was formerly the Kemper campus. The City currently has plans to retain ownership of the T. A. Johnston Field House and of 30 acres of open space. Johnston Field House is currently home to the Boonslick Heartland YMCA and contains a cardio theater, weight room, aerobics room, 25-yard indoor pool, indoor batting cage, office space and 3 basketball courts.

The Park also contains a regulation football field, soccer fields, lake and two baseball fields. The city hopes to rehab the five tennis courts. Additional development will be deferred until a Master Plan is conducted to determine the best use of the space. The remainder of the core campus is being marketed by Boonville's Industrial Development Authority. The campus is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In September and October 2007, Kemper's abandoned campus was used for location shots of the movie, Saving Grace, about a little girl's trip back to Boonville in the summer of 1951, the year of the great Missouri River flood.

Many downtown Boonville buildings were used for filming, with Kemper used as an asylum. The movie was directed by Connie Stevens and stars Penelope Ann Miller, Tatum O'Neal, Joel Gretsch, Piper Laurie and Michael Biehn. The movie was released in 2008.
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Kemper Military Memories On Webshots - by ewingftw

We did a search online at Webshots.com and found the following Kemper Military School Pictures from friends and fun photos on Kemper Military School Webshots published by ewingftw.
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Kemper Military School - Class of 1939

We left off last week with the Class of 1938-39 of the Kemper Military School, in Boonseville, Missouri. This week we shall share the Class of 1939 and some of 1940.

Top: Ward Eugene Benkelman, McDonald, KS; Franklin Pierce Berry, Shreveport, LA; William Biles, Pender NE; Theodore Judson Bodwell, Kansas City, MO; Grover Cleveland Bolin, Springdale, Ark; Edwin Russell Booth, Longview, TX; John Henry Burke, Helena, MT; Oliver Case Buschow, Mena, Ark; Harold Michael Chargot, Detroit, MI.

2nd: Charles Fowler Clark, Wakeman, OH; Calvin Nelson Clyde, Tyler, TX; Andrew Aaron Cochran, West Plains, MO; William Lois Cohen, Fredericktown, MO; Harold Thomas Connor, Daingerfield, TX; James Martin Corner, Blue Hill, NE; Thomas Hunter Crary, Deadwood, SD; John Floyd Croup, Sheridan, WY; William Lusk Davidson, Jefferson City, MO.

3rd: Stephen Meek Davis, Plattsmouth, NE; Frank Rolland Dehner, Omaha, NE; John Alfred Dinsdale, Palmer, NE; James Elwood Durham, Okeene, OK; Paul Eugene Evans, Rapid City, SD; William Leroy Evans, Ft. Worth, TX; Carl Bussey Everett, Gladewater, TX; Waldorf Clauson Eyman, Knox City, MO; Edmond Sterling Fauth, DeSoto, MO.

4th: Howard Martin Fender, Ft. Worth, TX; Elbridge Gerry Fish, Salina, KS; Robert Lee Fish, Overland Park, KS; Harold Dene Floyd, Boonville, MO; Henry Lee Foster, Longview, TX; Roy MacFranks, OKC, OK; Oscar Eugene Franz, Ouray, CO; John Adair Fraser, Springdale, Ark; Frank Eberle Fulkerson, Jerseyville, IL.

5th: Wesley Edens Fuller, Beaumont, TX; Richard Neil Gentry, Chicago, IL; William Nelson Gibbens, OKC, OK; Ferd Marvin Gilmore, East Prairie, MO; George Weber Gilmore, East Prairie, MO; Nelson Thomas Grisamore, Chicago, IL; Jimmie B. Haden, Ft. Worth, TX; Eugene Hicks Hall, Amoret, MO; Warren Weiant Hamford, Aurora, OH.

Bottom: Harley Doyte Hartung, Bozeman, MT; Vaughn LaClerque Hartung, Bozeman, MT; Norman Theodore Hartzell, Omaha, NE; Ralph Orville Heatly, Mangum, OK; Richard Kaichen Heldman, Cincinnati, OH; Raymond Edward Hendricks, Ft. Worth, TX; Jack Aiken Hewitt, Superior, NE; Robert H. Hickman, Centerville, IA; Joe Martin Higginbotham, Dallas, TX.
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KMS - Class of 1939 (Cont.)

Here is a second batch of the Class '39 Kemper Military School. Reading from the Top to Bottom, left to right.

Top: Joseph Russell Holland, North Little Rock, Ark; Preston Lee Hooper, Ft. Worth, TX; Floyd Houston Huddleston, Leland, MS; Harry Louis Johnson, Waukesha, WI; Robert Clinton Johnson, Perryton, TX; Herbert Joseph, Laurel, MS; Bernard Keller, Poplar Bluff, MO; Thomas Emmett Kearney, OKC, OK; John Lewis Keller, Iowa City, IA.

2nd: Fred Ely Kent, Algona, IA; William Russell Kern, Traer, IA; Frank Donald Kinne, Cody, WY; Samuel Lewis Lane, Webster Groves, MO: Roy Edward Lee, Rushville, IN; Gerald Johnston Leuty, Knoxville, IA; Albert Cole Leverenz, Chanute, KS; Alfred Lindgren, Salina, KS; Emil Achard Lockwood, Ottawa, IL.

3rd: Jorge Jaime Lopez, Mexico, D.F.; Lemuel Robert Loving, Corpus Christi, TX; James Baker Low, OKC, OK; Giles Connell McCrary, Ft. Worth, TX; Shirley Alton McDougall, Indianapolis, IN; Jack Alexander McGorray, Warrensburg, IL: Mason Rankin McNutt, St. Louis, MO; Vernon Woodrow Mackay, Elmhurst, IL; Charles Giles Maier, Akron, OH.

4th: John Albert Majors, Dallas, TX; Roy McMurray Martin, Benton, IL; Terry Cameron Martin, Amarillo, TX; Robert Allen Mayo, Dallas, TX; Hiram Allison Messmore, Beatrice, NE; Richard Kewenige Miller, Kimball, NE; Frank Moyle, Oglesby, IL; John Robert Murphy, Sioux City, IA; James Berry Oakley, Wolco, OK.

5th: Forrest Benard Ohlson, Hardtner, KS; Jule William Parks, Monroe, LA; Frank Allan paul, Panhandle, TX; Don F. Pollock, Fremont, NE; Thomas Smith Price, Longview, TX; Harry Cady Purcell, Borken Bow, NE; Edward Quick, Mascoutah, IL; John Morrison Raines, Little Rock Ark; Courtney Teddy Rambach, Taylorville, IL.

Bottom: Roy Preston Rogers, Detroit, MI; William Austin Romine, Keota, IA; Richard Benjamin Royse, Middletown, OH; John Freeman Schmitt, Louisiana, MO; Richard McLaughlin Schramm, Chicago, IL; Eugene Dewey Schultz, Augusta, KS; James Arthur Schultz, Augusta, KS; Sam Blake Scott, Prescott, Ark; John LeRoy Sharrer, Hanna, WY.
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KMS - Class of 1939 & 1940

We end this week of Class of 1939 Kemper Military School cadets with a easer of the Class of 1940 to be continued next week.

Top: Keith Walker Sheldon, Scottsbluff, NE; John Norval Sherman, Chanute, KS; clyde Gordon Smith, OKC, OK; Lawrence Raymond Smith, Lyndon, KS; Frank Campbell Sneed, Lawton, OK; Robert Lynn Snyder, Lubbock, TX; Charles Tipton Soule, Huntsville, Ark; Otto Duncan Stallard, Dallas, TX; George Steinmeyer, St. Louis, MO.

2nd: John Martin Stephens, Tyler, TX; Irvin Marcus Sternberg, Ft. Smith, Ark; John Warren sTewart, Keota, IA; Albert Gobin Stout, Dallas, TX; Robert Sealy Swope, Beaumont, TX; Darue Carhill Tegley, Burr Oak, KS; Thomas Fontaine Terrell, Pocatello, ID; Charles Ruffin Tidwell, Monroe, LA; Maury Gano Tucker, Dallas, TX.

3rd: Hugh E. Tyson, OKC, OK; Earl Borman Van Valkenburg, Elmhurst, IL; Wilson Wilder Vaughan, Mineral Wells, TX; Hans von Unwerth, Kansas City, MO; Roy Crossland Warfield. Souix City IA; Richard Hammond Weeks, Lake Charles, LA; Richard James White, Kansas City, MO; Ewing Merrill Winsett, Amarillo, TX; Harold Roberts Wooldridge, Altus, OK.

4th: Richard Clay Wooldridge, Gainesville, TX; Hal Clay Worcester, Roodhouse, IL; Dave Henry Youker, Waukesha, WI; Ted Jones Alkire, Lubbock, TX; John Otis Allen, Topeka, KS; William Ashley Ash, Cordell, OK; James Leander Atkins, North Little Rock, Ark; William Joseph Barnhart, OKC, OK; William Lowell Barr, Mambulao, Cams. Norte, P. I.

5th: Homer Marvin Bastian, Atwood, KS; Frederick Jack Becker, Eldorado, KS; Keith Harold Bell, Lamoni, IA; John George Billings, Enid, OK; Myron Geer Blalock, Marshall, TX; Robert Lloyd Brandt, Douglass, KS; James Wallace Buck, Wichita KS; Charles Lewis Burnett, Ada, OK; James Crisswell Burtner, Wooster, OH.

Bottom: Frank Crockett Byers, Cedar Rapids, IA; David Parker Christie, Omaha, NE; Bourley Hughes Clanton, OKC, OK; Robert Mackle Clark, OKC, OK; Fielding Clayton, Ft. Worth, TX; Edwin Thome Colton, New Orleans, LA; Loyd Earl Craig, Olathe, KS; Gordon Eugene Crosby, Eldon, MP; Leonard Marcus Dean, Dallas, TX.
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Claire De Lune & 1940's Radio Shows

Claire de Lune, by Claude DeBussy - MP3 file

Roy asks, "I have asked this question several times previously (over a couple of years) but no-one has yet come up with an answer. Back in the 1940's, the Claire de Lune, by DeBussy, was used to open a 'soap opera' radio show but I cannot remember the name of the show. HELP? Does anyone happen to know what it might have been? Several pieces of classic music were used this way, primarily because no copyrights were involved and the music was in the 'public domain'.

"I know that mom listened to some of them while she did ironing but I could only remember "Oxydol's own, Ma Perkins"; "Young Widder Brown"; and "Lorenzo Jones".

"Actually, our family listened to MANY radio shows because that table-top Zenith was usually on from about 10 AM until 6 PM or so on most days. Some of the shows I can remember were: Stella Dallas, One Man's Family, Hop Harrigan, Gang Busters, Little Orphan Annie, Jack Armstrong (The All-American Boy), Tom Mix (and his horse Tony), I Love A Mystery, Dick Tracy, Fanny Brice, Major Bowes Amateur Hour, Buster Brown, The Whistler,

"The Shadow (who knows what evil lives in the minds of men?), Mr. District Attorney, Duffy's Tavern (where the elite meet to eat, Duffy ain't here), Lorenzo Jones (and his wife Belle), Can You Top This?, Terry And The Pirates, Blondie, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Lone Ranger, Beula, The Great Gildersleeve, Ozzie and Harriet, etc.

We all have certain memories don't we?"
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Editor's Note: Claire de Lune Theme Music

What are your old radio memories? Do you remember what 1940's radio soap opera used Claire de Lune as their theme song? did your ancestors ever listen to Major Bowes' Capitol FamilyThe Story of Mary Marlin?

Some of the links below mention those old 1940's radio shows that used claire deLune music as their theme song in the 1940's.

Check out these sites for Old Radio shows theme music:
* - classicthemes.com/ old Time Radio Themes
* - classicthemes.com - Old Time Radio Themes List
* - otrcat.com - Old Time Radio Them Music

Claire de Lune, by Claude DeBussy - MP3 file

The Music, Clair de Lune was from the "Suite Bergamasque", by: Claude Achille Debussy. We have found out that it was used as the theme for the The Family Hour, Major Bowes' Capitol Family, bridge Music for Moon River, Poet's Gold, and The Story of Mary Marlin. In the early 1960's when General Hospital soap opera came about, Claire de Lune was used as it theme song, I believe.
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Downtown OKC In the Future

Roy sent us this link to Video OKC Central that shows what is instore for the future for downtown Oklahoma City and the renovations around I40 interstate. Sounds like there will be a NEW I40 in the future.

Roy says, "Be sure to check out the piece on Film Row after you see what downtown OKC will look like in the future. The money is already being allocated for all of this new construction.

"I was still working at National Theatre Supply, in the heart of film row, at the corner of Lee and Sheridan, as a salesman in charge of concessions sales (doing all the buying of concessions supplies and equipment) on film row when we moved to Perry to operate the theatres here.

"I was operating theatres at Tuttle and Minco at night while working at National (NTS) during the day. Middle son, Chris was born in OKC while I was at National. Kevin had been born (also in OKC) while we lived in Minco and I worked at KWTV channel 9, and Scot was born in Perry after we moved here. I also worked briefly at Oklahoma Theatre Supply, in concessions sales, under the owner Eldon Peake."
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Kansas & Oklahoma Weather

A few of our readers sent in the following mentions of the weather conditions in their respective towns and states this last week.

While we were experiencing a four day snow storm in SW Colorado, Jim in NE Kansas says, "We here in NE Kansas have had about a week of fog. It is so foggy that even the birds are walking! In spite of all the cautions, some of the drivers are still driving way to fast for the conditions. When it is 32 degrees, or colder, fog is deadly on the road surfaces, bridges and overpasses, and under an overpass too. We have a winter from the arctic this winter. It will be April before some of the drifts get thawed out."

Roy in Perry, OK says, "We've been having warm (60+ degrees), sunny days with cooler (upper 30's) nights. No more freezing yet, and no snow (but it's predicted for later in the week, maybe). Conoco dropped their prices back to $2.49.9 yesterday (Saturday, January 23) and that means that the independents probably dropped too. They're usually 5 to 10 cents per gallon cheaper."
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