Laura Frances Harden

Frances, in the middle, with Duane and Willis and some hired hands for the summer. It must have been difficult for Great-Grandma Harden to style her curly hair into the fashion of the day!

Frances, Duane and Willis in their sweet Sunday best.

Here's Frances with her mother, Florence.

Frances and Junior Eubank and their family.

I have been working furiously on the history to the Harden book and so haven't had time to post anything, although people have been sending me lots of great material. Here is the story of Frances, which her daughter Alice was nice enough to share.

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Laura Frances Harden was born September 2, 1920, at Protection, the daughter of Paul and Florence (Bard) Harden. She was born in a house built and occupied by their maternal grandfather, E.D. Bard, as was her brother Duane. They were raised in the house in Lexington built by their paternal grandfather, Charles Harden.

She attended grade school at the Lexington “Little Red School House.” Her family attended the Methodist church and later the Church of God at Lexington. She graduated from Protection High School in 1938. She attended the Dodge City Business College for one term.

On December 2, 1938, she married Junior Eubank at Kingman, Ks. She was a great farm wife and worked hard to provide a loving home for her family. She always had a garden, helped the kids with their 4-H projects and school work. Her children are Terry Eubank and Alice Rich of Ashland, and Paul Eubank of Coats. She had seven grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. She and Junior were devastated by the death of two very young granddaughters.

Frances is remembered to her brothers as “Sis.” Being the oldest, she helped her mother from an early age to care for them. Her six brothers always held her in the highest regard and sought her advice on many things. She was a wonderful cook and seamstress and a fine homemaker. She was also a great Sunday School teacher for the adult class at the Church of God in Ashland. She was an avid student of the Bible, and very knowledgeable in its mysteries.

After her children left home, Frances began to paint. She was a wonderful artist and her family members have her works in their homes. She received certification from the Famous Artists School in 1968. Her works were exhibited in many art shows, including the Kansas State Fair. Her memberships included the Kansas Watercolor Society, the Kansas Academy of Oil Painters, the Kansas Art Guild, the Topeka Art Guild and the Protection Art Guild.

In her later years, fibromyalgia made it impossible for her to exercise much, but she always maintained her trim figure, and her table was always set with nutritious food. Unfortunately, she developed uterine cancer late in her life. She beat it back for a few years, before succumbing to it in 2003. We all miss her.