When Napoleon Burnett passed away on Jan. 29, 1963, at the old Cardwell Hospital in Stella, Mo., there was no a tangible reason the doctor could give for his death.
After all, he only had a broken shin and some cuts and bruises. But, we sometimes hear stories about death coming from more powerful forces than mere physical damage, and in this case it appears to have been from a broken heart. Now the majority of the love story of my great-great-grandparents, Napoleon and Effie (Laughlin) Burnett, would not inspire anyone to write a book or film a movie. But, that humble romance, when given as a backdrop to a tragic, yet heart-touching final chapter, shows you the incredibly powerful bond that formed between two people during a relationship that spanned nearly 56 years.
Napoleon, or Pole as he was known, was born and raised on the family farm in the Mountain community north of Pea Ridge, just over the Missouri state line, and Effie was raised on her family’s farm near the junction of Missouri highways KK and 90 near the Roller community in Missouri.
Though they were only raised about four miles apart from each other, it was not until they met each other in Rocky Comfort, Mo., as young adults that a relationship started.
They married in 1907, he was 20 and she was 19, and settled on the Burnett family farm in Mountain, Mo.
There they raised four children, Chester, Pearl, Lorene and Vernon, and after the farmhouse burned down in the 1930s they did some traveling. The lived in Kansas and even in an adobe house in New Mexico, but they finally returned to the place where their love first blossomed, Rocky Comfort, Mo.
I never knew them, but from the stories I have heard from family members, they were always together. If he went someplace, she was with him;
if she went someplace, he was with her. It was a relationship grounded in companionship and mutual support.
On Jan. 28, 1963, they were returning home from their son Chester’s house after having dropped off their other son, Vernon, to catch a bus in Neosho, Mo. It was a cold and icy winter night. According to the family story, he was not driving fast, he never drove fast. But, despite his low speed, he hit some ice and their 1948 Chevrolet went sliding off the road and into a tree. In 1948, Chevrolet did not put seatbelts or airbags in their cars and the heavy steel used for those cars could make the impact much worse than would be expected with a modern car. Napoleon hit the steering wheel and broke his leg under the dash. Effie did not have the luxury of a steering wheel to slow her impact. She was a woman of short stature, and was flung forward, hitting the metal dash and becoming jammed between the front seat and the dash.
The news article that appeared in the Wheaton, Mo., Journal a few days after the accident still paints a heart-wrenching picture of the scene after nearly 40 years. Her glasses and lower dentures were both broken in the impact and, after not being able to free his wife from between the seat and the dash, Napoleon yelled for help, unable to leave the scene because of his broken leg. It was an estimated 20 to 30 minutes before a passing motorist saw the accident and came to their aid.
Effie died later that day at the former Cardwell Hospital and it was left to her children to share that news with their father.
Knowing that his wife of 56 years would no longer be his constant and loving companion was too much for him to comprehend.
So despite the doctor’s assurances that he would recover, Napoleon let go and quietly slipped out of this life to rejoin the woman who had married him so long ago and had given him his four children.
Today, a few people in the Pea Ridge area likely still remember Pole and Effie Burnett, and a few even probably remember this story of a tragic accident and how he could not go on in life without the love of it at his side. And while for me this is largely a family story, at the same time it reminds me of the incredible strength that can be formed in a relationship when two people enter into it as a true partnership and focus on remaining devoted companions to each other. I think it is fair to say that the love shared by Napoleon and Effie did not end in that hospital when he closed his eyes for the last time, but that it extended with their souls as they transcended their mortal lives and it was extended by example to their children, grandchildren and following generations and anyone else who takes the true simplistic beauty of their love story to heart.
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Editor’s note: Jeff Billington grew up on the family farm in the Jacket, Mo., community north of Pea Ridge.
He currently lives in the Washington, D.C., suburb ofRockville, Md., and works for the National Parks Conservation Association. He is the son of David Billington of Jacket and Vickie Christman of Seneca, Mo. His late great-grandparents were life-time Jacket and Pea Ridge area residents Cecil and Pearl Patterson.
Community, Pages 5 on 11/30/2011