Editing Avilla, Missouri (section)

===1900–1970===

====The Bank of Avilla and Robbery of 1932====
The [[Bank of Avilla]] was established September 18, 1914, and the building was completed in 1915. Samuel Salyer was the first majority stockholder and cashier (the title "cashier" was applied to bank officers & managers).<ref>Judicial and statutory definitions of words and phrases, Volume 1 By West Publishing Company, 1904. ppg 1000.</ref>  Mr. Ivy E. Russell became majority stockholder and cashier in 1919, remaining for its duration, with the stock ledger ending in 1944.  Handling farm and business loans, the small bank remained profitable even through the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s, though records are incomplete.<ref name="The Powers Museum">The Powers Museum, Carthage, Missouri Library & Archives</ref>  This in itself is quite remarkable as almost half of the banks in America  had either closed or merged in the 1930s.<ref>Article, CARPE DIEM: Great Depression, by Professor Mark J. Perry, September 27, 2008</ref>  The productive farms surrounding the town had established Avilla as a valuable agricultural and livestock raising community.

The Bank of Avilla was the target of a successful armed robbery on May 18, 1932, by members of the notorious "Irish O'Malley Gang", which also resulted in the kidnapping of the cashier.  The O'Malley Gang were typical Depression-era outlaws who had merged with another group of thugs known as the "Ozark Mountain Boys".<ref name="Irish O 2011">Irish O'Malley & the Ozark Mountain Boys by R. D. Morgan, New Forums Press (October 22, 2011)</ref> On that Wednesday in 1932, the bank cashier Mr. Ivy E. Russell was robbed at gunpoint inside the bank by two men.  He was then kidnapped and driven toward Carthage, Mo, where he was tossed out of the car and left by the roadside.  One of the culprits was a "sawed-off shotgun wielding gangster"<ref name="Irish O 2011"/>  named Jack Miller, who drove the getaway car. It is not known if the undisclosed amount was ever recovered, and records do not show if or how bank customers were reimbursed (notes and deposits were not insured at this time).  After a lengthy spree of bank hold-ups, store robberies and murders throughout the Midwest, all of the O'Malley Gang were eventually captured.  Some gang members were killed or found dead, and  one was sentenced to a seventy-five year prison term for the Avilla bank robbery.  Additional facts about the crime can be pieced together through various computerized data sources, some of which include: archived editions of the Miami Daily News Record (Oklahoma) dated May 19, 1932,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/miami-daily-news-record/1932-05-19/|title = Miami Daily News Record Archives, May 19, 1932, p. 1|date = May 19, 1932}}</ref> and from [[The Joplin Globe]] dated October 8, 1939.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/tags/bank-of-avilla-robbery|title = NewspaperArchive &#124;bank-of-avilla-robbery historic newspaper articles including obituaries, births, marriages, divorces and arrests}}</ref> In 1938 Frank Layton and Jack Miller were pulled over by police in Arkansas, and were charged with violating the 1934 National Firearms Act (because of Jack's sawed-off shotgun).  This in turn became part of a famous landmark [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]] case known as "[[National Firearms Act|The Miller Case]]" and [[United States v. Miller]].  Jack Miller himself was murdered one month prior to the Supreme Court's decision.  Jack's bullet-riddled body turned up on the bank of Spencer Creek in Rogers County, Oklahoma.<ref name="Irish O 2011"/>

In spite of having been robbed and kidnapped, Mr. Ivy E. Russell continued to operate the Bank of Avilla for at least twelve more years.  A great crime wave of robberies and violence swept across the Midwest in 1932.  Following the Avilla caper, Mr. Russell increased security measures by keeping a large caliber firearm behind the teller window, and additional measures that remain a secret to this day.  It is known that [[Bonnie & Clyde]] of the infamous "Barrow Gang" were near the area in [[Joplin, Missouri]], mere months after the Bank of Avilla robbery by the O'Malley Gang.  The Barrow Gang were undoubtedly "casing-out" banks to rob as well.  Local lore has it that Clyde Barrow entered the Bank of Avilla, looked Mr. Russell in the eye, and then saw his .45 holstered while he stood behind the teller window.  Clyde allegedly tipped his hat, said "'Afternoon", then turned around and promptly left.  Though this is local legend, it is safe to assume that many other Depression-era hoodlums passed through town as well. The bank always remained open during normal hours, with Ivy E. Russell as the cashier.  The Bank of Avilla was never robbed again.<ref name="Irish O 2011"/>

As more roads were paved and transportation in the vicinity significantly improved, the need for a local bank diminished.  At some point around 1944 its assets were transferred to the [[Bank of Carthage (Missouri)|Bank of Carthage]], and the bank building was vacated for a few years.  The property was then leased by the government April 1, 1952, to house the old US Post Office which was in need of a new location by that time. The historic building has remained a [[post office]] ever since.<ref name="The Powers Museum" /><ref>Bank of Avilla Minute Book 1914–1924</ref>

====Avilla "Gets Kicks" on Route 66====
[[File:MissouriRoute66SignSmall.svg|left|60px]]
The trail that went through the center of Avilla east & west was known as "Old Carthage Road", and it was paved and became part of [[U.S. Route 66]] in the late 1920s. This kept business flowing as the little town became one of the stops on "[[U.S. Route 66|The Mother Road]]", the main highway through the heart of America in those years. Population growth had already apexed before the 20th century but the town continued to make modern improvements such as a volunteer fire department, a hardware store & lumber yard (owned by Raymond Ziler, burned in 1971), a barbershop, a beauty salon, (Florida Melugin's or "Old Flo's") tavern, The Avilla Cafe (Jack & Nadine "Sours" Couch), several auto service stations (in town and close proximity) and repair shops for farm equipment and automobiles, a farm implement sales (Chapman-Follmers), a seed mill, a [[Scout (Scout Movement)|Boy Scout]] meeting hall (Scoutmaster Joseph A. Norris Sr.) and in later years even an arena grounds was constructed for the Avilla [[Rodeo]] (Avilla Saddle Club) {{convert|1|mi|km}} west of town.  A larger school building was also built, and the old [[one-room school]] houses which were still operating and spread out in that part of Jasper County were consolidated and centralized in Avilla.  The original country schoolhouse teachers were brought together to form the elementary/middle school [[Avilla R-13 School District]]. The Avilla school became the only one in the district. Because the school spans grades kindergarten though eighth, high school level students thereafter were sent to neighboring [[Carthage Senior High School (Carthage, Missouri)|Carthage]], [[Sarcoxie, Missouri|Sarcoxie]], [[Jasper, Missouri|Jasper]], [[Miller, Missouri|Miller]] or [[Golden City, Missouri]], for continued studies.<ref>The Powers Museum,  Carthage,  Missouri Library & Archives</ref>

[[File:Avilla School.jpg|right|thumb|[[Avilla R-13 School District|Avilla R-13 School]] in 2009,  home of the Panthers. This red brick addition to the older school building was constructed in the 1970s.]]