Anna Hagen’s birthday, two weddings, and the Kunkel brothers’ wartime accounts, with their conflicting details retained.
Family life in the newspapers
In July 1946, Ignatius Kunkel and his family welcomed about forty guests for Anna Hagen’s seventy-fourth birthday. The report identifies Anna as Mrs. Ignatius Kunkel’s mother, without giving her daughter’s first name. Relatives and friends came from several Missouri communities. Source: Salisbury Press-Spectator, July 12, 1946, page 1, “Birthday Dinner at Ignatius Kunkel Home”; clipping preserved in the family collection.
Two wedding accounts add names and relationships within Ignatius Kunkel’s household. His youngest daughter, Kathleen, married Leo Fessler, son of Mr. and Mrs. Tony Fessler, at St. Mary’s Church on April 22, 1947. Her brothers LeRoy, John and Norman took part in the wedding. Four years later, John, described as Ignatius’s eldest son, married Elsie Wolfskill, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John O. Wolfskill, at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church in Marceline on August 25, 1951. These accounts concern the younger John; they do not identify him with John of the 1877 marriage. Sources: Salisbury Press-Spectator, May 2, 1947, page 1; August 31, 1951, page 1.
The Kunkel brothers during World War II
A January 1944 notice describes twins Ernest J. and Clarence T. Kunkel visiting their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fidelus Kunkel, and their sister Dorothy at home. It also reports news from another son, Alvin F., serving in the South Pacific. That December, the Chariton Courier printed portraits of the three brothers: Clarence and Alvin in the Navy and Ernest in the Army. Sources: Salisbury Press-Spectator, January 28, 1944, page 1, “Kunkel Boys Spend Furlough at Home,” family clipping; Chariton Courier, Sumner Edition, December 29, 1944, page 1, “The Kunkel Brothers.”
The June 29, 1945 Press-Spectator brought news of Alvin’s death after a fire aboard the USS South Dakota. The article reports that he died on May 6 and was buried at sea that evening. It includes letters received by his parents describing his care and burial. Source: Salisbury Press-Spectator, June 29, 1945, page 1, “Alvin F. Kunkel Was Buried at Sea on Sunday, May 6.”
Ernest’s return to civilian life appears in a January 1950 announcement of his candidacy for re-election as Chariton County Circuit Clerk and Ex-Officio Recorder of Deeds. The announcement recalls his wartime wounds and hospitalization and says he was married and living in Salisbury. This notice records his candidacy, not the election result. Source: The Brunswicker, January 5, 1950, page 7, “Ernest J. Kunkel Seeks Re-Election as Circuit Clerk”; family clipping.
Unresolved details in the wartime reports
These are newspaper accounts, not independently checked military service files. The December 1944 Courier says Ernest lost his left foot; Alvin’s June 1945 obituary says his right foot. Those same articles give Alvin’s Navy induction as August 8 and August 7, 1943, respectively. A January 12, 1945 Press-Spectator report calls Ernest “Sgt.” in its headline and “Cpl.” in the body. The conflicting details remain unresolved. The January article is preserved as a family clipping, page 1, “Sgt. Ernest J. Kunkel Returns From Overseas.”