Longtime Noel Resident Recalls Memories

RACHEL DICKERSON/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Longtime Noel resident Harmon Landon holds up a photo of himself as grand marshal of the Noel Christmas parade.
RACHEL DICKERSON/MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS Longtime Noel resident Harmon Landon holds up a photo of himself as grand marshal of the Noel Christmas parade.

Longtime Noel resident Harmon Landon recently shared memories of his life and of what the town used to be like.

He was born in Tiff City in 1928, one of nine children born to Bill "W.C." and Ruby Landon. He had three sisters and five brothers. He attended school in a one-room schoolhouse in Anderson, from first through eighth grades. He graduated from high school in 1945.

Landon spent two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, during which he was stationed at Staten Island, N.Y. He set up 90 millimeter guns and radar. He got out of the Army in 1953.

After his time in the Army, he moved to Noel and opened a gas station and nickel store on the state line. He ran the gas station for 40 years, he said. He worked on cars at the gas station. He also had 500 acres of land with about 100 head of cattle on the state line, he said. While farming he baled round bales of hay around the area, he said.

In 1952 Landon married Margurette Rhoten. They had two sons, Raymond and Gerald, who were raised in Noel. Landon has one grandson, Nick. Raymond Landon and wife, Betty, own Landon Feed in Noel.

Asked how Noel used to be, Landon recalled, "It used to be great. Shadow Lake was open every night. The soldiers from Camp Crowder would come down. It was quite a night. We used to have a theater here. Floyd Fine was the city marshal and his wife was Phoebe. (The feed store) used to be a Pontiac garage. Danny Harmon used to run a lot of property here. He was the mayor for many years."

Landon retired in 2015. Now he goes by the feed store and checks on his son and daughter-in-law and tries to help out a little, he said.

"I don't do much of anything. I'm retired," said the 88-year-old Landon.

Recently Landon served as grand marshal of the Noel Christmas parade.

"It was great coming down Main Street scattering candy. Bill Fountain drove me," he said. "I threw out a lot of candy for the kids."

General News on 01/12/2017