I met this lady several times when I was a little girl and was visiting my grandmother, Edith Brittell, in Gravois Mills. My grandmother lived with Jeanette Washburn Marker in Jeanette's home for many years and helped care for her.
My grandmother, Edith Brittell, moved to Gravois Mills in the early 1950's.
Jeanette Washburn Marker was by then widowed and her sons, Clark and Guy, were looking for someone to live with her and cook and clean a little. Jeanette had one bad arm and needed a little help around the house. ( I was never told what was wrong with the arm, it was quite a bit larger than the other arm.) I remember Jeanette always wearing silky-type dresses with large sleeves. Edith ended up not only caring for Jeanette, but also working full-time in the big souvenier store they owned, Marker's Store.
I don't know the history of the store - I always assumed Jeanette's husband had built it and the Marker family had always run the place.
Located on one side of the Lake of the Ozarks, Gravois Mills was only a wide spot in the road then - but Marker's Store caught everyone's eye! It was just a treasure trove of wonderful things! The store was filled to the brim with Indian made things -moccasins, beaded belts, turquoise jewelry, Indian dolls, pottery. And treasures of all sorts, from souveniers to fishing tackle.
Clark Marker used every device he could to attract business - on the roof of the store was a bubble machine and little crazy windmills, and an ice chest always full of cold "pop" at the front door - very 1950's - but a magical place then to a little girl like myself.
In back of the store was a wonderful old, hand-built home where Jeanette lived. The lower half of the house was all stone, with a stone chimney and a back porch added on. The lower floor had two bedrooms, one for Jeanette, one for Edith. Jeanette had a great old kitchen with many iron pots - and there was a water pump on the back porch. She had an ancient upright piano in the living room - and let me plunk away on it anytime I wanted to!
The top floor of the house was one huge room with three giant brass beds set up, and a couple of walk in closets. I spent many summer afternoons playing up there with my dolls. Jeanette often had children and grandchildren come and visit her, so the upstairs room was always ready for company. My family lived in Indiana and it was a special treat to get to visit Edith for a few days in Gravois every summer.
We spent many evenings fishing on the Lake, or making homemade ice-cream which Jeanette loved. There was a stream in back of Jeanette's house where we all went wading and looking for crawdads.
The last time I was in Gravois Mills was in 1966. I don't know what became of the house, but Clark Marker kept the store after Jeanette passed and Edith still worked there then. Edith had moved into a small cabin nearby and worked at Marker's a few more years before her death in 1978.
Edith is buried in the same cemetery as Clark Marker, in Versailles Cemetery, Versailles, Missouri. Clark was always very kind and patient with me, and I always thought he was so handsome!
I see that you have "1907" as Clark's birthdate, but I found Social Security Death Index had the following:
CLARK MARKER 15 Jul 1918 06 Jun 1991 (not specified) (none specified) 491-18-9489 Missouri
GUY C MARKER 11 Jun 1912 14 Apr 1992 (not specified) (none specified) 490-01-1035 Missouri
SARAH MARKER 13 Mar 1884 Feb 1967 65037 (Gravois Mills, Morgan, MO) (none specified) 488-34-9425 Missouri
Attaching pics of Marker's Store in Gravois Mills, and a picture of Edith Brittell and Clark Marker, dated Aug 1957; also a view of Gravois in the 1950's, store left of center.
Dana Law
Sacramento, California