I'm reading old newspapers today while someone elsewhere in the house is loudly cheering his West Virginia Mountaineers' football game.
Here are some odds and ends collected from the Kansas City Star newspaper in Kansas City, Missouri. I hope my Coffee cousins enjoy these clippings:
Five year old Guy Coffee, Jr. made the FRONT PAGE, of the November 2, 1939 Kansas City Star with news of his stolen fire truck. Some of my Coffee relatives will recall that Guy's grandmother Daisy was the first of our John W. Coffee's three wives.
Tragedy averted! Fire truck was returned. Saints be praised. November 3, 1939 at page 19:
From Thursday, June 6, 1946, page 3, Kansas City Star:
Apparently Guy Coffee, Sr. excelled at bowling. I found mention of his prowess on the sport pages. Several are clipped below, beginning with this photo from March 10, 1924. See him seated in the middle:
From January 12, 1936, Guy Coffee, Sr. played with a bowling team from Boonville, Missouri. He is listed here with the "Three O'Clock Squad."
From the Sunday, September 23, 1945, Kansas City Star at page 22:
And Mrs. Guy Coffee was both president and an active member of the Missouri-Kansas Cat Club. I would have loved talking with her, as I too enjoy cats. See both images in the gallery: the first article ran on page 20, April 20, 1949, and the second is from Tuesday, April 19, 1949, page 8.
I wonder if this collie pup was a big help to young Elwood in rounding up the cows? This article from page 6 of the Sunday edition of the Kansas City Star, September 8, 1946:
The elder Guy Coffee kept a pet raccoon names Jimmy at Kansas City's shelter. How cool is that!
Guy Coffee, Sr.'s mother, Daisy Franke, raised Pomeranian and Pekingese puppies. I found several newspaper ads with puppies for sale, breeding, and/or boarding.
Daisy was also a cat person, as I found a Lost Cat ad from August 1935 that read: "LOST -- Red, Persian, male; neuter; reward. Daisy Franke, 3117 Chestnut, LI.6368". I hope she found him. And do you suppose "LI.6368" was her telephone number?
See this announcement of Daisy Franke's speech to the Missouri Valley Toy Dog Club on March 25, 1934 at the Baltimore Hotel. I would have liked to have heard her AND the meeting of the ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic-- "General Grant Circle No. 31."
Until only a few decades ago, newspapers referred to married women by their husband's name. Mrs. Coffee was born Mary Ruth Alexander. She married Guy Coffee, Sr. in Kansas City on April 24, 1918. But Ruth's name did not appear in her father's obit of Monday, July 15, 1935, page 3:
A sudden death. Mr Coffee's obit was published March 6, 1954, page 12:
From July 4, 1951, an obit for Daisy Franke:
Graduation from high school - published May 15, 1952
Mary Ruth Coffee was promoted. This from the May 4, 1954 Kansas City Star, page 23. Love the photo!
From another Kansas City paper in January 1962:
On page 60 of The Kansas City Star, June 27, 1971:
--By the way, West Virginia beat Texas Tech: 48 to 17. BOOM!