USN Capt. John Frederick Baumgardner 1932-2017
USN Capt. John Frederick Baumgardner, a native of Coffey, MO, achieved a well-decorated 30-year naval career including command of six ships in the Pacific and saw extensive combat action. Capt. Baumgardner received the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars with “V”,...
1977: Daviess County Sheriff S.L. Houghton Killed While on Duty
Daviess County Sheriff S.L. Houghton, 65, was shot to death on Sept. 11, 1977, after towing a 16-year-old’s car into Gallatin and taking the youth home. According to the report filed by the highway patrol, Sheriff Houghton towed the youth’s vehicle after a...
Daviess County’s Squirrel Cage Jail Closed by Sheriff in 1975
Daviess County no longer has a jail which will accept prisoners. County Sheriff Harold Appley condemned the jail as of Nov. 1, 1975, as being unfit to receive prisoners. In a letter to Presiding Judge Robert Owings, the sheriff stated: “Due to the present...
Mary Arlene Apartments Constructed in Gallatin, MO
Mary Arlene Apartments, constructed by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Thompson who owned and operated Thompson Implement, are located on South Main Street (across from their John Deere farm implement business). The apartments were named in remembrance of the couple’s...
Marshall’s Hardware Precedes Adkins Hardware
Years before Subway was housed in this building, Marshall’s Hardware did business at 107 North Main Street in Gallatin, MO.
KU Allen Field House Named after Jamesport Native Phog Allen
Basketball coaching legend Phog Allen was born Nov. 18, 1885, at Jamesport, MO. His father was one of the original incorporators of Jamesport, MO, in 1876. Phog Allen began coaching at William Chrisman High School in Independence. Phog Allen became known as the...
1973: The Last Rock Island Railroad Train Pulls Out of Daviess County, MO
The impact of the railroad in the development of rural America cannot be overstated. Nearly all towns in Daviess County, MO, were built around railroad depots. Transportation for developing commerce depended on trains, both to ship farm products and livestock out as...
1973: Flood Waterlogs Pattonsburg, MO, Again
Daviess County is rebounding from the most severe flooding of the Grand River since the 1947 flood. Pattonsburg was hard hit this time with three-fourths of the community under water for about three days; farmers all along the river are suffering varying degrees of...
1972: Community Ambulance District Forms; Lapse Avoided
In August, 1971, an announcement was made stating all the funeral directors in the five county area of Daviess, Gentry, Worth, Mercer and Harrison would terminate their private ambulance services. This action meant Daviess County would have to set up some type of...
GHS 1910 Valedictorian Mervin Joe Kelly the Chairman of Bell Labs
Few people have impacted the communications world we live in today more than this innovative giant, Mervin Kelly (1894-1971). The 1910 Valedictorian of Gallatin High School was the lab research who eventually became Chairman of the Board at Bell Laboratories. Mr....
1971 Re-enactment: Gallatin Chamber Retells 1869 Bank Robbery
The Gallatin Chamber of Commerce
1970: One Jail Inmate Escapes But His Freedom is Short-Lived
The incidence of prisoner escapes were infrequent but more likely after the unusual Daviess County Rotary Jail was modified during the facility’s final years of use. One escape, which occurred Sept. 9, 1970, even bordered on the humorous. Wilburn Earl McAfee,...
Jail Break! Great Escapes from the Squirrel Cage Jail ..and other crimes
One of the reasons a Squirrel Cage Jail was constructed in Daviess County was for its apparent security. But despite its unique design, there were instances when prisoners did, in fact, escape. Here are the most noteworthy: JANUARY, 1899 Two prisoners from...
High Rank: USN Admiral Richard Cruzen of Antarctic Fame Hails from Gallatin, MO
Admiral Richard H. Cruzen (1897-1970) was a graduate of Gallatin High School and became one of Gallatin’s most decorated sons. During his exciting military career including polar explorations, he received many decorations including the Legion of Merit, the...Husband-wife Quarrel Leads to Murder on Gallatin Square
In March 1970 a quarrel between a wife and husband outside the Submarine Tavern on the west side of the Gallatin business square ended in the street with the wife shot twice in the head and the husband facing the charge of murder. Dead was Betty Whiteaker, 43, of...
1970: GHS Fight Song Rallies to ‘On Wisconsin!’ with Lyric Changes
Fight songs, team anthems, battle hymns… call it what you will, those rousing songs lead area teams on to victory. Some songs have been around for as long as anybody can remember, some are being revived, and others are brand new. According to Gallatin alumnus Jerry...
High Rank: USN Capt. James A. Shreckengaust of Pattonsburg, MO
Vietnam War veteran James A. Shreckengaust is among those from Daviess County, MO, achieving high military rank. The native of Pattonsburg (PHS Class of 1954) retired after 34 years as a captain in the United States Navy. Although he had many assignments,...
Sports: Gilman City Brothers Relive 1968 NAIA Baseball Championship
The clear blue afternoon sky above St. Joseph’s Phil Welch Stadium on June 8, 1968, had long since given way to bright lights as late night continued to advance on two teams battling it out for the 1968 NAIA National Baseball Championship. William Jewell College of...
Vietnam War: Veteran Still Ponders 50 Years After Conflict
Like many aging Vietnam veterans, Larry Whitt, 73, is grappling with the full cost of his time spent in the service. Larry, a 1964 graduate of Gallatin High School, was a mortar gunner with Company B, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 1st Brigade of the 25th Infantry...
Visit the 1889 Squirrel Cage Jail, located 2 blocks west of the Daviess County Courthouse in Gallatin, MO. This historic relic is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a visitors’ center — by appointment,
Trudi Burton, ph: 660.663.7342
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