Mary Lee (Yearous) Kerger passed away peacefully at her home on Sunday, March 27, surrounded by family. She was born to Albion and Beulah Yearous on November 11, 1936. Mary Lee spent her childhood years growing up on the family farm being spoiled by her parents and tormented by her brothers. She attended Balaton School where she graduated in 1955. She met her future husband and love Gene ‘Bud’ Kerger, through mutual friends. They were married on December 9, 1955.
Prairie Lives
We have been learning about the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic from its origins in Kansas; to its spread across the nation, aided by the movement of troops during WWI; to its mutation into a more deadly form over the summer; to its reaching our region in the fall of 1918.
The Lyon County News-Messenger first reported regional influenza cases in short, human interest entries called “Lyon County News-Notes” from contributors in townships and smaller towns as well as “Local Gossip” entries from Marshall. These local news briefs revealed widespread influenza cases by early October 1918.
Marshall’s “Local Gossip” section in the Oct. 11 edition reported multiple influenza cases, but ended with the reassuring words, “Marshall physicians report that the trouble is well in hand.” The situation was anything but “well in hand.”