Notes for: Ledrue K. Ward

A grand-nephew, Larry Bartlett, tells this story: "Dad's aunts and uncles often visited the farm, bringing the latest gossip to Shady Lane. A favorite visitor was his colorful uncle, Ledrue Ward. During the oil boom years, Ledrue made good money as a derrick contractor. He raced around Ritchie County in a Stutz Bearcat, indulging a taste for liquor and shouting his strange oath: 'Son of a gun to Peeroo!' When I was a boy in the 1940's, I was taken to see Ledrue on his deathbed. He gave me a fistful of coins to buy ice cream and candy, saying: 'Son of a gun to Peeroo, boys need to have fun.' Those words seemed to summarize his high-spirited life."