It seems like Almost Yesterday that two young men from Southeast Missouri were admitted to the practice of law in the state of Missouri.
It was August of 1948 when two eager young attorneys traveled to Jefferson City to take the bar exam at the very same time – and returned home to establish law offices in Kennett and Malden.
Flake L. McHaney was born in White Oak, Missouri in September of 1920, and graduated from Holcomb High School in 1938. Veryl L. Riddle was born in December of 1921, and graduated from Campbell High School in 1939.
McHaney attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, graduating with a degree in economics. In 1942 he entered the U. S. Army as a second lieutenant, and by his 23rd birthday was a major in the artillery, an experienced and decorated soldier.
Riddle attended Southeast Missouri State University for two years and returned home to teach in a one-room country school. In January of 1942 he went to work in military intelligence, identifying suspected enemy agents in the United States. For a period of time he worked undercover as a longshoreman on the docks of New York City.
Following World War II, twenty-five year old Flake McHaney entered law school at Harvard University, and twenty-four year old Veryl Riddle began the study of law at Washington University in St. Louis. In the spring of 1948 these two sons of the Missouri Bootheel equipped with superb legal training, returned home, dedicated to providing greater access to the judicial system for – “their people.”
In the autumn of 2008 these two distinguished attorneys met, for the final time, to reminisce about their six decades of close personal and professional careers. It seems like almost yesterday...