Oroville
Mercury Register 1942
Agnes P. Alm, Pioneer, Dies
Here Suddenly “Well-Known
Enterprise Woman Succumbs to Pneumonia “ An illness
of only a few days resulted in the death at Oroville Curran Hospital
of Mrs. Agnes Parks Alm
,
74, of Enterprise, who died at 6 a. m. Thursday from pneumonia.
Mrs. Alm, known throughout the county, became ill with a severe
cold several days ago, and was brought here in the community ambulance
at noon Wednesday when pneumonia developed. She was born May
10, 1867, in Oroville, the daughter of the late
Mr. and Mrs. J. V. Parks
Sr., pioneers of the Oroville district. In 1897 she
was married to John G. Alm of Enterprise, the couple celebrated
their 45 wedding anniversary Jan. 13, 1942.
GOLD STAR MOTHER A son
of the couple, Gus,
died in 1917 at Camp Kearny. The local American Legion post
was named originally the Alm-Toland post for
Gus Alm and
James Toland, brother
of C. W. Manny and
John Toland of Oroville,
one who was killed in France during World War I. Mrs. Alm
was a Gold Star mother. She had been a correspondent for the
Mercury at Enterprise for many years, and was among the older rural
area writers for this newspaper. Members of the staff were
remembered with cards at Christmas each year, and frequently bouquets
of wild flowers or mountain greenery were sent to the Mercury office
and employees by Mrs. Alm. Her home was a gathering place
for friends from the mountains and valley, and those traveling to
or from mountain points always stopped to visit the kindly woman.
GAVE BOOK SET During
the early part of the Victory Book campaign here, Mrs. Alm sent
to the Mercury a box of books, with a letter explaining that a full
set of Dickens works was included. The Dickens set had been
given her as a prize for a costume worn to a Native Sons and Daughters
mask ball on New Year’s Eve before her marriage in 1897. Besides
her husband, she is survived by one sister,
Mrs. Mattie Parks Toland
of Oroville, widow of Supervisor C. W. Toland, whose funeral services
were held only four hours after the death of his sister-in-law.
Funeral services will be held at Thomas funeral home with arrangements
to be announced later, after arrival of a brother-in-law,
Fred O. Alm, of San
Francisco.
Countryman Crash Victim
Joseph D. Countryman
,
39, of Oroville died today at Monterey hospital from injuries
received late yesterday at Monterey Airport when two jeep conveyors
crushed him. Countryman was working on one of the jeeps when
the other one drove into it pinning him between them. Coroner
J. A. Cornett of
Monterey will conduct a complete investigation of the accident.
A brother of Countryman was expected to arrive in Monterey today.
Countryman is survived by his wife,
Mildred K. of Wyandotte
avenue: a son, William Earl,
9: a daughter Ramona D.,
14: two brothers, Frank
countryman of Marysville and
Clifford who is in
the Army. A friend of the family went to Monterey today to
get Mrs. Countryman, who is expecting a child. They left before
news of the accident had reached Oroville.
Oroville Gives Warm Send-Off
To 24 Draftees Twenty-four
young men taken for the government’s draft army left Oroville Wednesday
afternoon after having been given a suitable “sendoff” by citizens
at Memorial Hall and at the Western Pacific Station. Speakers,
including Mayor Jacobs
and Secretary of State,
Paul Peek, expressed the appreciation of the general public
for the sacrifice being made by them. “It should be considered
an honor to go,” said Jacobs, himself a member of the army in 1917,
“for the army is taking only the young strong men, mentally, morally
and physically fit. To some this will be a hardship, but we
cannot look down into their hearts and minds and appreciate the
full sacrifice. If it proves you will have to stay longer
than is now contemplated the country will feel more secure because
you will be trained, and fit. Peek declared the draft the
“most democratic movement in the country’s history” because it treats
all alike. “We are back of you to a man, and you will receive
as rousing a reception when you return as you are being given today.
Those who shoulder the guns should feel that there is an economic
army back of them. It is the answer of a democratic America
to the claim of the dictators that Democracy is too slow and
too sluggish to compete. We are going to show that Democracy
can work.” The high school choir sang several songs,
closing with “The Lord Bless and Keep You.” The high School
band played, ending with “The Star Spangled Banner.” The program
was in charge of the Rotary Club. At the station the young
men were lined up and checked off as they entered the train.
There was a large crowd there to see them off.
Stu’s Notes: I have written about
Joseph D. Countryman
over 3 years ago and others with that name. Their stories
are on our web site. Until I recently found this article
I had no information on where he lived. Now we know more of
the story but far from the “rest of the Story”. I recently
wrote about Gus Alm
and James Toland
in WWI. You can read about them on our web site:
www.orovilleveteransmemorialpark.org.