It has been a while since I have written about a woman who was a lifelong single, but you will be reading such a story today. The birthday girl for today is Bessie Clyde Litzelfelner, who was born on June 23, 1886. That means today would be her 140th birthday. Bessie was the daughter of August and Willie (Hansel) Litzelfelner. Bessie’s story does not have much connection to local Lutheran church records. About the only church record we find in her family is that her father was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. By the time that Bessie was born, it appears that her father, after he got married, became a member of Apple Creek Presbyterian Church in Pocahontas. That is likely where Bessie was baptized. Since we cannot view the 1890 census, the first entry in which we find Bessie was in the 1900 census. She was the oldest child in her family at the age of 13. Her father was a farmer in the Shawnee Township.

Two things happened prior to the 1910 census. First of all, Bessie’s mother died in 1907. The Litzelfelner family also made a move to Jackson, Missouri. Bessie was 23 years old and called a housekeeper. Her father had the term “own income” for his occupation, which usually refers to a person being more or less retired.

The 1920 census is the last one in which we find Bessie’s father. At the age of 60, he was said to be starting a dairy. A hired man, Richard Kaiser, was living in their household, and he was caring for cows. Bessie was not given an occupation, although I figure that she was still housekeeping.

Bessie’s father died in 1929, so when we find Bessie in the 1930 census, she was the head of a household made up of her and her single sister, Virginia. Bessie was called a librarian for public education, and her sister, Virginia, was a music teacher.

When the 1940 census was taken, Bessie was living by herself and called a librarian for the public library.

The last census the public can view is the one taken in 1950. Bessie, at the age of 63, was still working as a librarian.

Bessie Litzelfelner died in 1978 at the age of 91. We can only view Missouri death certificates up until 1975 right now, so we cannot take a look at Bessie’s to determine a cause of death. Bessie is buried in the Apple Creek Presbyterian Cemetery in Pocahontas.

Forgive me for having a stereotyped image of a librarian in my brain. I suppose it is because so many librarians in movies are single women with an interest in promoting literacy among the public, but are not exactly the most friendly person in the room. That stereotype also includes a woman who is always demanding silence from the library patrons. I cannot help but think of George Bailey’s wife in the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. After George was no longer “living”, she was portrayed as a lonely, single librarian who was no longer the attractive wife of a successful businessman. I am not going to portray Bessie in that way because I have no idea about her appearance or her personality. I will put the best construction on it and say that she was a friendly librarian at the local public library who put a smile on her face and assisted both adults and children in find the reading material that they desired.