| Charleston Had It All #65
Clara Drinkwater Newnam
By Mildred Reeves Burnett
Enterprise-Courier September 3, 1992
“Clara Drinkwater Newnam was born January 20, 1897 in the Big Lake community northeast of Charleston and deceased September 1, 1992. Her parents were John Perry and Nannie Adams Drinkwater, pioneer settlers of Mississippi County…
“Miss Drinkwater graduated from the School of Nursing at the Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1927, and she spent most of her nursing career as the County Health Nurse in Mississippi County, Missouri and in other counties where she resided from time to time.
“In 1937 she was married to W. E. Newnam in Collinsville, Illinois, where she resided until Newnam’s death in 1949, after which she returned to Charleston.
“Mrs. Newnam was a kind, generous, and thoughtful person. Her life was dedicated to helping people and maintaining the low profile life style, even though substantial wealth was available to her most of the years of her adult life.
“Miss Clara wanted her estate to go to various friends, charities, religious organizations, and because of her bequest of $575,000 to the Mississippi County Library District, the Clara Drinkwater Newnam Library was constructed.” 1
(Looking at the monetary gift of William H. Danforth in 1947 and its purchasing power, one may well see how the value of the dollar has eroded as result of inflation.)
“From about 1955 to ’60 Clara Newnam, Lola Horton, and I (Ann Marie Prosser Emory) worked through the Mississippi County Health Department at the country schools, and there were many. We did hearing and vision screening, and also height and weight.
“The Health Department also had immunization clinics in the small schools, and one day a week in the basement of the courthouse where the department was located.
“In April of 1958 a large Polio Immunization Clinic was held at the Armory conducted by Dr. Frazier with health department nurses assisting. (Horton and Emory) Kids were bused in from all over the county to be vaccinated.
“We did home visits on patients referred to us by doctors with follow-up care in the homes. At that time there was a lot of Tuberculosis in the county and we did screenings and follow-up visits on them. Some people were sent to the Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Mount Vernon, Missouri for treatment.
“Venereal disease investigations were done by us and vouchers issued for the people to go to their doctors to be treated, and we gave vouchers to the client’s contacts to be treated.
“We also had a prenatal care and follow-up of new- born babies.
“Dr. John Dernoncourt was Chairman of Board of Directors of the Health Department. Jackson L. “Jack” Burke was Sanitarian and Mary Swank (Mrs. Clyde Swank) was secretary of the department.
“Miss Clara was tall, very slender, with a touch of gray hair, and always walked at a fast pace.” 2
“William Edward Newnam”
“January 6, 1872 –”
“February 12, 1948”
“Mr. Newnam graduated from Colorado School of Mines on June 5, 1896. He started to work for St. Louis Smelting and Refinery in 1914 and he retired from the company on January 1, 1938.
“He was a very successful engineer, having built a new lead smelter 600 miles north of Buenos Aires in 1936. This smelter was owned by the St. Louis Company and was known as “The Vilelas Smelter – Bill’s Baby”. Mr. Newnam also brought to a successful state of operation the type Scotch hearth, now known as the Newnam Hearth. Other engineering successes included the invention of a mechanical lead molding and handling machine.
“Mr. Newnam was an accomplished musician, composing several classical operas and other types of classical music.
“He was a successful investor, creating a large trust by purchasing stock in companies just coming into the industrial picture in the 1930’s. Mr. Newnam attributed much of his success in all fields to the education he had received.
“Mr. Newnam was survived by his wife, Clara Drinkwater Newnam, who was a native of Mississippi County.” 3
Clara Drinkwater Newnam Library
After much preparation and packing, library moving day arrived. Boxed books, wooden book shelves, and everything to be moved was loaded up and hauled to the new library.
The Enterprise-Courier December 14, 1995
The formal ribbon cutting, dedication and open house celebration for the Clara Drinkwater Newnam Library in Charleston was held Sunday, December 10, 1995, with representatives from the state on hand, as well as local residents and officials…”
The new Library came at good time since we were changing from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, and the Danforth Library was not geared for the technology to come.
Phonographs became obsolete. Cassettes replaced eight- track tapes, and music on CD’s replaced vinyl records. DVD’s replaced video tapes. Computers had moved from large room-size in big business to desktop and laptop size, and for home use as well as business. Now they’re even pocket-size types. The Internet is our highway to the world.
Even Alexander Graham Bell may have been surprised at cordless and cellular telephones and how they can now take pictures, videos, and some even have Internet access. Party-line telephones to telephone conferencing would surely take Bell aback.
1 Info— Library inside wall plate.
2 Info—Ann Marie Prosser Emory, Registered Public Health Nurse. Telephone interview. March 26, 2007.
3 Ibid 1.
To Be Continued |