Amanuensis Monday - Henry & Victoria Busch - Pt 2

Excerpted from the book "Mayfield: Then & Now" by Elaine Evans Clark and Sherry Stocking Kline, published in 2003.

Henry had a motorcycle for several years, and he and Charles Rerick traveled together frequently.  The Mormon young traveled through this part of the state.  They were going on mission tours, and several of them stayed with the Hembrow Brothers and worked summers on their threshing crew.  After a couple of years, Henry decided to stay over the wintertime on this farm.

Henry fell in love with Victoria, "Babe," and on October 1, 1917, Henry L. Busch and Victoria F. "Babe" Hembrow went to get married in Wichita, and came home to live with William and Ollie Hembrow.

Henry and Victoria stated farming, and the story that was told was that Henry would not let "Babe" drive the hose team; she only drove the mules.  Henry also protested that Victoria farmed in crooked rows, and Victoria's answer to that was that "you could plant more corn in crooked rows than in straight ones."

There were four children born to this family, (Eldest son still living), Robert Adel Busch, Betty Jo Busch, and Anita Mae Busch.  Before Anita Mae was born, there was another house built, one-half mile from the earlier house.

During the war, the Busch family made a lot of changes in their homes.  Eldest son went to the service, Robert A. "Bob" married June Maxine Force, Betty Jo was in Nurse's training at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, and Anita Mae was still in high school in wellington.  After high school, Anita Mae attended college at Southwestern College, Winfield, and received her Master's Degree at Pittsburg, Kansas.

Betty Jo married George E. Weber. and they had one son, Henry Leroy, named after her two grandfathers; she now has seven grandchildren.

Anita Mae did not marry but enjoyed helping raise "all the little kiddies in her care," some of her nieces and nephews.  Anita Mae died of cancer on September 18, 1999.

Bob and June continued farming until he retired and they had four children, 11 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.