An Incredible Donation of Dell History

We recently received a wonderful donation from Brent Bradberry of Moscow, ID. Years ago, he inherited Olive Bradberry Ritter's collection of family and Dell area photos that date back to the early 1900s, along with newspapers, a school yearbook,  a history book of Mississippi County and other memorabilia from our local area. I even found my own family among several of the photos. . .READ MORE. . .

Random Notes from Edna Keltner Interview

The Sheridan Home, Dell, AR

Notes:  Edna Keltner Interview

26 July 2001

Edna Stanley  b. 4 Dec 1910, Malden, MO    m. Dave Keltner  b. 1905 Humbolt, Tn  d. 1978

Dave worked at the airbase for 30 years.  They were the only Kelners in Dell.

Moved to Dell 1920--Left in 1929--Returned in 1955.

Mother died when she was born . Father took her and ran away. About 5 years later her Grandmother found out she was left in an orphanage. He disappeared and she never saw him again. Father left her at an orphanage in Indiana; grandmother, who lived in Mo, sold a cow and got her aunt (Clara Sheridan=sis to Della Sheridan Ozee) to go get her  (bought her a ticket to Indiana). The Sheridans lived in Arkansas.
Grandmother thought it would be better for the Sheridans to take care of her in Arkansas.

Went to work in Post Office for Ms Della Ozee. Worked 6 days/wk for $5. Not even 18 yrs old.
Ms. Della taught school at Shonyo, and she paid her out of her salary. Aunt took $2.50 for room
and board. If she was big enough to work, she was big enough to pay room and board.

Grandmother, aunt, and she lived together in Dell.

She went to Memphis and stayed with Crick’s sis (Crick=Crystal Kerbrough Cranford).
Got job at telephone office and worked there for 25 years.

Married Dave in Memphis.  No children. Dave didn’t want to adopt.

Grandmother was good friend of the Kerbroughs, who were from TN. There was no bridge
across the river (Ms). Would say it was heaven over there. Mrs. Kerbrough was kin to Keltners
way back, so when she went to Memphis, she "got mixed up with the Keltners". Was going with one of
the Keltner boys and liked him pretty good. Then Dave came along and she liked him better.

Keltners from Ripley, TN

Lots of Keltners in Missouri

Had to pay to go to school in Dell (had to pay for books and all),
so she went to Missouri to school.
Came back to Dell in the summer 1920-25. She had to pay her tuition, too.

Dell School=white frame

Mrs. Craig=big fat teacher woman, daughter Francis m. Hop Secoy

                another daug--Mattie Wilma, was the youngest

                middle daughter--Versarine

                was her teacher when she was in school. Loved her

The school sat closer to street.

Edna went to school 1 year at Dell. M.F. (Brownlee), Dallas (Brownlee), Louise Brownlee,
Versa (Haney), Pauline, Naoma (Magers Gill), Mamie (Magers Griffin),
Buddy Armstrong, Louise Armstrong, Gene Bradberry and Olive Bradberry
were her school friends.

More than one grade to a room. 2 rooms on ea side with long hall
down the middle.
You entered at the hall.

Della Sheridan,  m Angleton (had a boy). Boy=Adeal?

Then married "old man Ozee"

Pybus=where Kenny lives now (Second & Jefferson).

Carried mail. Had a little two wheel cart. Elderly. Come to Post Office, put
the mail in a big pouch, put lock on it,
took it to the depot where the clerk would put it on the train.

On east side of Dell, built up like walkway and PO was on
side of Freeman’s Store, barber shop in back.

1^st Ms Moody had nephew that was a barber, was on this side (E) =
Bryan Turner m. Johnny Mooney (or Moody?)

(Edna worked at PO at that time. Bryan would come to PO ea day
with a letter to Johnny and the next day
she’d write him back.) 

Edna got her hair cut there.

Got $1/day for chopping cotton for Mr. Hardin. Bought overalls
to chop cotton in. Hot.
That’s when she got her hair cut.

Johnny, sis to Pauline, Virginia, (Pauline had beauty shop,
m. Bob Henderson), Mary Lee (in Keiser),
died when young-----

Annie m Wiley Grice’s boy

Mooney’s lived out about where Cleo Lewis lived (where Bogan Whistle currently lives).

Bud Mooney m Pansy Evans (there were 4 Evans boys), divorced.
Then Bud Mooney  m. one of the Minyard girls

Flippin=ran drug store on the corner  (not sure which corner) Edna
thinks it’s where the Secoys drug was. (Secoys was on the east side of Main & Second)

Maggie Morgan (Clint Morgans wife), spoke her mind most of the time.
Will and Clint Morgan=bros,
also Milton was another bro.

PO on west side of street

Sawmill behind Haney House. Haney had a sawmill.
Edna says she played in the sawdust.
(Aunt Mamie said it was a grist mill--maybe both?)

Versa Haney and Mamie good friend. Mamie and Versa and Edna=same age.
They’d been at the school house playing, was walking home, Versa and Mamie got into
a quarrel and Versa said “-----" Edna was so appalled,
she picked up a stick and whipped Versa on the back side.
Edna probably wasn’t over 10 y o

Versa and Pauline were young. Older sister=Winnie Haney
 and bro named Ralph

1920-30  Boys put Otto Bradberry in box car and locked him in.
Train took him to Roseland,
 where they stopped to take on water at the water tank there.
Otto had to walk back to Dell.

Don’t know who put him in there.

Jerry Frankum, good friend of Mitchell Houston’s=it was
boys about their age who put
Bradberry in box car.

Random Notes: Aunt Mamie Griffin Interview

Notes: Aunt Mamie Griffin  14 Sept 2000

The Winn’s were killed in the tornado of 1927. They lived in a house where the Tidwell house is now. The Hardin house was destroyed and they were killed. There was a house (Mrs.Meyer?) about where the Baptist Church sits now. That house was moved to the Hardin location=the house Bertha (Hardin) lived in.

The Baptist Church—Did meet in the Methodist Church for many years. They’d switch off Sundays with the Methodist, but everyone went. When there was enough Baptist for the church to come from Potts Camp and establish one here, they built a frame church on Wilson street, just about where Aunt Mamie’s house is now. She has found evidence of the church being there over the years. Grandaddy (Earl Magers) let them have the property with the stipulation that if they ever moved, the property would revert back to him. They did move later to the location where they are now. Moved the frame building. Later built the present church when Uncle Malcolm (Griffin)was pastor.

She still says the school she went to sat where the old agriculture building sat, the agri by the gym. It had double doors and at one time had a long hall, but someone had divided it up so they could have more grades. When you went into those double doors, that was her room. It had a long bench in it with a bucket of water and a dipper at one end. There was a big hole in the wall where something had been and was taken out. She could see through the hole. She’s also told me in the past that the boys would climb in and out of that hole.

The flood of 27, came because Big Lake filled up and flooded all the rivers and bayous. Few houses in Dell were flooded but water was high enough that they went to see Aunt Emmer on Jefferson in a boat. Water never came up to the house in the Magers (506 E. Second St) yard. They built scaffolding  to the houses next door  so they could get back and forth. The Potters lived next to them (toward the west) at this time. Mom (Irene Magers Duncan) says that'’ right because when she was 3 she would climb the fence and say, “Aunt Lennie, do you want me to come see ya?”

Aunt Mamie doesn’t remember the box cars brought in for families to live in during the flood.

Granddaddy bought old houses, about to fall down and use the wood to build other houses. The two houses next to the Magers house was built that way.

Doesn’t remember the denomination of the black church on Adams Street. It was a frame building, with a steeple on top, two stories. The second story was used for a lodge. During church, they’d shout and yell and “fall out” and have to be carried out. She said it was great fun to listen to all that and to watch it from their house. She says it faced what is school street now. Mom says it didn’t.

There was a post office where Potter’s grocery sat later. It was 2 story . The post office was on the lower floor and a lodge was on the top.

At one of the tent shows, she and Aunt Naoma were all dressed in white stockings and white shoes, which was their trademark. Cousin Mattie always talked about the long row of white stockings hanging from Grandmother’s wash. So, this particular night as they came out of the show, the ditch out front was full of water but it looked like the walkway to Aunt Mamie as she stepped off into it.

She also said they had fences with bob wire so it wasn’t hard at all to hang those stockings.

Revival when she was 13-at the school. Stage outside. The choir and piano was on stage. She was in the choir.