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In 1883, John L. Cailey moved to the area of Ingalls, Brown County, Kansas to farm/ranch. A widower, he had recently married the widow of a fellow Civil War Veteran, Martha Jane Current Harmon. Along with his 3 children and her 3 children, they made their home in a "soddie" the first winter on the Kansas Prarie. The next year they built a proper home near Ingalls and commenced ranching with a herd of 500 cattle. In the Spring of 1886, Martha's lovely and beloved 13 year old daughter, Stella Harmon, died of measels and was laid to rest in a cemetery not far from the Platte River.

During the winter of 86' of terrible blizzard swept down the plains and the Cailey's, along with hundreds of others, waited out the blizzard while their cattle froze to death in winter's fury.

In the spring of 1887, John and Martha, along with their remaining children returned east to Champaign County, Illinois, from whence they had come so few years ago, full of hope.

Upon returning to Illinois, they began to ponder on the lonely grave of their beloved daughter, Stella, alone in her grave on the Kansas prairie. So, in 1888, John boarded a train in Illinois to retrieve the body of sweet Stella.

When he arrived, with the local undertaker, to claim the casket from the grave, he was told that it was necessary to open to casket to postively identify the remains!

When the casket was opened, even though dear Stella had been dead for 2 years and some months, all witnesses were shocked and amazed to find that her corpse was in almost perfect condition. They reported that their was only a small amount of discoloration along her jaw-line.

The local authorities said it must have been because of the alkaline condition in the soil. At any rate, Stella was returned to Illinois and lies near her mother, who died some years later, in the cemetery south of St. Joseph, Champaign County,Illinois.

While not really a Halloween Story, it is a story of love and devotion of parents and the fidelity of a family of which I am proud.

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