Hector John Polla was born in Lexington, Missouri in 1916. He graduated from Higginsville High School and Wentworth Military Academy Junior College before heading to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1937. Upon his graduation from West Point in 1941, Lt. Polla was deployed to the Philippines and stationed on the Bataan… Read more »
By Laura Huffman As any soldier, sailor, airman, or marine will relate, a USO sign is a welcome sight. Pulaski County historian Terry Primas summarizes in his 2005 Old Settlers Gazette article that the familiar logo is a “beacon of comfort” for service members and their families and it continues to “signal support for men… Read more »
Frank H. Wielandy, the “Father of Missouri State Parks,” owned and named Blue Jay Farm, now a rustic resort, near Dixon in Pulaski County, Missouri. 1. In 1928 Wielandy conducted an unsuccessful Republican primary campaign for Missouri Governor. 2. Wielandy was Missouri Fish & Game Commissioner under Governor Arthur M. Hyde. 3. Wielandy was known… Read more »
Chester West (C.W.) Parker is the namesake of Waynesville R-VI School District’s Parker Fine Arts building located on the Middle School campus. 1. In 1921, at the age of 19, Parker was the principal of an elementary school in the Picher, Oklahoma mining district. He also served as principal at Licking, MO High School. Parker… Read more »
Samuel Albert Countee was an American painter. While stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, during World War II, in 1945, Countee, an African-American Staff Sergeant, was enlisted to paint a 4-foot by 10.5-foot mural above the fireplace of the Black Officers Club housed in Building 2101. The Black Officers Club building at Fort Leonard Wood,… Read more »