Ralph E Bell

BELL WAGNER CAMPBELL

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 4/18/2010 at 21:38:01

Woodbury County History 1984

Ralph E Bell
By Mae Bell

Ralph E Bell was the eldest son of William G Bell, Jr. and Ida Wagner Bell, former Moville residents. Ralph was born March 21, 1894, at Wausa, Nebraska.

His parents moved back to Moville in 1898 and bought a restaurant that was open twenty-four hours a day. Ralph was in the restaurant most of the time and the customers like to tease him. They called him ‘Bill Dugan’ after a cigar that was sold at the restaurant. Sometimes he would go spend the day with his aunt, Kate Wright.

The restaurant work and long hours was too much for Mrs. Bell’s health and they sold the restaurant in 1900. They later moved to Holt County, Nebraska, where Ralph and his brother, Roy, completed their elementary school work.

Mr. Bell managed a cattle ranch and also farmed. Ralph helped his father with the farming and helped feed the calves. The winters were cold and blizzards were severe. The cattle that did not have shelter spent days with they heads stuck in the straw stacks for protection. This type of winter weather gave Mr. Bell the urge to move to a warmer climate.

January 1914, Mr. Bell bought a farm near Houston, Missouri, and the family went by train to Cabool, Missouri, for their new home.

Ralph farmed for two years in Missouri, but the soil wasn’t the same as farming in Iowa. He longed to go back to relatives and friends. He came back to the Moville area in 1916. He worked as a farm hand for Harvey Wright and Henry Woods until he went into the armed services during World War I. He was stationed at Vancouver, Washington, until he was discharged from the army. He came back to Moville and started farming on his own.

He married Lily Campbell, March 28, 1923. They moved to a farm owned by John Wright north and west of Moville where he farmed for a number of years.

He became discouraged with farming after the milk he sent to market was dumped and Iowa had a drought for several years. They moved to Moville where he lived until his death.

He worked several years as a custodian at the Moville school. He was also employed at the Wright Hardware store for a number of years until his health began to fail.

He was a charter member of the Winks-Sparks Legion Post 303 in Moville.

He and Lily had no children.

He had two brothers, Roy and Cody, and a sister, Mae Bell, all living in the state of Missouri.

Ralph passed away, June 11, 1962, and is buried in Arlington Cemetery near Moville.

Lily remarried and lives in Fremont, Nebraska.