A Ride of a Thousand Miles with a Million Smiles

We have a photo in our archives that was taken in front of the house located at 510 S. Madison St. (south of McDonald’s). The girls on the unique teeter totter are Grace Gill and Musette Hedge.

We are not sure what the promotion was for but the quote “A Ride of a Thousand Miles” was often used in advertising at that time to demonstrate the long journey that many products took to get to market.  The Ozark Playgrounds Association also used the quote, “The Land of a Million Smiles” to promote travel to the area.

Grace Gertrude Gill was the daughter of William and Gertrude Gill. The Gill family operated a grocery in Webb City and William served several terms as mayor.

Grace was born on April 11, 1911, and died from a strep infection on May 5, 1927, at the age of 16. She is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.

Musette Hedge was born Dec. 10, 1909, in Webb City. She was the daughter of Claude and Mae Hedge, owners of the Hedge-Lewis Funeral Home.

Musette worked as a bookkeeper for Hedge-Lewis and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church. She married Max L. McGaughey, and after his death she married Chester Roney. Musette died on March 17, 1996, in Albuquerque, N.M., and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.