The Marshall County Historical Society will meet on Sunday afternoon, May 4, at 2:00 p.m. in the museum at Hardison Office Annex, 230 College Street. Guest speakers will be sisters Bonnie Looney Scheuchenzuber and Kathy Looney Smith, who will conduct a program on the Marshall County Spanish American War veterans. As active members of the Robert Lewis Chapter of the National Daughters of the American Revolution, these ladies selected the 125th Anniversary of the Spanish American War as their historical event to commemorate. They began their study by searching out a Spanish American War veterans’ marker on the Court House lawn and found that one did not exist. Their presentation will focus on the findings that resulted from their research.
Both ladies point to their military life with parents Marge and Major Morris Looney, who served in several states and foreign countries, as the origin of their keen interest in military history. Bonnie was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where her parents were stationed at the time. After graduating from Marian College where she took a degree in history, she married Louis Scheuchenzuber, who enjoyed a successful military career with the Air Force and later as a teacher and coach with the Marshall County Board of Education. While in Japan, she earned an MA degree in Far Eastern Studies with an emphasis in Japanese Art at Sophia University in Tokyo. She and Louis moved to Marshall County in 1978. She worked at the Japan Center of Tennessee, then Peoples and Union Bank, and concluded her career at First Commerce Bank. She is an active member of St. John Catholic Church and their women’s service group, the Marshall County Historical Society, and the DAR. She enjoys gardening and visiting museums.
Kathy Smith was born at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, as the youngest of the four Looney daughters. She graduated Marshall County High School, took an A.S. degree in Medical Technology from Columbia State, a B.S. degree from MTSU, and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. Initially she worked at Lincoln Regional Health Facilities in Fayetteville, TN. After her husband Al Smith retired, she began a career in clinical trials/drug and device studies. This took them to Illinois, Florida, and North Carolina to live. Her last position was heading a clinical team in multiple health conditions. After her retirement three years ago, she has learned to quilt, become a better gardener and bird watcher, and been more involved in community organizations. She is an active member of St. John’s Catholic Church, the Garden Club, the Marshall County Historical Society, the Lewisburg Study Club, and the Tennessee Ornithological Society.
The meeting is free and open to the public. Annual dues of $20 can be paid at this meeting.
