The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.


Meet Your Neighbor

by: Betty Jo McConnell

Meet your neighbor James and Betty Bindewald of Fountain Green.

James and Betty moved here from Colorado in 1975. They are originally Fort Madison, Iowa.

James and Betty both were born and raised in Fort Madison, IA. Betty attended grade school and Jr High in Fort Madison, IA and graduated high school from Moose Hart in Aura in 1951.

James attended grade school and Fort Madison High School until his junior year. James then enlisted in the service and finished his high school degree in 1949.

They met through a friend, James was in the Korea War with. Betty started writing to him, they had pictures of each other, they wrote to each other for 2 _ years. Betty said "Jim and I have a lot of things in common, for example, Jim had written me a letter telling me what his favorite song was, which is Stardust , and I had just written a letter saying that that was my favorite song too, our letters passed in the mail."

When James came home on leave in August of 1951 they met for the first time. James proposed to Betty on her birthday and they were married on December 21, 1951. The one thing that stood out to James about Betty he said, was "She was a nice young lady and we had a lot in common." And to Betty she said "He was perfect for me."

James was a Medic in the Army and served in the Korea War, and the Vietnam War twice and was stationed in Germany. James received a Silver Star in the Korea War, which is the third highest award for Valor, he ran through heavy artillery fire to take a car of soldiers that had been wounded. James also served as a Helicopter Medic. He received many medals of honor for his service for our country and after 24 years James retired.

In 1975 James and Betty came to Fountain Green to visit Betty's sister, Donne Eaves, and fell in love with the country side. In August of 1975 they moved to Fountain Green and built a home in the country where they now reside.

After moving back to Illinois, James drove the La Harpe school bus for several years, and worked as a carpenter and Betty worked in different nursing homes in the area before her retirement.

They are the proud parents of three children, Robert Bindewald, Debra Bindewald, and Lisa (Teddy) McConnell. Betty and James have five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, which they thoroughly enjoy.

After 56 years of marriage the best advise they can give to someone is to "Try to communicate with each other."

Being in the service took them to many place, they have lived in: Kansas, Colorado twice, Germany for 3 _ year, Texas and Washington. The one thing that stood out to Betty, she said was "We had the advantage to travel and see a lot of countries."

James's hobbies was wood work, but now he likes working on crossword puzzles and Betty likes to read, crochet, and work in her flower garden.