Club news

Nea Meadowbrook EH Club

GARFIELD -- New Meadowbrook Extension Homemaker's Club Members met at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, for the regular monthly meeting. The meeting was brought to order by president Karen Launderville with all members reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Members answered roll call with "What is My Hobby?"

Devotions were given by Rheta Van Doren and she read the poems "We Offer Thanks" and "Family Love."

There was discussion about the club booth that was at the NEBCO Turkey Shoot on Oct. 8, and of interest in the club. Upcoming events of classes at the Extension office for a purse or tote to be made from Plastic Bags on Oct. 16 and another of Mesh Wreaths to be held on Nov. 20. Also the Fall Council meeting is at the New Hope Assembly of God Church and will be held on Nov. 7.

Members plan to make and send gifts to the Saving Grace Institute for the girls for the holidays.

Launderville gave a very interesting lesson on "Identity Theft" along with handouts and a follow-up.

The meeting was closed with all reciting the Extension Homemaker's Creed, followed by a potluck luncheon and then all worked on sewing a quilt and items for the holiday gifts.

Submitted by: Ione Kauffeld, secretary

New Meadowbrook EHC of Garfield

Glade Community Historical Society

The Glade Community Historical Society's fourth-quarter meeting for 2014 is 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26. The program features Ms. Susan Young of the Shiloh Museum presenting her topic: "Meat, Meal and Molasses: A Look at Traditional Ozark Food Ways." The meeting is at the Lost Bridge Village Community Hall, 12477 Lodge Dr., Garfield. The event will also feature a soup supper, all-you-can-eat, for $7.

Newsletter

The Glade Post Office/Store made its return to Glade July 14, 2014, when Ron Howard of Dora, Mo., and his crew moved the building to its new permanent location at 20659 Slate Gap Road in Garfield, adjacent to the Coal Gap School. Mrs. Doris Briley donated the land to the Glade Community Historical Society which is now the home of the Glade Post Office/Store. Our sincere thanks go out to Doris. During the 2011 low waters of Beaver Lake, the original foundation stones were retrieved and will be used to add authenticity to the building. The move went very smoothly and was completed in approximately two hours.

Around 1960, the building moved to a Pea Ridge farm after Liss and Ona Williams' farm in Glade was claimed by Beaver Lake. Since its July return the Post Office roof has been replaced and exterior restoration has begun. Many people and businesses have contributed to this building project, and the Glade Community Historical Society appreciates every contribution that was made to help preserve Ozark history. Additional financial funding and many hours of labor will be necessary to complete the future Glade Post Office museum.

"Historical Facts and Stories from Glade, Ark."

Children grasp the concept of fairness at an early age. Who has not voiced "that's not fair" at a squabbling sibling when choosing sides during a game when we were not chosen or when we lost. As adults, we became more aware of the complexities of life's injustices and we have many opportunities to put the fairness practice into words and deeds. Each day we can ponder and reminisce that our childhood days seemed easier than the intricate shades of choices we find in our adult world.

Summers were hot in Glade and electricity was new in the Arkansas farming communities in the late 1940s and 1950s. Life was a sequence of school, hot summers, chores and church. Glade seemed safe in the 1950s until the community was shocked when Ralph Ogden Shrader of Mundell, Ark., was arrested for murder on Nov. 2, 1951. The people of Glade were surprised to learn the news about their milk carrier, who was well known in the area. The charges occurred when a roadside altercation east of Rogers ended in the death of Paul Bowman, former Benton County Highway superintendent, according to the Rogers Daily News. Following his arrest, Shrader was at liberty under bond.

Families in Glade were not aware of any problems in Ralph's life. His job took him to many farms in the area as he drove his truck, picked up local farmers' milk and hauled it to the Carnation Milk Company in Rogers, Ark. In those days, the main route west from Glade was driving down a dirt road and across Ford's Creek, climbing up Gravel Hill, on to the Prairie Creek store, and then using Ark. Highway 12 to Rogers. Those roads disappeared with the rising waters of Beaver Lake. After the dam, people traveled the road from Glade to Garfield and into Rogers on U.S. Highway 62. Ralph was 30 years old at the time of his arrest and he had lived several places; in the Clifty area at age 8 and in Pea Ridge, Ark., at age 13. He was living in Mundell, Ark., (across the White River from Glade) at the time of his arrest. His parents had moved to the Ozarks from West Virginia several years earlier. Ralph was a friendly, good looking guy and easily recognized in Glade and surrounding communities.

The trial for Ralph Shrader, on a charge of second degree murder, was set for May 26, 1952, in Benton County Circuit Court. The courtroom was filled and people from Glade and neighboring communities made an appearance inside the packed courthouse or near the courthouse steps to show their support for Ralph. Many adults and young people from Glade had their first glimpse inside a courtroom. In those days, no walk-through metal detectors or panic buttons existed in the Benton County Courthouse located on the square in Bentonville, Ark. The courthouse building appears much the same today except for security guards at the door. The jury had been completed by 6 p.m. Monday, May 26, but at the last minute one of the jurors was excused. Court was reconvened at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 27, 1952, and the final member of the 12-man jury was selected. Vol T. Lindsey, defense counsel, said the defense would attempt to prove that Shrader did exercise every possible effort to avoid trouble and that Bowman was stabbed to death in self-defense.

Presentation of testimony followed the noon recess on Tuesday. Seven witnesses had been called by Prosecuting Attorney Ted P. Coxsey when the prosecution rested at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday. Exhibits entered as evidence included pictures of Prairie Creek Grocery, where the altercation between Bowman and Shrader occurred, clothes with blood stains, and a knife. The state had stipulated Bowman was the aggressor and that the two men had nearly fought at a Rogers, Ark., business four months before the Prairie Creek altercation that ended in Bowman's death. The prosecution motion came soon after court reconvened following the lunch recess and after the state had rested its case. Defense Attorney Vol T. Lindsey then made a motion that the evidence presented by the state was not sufficiently convincing to warrant a conviction. Lindsey said he felt that should a conviction result, it would not be sustained by the Supreme Court Judge Maupin Cummings granted the motion and ordered an immediate end to the trial. Ralph Shrader was free. Following the trial, and to the relief of his family and friends, Ralph and his wife Helen stayed in the area and raised three children. Ralph died in 1987 in Pea Ridge.

The trial was an important lesson in justice to the youngsters of Glade, Ark., when they had their first glimpse inside a courtroom. The trial broadened their concept of the legal system. Another great lesson of fairness came to life with the story of Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. The book was published in 1960, less than a decade after Ralph Shrader's trial, and it won a Pulitzer Prize. Later, Lee was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush. Her story emphasized the child's instinct for justice. Today, Lee (88) lives in Monroeville, her hometown in Alabama where her sister lives. As a child she lived next door to Truman Capote and later helped him research his book "In Cold Blood," a lesson of fatal unfairness to a family in Holcomb, Kan. Even Harper Lee dealt with complexities of fairness in 2013 when she filed a lawsuit to regain her copyright of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Apparently someone had tried to wrestle it away from her following a stroke.

Meetings planned

The four general meetings of 2015 will be Jan. 25, April 26, July 26 and Oct. 25. The 2015 annual memberships will remain just $25 which can be paid to Sam Reynolds, 20916 Slate Gap Rd., Garfield, Ark. You can also buy a foundation stone from the original Post Office foundation from Sam for $50 and it will be used at the site of the Glade Post Office. Oral interviews of Glade and surrounding communities are continuing to be gathered, and volunteers are still needed to help in that task.

Granny's Quilts of Love

The Granny's Quilts of Love will meet at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church in Pea Ridge located at 1300 N. Davis St.

We will be cutting quilt kits.

For more information, contact Mary Margaret Webb at 479-451-8640.

Community on 10/15/2014