Dexter Daily Statesman

Idalia History Story

Posted Friday, July 13, 2007, at 1:24 PM
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The following was part of a 33-part series on The Towns of Stoddard County which appeared in the Puxico Press in 1989-90.

The small Stoddard County hamlet of Idalia nestles in the crook of a valley in Crowley's Ridge four miles north of Essex on Highway FF. This community, named after the daughter of H.H. Bedford, sprang up in the late 19th century when the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad, more commonly known as the Cotton Belt, ran its track down from St. Louis to the Texas/Arkansas border.

Unlike many small communities in the county, the train still runs through, although it has no occasion to stop these days.

Shannon Heilman of Bloomfield grew up in the area, and can still remember when Idalia could boast three grocery stores and a post office. An active member of St. Joe General Baptist Church there, Heilman is also interested in discovering the history of Bluff School, once located near Idalia.

Her father, Theron Long, still lives there and, when asked about when the town was founded, replied, "It's (Idalia's) a whole lot older than I am."

Long, 73, worked for the railroad most of his life, beginning part-time in 1937, going to full-time in 1941 and finally retiring in 1976 with almost 40 years of service under his belt.

"Whatever I needed to do (for the railroad) I done it," he declared. That meant going wherever he was needed along the track. "From hither to yon," he stated. "Mostly yon."

Two or three gravel streets split off from Highway FF, and presentable homes line them. The church is still quite active, but business has left Idalia for "greener pastures." Progress has marched on, but hasn't quite left this little town behind.

Note: Theron Long and his wife Edna are currently residents at Golden Living Center (formerly Beverly Healthcare) in Bloomfield. Their daughter Shannon Heilman is active in the Stoddard County Historical Society, having given programs on Idalia to that group in the past.

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Good deal, ElFreda. Thanks for posting this. Thirty-three stories? Mmm...maybe we'll get to hear some more. (hint, hint!)

-- Posted by goat lady on Fri, Jul 13, 2007, at 6:17 PM

I must humbly apologize. Although it was brief, it was a nice history of a lovely HITR (hole in the road). I always thought it was a nicer name for a town than,say Dexter, which sounds like a nerd with glasses and crazy science projects!I looked up the meaning of your name and again I apologize, no one would pick that for their legal name. I can only surmise you were named for an older,wealthy,childless Auntie, thus a love of numerous stray cats with the name. Your name could indicate your parents fairytale love-he was a D&Dragons Master and she a devotee of Lord of The Rings. Your birth heralded a love of all things elfish.Please regale us with this epistle-I hope it wasn't their love of cookies and Keebler sounded too masculine!

-- Posted by Yellow Rose of Essex on Sat, Jul 14, 2007, at 9:04 AM

ElFreda Cox's response:

Hardly -- I was supposed to be a boy. No girl names were picked out, so Mom chose one from a baby name book. It definded it as being "wise counselor" -- what a joke! I since discovered it means "queen of the elves." What is really hilarious is I'm six feet tall. Some elf. I'm also 50ish, so my parents wouldn't have been involved in that D&D stuff anyway.

I only recently came to appreciate cats. For most of my life I have been (and still am) a dog person. My late brother and his wife raised Persians for years. I have no children, so my dog and cats are my erstwhile family.

You have certainly found a kindred spirit in Goat Lady. Your writing styles are very similar.

The stories I wrote for the Puxico Press were by in large about what you read here on Idalia. I had to get one a week, plus other duties, and there were times when I had to scramble to find any sort of information. Of course, the larger towns were much easier to do.

I did Pyletown, Penermon, Circle City, Essex, Gray Ridge, Hunterville, Clines Island, Charteroak, Buffington and Frisco in your neck of the woods.

BTW, thanks for the apology. I'm not as happy go lucky as my cohort to the north. I wish I were, but alas, that part of my DNA must have been faulty. I hope you will enjoy my blog and that of my cohort ot the north.

Yes, it was brief. Not much meat and didn't tell me much about Idalia. Maybe your series of articles wasn't intended to be as much informational as chatty nostalgia. Maybe there just isn't much information available.

-- Posted by Ducky on Sat, Jul 14, 2007, at 9:13 AM

ElFreda Cox's response:

There wasn't too much to tell, and a time factor involved. You'd be surprised at the amount of research something more "meaty" would take.

I recall when Glynda Bates and Shelby Spears were compiling their book on rural schools, they contacted many people, made known what they were doing, and strove to "get it right." After it was published, however, sources came out of the woodwork.

If anyone has more information about Idalia, let me know, and I'll try to rewrite the article.

Hey, Yellow Rose of Essex,

Good to see you have returned!! I missed your rapier wit in the time between your first comment and your last one!

I see that your sense of humor hasn't suffered any in the interim! A nerd with glasses! Hahahahahaha!

Nice to hear someone take some jabs at the Big D!!! Knock 'em down a few pegs, Girl!!!

-- Posted by goat lady on Sat, Jul 14, 2007, at 2:24 PM

Thank you to my newest BFF GoatLady &ElfReda.I indeed hope you post your chatty history of the smaller towns,villages and hitr, as I seemed to have missed every issue of the Puxico Press. I went to their infamous Homecoming, which does have delicious goat burgers-for shizzy! Otherwise, it's like attending someone else's high school reunion as my mom says-not so much fun. It's like Mae Hall Park Day with rides, but if your not from Essex/Grayridge/Penermon or the Circle it would be a long hot boring day in August. I try to attend all things Stoddard County-ish,and look forward to the 4th at Bloomfield next year! It's a shame at so many hitr's anymore you have no history-could you get enough folks together to even have a Clines Island barbecue?

-- Posted by Yellow Rose of Essex on Sat, Jul 14, 2007, at 4:46 PM

I have no intention of going anywhere that serves goatburgers!! How barbaric!

Funny observations, Yellow Rose! I like your irreverent sense of humor!!

-- Posted by goat lady on Sat, Jul 14, 2007, at 11:04 PM

Hey, ElFreda! Look what your blog did during the weekend!!! It took on a life of its own! (Eerie Twilight Zone music)

-- Posted by goat lady on Sat, Jul 14, 2007, at 11:06 PM

Hey, Yellow Rose -- I just read your essay about wanting to be the mayor of Essex!! And you found the Queen of Essex, too! Good job! I had no idea that the mayor's job was so powerful!

-- Posted by goat lady on Sat, Jul 14, 2007, at 11:22 PM

Sadly, I was present when my parents brought the little Rosebud home from the hospital. What a gip-we couldn't afford a real pony after that. Back then,the law made parents take your "baby" home, unless I suppose my mom could have acted unwed. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20.

Unlike Rosie,I have a real job that prevents me from posting often. You may note that when I do, it is in a less rambling style, more concise and some (myself)will say intellectual than any of my other siblings. I do find myself perhaps slightly chuckling at her attempts to be amusing. She has had a lifetime of listening to my witty remarks,surely you picked up something Rosie-don't be a hater. You know I've grown tolerant of Rosie and"the Others" over the past few decades!

The poor grammar leads me to believe Obadiah is our younger brother,but that poster can spell better,no "R u gonna b hom?" has surfaced yet!

-- Posted by Queen of Essex on Mon, Jul 16, 2007, at 7:49 AM

Glad to have Yellow Rose's more intellectual sibling on board, Queen! I enjoy your more concise style, as well as your sister's rambling prose.

Now, you aren't the same person, are you? You wouldn't try to put us on, would you??

-- Posted by goat lady on Mon, Jul 16, 2007, at 3:55 PM

I assure you I am that I am the Original, the child my parents dearly loved for eight years as their only.

I am not sure what bad thing they did that caused them to be saddled with all those ingrates after me. I was amused to see Rosie admit she isn't as computer savvy as our brothers.

I wouldn't ask any of them anything since they they still mock me for pronouncing Wi-Fi as "wiffy".

I will miss Rosie & Jr.'s sad attempts at humor while we go out West to visit my in-laws, so cut them no slack GL & ElfReda!

I don't have wiffy, so I doubt I'll be online much while on vacation.I'm not sure if his parents even have Internet,it uses so much electricity you know!

I still think Obadiah is our Jr., he is trying to deny it.

-- Posted by Queen of Essex on Tue, Jul 17, 2007, at 6:15 PM

Well, Queenie, I am so out of touch with current technology that I don't even know what Wi-Fi IS, much less how to pronounce it, so don't feel bad. Not much need for technology on a goat farm, ya know! Ya just put on yer boots and head out!

Are you really from Essex? And, say, how did IT get its name, anyway? That's a province in England.

-- Posted by goat lady on Tue, Jul 17, 2007, at 10:04 PM

ElFreda Cox's response:

An English-born conductor on one of the four trains that passed through the area in the 1870s suggested the name to the townspeople because, it's been told, they were stuck for a name and the good English name of Essex was easy to pronounce.

Mmm....Do you think that our own Southeast Missouri Essex was founded by some early English immigrant?

C'mon, Yellow Rose of Essex! Find us some background! Get your sister, the Queen of Essex, to help you!

-- Posted by goat lady on Thu, Jul 19, 2007, at 7:16 AM

Oops! I just realized that I misread that explanation!! Sorry! The English-born conductor gave the Missouri city its name!! Got it!

Ah, my brain is getting dim in my old age....... I'll forget how to tie my shoes, next thing ya know, and I'll have to wear sandals year round.....

-- Posted by goat lady on Thu, Jul 19, 2007, at 7:20 AM

Legend has it that the original King & Queen of Essex would be cursed with a wicked, bossy,demanding, firstborn daughter. Darkness covered the fair Kingdom of Essex for nigh on eight years. No crops could be grown, rain was scarce, the streets were deserted from dusk to dawn and small animals disappeared.

Finally, the prayers of the distraught Kingdom were answered when the real Queen gave birth to a fair Princess, one who embodied Goodness and Light as surely as their firstborn was crabby.

The legend has it a gentle rain fell,ending the drought and a triple rainbow was seen as the sun returned!

As the Cranky One had to get off her duff to help the Good Queen with their most beloved newborn, her evil powers diminished slowly,which was just as well as she was entering the awkward tween years.

After the Queen gave birth to two sons, her Royal Crankiness found her only power left was sullen teenage poutiness and sarcasm that ended once she left for college.

Essex is still Rejoicing,her wicked powers never to return!

The name Essex is pretty cool because any song with Texas as a lyric can be changed to Essex, as predicted by Nostradamus, as I heard the story!

-- Posted by Yellow Rose of Essex on Thu, Jul 19, 2007, at 4:28 PM

Yellow Rose, you need to publish children's books!!

What a hilarious fairy tale!! Sounds like the "Fractured Fairy Tales" that I used to watch on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show!

I no longer accuse you and the Queen of Essex as being one and the same! I recognize sibling sarcasm when I see it!!

-- Posted by goat lady on Sat, Jul 21, 2007, at 8:34 AM