| Notes |
- From "The Melia Family" by Kay Melia 2001 and other incidentals from son Crandall Melia
The fifth child in the family of seven Melia siblings was Russell Elmer, Born March 16, 1906. There was always some disagreement as to whether it was the 17th or the 16th, as the birth occurred near midnight and the official certificate said the 16th, and the family bible said the 17th. Elmer never really liked either of his given names and although the family all called him Elmer, when he left for college, he assigned to himself the new name of "Rem" which actually were his initials.
For Elmer, like the rest, it was eight years of country school at Fonda, and 4 years at Bucklin High School, where he graduated with the class of 1925, the largest class yet in Bucklin, with 30 students. He, like the rest of his brothers, was an outstanding athlete, with track and field being his best sport. He used to say that they got their training racing each other to school each day. They lived 5 miles from Bucklin in the country, and had to walk (or run) to school each day, and home each night. He always said that his father told the boys that "anytime that it became too far to walk, they should run a bit."
He had looked foreward to college for several years and left after harvest in 1925 for Kansas State University at Emporia( or as it was known at the time"Emporia State Teacher's College".)He attended there 3 years gaining his teacher's certificate, and like many of his siblings returned to Bucklin where he taught in rural schools including Fonda and Daisy Dell.
While attending College at Emporia he met Nancy Pearl Love, from Conway Springs, Kansas, who was also a student there. Both Pearl and Elmer were Fraternity and Sorority members and felt that college was a wonderful experience. Pearl was also born and raised on a farm and hoped that a college education would assure her of not spending the rest of her life on the farm. After gaining her teaching certificate, Pearl returned to Conway Springs and taught second grade first at country school and later in Conway Springs for sevral years.
On June 5, 1932, she married Elmer Melia, a teacher, and immediately moved to the original homeplace where Elmer returned to farming. Elmer and Pearl lived there for 32 years, where Elmer farmed 4 quarters of farmland and raised herds of Herford cattle on 2 sections of grassland, before moving to Bucklin in 1964, and Pearl finally got her home in town, and off the farm, and from where Elmer continued to operate the farm. Elmer served his community for many years, serving on the township boards and Consumers Co-op boards. He was a member of the Bucklin Public Schools Board of Education for many years and served as President during the construction of the grade school being used there today. When not found in the fields, or at community meetings, Elmer could usually be found at a ball game somewhere, or if there were none and the work was done, in the local pool hall where the farmers played.(this was "dry" Kansas and there was no alcohol served in the pool halls then.) In the late 1960s, Elmer devoleped heart trouble and had to lease out the farming operation, and left the farming to Oscar Scheib.
Elmer spent several years in ill health, following heart surgery, a stroke, as well as leukemia and died on June 2, 1981 at the age of 75. He was a great sports fan (it did not make any difference which sport, he loved them all, and most were now on daily television), was an active member of the Lions Club in Bucklin and managed to make at least yearly trips to California to visit his sons family, Crandall, his wife Charlotte and children Shannon and Sean, where he always managed to see some ball games while there.
After Elmer's death in 1981, Pearl moved to California to be near her son and family and her daughter Elaine moved there not long after. She bought a mobile home in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and loved living there and especially the absence of the long cold winters. It was also the first time in her life that she was near her extended family, having moved away from her family when she married, and then both her children having moved away after high school.. She died in California in 1997 at the age of 90 and her remains were returned to Bucklin to be burried with Elmer in the Bucklin Cemetery, next to Grandad Newt and Grandma Grace.
1910 United States Federal Census
about Russel E Melia
Name: Russel E Melia
Age in 1910: 4
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1906
Birthplace: Kansas
Relation to Head of House: Son
Father's Name: Isaac N
Father's Birth Place: Canada English
Mother's Name: Grace B
Mother's Birth Place: Illinois
Home in 1910: Pleasant Valley, Ford, Kansas
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Gender: Male
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Isaac N Melia 42
Grace B Melia 36
Jessie M Melia 12
Gorden B Melia 10
Mabel A Melia 9
Oscar V Melia 6
Russel E Melia 4
Eugene E Melia 2
1920 United States Federal Census
about Elmer Melia
Name: Elmer Melia
Home in 1920: Pleasant Valley, Ford, Kansas
Age: 13 years
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1907
Birthplace: Kansas
Relation to Head of House: Son
Father's Name: Isaac N
Father's Birth Place: Canada
Mother's Name: Grace
Mother's Birth Place: Illinois
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Sex: Male
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 446
Household Members: Name Age
Isaac N Melia 51
Grace Melia 45
Mable E Melia 18
Oscar Melia 15
Elmer Melia 13
Eugene Melia 11
Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925
about Elmer Melia
Name: Elmer Melia
Census Date: 1925
Residence County: Ford
Residence State: Kansas
Locality: Bucklin
Birth Location: Kansas
Family Number: 41
Marital Status: Single
Gender: Male
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1906
Race: White
Relation: Son
Line: 9
Roll: KS1925_48
Father's Name: I N
Mother's Name: Grace
Household Member(s): Name Age
I N Melia 57
Grace Melia 51
Mable Melia 22
Oscar Melia 21
Elmer Melia 19
Eugene Melia 16
Pauline Melia 2
John Gisson 76
Social Security Death Index
about Russell Melia
Name: Russell Melia
SSN: 511-22-8949
Last Residence: 67834 Bucklin, Ford, Kansas, United States of America
Born: 16 Mar 1906
Died: Jun 1981
State (Year) SSN issued: Kansas (Before 1951)
|
1906 - 1981 (75 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set