The Lunn-Miller House
In 1941, R. Bernard Lunn (1909-1982) and his wife Pauline (Hayley) (1907-1980) purchased the lot for the house and immediately executed a mechanic’s lien with R.S. Scott and George F. Scott to build the house for $ 3,700. Bernard was a member of the W.N. Lunn Family. Pauline was the daughter of K.H. Hayley, whose house at 202 S. Ave. D has been reviewed in this column. The Lunns married in 1927, and Bernard was a former mayor of Olney and served in World War II.
In 194,3 the Lunns sold the house to Charles S. Richardson (1891-1962), the son of John Turner Richardson (1867-1937), who in the previous year had married Anne Gladden (1915-1985) in Dallas. Richardson’s first wife was Lillie Bailey (1892-1933) from a prominent farm family in Orth, and they had a son and two daughters—Mrs. Raymond Kunkel and Mrs. Maurice Litton. Richardson was an early-day school teacher in the area and a former mayor of Olney. He may be best known by some of his siblings—Mrs. Ethel Lemmons of Olney and several from Throckmorton, Viola Smith (the grandmother of Ross McKnight), Della Houston and Curtis Richardson.
In 1944, Richardson sold the house to E.F. Wilborn (1898-1953), who came to Olney in 1901 with his parents from Wise County. Elbie went to work in a drugstore at the age of 17 and spent his life in the drug business. He became the owner of Palace Drug, and during prohibition, Mr. Wilborn and Dr. Gragg, who officed out of the rear of the drugstore, seemed to prosper more than ever. Mr. Wilborn married Doris Forgy of Archer City in 1918, and her father was a lawyer and abstractor there. They had one son, Barney (1923-1993), who graduated from OHS and North Texas University as an art major, and he lived as far away as New York City. In 1947, he sold the place to John E. Fox of Chillicothe.
In 1958, Doris and her son, Barney sold the house to Emma (Devers) West (1903- 1982), who was the widow of Edward Lester West (1886-1954). In 1963, Emma sold the house to Curtis R. Echols and his wife, Austa.
In 1977, the Echols sold the house to Rick ( 1953-2007) Scott and his wife, Cathy. Rick was the son of Jack (1929-2019) and Peggy (Bailey) Scott, a 1971 OHS graduate who attended North Texas State and lived in Olney. Cathy worked at Olney Savings and got her long blonde hair caught in an electric instrument she was using. Rick and Cathy were the parents of a boy named Dylan and a girl named Rikki. Jack and Peggy spent their last years in Ruidoso, New Mexico.
In 1993, the Scotts sold the house to Mike Allen, trustee, and set off several transactions within the Allen Family involving his parents, Rev. Halbert Ervin Allen, his wife Faye and sister, Nanci Hicks. Mike was an employee of the local Assembly of God Church.
In 2000, the Allens conveyed the property to David C. Miller (1945-2011) and his wife, Clemmie. After David’s death, their son Roy Don gifted his interest to his mother Climmie, and she is still the owner.