Bessie May Bellman and June Bellman Henthorne,her daughter,hail from Winfield.They write both prose and verse and Mrs.Henthorne was a reporter for years.Mrs.Bellman,when a girl,lived five years on a cattle ranch and to those five lonely years she credits her habit of introspection,meditation and writing.Much of her poetry and short stories are used in platform work.
Red Leaves.
Red leaves--Aflame in the air,aflame in the trees.Blue streams,smoky hills--Gold,gold the sunlight spills--Red leaves!
Dead Leaves--A swirl in the air-asleep neath the trees.Gone every lark and swallow--Haunting echoes bid me follow--Dead leaves!Bessie May Bellman--
Mrs.Henthorne's If is published in a New York reader.
If,in a bird-heart,beating neath the gray There chants a song,no matter what the day.If,in a bird-heart happy sunbeams shine,Why not in mine?
If,in a flower-face,beat down by rain,The hope of clear skies be in spite of pain--If,in a flower-face a great hope shine,Why not in mine?