I, the Kornerman, said all along that my speech at the Historical Society would not be all sports, like some might imagine. In this segment of the speech, I talked about a couple non-sports items but interesting things that had a strong Boone connection.
Obviously, in the following, I am providing much more detail than I did in the speech.
Mr and Mrs Forest Thompson, with two young daughters, Patricia and Mary Ellen Dowd, came to Boone in 1945. Mr. Thompson, the girls step-father, established a popular drug store, Thompson Drug, in West Boone, east of and on the corner, across from the Boone County Courthouse. Thompson eventually became a member of the Boone City Council.
The Dowd girls, not to be confused with Mamie Doud Eisenhower, entered junior high and graduated from Boone High School, Patricia in 1948 and Mary Ellen in 1951.
While in Boone Junior-Senior high school, Mary Ellen was active in dramatics and acquired the nickname "Mel," which an agent later turned into "M'el." M'el Dowd studied at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago before moving to New York City.
It was a quick turn for M'el. She began her professional debut Off-Broadway in the later 1950's and soon appeared on Broadway, most notably originating the role of Morgan le Fay in the long-running musical "Camelot."
M'el made other Broadway appearances in "Back to Methuselah," with Tyrone Power, "Everthing in the Garden," "Tiger at the Gates," "Dear World," "Not Now, Darling," and "Ambassador," among others. She also played in regional theatre and in more Off-Broadway roles, winning acclaim as Katherine Aragon in "The Royal Gambit."
During the 1956-2005 period, she appeared in films, TV movies and guest spots on TV episodes, including "The Wrong Man," with Henry Fonda," in 1956, "Man on Fire" with Bing Crosby in 1957, the 1986 film F/X as Joyce Lehman, and in the 1977 TV movie, "The Prince of Homburg," starring Frank Langella.
Continuing to act until 2005, M'el appeared in a guest role on the TV show, Law and Order." The New York Daily News wrote in 2001 that she played Mme. Armfeldt in a "Little Night Music, "deliciously." In Goodspeed Musicals 2003 production of "Me and My Girl," according to Variety, "Dowd is the cement that holds this production together." A New York critic wrote, "she is both imposing and intimate."
Television audiences saw her many times in, "The Defenders," "The Nurses," "Flipper," and "Naked City."
M'el married Henri Eudes, a native of France, who established a popular French restaurant in New York City and the couple had one son.
Patricia Dowd died in 2003, M'el in 2012 and Henri in 2013.
Then, there was the Boone connection to the famous "Missouri Waltz," which became the official state song of Missouri........."hush-a-bye, ma baby, slumbertime is comin' soon, Rest yo' head upon my chest while Mammy hums a tune."
There has always been a bit of a controversy about the advent of this song.
The song came from a melody John Valentine Eppel heard played by a Lee Edgar Settle. Mr. Settle, a rag-time piano player, wrote and played, "The Graveyard Waltz," which claimed to be the actual melody for the Missouri Waltz. Both Eppel and Settle claimed they wrote the song.
Through the years there have been many members of the Eppel family in Boone, with many involved in music.
John Valentine Eppel moved his family to Boone in 1876. He was a stationary engineer for the Northwestern Company for 15 years, worked at the Boone Cereal Mill and finally, worked for the interurban for a time.
His wife was Sophia and their children were Frank, John, Mellie and Theresa, BSH-1898. John was born in Germany in 1847 and died in Milwaukee in 1909. Sophia was born in 1849 and died in 1916. Both are buried at Linwood Park Cemetery in Boone.
K-----K
Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. Leave a message. To email your stories/memories/comments/death notices......http://kelleyskorner1@blogspot.com
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