Ah, good OLD Kirkwood...

I received this email and thought I would pass it along. For those who haven't been back to Kirkwood lately, the Magic House sits right next door to Nipher on Kirkwood Road. By all means, also go to the site that is linked at the bottom. Extremely interesting! I guess I will have to do some "drive-by's" this weekend to look at the houses I am not familiar with. (And, as always, if the link doesn't work when you click on it, just copy and paste.)

The Magic House (George Lane Edwards House), 516 S. Kirkwood Rd., Kirkwood, 1901

The land on which the Magic House sits was part of the estate of J.O. Sturdy. The estate was subdivided into 18 individual lots. In 1901 Florence Noble Edwards purchased a tract of this land from a previous owner. She was the wife of George Lane Edwards, a son of A.G. Edwards and grandson of Ninian Edwards, the first territorial governor of Illinois, for whom Edwardsville is named. Albert Gallatin Edwards moved to Kirkwood in 1864 and became one of the first trustees of the newly incorporated town the following year, as well as a founding director of the Kirkwood School Board. George Lane Edwards was born in Kirkwood in 1869 and married there in 1892, and when the brokerage firm of A.G. Edwards and Sons was incorporated in the latter year he became the first president. He was the director of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in 1904 and died unexpectedly died in 1919.

The house was probably built in 1901. And by 1904 it, other real-estate, stocks and securities were put into a trust for Mrs. Edwards and their children. Mrs. Edwards kept the house throughout her lifetime, but never returned to live in it after her husband’s death. The trustees encouraged the sale of the property in 1923 to Katherine M. Schmick whose husband was George M. Schmick who, in 1927, served on Kirkwood’s first Zoning Commission. The property was purchased by the Kirkwood School Board in 1954 and was remodeled by the architectural firm of William B. Ittner for use as administrative offices. The school board sold the property to Riviera Investment Corporation in 1975, and plans for the magic house were made in 1977.

http://www.co.st-louis.mo.us/parks/landmarks/Kirkwood-landmark.pdf

LINDA STEVENS, R.N. TELLS HER STORY

Linda today has knee and leg problems, but as you can see her spirit hasn't waned! This is a story of heroes if there ever was one - thanks LINDA for sharing with us! You and your family make KHS65 proud! GO TO WWW.KHS65.COM TO PAGE 5 OF THE 2nd ALBUM to see the photos that go with this article!

A Family of Soldiers

After graduating from KHS, I entered the Nursing School at Deaconess Hospital. As you all know, we were in the midst of the war in Vietnam. Since I came from a family of soldiers, there was no question as to what I should do. While in Nursing School, I join the US Army. Because I had spinal surgery before Nursing School, I was rejected by the Army. This broke my heart but I was very fortunate and very stubborn! I immediately began working with the Army and my Orthopedist surgeon to reapply. Eventually, I received a personal Presidential waiver from President Johnson and after Nursing School I was promoted to a Second Lieutenant in the US Army Nurse Corps.

My goal was to be assigned to a unit going to Vietnam. But first I was assigned to Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio and Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Denver. Finally, time came for me to be assigned to a combat unit. Much to my dismay I was assigned to the 41st Combat Support Hospital. This unit had just returned from Vietnam and would not recycle until after the end of my enlistment. So, I served my time, but never made it to a combat zone.

At the time of the first war in Iraq, I again enlisted. This time I was rejected because of screws I had in my knees. After 9/11, they raised the age of enlisted for Army nurses and yep, you guessed it, I enlisted again. Damned near made it! I passed everything until the Army came up with an obscure hospital record from 1966. Rejected! Now, I'm just too damned old!

As I mentioned my family has a very long history of serving their country in the time of war. I have many ancestors who fought during the Revolutionary War. One ancestor served with General George Washington at Valley Forge. My great, great, great, great grandfather served during the War of 1812. My great, great grandfather served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He lied about his age being only 14 when he enlisted. After serving several years, he was found out and spent the rest of the war assigned to a hospital. My grandfather served in WWI. My father enlisted before Pearl Harbor & was assigned to an Army hospital in San Francisco. He applied for and was accepted into the Army Air Corps, where he trained to become a B-17 pilot. During WWII, Dad flew 38 combat missions, including bombing the beaches of Normandy. After his combat tour, Dad volunteered to stay in England to fly bombardiers back and forth to North Africa to practice bombing. After the war Dad was picked to become one of the first military helicopter pilots. Later he served as a helicopter pilot instructor. According to the USAFHPA, my Dad at almost 93 years old, is the oldest known, living combat helicopter pilot. He was also the first helicopter on the deck of an aircraft carrier. At the time of the Korean War Dad reenlisted to fly 4 engine planes but he was waved because of his age. Later he flew mapping missions over Alaska for the US Government. In the middle of the Vietnam War, Dad was contacted by the CIA to fly secret mapping missions over Laos and Cambodia. He was ready to go, but his kids begged him not to go and his daughter cried like a baby!

Linda Stevens Vietnam Era Veteran, US Army Nurse Corps, 41st Combat Support Hospital
Member of American Legion Post 404