Robert Lincoln Beacher ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11}

   FamilySearch ID: K8CX-V3J.

  Birth Notes:

He was born at home at 35 N Main Street in Shenandoah.

  Burial Notes:

Cremated.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Moved: 31 Oct 1924, Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ¹³

2. Census in 1930 in Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ^{14 15} The 1930 Census in Allentown recorded owning a $15,000 home at 224 South 16th St.: Benjamin F. Beacher, mechanical engineer, 53, living with his wife, Bertha P., 45; daughter Ruth E., 24, occupation piano teacher; and sons B. Donald, 16; John H., 13; Bruce F., 10;, and Robert L., 5. Their home had a radio. Everyone and their parents were born in Pennsylvania.

3. Newspaper: Allentown Morning Call: Beacher Family Entertains, on 30 Jan 1932, in Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ^{16 16} The Men's Bible class of Grace E. C. church, Fifteenth and Turner streets. Rev. H. E. M. Snyder, pastor, sponsored an unusual supper party and program in the social rooms of the church last evening. It was called a "Family Night" and was attended by almost 100 persons, members of the class with their wives. So successful was the affair that it will be a regular event at intervals throughout the year. John I. Baker, president of the class, was a capable toastmaster during the dinner program, which featured two addresses by William Thomas and Rev. D. G. Reinhold. Mrs. H. C. Pottelger entertained with vocal solos. Following the dinner, there was an entertainment program staged by the Beacher family, which includes: Mr. and Mrs. B. Beacher, Mrs. Ruth Beacher Horn and Donald, John, Bruce and Bobby Beacher. The group formed an orchestra and offered instrumental numbers; there were also a number of songs, piano duets and solos, etc. The program concluded with a demonstration of various types of Indian war dances, performed by the Beacher boys in costume.

4. Census in 1940 in Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ¹⁷ The 1940 Census recorded at 224 16th Street in Allentown Benjamin F. Beacher, 62, living with wife Bertha P., 54; and sons John H., 23; Bruce F., 20; and Robert L., 15. Benjamin owned the home valued at $10,000. Benjamin had completed 4 years of high school, his wife and Robert 2 years. John and Bruce had completed 4 years of college. Benjamin was employed as a utility man in an office. Bruce was a soil technician with the Department of the Interior.

5. Newspaper: Morning Call, 12 Jul 1936, Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ¹⁸ To Get Charter Tonight
Troop No. 78, Boy Scouts of Grace E. C. church, will receive its charter in a service in which the investiture ceremony will be conducted by Troop 9 of Christ Lutheran church. Scout master John C. Ettinger and Assistant Scoutmaster Clarence R. Ziegler. The following members of the sponsoring troop committee have been active in the supervision of the organization under the able leadership of the chairman. Ralph L. Bear, Rev. F. G Yost, O. A. Siegfried, C. A. Lapp, Carson A. Kuhns, and Robert D. Miller. The boys to be invested at the service on Sunday evening and to become the charter members of the troop are Robert L. Beacher, William Becker, Charles E. Ettinger, Edmund C, Haas, Donald R. Hurter, Warren Loesch, David Morris, Warren J. Schuler, and Gerald Wieand. A number of other boys are endeavoring to qualify as tenderfoot scouts with the intention of becoming members of this troop as soon as the required tests have been passed.

6. Letter: Letter from Boy Scout Robert Beache to his parents, 6 Aug 1940, Kunkletown, Monroe, PA. ---------------------------------------
Camp Trexler Kunkletown, Pa.

August 6,1940

Dear Mom and Pop,

Well, here I am again, to give you a line of the activities, since my last letter.

Thanks for the laundry. I needed it very much. Now I guess I'm almost set for the rest of the season, which will continue only one more week after this. Incidentally, if you ever want to send anything up, no matter what it is, you need just drop it in at headquarters in town, as the camp truck comes up from there daily.

It's too bad you didn't come up on Sunday. The whole camp was spic and span, because the board of directors (Louie Neweiler and the rest of the drunks) came up yesterday to inspect. At supper time they handed out cigars, so tell pop I have a good ten center for him.

Now for the good news (bad news to pop). On Sunday afternoon I decided you weren't coming, so I and my boss went out in the woods to cut down a dead tree for our new porch railing. Well, as w? were walking along an old grown in lumber trail about a half mile from camp, what should we come across but a nice big rattler sitting on the side waiting for some sucker to pass. But of course, since I'm a Beacher, my seventh sense allowed me to see the snake before he even smelled me, so now he is safely locked in a cage. I'll bring him home alive after camp, Ha. Wait till Peanuts hears about it. And I didn't even use a rake or mop handle like he use to. The only thing I had was a two-bladed axe. Anyhow, I'm not bragging about it, because it was a bad chance.I named her Bertha, because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Ha.

We haven't had any rain for quite some time and the weather has been awfully hot. During inspection to-day another kid fainted. Too bad, too bad.

My fishing is getting better, but I haven't gotten anything real big in a while. But who knows. Some big 22 incher may be waiting now to take my fly when I go down fishing this evening. Thank pop for his flys. I'm trying them all, and some of them work darn good.

I haven't found a beetle as yet, but as soon as I find one I'm going to use it.

Boy, I almost died laughing at Anne's note. That was a wow.

Tell her I'm feeling fine, and she should keep her panties on till I come back, so I can beat her up. Best wishes to Ruth and Alden, and the other little Horn.

I guess I'd better shut up now, before it gets too boring so

Au revior

Your prodigy,
Robert L.

P.S. Boy, right now the sky is purple, and I had to take the letter down. It looks like we're in for something. Here it comes. So long.
---------------------------------------.

7. Newspaper: Morning Call: Robert Beecher Is Third of His Family Named Chief of Scout Organization, 15 Apr 1941, Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ¹⁹
Robert Beecher, named chief of the Order of the Arrow at the Scout organization's spring banquet last night, was the third member of his family to be named to that position. The banquet of the honorary brotherhood of men who have been leaders In the activities at Camp Trexler was held In St. James Lutheran church, 11th and Tilghman Sts. It was a reunion of the Scouts and Scouters who during the years of the Camp Trexler program have been outstanding in camo life. Beecher was named lodge chief to succeed Owen Ashman of Palmerton, toastmaster at last night's affair. Previously John and Bruce Beecher have served as lodge chiefs. The other officers named last night were Joseph B. Walker III, secretary, and Fred B. Schneck, treasurer. The three officers are Allentown men. Clyde C. Bishoff, handwriting analyst was the speaker at the banquet and analyzed the handwriting of many of the men attending. He showed how personality and traits of character can be determined from various types of handwriting. The work of the Order of the Arrow and its influence in the Boy Scout camp were stressed by Henry M. Faucett, scout executive, and Edgar Weaver, senior scouting committee chairman. Group singing was led by Robert Brobst. Members of the banquet committee included Robert Beecher, George Trexler, Robert Butz, Robert Hammond and Boyd Walker, chairman.

8. Newspaper: Allentown Morning Call:, 5 Apr 1942, Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ²⁰ Robert Beacher, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin F. Beacher, 224 S. 16th St., who is a freshman at Penn State college, spent a short holiday with his parents over the Easter weekend. He will return to college this morning.

9. Occupation: student at Pennsylvania State College on 30 Jun 1942 in State College, Centre, PA. ²¹

10. He was described as 5' 9" 150 lbs, brown eyes, black hair, dark complexion on 30 Jun 1942 in Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ²¹

11. Residence: 224 S. 16th St., Allentown, Lehigh, PA on 30 Jun 1942 in State College, Centre, PA. ²¹

12. Military from 14 Dec 1942 to 21 Oct 1945 in State College, Centre, PA: Army Air Corps Reserves. ²² Name: Robert L Beacher
Name (Original): BEACHER ROBERT L
Event Type: Military Service
Event Date: 14 Dec 1942
Event Place: State College, Pennsylvania, United States
Race: White
Citizenship Status: citizen
Birth Year: 1924
Birthplace: PENNSYLVANIA
Education Level: 2 years of college
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Military Rank: Private
Army Branch: Air Corps
Army Component: Reserves.

13. He was described as 5' 9 1/4" 150 lbs. Brown eyes, black hair, dark complexion on 14 Dec 1942 in Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ⁴

14. Residence: On hiis WWII Draft Registration he listed residence at 224 South 16th Street, Allentown, Pa.. But mailing address Alpha Zeta, State College, PA. His occupation was student at Pennsylvania State College. On 14 Dec 1942 in Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ⁴

15. Newspaper: Morning Call: Robert L. Beacher Given Commission, 12 Sep 1944, Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ²³ Robert L. Beacher, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin F. Beacher, 224 S. l6th St., was recently commissioned a second lieutenant at the Blythesville Army air field, Blythesville. Tex. Lieutenant Beacher began flight training at Penn State college and later was transferred to Maxwell Field. Ala., for further train ing. Lieutenant Beacher was graduated from Allentown High school in 1941 and was a sophomore student at Penn State when he enlisted in the Air Corps. He has a brother, Bruce, in the Air Force and a brother, John, doing malaria survey work for the Army in India.

16. Newspaper: Allentown Morning Call, 19 Aug 1945, Page 3. ²⁴ Lieutenant and Mrs. R. L. Beacher of Panama City, Fla., are visiting Lieutenant Beacher's parents, Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Beacher, of 224 S. 16th St. Lieutenant and Mrs. John Beacher will leave today for Tampa, Fla., where Lieutenant John is stationed at the Malaria Control Center.
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Beacher of Salladasburg are also visiting at 224 S. 16th St.

17. Newspaper: Morning Call: "Lieutenant Robert L. Beacher of this city was discharged from the Army Air Forces at separation center headquarters at Tyndall Field. Fla.", 16 Oct 1945, Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ²⁵

18. He was educated at Penn State University in 1946 in State College, Centre, PA. ²⁶

19. Newspaper: Morning Call: Local Couples Living In Trailers at 'State', 9 Feb 1946, Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ²⁷ Allentonians are among residents of "Windcrest," unusual trailer community established on the Penn State campus last fall, when married veterans enrolled under the GI Bill of Rights were unable to find accommodations. They are Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Beacher, 224 S. 16th St.. and Warren R. Adams and his family, 1133 W. Emaus Ave. Windcrest residents have elected their own municipal council with authority to levy and collect taxes, and a fire department. Comprising nearly 100 trailers, the community will be landscaped in spring.

20. Newspaper: Morning Call: The Robert L. Beachers Parents of Daughter Their First Child, 11 Apr 1947, Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ²⁸ Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Beacher of 224 S. 16th St. became grandparents for the ninth time with the arrival of a daughter, Nancy Lane Beacher, born April 3 to Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Beacher at the Bellefonte. Pa., General hospital. Nancy is the Beachers' first child. Mrs. Beacher is the former Darlene Smith of Lincoln, Neb. Mr. Beacher served for two and a half years as a co-pilot in the army air forces. After his discharge from the army he returned to Penn State college where he was graduated in June, majoring in agronomy. He is employed at State college in the research department, while studying for his master's degree. He was graduated from Allentown High school in 1941 where he was a member of the band, and was also a member of the Blue band at Penn State. He has been actively associated with the Boy Scouts in Allentown and was councilor at Camp Trexler for two years.

21. Newspaper: Northwest Arkansas Times: Dr. Robert Beacher To Head Soil Laboratory, 20 Jul 1949, Fayetteville, Washington, AR. Dr. Robert L. Beacher has been appointed assistant professor of agronomy with the University College of Agriculture, it was announced today. His duties will deal largely with soil testing.
Dean Lippert S. Ellis said that Dr. Beacher will be placed in charge of the soil testing laboratory, and that the entire work will be reorganized so that farmers' requests for soil analyses can be handled much faster than at present.
The new agronomist will assume his duties on August 1. It is expected that the present accumulation of work can be disposed of and the reogranization completed by the end of the year. Thereafter, it is hoped that the soil samples can be processed and reports made on a current basis.

22. Occupation: Assistant professor of agronomy at the University of Arkansas College of Agriculture on 1 Aug 1949 in Fayetteville, Washington, AR. ²⁹ Appointment of Robert L. Beacher as assistant professor of agronomy at the University of Arkansas College of Agriculture has been announced, effective August 1, 1949. He has been placed in charge of the college's soil testing laboratory and will also teach a course in soil fertility. He received his Ph.D. degree from Pennsylvania State College in June, 1949. He is a 1946 graduate of that school.

23. Newspaper: Morning Call: Begins Duties At Arkansas U., 3 Aug 1949, Allentown, Lehigh, PA. ³⁰ Dr. Robert L. Beacher, son of Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Beacher of 1935 Greenleaf St., began his duties as head of the research laboratory in the department of agronomy at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., on Monday. The 25-year-old Allentown man was the youngest graduate to receive a doctor of philosophy degree at Penn State college in its history when he completed his studies there in agronomy in June 1. Dr. Beacher was graduated from Allentown High school in 1941 and entered Penn State that fall. He enlisted in the Army Air corps in 1943 and served two and a half years, after which he returned to Penn State. Four years ago he married Darlene Smith of North Platte, Neb. They have a two-year-old daughter, Nancy Lane Beacher.

24. Occupation: teacher at University of Arkansas on 23 Dec 1949 in Fayetteville, Washington, AR. ¹⁰

25. Residence: 33 W. Prospect, Apt 3, Fayetteville, AR on 22 Apr 1950 in Fayetteville, Washington, AR. ⁴

26. Residence: on 12 Apr 1951 in Fayetteville, Washington, AR. ⁶

27. Newspaper: The Frederick Post, 8 Jun 1956, Frederick, Frederick, MD. ³¹ Irrigation farming offers one of the best hopes for decreasing unit costs and increasing profits for farmers in the Eastern half of the United States, it was indicated recently by speakers at a farm conference in the Mississippi-Arkansas Delta region.

Dr. R. L. Beacher, associate agronomist at the University of Arkansas, said that adquate feritility is a must for the irrigation farmer.

"Any humid-region farmer who is interested in irrigation is looking forward to higher acre yield and lower production costs," he said. "but water, in adequate quantity and at the right time, is just one of the plant growth factors limiting crop yields in this region.

Dr. Beacher said that specific fertilizer recommendations for any field to be irrigated should be obtained from one's own state soil testing service.

"A reliable soil test is the first step toward adquate fertility, followed by a trial of the test recommendations," he said.

28. Pan American Airways flight 157 from Rome, Italy to New York on 11 Sep 1956 in Rome, Roma, Lazio, ITA. ³²

29. Residence: on 18 Nov 1958 in Fayetteville, Washington, AR. ¹¹

30. Residence: on 5 Jan 1959 in Fayetteville, Washington, AR. ³³

31. Occupation: Southern Regional Director, National Plant Food Institute in 1960 in Atlanta, Fulton, GA.

32. Newspaper: Columbia Record: Plant Food Group Names Dr. Beacher, 10 May 1960, Columbia, Lexington, SC. ³⁴ ---
Plant Food Group Names Dr. Beacher
---
WASHINGTON\emdash Dr. Robert L. Beacher, well-known soil scientist, has been named southern regional director for the National Plant Food Institute with headquarters in Atlanta, Ga. Formerly southwestern regional director for the institute, Dr. Beacher's region has been expanded to cover 12 states as follows: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. He succeeds Dr. Samuel L. Tisdale, now with the Sulphur Institute. Dr. Beacher was a professor of agronomy at the University of Arkansas before joining the Institute staff in 1957. Paul T. Truitt, president of the institute, said that "in no way will the regional services of the institute be impaired with the enlargement of the new region, but, on the contrary, current programs will provide a closer working relationship between the fertilizer industry and the research and educational leaders to the land-grant colleges," adding that "we are fortunate in having the services of a scientist and leader of the calibre of Dr. Beacher." Dr. Beacher is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University where he received his B.S. degree in soils in 1946 and his doctorate in 1949. He Is author of more than 30 articles in the field of soil fertility and crop production. He was invited to the International Rice Commission meeting in Malaya in 1955 as a guest speaker and consultant for FAO, United Nations Organization, and also spent several weeks in Cuba in 1955 and 1956 as consultant on rice and soil testing problems for CUban interests. He served as fertilizer consultant for International Cooperation Administration in South Korea during the summer of 1956. He is a member of Alpha Zeta Sigma Xi, Gamma Sigma Delta, Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy.

33. Residence: on 26 Apr 1969 in Deerfield, Lake, IL. ³⁵

34. Residence: in 1984 in Bossier City, Bossier, LA. ³

35. Cause of Death: leptospirosis, 19 Aug 1984, Njala, Moyamba District, Southern, SLE. While working for the USAID establishing soil testing labs in Africa, in Sierra Leone, West Africa, he contracted leptospirosis and died within a few days. Leptospirosis is an infection caused by one of several pathogenic serotypes of the spirochete Leptospira.

Robert married Dorothy Darlene Smith, daughter of Arthur Raymond Smith and Lucille R. Owen, on 7 May 1945 in Saint Francis, Cheyenne County, KS.^{1 2} (Dorothy Darlene Smith was born on 9 Apr 1927 in Lincoln, Lancaster, NE ^{2 12 36 37} and died on 23 Jan 2010 in Bernalillo, Sandoval County, NM ^{2 37 38}.)