Story of Oscar Edward Westerhouse and Margaret Esther Lamont Story - Part 1

 Oscar Westerhouse was the middle child of Amos and Sophia Westerhouse.

At the age of eight, Oscar moved with his family to a farm, located at 2372 North 900th Road, in the Captain Creek area of Eudora, Douglas, Kansas.  As a young boy, Oscar worked on his parents' farm, helping with the farming and other chores around the home.  He attended school at the Hopewell East School #68 which was located only a half mile east of his home.

 (L-R) Amos Jr, Oscar, Ethel

Hopewell East School #68 School Photo

Oscar sitting in the front row, holding sign on left

Amos Jr standing back row, second from right 

Leoti Milburn sitting second row - middle

After graduating from eighth grade, he continued to work on the family farm.  His father, Amos Westerhouse, encouraged Oscar and his older brother, Amos Jr, not to smoke and drink.  He would reward them with a pocket watch when they turned twenty-one if they had complied.  Both received a pocket watch.

(L-R) Oscar and Amos Jr Westerhouse - pocket watches

Oscar standing on left - Amos Jr sitting in center

Oscar Westerhouse - far right in football helmet and uniform

Oscar Westerhouse - driving Ford Model T at his father’s farm

After Oscar turned 21, he registered for the World War I Draft 24 August 1918.  The front side of card shows name Oscar Edd Westerhouse, home Eudora Kansas, Age 21, birth Aug 21 1897, birth location Douglas County Kansas USA, native of the United States, Father’s birthplace Douglas County Kansas USA, self-employed in Douglas County, Kansas, nearest relative Amos Westerhouse (father) of RR2 Eudora, Douglas, Kansas. The back side of card shows height tall, build slender, color of eyes blue, color of hair light.

Oscar WWI draft card (front)

Oscar WWI draft card (back)

Eudora Weekly News – 12 Sep 1918

Eudora Weekly News - 14 Nov 1918

Early November 1918, Oscar was notified by the Draft Board to report for duty in Lawrence, Douglas, Kansas.  He was being sent to Camp Funston, a U.S. Army training camp located on Fort Riley, 5 miles north of Junction City, Geary, Kansas.  The night before reporting for duty, Oscar and his friends celebrated in Eudora.  That evening, he broke his nose while cranking the car.  The next day, he marched with the other recruits down Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, his nose, and eyes all black, blue, and swollen from the prior evening. Following the march, all the soldiers boarded a train for Camp Funston. 

Oscar described sleeping at Camp Funston on a straw bed in a cold, damp mule barn.  He awoke to news that WWI had ended 11 Nov 1918, the same day he arrived at the Camp.  He spent the next week in training before being ordered to gather his belongings and take the next train back to Lawrence.  He learned the soldiers in the other mule barns had contracted Spanish flu and many of them had died.

After World War I, Oscar was employed as an oil bulk agent by the Standard Oil Company, Dec 1922. He kept a company truck and supplies by the railroad tracks west of Main Street in north Eudora.  As a bulk agent, he supplied farmers in rural Eudora with gas for their farming equipment and home use.

Eudora Weekly News - 28 Dec 1922

Oscar Westerhouse as Standard Oil Bulk Agent with truck

Oscar's father, Amos, purchased a home at 702 Church Street in Eudora, Kansas 31 Dec 1923.  The home was being sold in the Nancy Milburn estate sale.  Oscar's older brother, Amos Jr, married Leoti Milburn 7 Nov 1917, Leoti Milburn, was the granddaughter of Nancy Milburn. Oscar and his father Amos worked to remodel the home for Oscar to live at in the future.

Next week I will share the story about Margaret Lamont before marriage.