Timeline: early 1980's in Bates County. A quiet, elderly man and woman lived in a smaller home somewhat off the beaten path. They seemed to be known by only by a few, and their names can't be recalled.
However, both had a very interesting past as they told it, each with apparent historical value. The gentleman was riddled with what seemed to be a severe case of arthritis as his hands and arms bulged with huge knots. His skin was pale and dotted with blemishes. Mathematically, his age would have been maybe his early 60's, but his appearance put him much older.
Initial conversations with the gentleman didn't reveal anything about his condition. He spoke in a general sense, but after many extended conversations he finally told of his early days working for a then secret project in the Nevada desert. As time went on, he eventually revealed that as a young man in the early 1940's, he handled materials used for atomic bombs.
He claimed that most of the major joints in his body had been replaced. They had degraded as the result of a form of radiation poisoning. He'd also had skin grafts and other topical surgeries as well. He did point out, despite all his conditions, he did not have malignant cancer. Nothing life threatening.
As time passed, he admitted that he was the only living member of the group that did such work some 40 years earlier, making him an extraordinary result of some kind of miracle?
Maybe not.
His wife, a sweet hearted grandmother type, also who jokingly called herself a witch doctor, claimed she'd been keeping her husband alive for a good number of years now. Her secret? Some kind of hands on type of healing. Now, putting the dots together and some internet research, she may have been using a form of Applied Kinesiology or something similar, like a form of holistic medicine?
Her methods seemed to help other people with other conditions as well- such as diabetes, cancer and allergies. While it can't be verified, she did appear to have a reasonable number of clientele who quietly slipped in and out the back door for therapy. The actual procedures were not witnessed personally, but may have involved a hands on/massage type of approach.
When asked, she was a little more forthright about her past, her ability and how she learned it. The U.S. Government, she claimed, taught her this practice in the 1950's in what she thought was an experiment to see if this type of thing could prolong human life. She joked that her husband was a 'lab rat', but what she was doing seemed to be working, making it no laughing matter. After all, he was the only person from a group of about 20 who lived more than a few years after handling the dangerous materials.
The couple was supposedly sworn to secrecy for a period of 25 years about the program. Fortunately that period had expired but only spoke of it when pressed, and under the right circumstances.
Interestingly, it was realized that one day the couple was gone, leaving an empty house and no signs of a forwarding address. To date, no one seems to remember their presence in Butler.
It leaves one to wonder did something of major historical, scientific significance happen right here in Bates County? Or, were they just really good story tellers?
