The following are selected articles from a Newspaper titled, "The Higbee News" which was issued out of the town of Higbee, in Randolph County, Missouri from the years 1888 through 1953. The editors were W. H. Welch and his son H. Scott Welch. This paper covered the Higbee area and also a great deal of the northeastern part of Howard county. The copyright notice at the end of this transcript is there for the sole purpose of keeping this work free to the public, and to ensure that it is not harvested by a fee-based corporate genealogy site, or published in any format for profit. If you decide to use the information from this transcription, PLEASE LIST ME AS THE SOURCE, rather than the paper. My transcription is another generation removed from the microfilm, and would thus be a third generation copy of the original paper. For proper documentation, a researcher should obtain a photocopy of the microfilm for their own permanent records, and use my transcript as a guide or index. The microfilm is available for interlibrary loan through the State Historical Society of Missouri, and a copy is also on file at the Moberly Public Library, generously donated by the Higbee Historical Society. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 4 Col. 4--IN THE LONG AGO--By "Ye Old Timer."--Friend Scott: "Time rides with the old at a great pace." Yes, and there is nothing much left for the old but to wait--wait for Time to end life here. Meeting with a friend from the old home town recently, the hours I spent in his company created a desire to write the final chapter of my remembrances of Higbee. That friend-- "A living book, he seemed to me, Fresh come from memory's bindery. A book whose leaves were edged with gold, So many merry tales he told. Who meets an old friend on the way, Meets all the joys of yesterday, The laughter which he used to know, And all the charms of Long Ago." For awhile I regretted that I discontinued my articles in your paper, for I must confess to a little pride at seeing myself in print, but you know elderly people play out, and no doubt your subscribers grew weary of an old fellow's ramblings. Dear Old Higbee! With its splendid people, its indifferent ones, the ne'er-do-wells, the roughnecks--all towns have them--along with the soap box tobacco spitters, who were a common sight on our streets during spring, summer and fall. The muddy streets, cluttered up alleys, stray cats and dogs--ah! you have seen it all and heard the results of the factory. Yes, one of the largest of its kind, all towns have them--gossip factory. But the Higbee I see now is in the hearts of her people. I see the hungry fed, the widow's burden lightened, the poor given shelter and clothing, the fallen woman redeemed, the drunkard made to see the evil of his way, the sick nursed back to health, the dead laid away with reverence regardless of creed or color, its kindness to the stranger within its gates, its hospitality to the known and unknown, its charity to the deserving and the undeserving--she laughed and rejoiced, she wept and mourned. Ah! the real Higbee had a heart in her, and whose hearts were more loyal than the three whose passing on you recorded in your paper a few weeks ago, and the two in your last issue? Mr. Adams, Mr. Murphy and Aunt Ann Dysart. The going of Mr. Adams left a hurt, a what finer tribute could be paid to him than to say, with his son, "The hills are not so beautiful without him." Aunt Ann's going was like a beautiful flower keeping its fragrance and beauty to the last. Mr. Murphy's slipping gently away--just as he had lived--somehow, the town will not be visualized in just the same way,, it will not be so familiar since the going of the splendid old gentleman--Mr. Murphy. And now two more--one an old timer and the other a loyal citizen--Hiram Land and Ed Turner. A loss, indeed, to Higbee when such citizens pass on. In my articles I did not mention my nativity, but I grew up with the old town, and while the years have brought numerous changes, and broader vision, there is still a deep sentiment in my heart for the old town. The sentiments of the following poem express mine, but I cannot close without wishing you, yours and your subscribers the best of life--to those who have few remaining years because of age, I wish you that deep peace that passeth all understanding; to those in the bloom of youth, I wish you enthusiasm and joy; to those in middle life, I wish you fireside and home comforts. And now, Scott, I have again lost myself in remembrances of Higbee--my pipe is out, my faithful old dog lays his head upon my knee and tries to read my thoughts, so I shall push away from my desk, once more with the wish that my poorly written articles have touched the hearts of many and friendships and relationship will be all the sweeter for my having written them. "I cannot hope that Sorrow's feet forever and a day Will pass my little House of Love where latticed sunbeams stray, But when she lays her hand at last upon the swinging latch, And steps where happy years have smiled beneath our spring-sweet thatch, Grant me, ah God, this heartfelt prayer, that somewhere it may be Where little, small-town sympathy may fold and comfort me. "The little, small-town sympathy that runs across the fields, In blue-checked gingham apron, and with flour upon its hands. That bakes, and brews, and sweeps and dusts, that wakeful serves and shields, The little small-town sympathy that knows and understands. "Thy cities, God, are builded high with carven stone on stone, But hearts may ache and hearts may droop unheeded and alone; And souls may dwell unknown, unloved, a single wall between-- Not so the quiet, home-sweet lives that fringe the village green. Let others reap their splendors, Lord, but give instead to me The lonely round of living blent with small-town sympathy. "The little, small-town sympathy that steals on neighbor feet >From tiny lamp-lit houses down a maple-shaded street, That lends its strength on tear-dimmed ways its own bruised feet have trod, The little, small-town sympathy--the very soul of God." Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 5 Col. 1--Born, on Nov. 26th, to Mr. and Mrs. Estil Warford, a daughter. Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 5 Col. 1--Joel Robb of Marshall was the guest of Higbee relatives and friends the latter part of last week. Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 5 Col. 1--Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Howell and little son, Don, spent Saturday and Sunday with relatives in Moberly. Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 5 Col. 2--Mrs. Fred Fuhrman of Moberly was the guest of her mother, Mrs. Dora Sperry, the latter part of last week. Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 5 Col. 2--Mrs. Willie Petrie and son, Willie, of Marshall were the guests of her parents, Rev. and Mrs. Notley Magruder, the latter part of last week. Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 5 Col. 2--Dr. Howard Turner, who was called here last week by the death of his father, E. J. Turner, returned to his home in Arkansas City, Kan., Tuesday. Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 5 Col. 3--Mrs. Jas. Southwick, who had been the guest of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. I. Williams, left Friday for Michigan to join Mr. Southwick, and where they will make their home. Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 5 Col. 3--Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Floyd of Mexico are the proud grandparents of a son born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Shire at Audrain Hospital on Nov. 28. Mother and babe are doing fine. Thursday, 2 Dec 1926, Vol 40, No 31, Pg 5 Col. 3--Dr. and Mrs. G. H. Ewell and little daughter, Patricia Jane, returned to their home in Kansas City Sunday after a short visit with Mrs. Ewell's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Wright. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright notice: All transcriptions in this email are copyrighted by their creator. They may not be reproduced on another site or on any printed or recorded media, CD, etc. without specific written permission from Kathy Bowlin. Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which it is presented, transcriptions, notes & comments, etc. is. It is however, quite permissible to print or save the files to a personal computer for personal use only. Permission is granted to public libraries, and genealogical and historical societies to print and bind for the use of their patrons. Kathy Bowlin Additions, corrections, comments welcome.