Winnie Shankle

From

One newspaper reporter headlined a story about the Shankleville community as "Shankleville's Past Has Love Story in It." He then said it had a mint of intriguing history and the most beautiful love story since the Book of Ruth in the Bible. One of Jim Shankle's descendants speaking at the dedication of an Official State Historical Marker awarded the community in 1973 had the following to say:

"We must all be very proud that Great, Great, Great-grandfather Jim Shankle, born in 1811, swam the mighty Mississippi River and walked by night seeking his wife, Great, Great, Great-grandmother Winnie, for that was the beginning of this community, Shankleville, on Clear Creek. Certainly the anxieties and fears which followed that meeting at the spring as they sought permission to establish a family unit which was then and is today the basic unit of society was a difficult one but they didn't give up. When we are tempted to give up as the going gets tough and disappointments come, may we be inspired to press on in the memory of these pioneers. Those were difficult times for it was their lot to fell the trees, to build the houses, and fence the fields. Many, many days, yes many, many years must have been spent clearing away the trees and brush from the league of land purchased by Great, Great, Great-grandfather Jim. They had to fight against disease, poverty, and disappointments for their very existence. Many times there must have been nothing, yes, absolutely nothing, to cause them to hold on except the will to hold on and their faith in God, themselves, the future of this community, and this great Country."
"Then in 1883 at 69 years of age, Great, Great, Great-grandmother Winnie was laid to rest in a special place prepared for her. Five years later Great, Great, Great-grandfather Jim was laid to rest beside her. But they lived on. They had made their contribution."

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• Ancestry tree, "A Love Supreme" by Randy Mallory, Feb 2015 (page 6-8)