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Walter R. Arndt--Noel, Missouri was born February 10, 1893,
at Alta Vista, Kansas He married April 2, 1913, at
Howard, Kansas, To Lottie J. Tilton, who was born October
2, 1889, at Altamont, Kansas. They had an only son (born March 25, 1915 in Moline, Elk County) who
passed away September 3rd, 1972. He was buried Corinth
Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. [Leawood]

pocketseddie:

Thank you so much for such a quick response! I appreciate it. Another piece added to the puzzle.

[secession]

For information... a gentleman I have been doing research on in a totally separate area of inquiry turns out to have been married in Howard, on April 2, 1913 by a Rev. Nichols, pastor of the Howard Baptist Church. This appeared in a publication of the Steam Traction Association in 1973, a group of steam thresher and boiler enthusiasts.  Arndt was an engineer who used to work for Armour, the meat company, and later retired to Noel, Mo. in 1948. There they purchased and ran a jewelry store and watch repair shop.  He was the county surveyor for McDonald County, Missouri for 23 years. Interestingly, or by coincidence if you believe in that kind of thing... McDonald County also has an Elk River!   How about that?

In the Coffee Shop section of this forum, under a thread entitled secession there is information about an event that happened in 1961 of which Arndt was a vital member.  McDonald County renamed itself McDonald Territory and attempted to secede from the State of Missouri.  Arndt was appointed as the Postmaster General of McDonald Territory in addition to serving as the Chief Justice.  It was a very interesting episode in Missouri history and I would like any further information that anyone there in Elk County might be able to add.  I doubt I can get over to the courthouse or records center to do any hands-on research, but I would be especially interested in knowing the name of his wife.  Are there any local genealogists who might be able to help me with that bit of information? I would appreciate it.  My webpage about Mr. Arndt for any genealogists or history buffs is http://www.qsl.net/kg0yh/arndt.htm

[updated]

Updating the previous post to include newly found items from my further research.  At least one provisional government official was appointed later, and was not included in the original list on April 12, 1961.  Here is the updated listing as it now appears on my page:

Bob Nichols was the late appointment.

Elected Officials of McDonald Territory, Missouri
A Provisional Government  April 12, 1961


President, Z.L. McGowan   

Vice-President, Dan M. Harmon² 

Secretary of State, Lee Aaron Bachler 

Secretary of Labor, Bob Nichols

Secretary of Treasury, Roslyn Gorske * 

Attorney General, Robert (Bob) E. Yocum   

Secretary of the Interior in Charge of Indian Affairs, J. Olin Armstrong

Secretary of Health, Dr. J.S. Adams °

Press Secretary, Ralph "Windy" Pogue¹

Postmaster General, Walter R. Arndt   

Executive Vice-President in Charge of Grievances, Claude D. "Butch" Wyatt, aka C.D. Wyatt

The actual page has photographs now of most of the McDonald Territory officials, if you are interested.

http://www.qsl.net/kg0yh/mcofficials.htm

[visas]

[redacted from original post]

With all the sesesh talk on the forum lately, I cut and pasted from an old thread I posted a couple years ago.  ...

Quickly after that, the provisional government set up a process to issue visas to non-citizens. They then made visas a requirement for getting into the new Territory.
...

I just obtained this splendid piece of ephemera today! I still have not found one of the 1961 visas that W. Gray mentioned in the original post, but I obtained this souvenir visa that was issued to tourists in 1987, who visited the City of Noel, on Elk River.  I understand it is in very close similitude to the ones the provisional government issued in the original secession attempt.  Scans of front and back are included. Actual size is 3 1/2 X 2 1/2 inches.  As an observation, I think the sentiment they express re: aggressors, is still a valid one. 





The signature of "Saint Nick" is obviously a pseudonym. I will continue looking for other items of ephemera from McDonald Territory, and [hoping I am not violating any forum rules by so stating] would welcome offers from anyone having such material for sale.  Thanks.

[Elk River]

Believe it or not, the only reason I remember anything about that was because it was on a current events pop quiz given by my history teacher, Earl Knorr. He demanded that we see the news and read the newspaper every day and he was known for his pop quizzes.

I've enjoyed reading this topic, considering that we still hear about secession even in today's politics, most recently with Gov. Rick Perry of Texas sharing some thoughts.  I am especially interested in Diane's comments as I am involved in a research project leading up to the 50th anniversary of the McDonald County Secession attempt of 1961.  I have been tracking newspapers that covered the story in 1961, and apparently this event made the AP wire several times, and small-town newspapers that needed filler material picked it up. 

The only thing I could add to W. Gray's original post (which is quite good, BTW) is that the postage at that time was actually three cents for first class mail. I suspect that they made their labels/stamps say two cents to assist in it "not being in similitude" to current US postage.  This came as part of an advisory given to well-known philatelist Herman Herst, Jr. in connection with the Shrub Oak Local Post of 1953, and there are indications that Walter Arndt, Postmaster General of the McDonald Territory may also have been a philatelist and may have taken this issue into consideration.



If you are interested in seeing my research, the shortcut to my page is http://tinyurl.com/McD2011

I would be very interested in hearing of any further information about the McDonald County secession attempt itself, or of any information related to the McDonald Territory Private Dispatch (the official name of the local post they established for mail carriage outside of the territory).  Thanks!

The image attached is from a photo postcard from the 1950's, and yes, Elk River still runs clear and true!  The Noel post office is about two or three blocks from this bridge to the right of frame. Many of the McDonald Territory pieces are seen with postmarks from Noel, although their original purpose was to frank mail for private carriage outside of the "Territory."