General Notes

Bessie spent most of her life working for and serving others in he rcommunity.  She served as secretery of the Macomb Alumni Association for over 40 years.   She was Church Clerk for Romulus Baptist Church for many years.

She is an actuve member of Tecumseh Chapter #30, Order of the EasternStar.  She is a Past Matron of that Chapter, having served three times in that office.   She  also served as Grand Representative to Saskatchewan, Canada in 1985-86 and as a Grand Representative to Utah in 2007-2009.

Her talents as a cook are appreciated by many.  She has volunteered her time to cook for church camp for Romulus Baptist Church for over 30 years.  She is often called up to bake a batch of cinnamon rolls or pies for fund raisers for school, clubs, and Eastern Star.  For many years she cooked banquet meals for the FFA and for the Macomb Alumni Association.

Bessie was honored in 2003 when she was chosen by the Macomb Centenniel Committee to be Co-Grand Marshall of the Macomb Centenniel Parade held on May 10, 2003.  The Committee cited the fact that Bessie, at age 83, had lived her entire life in the Macomb area and had contributed so much of her life to the growth and betterment of the community, she was a natural choice for one of the Grand Marshals. Also, both sets of her grandparents, Richard and Arie Burden and William and Etheldra Clement, were among the earliest settlers in the Macomb area in the 1890s.

Bessie researched the history of Macomb and wrote a history of the community to be published in a book containing histories of all of the towns in Oklahoma.  She also wrote articles for publication in the Shawnee News Star, the Pottawatomie County News, and the Oklahoma Sands newspapers prior to the Centenniel about her memories of early life in the Macomb Community.