Bonnie Lee Cantwell

(1920 - 2012) 

Early Years

Bonnie Lee Cantwell was born on February 2, 1920 in Grabeel, Ozark, Missouri (an official birth record for Bonnie is yet to be obtained.). She was the eldest child of Willie Ethel Steelman and James Everett Cantwell. Her father had served in World War I, serving nine months in France, before coming home to pick back up farming, and Bonnie was born ten months after his return.

In August of this same year, women are finally granted the right to vote.

In September of the following year, Bonnie’s sister, Maxine, was born. Being a year and a half apart and growing up in rural Missouri, the sisters were very close friends.

On October 29, 1929, post-war prosperity came to an end with the great stock market crash. Between 1929 and 1931, losses accumulated to an estimated value of $50 billion, marking the start of the worst American depression in U.S. history.

1930's

By 1930, the girls were both attending Council Grove School.

In April of 1931, a brother was born to them - Carl Eugene Cantwell.

By 1932, unemployment in the U.S. had reached 12 million workers. In March of 1933, Congress passed the New Deal, dropping the gold standard, and that December Prohibition officially ended.

When the girls were old enough for high school, they attended Gainesville High School.

In September of 1937, Bonnie’s sister Jeanette was born.

On June 27, 1938 (an actual marriage record has yet to be obtained), Bonnie married her high school sweetheart, blue-eyed, brown-haired, Russell Reid. Bonnie was 18 years old and Russell was only a few years older.

Ten months later, in April of 1939, Bonnie and Russell welcomed their first child, a daughter whom they named Patricia Ann Reid. She was born at their farmhouse, previously known as the “old Davis farmhouse”.

Five months later, in September, Bonnie’s youngest brother Floyd Arthur, lovingly known as F.A., was born.

That fall, WWII began, with U.S. declaring their neutrality.

1940’s

In 1940, Bonnie and Russell were living next door to Russell’s elder sister and husband, Zelma and Fred Daniels. Russell had taken a job as a schoolteacher for the Noble school district, making $850 a year, while his brother-in-law Fred drove the school bus.

In August of 1941, their second child was born. It was another daughter, whom they named Beverly Jane Reid.

That December, Japan attacked U.S. soil at Pearl Harbor, and the very next day, the U.S. entered the war. By February of the following year, 110,000 Japanese Americans on the west coast were moved to relocation camps.

On August 6, 1945, President Truman gives approval for the bombing of Hiroshima, and three days later, Nagasaki.

In July of 1946, Bonnie gave birth to their first son, Lonnie Dean Reid.

In October of 1948, their second son was born, James Thomas Reid.

The following summer, Bonnie took over as Postmistress of Noble, Missouri. She assumed charge on August 23rd and was confirmed on October 5th.

1950's

In June of 1950, the Korean War began.

Her brother Floyd Arthur died on July 9, 1951, in Willard, Missouri, when Bonnie Lee was 31 years old.

By 1952, Russell had began operating the Ava Tractor and Implement Company in Ava. The business was located in the Barnes building, a block east of the square and specialized in servicing Ford tractors and Dearborn implements.

In June of 1953, Russell and Bonnie bought a farm at Wasola from Mr. and Mrs. Dick Wade. Other newspaper sources described them as residing in the Souder or Alamartha areas.

That July, the Korean War ended.

In October of 1953, their sixth child was born, a son named Gary Randall Reid.

In February of 1954, the first large-scale vaccination of children against polio began.

It was around this same time that Russell began to suffer from a heart ailment, landing him in the hospital at Springfield.

In May of 1955, the Supreme Court ordered public schools to begin racial desegregation with “deliberate speed”.

In September of 1955, Russell bought a new car and moved the family to the town of Ava. There, family occupied property owned by Miss Elloree Burdett on Valley Street.

 In December of 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, beginning a boycott that would eventually inspire a national civil rights movement.

This same month, Bonnie gave birth to a baby girl at Burge Hospital in Springfield. They named her Katharine Elizabeth Reid.

In the summer of 1956, Russell took over the local Buick automobile franchise from W. C. Chambers, Jr. The agency was located in the Davis building, two blocks south of the square. Russell also offered a parts and service department here, and for a time was able to operate both the Buick dealership and the Tractor Company in tandem, calling them Reid Tractor & Buick. He did so so successfully, in fact, that in November of that same year he won fifth place in a National Sales Contest held for Ford tractor dealers.

In April of 1957, Bonnie and Maxine both served on a committee for the American Cancer Society. The committee organized a canvase door-to-door in Ava, asking for contributions on behalf of the Society. Neighbors were asked to turn on their porch lights to indicate to volunteers that they wished to contribute. Bonnie was a member of the Northeast committee, while her sister, Maxine served on a sister township committee.

In the summer of 1957, the Reid family purchased and relocated to a home on Ozark Street from Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Dobbs. The property was located in the Sell block of Ava, formerly owned by Miss Ola Sell.

In the fall of 1957, Russell relinquished the Buick franchise to Fred O. Lethco, a dealer in Pontiac, International trucks and farm machinery.

1960's

In the fall of 1962, Russell and Bonnie made a trip to the World’s Fair in central Seattle while Russell’s sister, Zelma, stayed and watched the children. It was the first World’s Fair held in the U.S. since WWII, with the theme of space exploration.

In October of 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis began.

In June of 1963, Bonnie gave birth to a stillborn baby boy at Burge hospital in Springfield. The baby, whom they named David Bryant, was buried in Ava Cemetery with the Rev. C.W. Duffer officiating.

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas.

In the spring of 1965, Russell resigned from his Tractor dealership, sold the franchise to Larkin B. Barnes and took a position under him as manager of Barnes Ford Tractor Sales.

In 1966, the Commercial Credit Equipment Corporation filed a $30,000 lawsuit against Russell and Bonnie, over purchase agreements they alleged to be false and fraudulent. The suit against Bonnie was eventually dropped, and Russell settled, confessing judgement for $28,543.75.

From here on, times got tough for Russell, and he continued down a path of various other minor run-ins with the law, be it driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest, or skipping out on the fair at a motel where he had stayed. The relationship between Bonnie and Russell, as well the marriage itself, dissolved.

In 1967, Bonnie and her sister-in-law Zelma Daniels took part in the national School Lunch Program, assisting the lunchroom personnel at Ava High School. The program was constructed to improve the health of students by encouraging them to take advantage of nutritious agricultural products as opposed to their previously typical jelly sandwich and hardboiled eggs. They fed around 260 high and junior high school students from 11 o’clock to 1 p.m. Students paid only 30 cents per meal, and a typical menu would include spaghetti and meat balls, ham, gravy, mashed potatoes, salad and desserts.

Bonnie remained close with her sister Maxine and her daughter Connie, and they visited one another frequently, as well as visiting their parents in Willard.

1970's

In January of 1973, Bonnie had eye surgery at Cox Medical Center.

In 1976, Bonnie began working at The Herald, the local paper. She was honored as “Secretary of the Day” on KWTO radio station out of Springfield that July.

On September 27, 1978, Bonnie’s father, Everett passed away after a long illness.

1980’s

In August of 1982, Bonnie fell and broke her foot.

In September of 1985, Bonnie attended the 45th class reunion of Gainesville High School with her best friend since childhood, Gladys Gardner.

In August of 1987, Bonnie took a 10-day vacation from St. Louis to New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.

1990’s

On the evening of October 11, 1992, Bonnie’s mother, Ethel passed away.

2000’s

Her daughter Patricia Ann passed away on July 29, 2003, in Springfield, Missouri, at the age of 64.

Bonnie Lee Cantwell died on February 25, 2012, in Springfield, Missouri, when she was 92 years old.