Notes:
Photo courtesy of Russell Scott Moomaw & Robert Austin Moomaw
Mrs. Minnie E. Moomaw was born in Highmore, South Dakota on July 25, 1886, the oldest daughter of Hiram Boucher Young and Sarah Jane Adams. The Young family had lived at Ames, Iowa before moving to South Dakota to take a homestead.
Mrs. Moomaw has been associated with this Western Nebraska community since the spring of 1913, when she filed on a homestead in the Wild Cat Hills south of McGrew. She left South Dakota in the fall of 907 and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in order to complete her education. She had completed only the 8th grade in South Dakota and then began teaching in the rural schools there. She completed the high school equivalent at Cotner Academy and then four years at Cotner College in obtaining a Bachelor's degree in 1914. During these college years, she became the college sweetheart of Leon A. Moomaw, and this friendship led to her filing on the homestead mentioned above.
Leon and Minnie Moomaw were married April 2, 1914 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and were the parents of four children. The oldest daughter, Evelyn Hubbard, died in 1968. The surviving children are Robert A. Moomaw of Houston, Texas; Phyllis Sears of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Russell Moomaw of Wayne, Nebraska. Mrs. Moomaw is also survived by two sisters, Mrs. Stella Rivett of Lincoln, and Mrs. Gertrude West of Sterling, Colorado.
In the fall of 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Moomaw moved to a tree claim north of Bayard, which had been filed on by Mr. Moomaw's parents. They lived on the farm until 1933, at which time a business was started on the corner of the farm. This business had the landmark address of Moomaw's Corner, and Mrs. Moomaw was the principal force behind the general store which remained for 27 years. In 1960, the business was sold and the Moomaws moved to the city of Bayard. Mr. Moomaw passed away in 1975. The Moomaws had resided at the Chimney Rock Villa since its opening in 1974.
