Chalkboard Thoughts

       Joey Laron Jackson was born on February 19th, 1965 in Duncan, Oklahoma.    Duncan, Oklahoma is a very small town east of Lawton, Oklahoma and northeast of Wichita Falls, Texas. Joey Laron Jackson lived there with his grandparents. Mrs Mary Williams was his grandmother.    On December 14th, 1977, Joey left his grandparents a note saying he was going outside to play football “if it’s okay with you”. He was a sweet and polite kid. He did not want to worry them.    He never came home from playing outside that day. Locals assumed that he had run away. It is hard to imagine a child running away before Christmas. It was just a couple of weeks away.    12 year old Joey was found on December 28th, 1977 near the railroad tracks in Duncan, Oklahoma. He was only a few blocks from his home. A business owner found him out in back of his business at 508 South 7th Street. He had been stabbed once in the abdomen...

        Sharon Gail Fowler was born on December 11th, 1963. Her mother was Florence Fowler.  She had an older sister named Theresa Kielp as well as 4 other siblings. Sharon was the youngest in her family.    She grew up in St. Louis on the 3300 block of  Lemp Avenue. That’s in an older historic neighborhood of St. Louis not far from the Mississippi River. You may have heard of the Lemp Mansion in that area. In the 1970’s this area would not have been the fancy neighborhood that it is now. The older historic neighborhoods were mostly in disrepair then. Large homes were often remodeled to accommodate several apartments. Today many of those homes have been restored to single family housing. It is a very desirable neighborhood in 2026.   Sharon was in eighth grade in 1978 at Shepherd School. She liked to go by "Cheri".    On Wednesday June 7th, 1978, Sharon disappeared. Her mother said that “she left Wednesday ni...

       Sheila Lynn Foley was born on November 25th, 1959 in Waterloo, Iowa. Her parents were Pauline Jean Sinnott Foley and Edmund G. Foley. Sheila was an only child.   Sheila was a 16 year old Sophomore at Oelwein Community High School.    On December 2nd, 1975, Sheila and a couple of friends went to Oelwein. Sheila’s friends stopped off and went inside the Paddock Lounge. Sheila opted to wait in the car.    When her friends returned Sheila was gone. Her handbag had been left behind in the car.    Searches initially turned up no sign of Sheila.    On December 10th, 1975, Sheila was found just West of the junction of Hwy 150 and Hwy 190 1 ½ miles south of Oelwein.  An Amish farmer spotted her body as he drove his buggy down the road.      Sheila was face down and perpendicular to the road. She had been abducted, sexually assaulted and it appeared at first that s...

      Arlene Gehrke was 58 in 1976. She had grown up in a very large family. She was a wife and mother and the church organist. She often practiced at Cottage Community Church all alone. I have not been able to find a photo of her.  That is upsetting because her cold case should be investigated. Without a photo it is hard to get people to care.   Farm wives can often be lonely. It’s good to have a church to go to. It’s a good way to keep up friendships and a way to do nice things for other people. Your little community can celebrate each other’s milestones. Arlene would have played for many Weddings and Christenings and Funerals. She would have played at all the Easters  and all the Christmases. How many people learned all the words to a hymn because she played it often? How many people get a tear in their eye when they think about the church music they grew up hearing her play?    On Saturday, September 4th, 1976 Arlene went to chur...