Helen Ruth Poss Marr - The Richest Soil Grows the Deepest Roots: Life in Platte Countys Missouri River Bottoms

This work combines known historical events and real places with creative non-fiction

based primarily on Helen Ruth Poss Marrs memories. The authors are grateful for the additional recollections of family members in setting forth this multi-generational story. Though memories are imperfect, were humans not to record them through storytelling we would know little of our past.

The Richest Soil Grows the Deepest Roots

Life in Platte Countys Missouri River Bottoms

By Helen Ruth Poss Marr and Elizabeth Terese Marr

Copyright 2021 Elizabeth Terese Marr

All rights reserved.

First Edition: August 2021

ISBN 978-1-09838-947-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-09838-948-2 (e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021905010

Cover design by Molly M. Wainscott

Published by Elizabeth Terese Marr

www.lizmarr.com

Table of Contents

Dedication

Dedicated to my grandchildren.

Helen Ruth Poss Marr

Note to Readers

T he Richest Soil Grows the Deepest Roots began as a series of family history summaries Ruth wrote in the 1980s. Ruth and her daughter Elizabeth (Liz) started researching family history together in 2008. Beginning in 2016, Liz interviewed Ruth about her memories growing up on her familys farm in Platte County, Missouri. While this book is by no means a formal work nor is it intended to recreate local history so well researched and described by others, Ruth and Liz provide additional multi-generational narrative to give context and to preserve past oral tradition for future generations.

A bibliography with references is provided to give appropriate credit and to provide interested readers suggestions for further exploration. However, due to the informal nature of the work, the co-authors chose author-year citations, rather than detailed numbered references more typical of formal historical research.

Because of the collaborative nature of the writing, Ruth and Liz decided to be identified as co-authors. However, the memoir is Ruths story and is written in the first person, using her voice. Family members are identified in relation to Ruth: my mom and my dad denote Ruths parents, etc.

Acknowledgments

L iz and I would like to thank a number of individuals without whom this book would not be possible. First, we are deeply grateful to my siblings, children, and nieces who shared stories and reviewed the manuscript. We also extend a special thank you to my granddaughter Molly M. Wainscott for designing the cover. Liz and I are greatly appreciative of my colleagues at the Weston Historical Museum, Weston, Missouri, whose volunteer efforts as well as the decades-long work of many other locals too numerous to mention have enabled the preservation of the citys unique and important history for future generations. As well, we thank other Platte County residents and organizations, especially the Platte County Historical Society, for extensive research and documentation of the countys rich history. Additionally, Liz and I extend gratitude to the online genealogy and history communities whose shared interests have helped fill in record gaps as well as extend family connections.

Foreword

I n 1990, my husband, John Michael Mike Marr, and I retired to his hometown of Weston in Platte County, Missouri. Both sides of our family have deep connections to the area as I grew up on our family farm about ten miles south of Weston. For thirty years prior, we had been living over 5001,000 miles away from our childhood homes. Due to Mikes work taking us to New Jersey and the Chicago area, none of our five children or fourteen grandchildren grew up in Missouri. But every summer, we made family visits to Platte County for a week or two. Mike and I enjoyed twenty-three retirement years in Weston. During that time, our children (Cecilia, Elizabeth, Margaret, Eric, and Mary) and their families continued visiting, and all are quite attached to the area. Due to Mikes declining health, we eventually had to sell our beloved home.

In the 1980s, before we returned to Platte County, I began researching and writing about my family history. My interest in family and local history led to long-time volunteer work for Weston Historical Museum, including board service. Through museum resources, I was able to access copious local newspaper clippings and other references related to my family history. Since 2008, Liz and I have worked together to further expand the research, which has become much easier than when I first started, thanks to readily available online resources.

Several years ago, I decided for several reasons to document my early life and family experiences as a gift to my grandchildren. First, my childhood was very different from theirs and not just because of the passing of time. I grew up on a farm in an area where my family ties spanned five generations, whereas my grandchildren grew up in suburban areas far from ancestral roots. Also, the 1930s1950s encompassed the Great Depression, World War II, and vast technological changes, all of which profoundly affected my early life. Further, Platte County holds a unique piece of American history, and our ancestors were part of that story. And finally, I wanted to preserve family history for future generations.

Due to caretaking responsibilities with Mike as his health declined, I was not able to undertake the writing project alone. So, Liz and I worked together over the past several years to tell this story. Some sections were authored by me, and some are the result of Liz interviewing me as well as researching family and regional history. We also reached out to family members, who contributed additional stories.

Recently, Liz and I drove through the Missouri River bottoms of Platte County south of Weston to reminisce. The bottoms are the stretch of land between the wide bluffs on either side of the meandering river. After prolonged spring rains, some fields were flooded. Farming the rich soil of the river bottoms is not without risks. We turned on Stillings Road and headed toward our family farm, now owned by my brother and his wife. Along the way, we drove past the property that was once Stillings School, where I was a student through eighth grade. After passing my brothers farm, we drove trepidly through standing water at the corner where Kisker Road turns to the east. Further on, I pointed out the farms once owned by my great-grandparents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. This stretch of fertile river-bottom land dotted with tidy farms will always be home to me.

I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as Liz and I enjoyed writing it. And so we begin.

Helen Ruth Poss Marr, Platte County, Missouri, June 2019

After this manuscript was nearly complete, my father, Mike, passed away on January 13, 2021. Mom and the rest of the family, as well as friends, will miss him dearly.

Publishing this book during the bicentennial of Missouris statehood feels particularly appropriate, given our family connection with the land along the Missouri River began over 200 years ago. As Missourians reflect on the past, present, and future, I hope our family story makes a small but meaningful contribution to understanding the states unique history.

Elizabeth Terese Marr, Boulder County, Colorado, February 2021

Poss Kisker Family Tree

1
A Letter in the Basement