Day 1 - Bethany, Lexington, Mayview and Odessa

Today was a long day!  We covered 350 miles in 9 1/2 hours.  
We drove through Glenwood and Red Oak, Iowa over to Osceola, where we picked up I35 and headed south to our first stop, BETHANY, MO.  
Dad lived in Bethany for three years.  He moved there as a freshman in high school, attending Bethany HS (which is now mostly gone, but the gym remains as a Community Gym)  His father was half owner of a dime store called L & O, right on the town square.  The building is still there, but houses the Chamber of Commerce or a video game store.  (we weren't sure which building it was).   Dad worked as a soda jerk in the drugstore on the square.  (building is still there, drug store is not.)  We drove around the town for quite awhile trying to find any of the houses that they lived in, but things have changed too much in 70 years and nothing looked familiar.   To give you an idea of what Bethany looked like when he lived there, I found this picture taken about 4 years before they moved there.

We decided that Bethany was best left as a memory of what was, because there's not much there now.


Next stop was LEXINGTON, MO, where we planned to visit the cemetery where Dad's Grandparents, Robert and Jane Lee Lankford are buried, along with Dr Alvin Peter Lankford and others.
We found the cemetery - or what we assume is the cemetery, but it was horribly neglected and untended.  Grass was waste high and ground was choppy and overturned in many areas.  Headstones were toppled and many were unreadable or half buried.  We walked around the whole place, soaking our shoes and pants, trying to find a name we recognized - to no avail.
Very disappointing, but it has been at least 50 years since dad was there.  There is another cemetery there and we may go back to try again later.
So, on to Mayview.
We took some very scenic and rustic roads on that journey - and saw some beautiful Missouri countryside, as well.

WELCOME TO MAYVIEW, MISSOURI

We arrived in Mayview, where Dad's father, Gilbert, was born and raised, and where Gilbert took his young family to live after his mother died in 1933.  They lived on the family farm and dad attended the country school there for three years.  They had no running water or electricity, but while they were there, their family did purchase their first automobile.

SITE OF MAYVIEW COUNTRY SCHOOL - REMAINING BUILDING IS WHERE THEY WOULD LEAVE HORSES, IF THEY RODE TO SCHOOL.

SITE OF MAYVIEW FARM.  CORNER OF HWY E AND OLD HWY 40

After Mayview, we drove through Odessa on our way to our motel in Blue Springs.  Dad lived there for a year or so, before moving to Bethany.  We drove to the highest point of town, near the water tower.  We tried for a LONG time to find the old house - such a beautiful location. 

 Despite covering every street on the hill, we could not find the house and finally gave up.  While we were at dinner, I happened to read in Auntie Marion's autobiography that the Odessa house had burned sometime after they left.  sigh....
I am plum tuckered out and dad has been snoring away for quite awhile now.  Big day, with more big days to come.  Really a fun trip!
Stay tuned.
:o)
Kathi