Local & Regional News

MALDEN, Mo. — Just one mile south of Malden, on a farm where fields met open sky, Rhoda Wagster Launius was born on July 18, 1925. “In July now, I’ll be 101,” she says with quiet amazement. She sits comfortably in her lift chair, careful these days not to fall. At her feet is Sweetie, her three-year-old companion, alert and devoted. “If I didn’t have her,” Rhoda says gently, “I’d probably be in a nursing home.” Sweetie sleeps nearby, sometimes climbing up beside her. It’s a simple comfort — and at nearly 101 years of age, Rhoda understands better than most that life’s greatest treasures are often the smallest. ⸻ A Country School and a Shy Girl Rhoda attended Providence School, a two-room country schoolhouse just south of Malden. The building still stands today — a quiet reminder of simpler times. “The little room I went through was the third grade,” she recalls. “Then you went into the big room for fourth grade.” She rode the school bus into town to attend Malden High School, graduating in 1943. She describes herself then as “just a country kid.” “I was pretty bashful,” she says. “The town girls had their pretty clothes. I was country. I didn’t have all that.” But she found her place in music. For all four years, she sang in Glee Club — a memory that still brings a smile. ⸻ War Years and the Airbase Rhoda graduated during World War II and immediately went to work in the office at Pepsi-Cola. That same year, 1943, she married Claude “Bunk” Launius and moved to St. Louis, where he was driving a truck. Within a year, they returned to Malden and went to work at the Malden Army Airfield during the war. She worked in the office under civil service. When news came that the war had ended, she remembers jumping into a Jeep and driving out to tell the workers. “I ran out and told everybody,” she says with a wide smile of the memory. The airbase would close permanently in 1960, but its history lives on in the exhibits at the Malden Historical Museum — a place Rhoda has long supported. Malden Army Airfield Preservation Society is the home of the Malden Airfield Museum on the Malden Industrial Park, Malden, MO ⸻ Ashcraft Feed and a Changing Town After the base closed, Rhoda worked as secretary and bookkeeper for V. W. Tenkhoff at Ashcraft Feed Store, a business once located on the corner of Main and Madison. For many Malden families, Ashcraft’s was more than a store — it was a gathering place filled with baby chicks, feed sacks and conversation. Rhoda worked in both the retail and wholesale sides of the operation. She remembers when Bill Tenkhoff returned home after being a prisoner of war in Germany. “He didn’t talk much about it,” she says quietly — a reflection of a generation that bore hardship with humility. ⸻ A Life Rooted in Malden Rhoda’s life has unfolded entirely in and around Malden. She is part of the Wagster family — a name woven deeply into the community. Her nephew, Larry Wagster, and her late brother J.D. Wagster are remembered fondly, especially for their years connected with Malden schools and the Green Wave. J. D. Wagster was Malden Fire Chief for decades with his strong leadership in training the Malden Fire Department. Though she now spends more time at home, she remains interested in the Malden High School Alumni Association and local happenings. She hopes to attend upcoming meetings if she’s able. “I just don’t hear much about the Malden Alumni sometimes,” she admits. “I feel a little isolated.” Good news was delivered to Ms. Rhoda Wagster Launius who will be attending the next Malden High School Alumni Association next meeting and all other meetings in planning for the next homecoming Labor Day weekend celebration. Ms. Wagster was Grand Marshal of the annual Malden High School Alumni Association parade, September 3, 2022. ⸻ Approaching 101 Rhoda makes no grand plans for her 101st birthday. “No use in that,” she says with a chuckle. But there is something remarkable about a woman born in 1925 — who attended a two-room schoolhouse, worked through World War II, witnessed the rise and closing of an airbase, saw Malden’s downtown thrive, and still greets each day with gratitude. “It’s amazing to me that I’m still up,” she says. “Still able to get around.” Her story is not one of headlines or fame. It is something more important: steady devotion to family, faith, work and hometown. And perhaps that is why Sweetie never takes her eyes off her. As Malden looks toward homecoming season and future alumni gatherings, we would do well to remember voices like Rhoda’s — voices that lived the history we now preserve. In July, she turns 101. And Malden is better because she is still here.