On July 7, 1912, Donna Hortense HILL and Wilbert Ethridge LYNCH were maried at Allendale, Missouri. They set up housekeeping near their immediate families. Wilber farmed and did some trucking for hire with his Model T Ford truck.

By January 1930 Mr. LYNCH felt a need to expand. He purchased 320 acres in Section 9 of Benton township knows as the Ed O'CONNOR place and 160 acres on Platte River that joined it in Section 10 and moved his family of five children to the Maloy vicinity. This farm is 1/2 mile west and 1 1/4 miles north of town. The house on the west side of the road was built when there were still Indians going up and down the river. Originally it had a living room-kitchen and a big back porche, two bedrooms upstairs and a full basement laid up with limestone roack and a dirt floor. By the time they moved, a bedroom had been added on the north both upstairs and down. The back porch had been made into a kitchen. Apparently Mr. O'CONNOR did this to accomodate his family of five children. It was the first house to be painted in the area and was a directional landmark known as the "Big White House on the Hill."

The LYNCH family lived here and farmed and Wilber increased his land holdings. He and son Bob began and maintained a good herd of Angus cattle for many years. In 1962 Mrs. LYNCH became interested in a new breed of cattle she had read about called Charolais. She interested the men and eventually the Angus disappered from the farm through cross breeding and sales.

Wilber was the first in the county to try hybrid seed corn. He planted Pioneer 307. He liked it and became a dealer selling seed corn at the farm.

The family became woven into the community through school activities where Cleo and Bob were star players on the outstanding Maloy teams. Mrs. LYNCH was a charter member of the Farm Bureau-Extension Neighborhood Club. Wilber served on the board of Federal Land Bank for a time. They were both avid fishermen, going to Lake Winnibigoshish in northern Minnesota many summers.

Wilber and Donna went to Nebraska to bluegrass for several years seeling the tons of seed to Rudy Patrick Seed Company in Kansas City. Eventually they went up into South Dakota in pursuit of grass and they purchased 31 quarters of land there and mainted a home at Woonsocket, near Huron.

In 1944, son Bob was married and made his home on the home farm. Buck, as Wilber was known, and Don, as he called Donna, bought a home in Mount Ayr and moved there that fall. They continued to commute from Iowa to South Dakota until her death in April 1965. They had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in July of 1962.

Mrs. LYNCH'S widowed sister, Lois, had made her home with them for three years assisting with the household chores. In December, 1965, she and Wilber were married. They also spent time in Dakota until Wilber's eyesight, diabetes and heart condition prevented it. Wilber passed away July 24, 1974. They are buried in the southeast part of Rose Hill Cemetery in Mount Ayr. Donna and Wilber's children included Aubrey, Irma, Arvil, Cleo and Bob.

NOTES: Wilber E. LYNCH, son of William Riley and Emma Pearlee (SCHOONOVER) LYNCH, was born February 22, 1863, and died July 24, 1974.

Aubrey LYNCH and Mary HOBBS were married December 21, 1935. Mary was a country school teacher and they were not allowed to be married so the wedding was not announced until spring. Aubrey farmed several farms in the Maloy neighborhood and finally bought the farm on the corner of Highway 2 and 25. They lived there 15 years. Aubrey became associated with his father at the ranch in Dakota and he lived there. Mary and Stephen lived in Mount Ayr while Steve was a high school student and Ronald was a student at Iowa State University. Dr. Ronald LYNCH began a veterinary practice in Huron and he and his wife and son moved there. Mary and Steve went there to live also. Mary at this time began college classes and realized her dream of becoming a home economics teacher. She taught three years and Dr. LYNCH, who had moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his family, which now included a daughter Laura, began to show signs of paralysis. He died at age 37 from a benign tumor on the brainstem.

Aubrey's younger son Stephen lives in Camsack, Sakatchewn, Canada. He is married and has a small farm with Charolais cattle. His daughter Gina lives in Brookings, South Dakota.

Aubrey had open heart surgery in the spring of 1986 and is closing out his operation of land and cattle and horses. He and Mary will spend the winter in their home in Mesa, Arizona

Orb and Mary celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last December [1986] with their family present.

Irma and Avil LYNCH graduated from Maloy High School in 1934. They both went to NWMSU (Northwest Missouri State University) at Maryville, Missouri. Irma taught grade school in Clarinda, Kellerton and Modale and then at Maloy High School in 1943-44. She then married Esterly NELSON of the Clearfield community. They made their home in Mount Ayr and managed an Armour hog buying station. Later they put up a building and sold farm seeds and supplies. A son Royce was born in 1950. He is married with one daughter and works in a bank in Minnesota. A daughter Kay was born in 1952. Time would show her to be mentally handicapped. She is a happy soul and goes each day to the Sheltered Workshop in Mount Ayr. She makes her home with the GLICK family of Mount Ayr. In her active years, Irma belonged to many clubs and was especially talented in arranging flowers which she did for festive affairs and for flower show competition. They were active members of the Mount Ayr Christian Church. Eke and Irma both died of heart problems in 1984 and 1985 respectively. They are buried at Rose Hill [Mount Ayr].

NOTES: Easterly "Eke" NELSON, the son of Lars and Anna Kristine NELSON, was born near Defiance, Iowa March 26, 1910, and died in January of 1981. He served in Europe during World War II. He married Irma LYNCH December 21, 1948. Kay Ann NELSON was born in Mount Ayr on February 1, 1952, and died January 6, 2011. She was interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, Mount Ayr.

Avil LYNCH'S first school was a country school on the Iowa-Missouri line south of Redding. Then she secured a job teaching in the Elmo, Missouri area and there she met and married Homer WOOD, a farmer. Homer died in 1970 of cancer. Four children were born to them and after they were in school she renewed her certificate and taught elementary classes in schools close to Elmo. Their son Dale is an accountant living with his family in Indiana. Lyle Joe was killed in a car accident. He would have graduated from NWMSU with honors the week following the tragedy. Donna is a school librarian and with her two sons lives in Burlington Junction, Missouri. Lowell and his mother farm together and raise hogs. He has three children.

NOTES: Avil Eileen (LYNCH) WOOD was born May 9, 1916, and died March 2, 2008, Maryville, Missouri. She married at Maryville, Missouri on May 24, 1921 to Homer F. WOOD. Homer F. WOOD was born June 7, 1903, and died February 18, 1972. Lyle Joe WOOD was born July 1, 1946 and, died at the age of 21 years. May 4, 1968. They were interred at Lamar Cemetery, Elmo, Nodaway County, Missouri.

Bob and Elizabeth LYNCH still make their home on the LYNCH farm over 42 years of mariage. Elizabeth is a native of Lotts Creek township in Ringgold County.

In 5 1/2 years, four children arrived to liven their home on the hill where the summertime scenery is the "greatest in the world." The children had barns to play in, ditches to explore, ponds to fish, 4-H calves to feed and show and friends galore who came to share it all.

By 1986 a family room had been added to accomodate the 11 grandchildren who often came to share the country delights. It was a big treat to visit for a few days with cousins and play on the big swing set in the yard or ride in the back of the pickup with Grandpa at the wheel to the Maloy gas station that they always called "The Pop Shop."

The four children, Teena Eileen, David Lee, Alan Craig and Randall Douglas all went to grade school in Maloy. Craig an Randy also went to Delphos and then to Redding. They rode the same bus, but it took three bus drivers to get them there.

The family has continued to farm the land Bob grew up on. This includes 240 acres owned by the Dan CANNY heirs which Wilber rented for 54 years.

Bob and Liz have been active in the community as 4-H leaders. Bob served on the Maloy Independent School Board at the time of reorganization with Mount Ayr. He also served on the FmHA County Board for a time. A basketball knee injury kept Bob from serving in WW II.

Liz is best known for her contribution each week to the Mount Ayr Record-News. She has been the Maloy correspondent for 22 years.

On May 7, 1984, their children planned and carried out a surprise 40th wedding anniversary celebraiton dinner for close family members.

Teena is an LPN at the Oskaloosa, Iowa hospital. Her husband Ron GATER is a self-employed computer programmer. They met at Iowa State University and have a 20-year-old son Eric Charles, a high school senior Brian David, and a daughter Bethany Rochelle who is 11.

David is the main cog in the farm operation since his father's retirement due to arthritis. he, after two years at Iowa State and 14 months in Vietnam, married Nancy DAILEY of Diagonal. David's love of good cattle, particularly Charolais, has spurred him to keep improving his herd. Their 14-year-old son Jason David has shown home-grown champion heifers and their daughter Meggan DaNae began to follow his showing success this [1987] summer. Nancy is a beautician.

While in high school David proved himself to be a good trackman. He anchored a two-mile relay team that held a school record for many years and also ran in the 880 relay.

After graduating in 1967 from high school, Alan Craig LYNCH went to Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis for two years to learn the carpenter trade. He married Ginger JOBE of Tingley and three children were born: daughters Heather LaNae and Holly RaNae and son Robert Alan. He built five lovely homes in the Mount Ayr and Beford areas including one for himself north of his parent's where Al MATTHEWS had lived. Craig and his second wife produced a son, Lucas Levi, now 5.

Craig, Holly and Lucas live in Columbia, Missouri where Craig works at his trade. Heather and Robert are in Des Moines with their mother.

Randall at age 37 is one year younger than Craig. He married Donita (HAINLINE) and lives near Creston where she is a home economics teacher. Randy worked at many trades and farmed before going to Southwestern Community College in Creston to major in electronics. He is now qualified to work on and install CB and police radios and inter-telephone systems and computers and is employed by Kerns Electric of Conway.

Randy and Donita have two daughters, Emily Elizabeth and Valerie Danielle.

SOURCE: Maloy, Iowa Centennial History: 1887 - 1987 Pp. 141-43.

Courtesy of Mount Ayr Public Library

Transcription and Notes by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2011