Boonville Enquirer July 30,1926 Mrs Spradley Heroineb Of The Late Tennison Fire (Special Correspondence In Evansville Sunday Courier and Journal) Tennyson,July 24 The heroism of Mrs Iva Spradley, local telephone opperator, in risking her life to save the town during the disastrous fire of several days ago, aside from being a story that will go down into the town"s history, may become also the turning point in the life of the heroine. A widow since the accidental death of her husband, Carl Spradley has supported her two children, Lorene, 15., and Norman Carl Spradley, 13, and kept them in school. Today Mrs Spradley was presented with a tidy purse of money gathered as a token of appreciation by telephone operators at Bonville. Only a day or two ago, school trustees of Skelton township offered her a position as teacher in a rural school. Both of these augur easier times ahead for Mrs Spradley. She has been a telephone operator since her husbands death. "I'm going to use the purse for an educational fund for my children and I certainly want to express my thanks to the Boonville operators for their gift." she said today. Mrs Spradley is proud of her two children. Her daughter is a high school senior and her son is entering his third year in high school this fall. Mrs Spradley's fighting blood is inherited from a proud ancestry, her family tree reveals. Her mother was a Hardin from Hancock county, Kentucky, and her father a Lindsey from Butler county, Kentucky. Judge Caleb J Lindsey of the Warrick county circuit court is her brother. Sherriff Earl Spradley of Warrick county is her brother-in-law. Mrs Spradley's action in summoning the fire departments of Evansville and Huntingburg during the recent fire, was not the only distinguished service in her career. Two years ago, when the Tennyson school caught fire, she summoned a bucket brigade that put out the fire, with the result that very little damage was done, when there might easily have been a loss of life, as well as destruction of the building. Susie Rose [email protected]