Article from unknown source with handwritten date of June 14, 1961. Extracted from the newspaper article collection started in 1879 by Mrs. Nannie Brown of Madison, Missouri. (Note from transcriber: In June 1966, a Monroe County circuit court decree was signed to allow the Atterbury Trust funds to be used for a public library building in Madison. The Madison library was completed August 17, 1970, and the Atterbury Trustees released the building to the Monroe County Library Board. The Atterbury Memorial Library opened on November 6, l970. Thanks Tom Ely!) City Receives $54,172.31 Gift from the Estate of Mrs. Beulah Atterbury Trustees Receive Atterbury Gift for City of Madison "The people of Madison were again made conscious of the generous spirit of the late Mrs. Beulah L. Atterbury, Wednesday, June 14, when Russel L. Yancey, executor of the estate of Mrs. Atterbury, delivered a check for $54,172.31 to the trustees she named to administer this trust for civic improvement for the city of Madison. Final settlement of the Atterbury estate is being concluded this week, and the generous gift left to the city by Mrs. Atterbury is now available for use. James R. Reinhard, Paris, Mo., was attorney for executor. In her will, which covered other bequests that have now been disposed of as she directed, she made the following additional stipulation: 'All the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, I give, devise and bequeath to Wray Chowning, J.W. Baker and Nancy Dixon as trustees in trust, however, for the use and purposes following, to wit: For the purchase of ground and the erection thereon and furnishing of a Community hall for the benefit of the community of Madison, Missouri, all to be or become public property owned by the City of Madison, Missouri. My trustees by majority vote shall have full authority to locate and acquire real estate, construct and furnish the said Community Hall. The necessary funds for such acquisition, construction and furnishings to be furnished by my trustees. The said Community Hall shall in some way bear the name Atterbury in the title. In case any of the above trustees shall die or refuse before the purpose of this trust are carried out, the vacancy shall be filled by the remaining members. When the Community Hall has been built and furnished, said trustees so named shall be discharged and title shall vest in the City of Madison, Missouri. In case said city does not accept said bequest as aforesaid or in the event a majority of the trustees feel that the trust fund is not adequate for the construction of a Community Hall for the City of Madison, I do not desire the trust to fall; therefore, I request that said trustees use the corpus of this trust in some manner for the community of Madison, Missouri. My trustees shall have all the powers, duties and responsibilities ordinarily vested in trustees in the State of Missouri. My trustees shall serve without bond". Mrs. Atterbury came to Madison as the bride of the late J.S. Atterbury, Jr., at the early age of 16, and promptly endeared herself to the people of this community in every walk of life. The distressed, the weak and the unfortunate were of special concern to her, and the quiet unassuming generosity that flowed to them from benevolent nature became a greater monument to her memory than this outward gift such as the city received Wednesday which she gave as a final gesture to all of Madison for its mutual enjoyment and benefit. Mrs. Atterbury was a person deeply concerned with the basic virtues of life, in which she sought to use the material blessings that came to her in a way that would best serve the greatest number of her fellow-citizens. In her vision of this Community Center she hoped for a closer union of community spirit that would make for a stronger, happier and more progressive Madison - her home town. In the acceptance of this gift the people of Madison have a solemn duty to establish such a center of good will and mutual benevolence as Mrs. Atterbury desired. To successfully rise to the challenge she has imposed requires only the accomplishment of one of the simplest of Christ's admonitions, "Love ye one another, even as I have loved you." 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 Kathleen Wilham. 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. Kathleen Wilham 2 Sharon Drive Shelbina, MO. 63468-1562