NOTEBOOK OF HARRY LEE BEASLEY

NOTEBOOK OF HARRY LEE BEASLEY

ALEXANDER COUNTY/ILLINOIS GENEALOGY TRAILS

Contributed by Frank Beasley

ELCO

IN MEMORIAM OF HER

AVIS

LONESOME FOR YOU, GARNITA

TO MY SISTER

APRIL 1935 HOBBIES MAGAZINE ARTICLE

ELCO

When you're tired of city life;
and need a quiet rest;
There's a little place I have in mind
Where nature did her best.
It nestles down among the hills
in a valley wide and grand.
She is the best little village
I know of in the land.
The hospitality there is grand.
There's friends on every side,
And if you ever sojourn there
You'll ever-more abide.
Altho-some get discouraged
and think they'll make a change.
To some far distant clime
To soothe their aching brains,
But in a few short days
You'll see them wending back
They find that Elco's hard to beat
When it comes to "this and that."

The merchants there are cordial,
and they greet you with a smile,
as they say "what can I do for you?"
They have city folks beat a mile.
The girlies there are spic and span
and when you take them a drive.
You'll think the old time sweethearts
have all become alive.
They have three churches in this town
Who greet you at their door,
and make you feel more welcome
than you ever felt before.
They also have a silica plant
That works a force of men
And then there's mines and hauling
That bring a bit of tin.
And all this works to gather
With the tilling of the soil.
To keep the fire a burning
That makes the buissness boil.

Tonight I am away from there
My thots they ever roam.
To Elco little Elco where
I'll always claim for my home
and if you ever get discouraged
and your friends they seem a few
Just take a trip to Elco
and see what a change in you.
They say its in the water
That o'er you casts a spell
For if you ever drink it
You will always want to dwell-
amongst the people of the hills
and valleys of this place.
You may stay away for quiet a while
But you'll always do "bout face."
So I must bring this to a close,
For I think I've put you wise
For if I keep on talking
You will think its paradise.

But give me Elco first and last
and always if you please
For I am most contented there
amongst her birds and bees.
and when I've run my race in life
Please lay me gently down
On yonder hill near Delta
beside her grassy mound.

Composed and written by H. L. Beasley,
August 27th, 1927
While working for the I. C. R. R.
at Centralia, Illinois

If ever a man is inclined to write
it's when he's blue. H.L.B.

(Note: This poem indicates Harry Lee's feelings for Elco and his wish to be buried beside his first wife, Avis M. Miller Beasley, in the Delta Cemetery. He was buried there in 1941.)

Used with permission from Frank Beasley

Return to top of page

Return to Alexander County Illinois Genealogy Trails

Return to Illinois Genealogy Trails