Written by Lynn Marie Allen
While all contributions to history never cease to amaze! Traveling down memory lane is taken from memories shared by one of our avid history investigators. Martha Briggs writes of her fond memories sparked after reading “The First Mail Route” and growing up in Horton Heights. Martha shared her memories of people waiting at her house for the mail to be delivered, which happened at the corner of her family’s property. Mrs. Musick, a neighbor from down the street, was at the house every day by 9 am to ensure she received prompt delivery of the post. The stone marker commemorating the Pony Express was within 25 feet of family land and shared many fond memories of childhood adventures of climbing the monument.
Martha’s memories of school days are particularly fond. The first school recollected was the 3rd Ward Elementary School. Horton had four school wards in the early years. Martha later studied in the high school basement, which is where grades fourth through sixth attended. Mrs. Daisy McKee was her sixth-grade teacher and also taught Math to fourth, fifth and sixth grades. Mrs. McKee had also taught Martha’s mother school many years before. Students looked forward to a treat each day. The privilege was to walk to Mrs. McKee’s house where Martha’s mother had prepared lunch “but watch your p’s and q’s because if one were just a bit out of line, Mrs. McKee would deny the privilege of the noon walk.”
Martha was a member of the VFW Drum and Bugle Corps and studied under Jules Bourquin. The Bourquin’s, as you might remember, owned a jewelry and optometry shop in Horton. Martha recollects never becoming proficient in the bugle but did work her way up as majorette. Martha considers her performance of “Swan Song,” leading the VFW Drum and Bugle Corps down Saint Joseph’s streets, Missouri, her best performance. Fourth of July in Horton, there were picnics at Mission Lake with extravaganzas across the lake while eating sandwiches. Martha would remember driving her mother to teach home economics (cooking and sewing) at the Kickapoo Indian Reservation. Martha first had to obtain her driver’s license. Beginning a new adventure armed with forty cents and a trip to the justice of the peace in Horton, she became a licensed driver, no written test required. As always, there is so much more to every story. Find it, be sure to reach out, and let me know what you discover! #HistoryMysteries
Forest of Words 