Sunday, September 26, 2021

Booker, Mae and cemetery tour loose ends

I'd have used the images posted here this morning when publishing the Booker T. Richmond and Mae Glenn Gasser scripts last week as follow-up to the 17th annual Chariton Cemetery Heritage Tour --- if I'd had the presence of mind to collect them beforehand. But I didn't, so here they are.

The three images of Booker have been lifted from 1922 and 1923 Chariton High School yearbooks in the Lucas County Historical Society collection. Booker (1904-1957) was a member of the Class of 1923. Unfortunately, the student photographs in these yearbooks generally are not identified by name. This is not a problem for Booker, but is for the other students.

The first image is of the 1922 debate teams. Team members were Marie Brewer, Clarence Flatt and Clarence Hass, affirmative; and Glen Parkin, Evelyn McKinley and Booker, negative. But other than Booker I'm not sure which is which. I think negative team members are in the back row and affirmative, in the front.

This image shows the 1923 debate teams. Booker was secretary-treasurer of the teams that year. I think the teams are identified by row here --- Kenneth Oden, Alice Waterman and Booker, negative, in the front row; and Glenn Bowman, Evelyn McKinley and George Hass, affirmative, in the second row.

Finally, here's the 1923 boys basketball team. None of these young men are identified --- other than Coach Burkholder and that only because he isn't wearing shorts and singlet.

These two images of Mae Glenn Gasser (1884-1969) were taken at the Patrick Studio in Chariton during the three years Claude Patrick worked as a photographer here. He purchased the Goldsberry Gallery during July of 1902 and moved on to Colorado with his family three years later, during the summer of 1905. So Mae would have been about 20 at the time.

In the first image, Mae is wearing a magnificent hat. She is hatless in the second image, giving us a view of the hairdo that was supporting that magnificent piece of millinery.








2 comments:

Jack O. Williamson said...

The 1923 Debate Team is correct, I believe. You have identified Kenneth Oden on the front row and the first one on the left. I agree as he was my uncle and I can identify him in his youth. Jack Williamson

Frank D. Myers said...

Thanks, Jack. I was hoping you'd see this.