Trenton Tales from Julie Hill Lehr

By Julie Hill Lehr

In March we wear green for St. Patrick’s Day and celebrate Women’s History Month. What better way to celebrate the latter than learning about one of Trenton’s special women – Laura Sue Daniels.

At 92, Laura Sue Daniels has experienced a lot of history and notes that she is surprised at all of the things that have changed since she was a girl, especially technology.

Laura Sue was born in 1933 on a farm three miles east of Tindall, Missouri. She had an interesting entry into the world. Dr. Bertha Sheetz, who practiced in Trenton, rode to the farm with her father when her mother was in labor. Dr. Sheetz stayed the night, delivering Laura Sue, and then rode back to Trenton with her dad the next day. Laura Sue was the last of Roy and Daisy Daniels’ seven children. Preceding Laura Sue were Frank (who was 24 years older), Guy, Laurance, Florence Bell, Leroy and Nola Fae.

Laura Sue loved living on the farm. The Daniels had cows, chickens, goats and assorted dogs and cats. She remembers that she had a pet lamb named Daisy June and played with the goats and her dolls with her siblings.

“We would put a goat with us in the wagon, go down the hill and then walk back up to do it again!” she said.

One of her fondest memories is of her best friend, Maridonna Raga. When they were young, they enjoyed many exciting nights out in downtown Trenton.

“My parents would go to Trenton on Saturdays,” she said. “Maridonna and I would go to the Plaza Theater and watch a movie, then go to Cisco Brown Drugstore and have a butterscotch sundae. It was great fun.”

Her early years weren’t without tragedy. Both her mother and her brother Laurance contracted typhoid fever. She and her sister Nola Fae were sent to live with her Aunt Rose and Uncle Guy to protect the girls from getting the disease.

“They were second parents to us,” she said.

Unfortunately, her brother died. At that time, the family sought new medical care and Dr. Oliver Duffy saved her mother’s life, she said. Her mother recovered and the girls were able to go back home.

The Daniels family went to a local rural school called Locust Grove that was close to their home. It served students from first through eighth grade. She enjoyed school and loved to learn. After eighth grade, she attended Trenton schools, taking the bus to Central School for junior high and attending Trenton High School after that.

Throughout school, Laura Sue really liked learning arithmetic and she was good at it. She thought she would pursue a career as a secretary after high school. Her business teacher, Miss Aryann Crawford, thought that was perfect for Laura Sue. She even recommended Laura Sue to Loren Drummond, who sold Farmers Mutual Insurance in Grundy County, for her first job after she graduated from high school in 1951.

The business had never had a secretary before, so it was a learning experience for Laura Sue and her manager. In high school she had learned how to keep books, how to take shorthand and how to use an adding machine, among other things. The insurance company featured some interesting equipment.

“At Farmers Mutual I used a manual typewriter and a huge adding machine with 99 keys,” she said. “The one at school had only 10 keys.”

At Farmers Mutual, Laura Sue answered the phone and typed up the assessment notices with carbon paper on the manual typewriter. Since they hadn’t had a secretary before, things were slow at first and Laura Sue asked for more work. Since they didn’t have anything extra for her to do, she was allowed to bring her crocheting project in to work on during the down times. She said she was able to create an entire bedspread that first year.

Her responsibilities grew and she learned more about the insurance business in the eight years she worked for Loren. She explained that those years were exciting as she continued to learn more about the world of business and how things worked.

In 1959, local attorney Tom Layson approached Laura Sue about changing jobs and working at his law practice. Tom needed someone who was a quick study and was eager to learn. Laura Sue was ready for the challenge.

She explained that Tom was very patient and an excellent teacher. For example, he taught Laura Sue how to type a deed. He explained the deed, who the grantor and the grantee were, and even showed her how to look up the property on an atlas.

“I feel like I got my college from my employers,” she said. “I got hands-on training. It was a great place to work.”

In the 1960s, she went to night school at TJC, studying business law and bookkeeping to further her education.

While she was working with Tom, she first experienced the electric typewriter. She explained that the owner of Burton Typewriting from Chillicothe brought one for her to try. She didn’t like it at first and told him to take it back. The keys were way too touchy. He suggested she try it for another two weeks and guaranteed that she would want to keep the typewriter after that. It turned out he was right, and she began using the new typewriter, which turned out to be much faster and increased productivity.

She worked for Tom Layson until 1978 when she decided it was time to look at new opportunities. She ended up taking a job in Chillicothe at Harden, Cummins, Moss and Miller, a certified public accounting firm. This was a big change for Laura Sue. Her previous jobs had been for smaller businesses that employed only a few people. This was a much bigger firm with six bosses and around 20 other supporting people. Working with more people in a new town was an adjustment.

The accounting firm was a great fit for her, especially because of her love of math. At this firm she was again encouraged to learn on the job. During her years there, technology exploded. She learned how to work on a display writer word processor where the operator could view their work before committing it to paper. It also allowed electronic editing, which was an appreciated feature.

The display writer bridged the way to computers and Laura Sue easily made the change when personal computers became available.

She retired in 2005 and came back to Trenton.

Throughout her career, Laura Sue enjoyed her family and was close to them, though her brothers and sisters lived in Illinois. Her mother had passed away right after Laura Sue graduated from high school, and she and her dad made a home together. She was close to her father and enjoyed his company.

One of her fond memories was when she was on a bowling team in Trenton. Her dad loved to watch her bowl. After her team was finished, he would stay and watch the men bowl while she went out with her teammates.

“This was a fun activity for us both,” she said.

Her dad passed in 1964 and she continued to support her family. Her niece Sharon, her oldest brother Frank’s daughter, and Sharon’s baby came to live with Laura Sue for a few years. At that time, she owned a duplex and, in addition to Sharon, she had four girls living in an apartment in her house.

“I had five young ladies living with me,” she said. “It was an interesting time.”

Laura Sue said she was blessed to have such a wonderful family. She had 13 nephews and nieces. Eight have passed away.

“They were always part of my life,” she said.

Their names are Frank Jr., Helen, Larry, Tommy, Mike, Randy, Betty Rose and Jerry Lee, who have all passed, and Sharon, Gary, Melinda, Shirley and Shannon, who are still alive today.

She also had the joy of being a second mother to Maridonna’s children Becky and Mike McKee. After her friend died, the siblings continued to love Laura Sue as if she was their mom.

“I don’t know what I would have done without them, especially Becky who took care of me when I had cancer and invited me to live with her during COVID,” she said. “I am lucky to have them in my life.”

Throughout her life, Laura Sue has been interested in the history of her family and Trenton. After her retirement she was able to place more importance on this passion. Working with the Grundy County-Jewett Norris Library and the Grundy County Genealogy Society, she volunteered her time and took on a project to digitize all Grundy County newspapers and make them accessible through the library’s website. She was part of the Genealogy Society until it faded after COVID. Until her health declined, she was able to work at the library and help others interested in the subject and had a hand in keeping that department functional. With this knowledge, she said she was able to trace her family back to Ireland.

She was a past member of the Grundy County Museum Board of Directors. In this role, she made preserving the Baker Schoolhouse one of her special projects. She was also a past member of the Bert and Rose Hoover Foundation Board. She contributed to the administration of funds. She had a hand in preserving historic landmarks like the Plaza Hotel and the Grundy County Courthouse.

She has been happy to be part of her THS graduating class’ alumni planning committee and still enjoys their class activities today. She said Trenton’s alumni activities are her favorite events.

“Our association is one of a kind,” she said.

It’s because of her many volunteer efforts that in 2023 the Trenton Area Chamber of Commerce recognized Laura Sue as a Pillar of the Community.

Laura Sue has lived her life philosophies.

“I have always said that if you can’t change something, you should not worry about it. Just accept it,” she said. “The worry doesn’t help anything.”

She learned her other life motto when she worked for Tom Layson. An older man came in to create his will. Some of his children came in as well. There was a lot of uncomfortable discussion.

“One of the daughters-in-law made a statement that resonated with me,” she said. “I would rather see a sermon lived than hear a sermon preached. In other words, you need to walk the talk.”

Like many people who have made it to 92 years old, Laura Sue has had her share of health challenges. She had cancer and now has age-related macular degeneration, which has compromised her vision. She needs help getting around and with reading. She says she is fortunate to have so many helpful people in her life.

“Three young women have helped me through the years and Tabitha still does,” she said. “Their presence and help from wonderful friends have allowed me to stay in my house and still be part of the community.”

When asked, she is available to assist with reflection on Trenton as a community. She recently met with a person who was interested in Five Points in Trenton. She belongs to the Antiques Study Club and is able to attend thanks to her friend Cathy Clark McKay. Cathy’s mom was in Laura Sue’s graduating class. And she plays a mean game of Sudoku, even though she says she makes more mistakes now than she used to due to her vision issues.

It seems clear that Laura Sue is a resilient person who accepts her life as it is and continues to thrive.

“I haven’t let my vision issues get me down,” she said. “I try to say each day, it’s going to be a good day!”