(http://thebestofusa.com/thrutheyears/South/Missouri/campcrowder.html)
(http://thebestofusa.com/thrutheyears/South/Missouri/campcrowder.html)
Here is a well-cited anecdote about the study of the Lights:
1946: In 1946 the Army Corps of Engineers supposedly studied the Hornet Light and could not find a cause for it. They called it a "mysterious light of unknown origin." (http://www.ghosts.org/ghostlights/hornet.html) During World War 11 the U.S. Corps of Engineers spent weeks in the area with the latest scientific equipment. They tested caves, mineral deposits, highway routes, every possible logical explanation as to why the lights existed. They came away baffled. (http://www.ionet.net/~paroales/Ghost.htm) In 1946, the US Army Corps of Engineers from Crap Crowder(sic! They meant Camp Crowder) surveyed the area and tested caves, mineral deposits, highway routes, and every possible explanation. (http://www.rmaonline.net/cat/newsletter/joplin2.html)
There is a Camp Crowder (1943 - 1946)
On 26 Nov 1943, the 60th Signal Radio Intelligence (RI) Company was constituted in the Army of the United States, and on 23 December 1943, activated at Camp Crowder, Missouri. During WWII, Camp Crowder served as a major personnel processing and training center. A number of radio intelligence companies were formed there which later saw action in both the European and Pacific theaters. (http://members.tripod.com/~vgreunke/330history.html)
SITE NAME: Camp Crowder, formerly the Fort Crowder Military Installation LOCATION: Approximately 3 miles southeast of Neosho, in Newton County, Missouri SITE HISTORY: Department of Defense (DOD) use began in 1941. By 1943 DOD had acquired 42,786.41 acres fee for the establishment of a Signal CorpsTraining Center. Improvements consisted of roads, utilities, railroad spurs, sewage system, and various buildings including barracks. In 1947,29,407.633 acres of fee land was declared excess and sold to the public for agricultural use. The Missouri National Guard (MNG) has a license from USACE for 4,358.09 acres for a training area. The remainder of the land comprising commercial use, was disposed of to the City of Neosho, Crowder College, Newton and McDonald Counties, and various industrial companies. Currently, most of the site is used by an egg production facility and by the MNG. (http://pirs.mvr.usace.army.mil/fuds/a-d/cmpcrowd/preasses/inpr/11b.htm)
By 1920 the population of Neosho was 3,700 and growing. During World War II, Camp Crowder was built to train members of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Camp Crowder was deactivated in 1958. (http://www.neoshomo.org//history.htm)
In October 1942, the world was at war. The construction of Camp Crowder, one of the largest army installations in the midwest , doubled the population of Neosho in a matter of weeks. In 1946 Camp Crowder was closed. Subsequently, Pastor Gebhardt received a call to Logan , Iowa, which he accepted. His farewell sermon was on October 26, 1946. Only three or four civilian couples remained, and it looked as though the Lutheran church of Neosho had seen its last days. (http://www.c2compservice.com/firstlutheran/history.html)
Copyright (C) 2001
Dr. Sten Odenwald