This little researcher was pleasantly surprised to find out that one of Warren C. Wright’s twin daughters was still living in Hancock County and granted me an interview.
W.C. Wright (1894-1970) was a carpenter, farmer, poet and writer who called Hancock County home, even though he lived in other counties and out-of-state at times.
Leota O’Bannon, who now lives at the home of her niece, Linda Shull, greeted me in a nice outfit, sitting upright in her chair, with her hair nicely done — looking much younger than her 98 years. She told me getting old is no excuse for looking like a cat’s breakfast.
It is hard to believe Leota and her twin, Leola, who passed away in 2013, had such an inauspicious beginning.
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The twins came into this world on April 25, 1920, at only 3 pounds each. They could fit in a shoebox! The twins were actually christened Martha Leota and Mary Leola. Their sister Leata Ruth was born the following year in 1921.
Leota looks back at her early years with fondness. The Wright home was located where the Yacht Club, at the corner of 96th Street and Carroll Road, is today. The valley was not yet flooded with Geist Reservoir, so they could run down the hill and pick apples from the trees and climb to their hearts’ content.
1928 was a hard year for the twins Leola and Leota Wright. Leata Ruth died of appendicitis at age 7. By then, Anna May and Warren Corbly Wright Jr. “Corbly” had been born.
Though the twins came to love the McKay School (near Olio Road and 104th Street) as their favorite, Leota remembers she would become so homesick halfway through the day that their mother would pick her up and take her home or even stay through part of the school day.
She made friends in time, including Emeline (Edwards) Manship. The McKay School was about a two-mile walk from their home until about 1930, when the water company bought the property for Geist Reservoir.
All owners received a pittance for their property, with the contract stating that the land will never be resold. The twins and their family moved to a rental at the corner of County Road 1000 North (96th Street) and Olio Road on the northwest side, where the Highland Springs subdivision is now.
It was a shorter walk to school, but they lost the fruit trees in the valley that were flooded by the reservoir.
Though it is hard to imagine, Leota said she and her twin were naughty and tough in school. If one twin did not think of a prank, the other one would. The girls would switch seats in school to fool teachers and students; they even did this later on dates to switch out if one twin did not like the boy who asked them out.
If Albert or Alfred Bean slopped through puddles on a rainy day, splattering the girls’ nice dresses with mud, the girls took hold of splasher’s arms, swung him around, and dropped him into the puddle, even rolling him around a bit. The teacher saw, but he never said a world, even with a Bean boy soaking-wet in his seat, dripping on the floor. None of the boys messed with those twins.
Leota said even the teachers did not want to mess with them.
Besides holding their ground during recess, the two best activities were “shinny” (hitting a can with a stick) or baseball. The girls were both great hitters. In the winter, they built many snow forts and waged many snowball fights.
Leota remembers Alan Eastes, principal of the school, was a good fellow who helped to bring the students together after the school closed in 1942.
The original McKay School was built between 1858 and 1872. This building was closed in 1906 when the new school was constructed.
The Mt. Zion Church sat near the Mt. Zion Cemetery. Remember, several cemeteries in the area that have more than 20 interments had a church near or next to them.
The reunions for the McKay School and Church began in 1984 and continued beyond 2003.
