By the time the late 1940s rolled around, changes were taking place across the United States. In 1949, the McDonough County Almshouse was transitioned into a modern county nursing home, a trend that was widespread across the country.
A clipping from the December 12, 1949 Macomb Journal announced that the new nursing home held a contest to name the converted facility. The article reads as follows: “The Elms is the new name for the McDonough County nursing home, formerly known as the McDonough County Home.
The name was selected this afternoon from 249 entries submitted in the contest to name the home. The winner was Mrs. W.M. VanEtten of 527 North McArthur street, Macomb, who will get a cash prize of $5 from the county.
Yesterday was the deadline set for receiving names for the home and a committee of judges met today to sift through the large number of entries. The contest was sponsored by the county building and grounds committee and the county public and commission office. All of the names were listed on a sheet of paper and the judges, in selecting the name, did not know the names of the persons submitting them.”
One of the caretakers for the new Elms Nursing Home in 1948 and 1949 was Rella Carnahan, assisted by his wife, Elsie. The Carnahans still have family in the Macomb area and this writer received clippings from Connie Carnahan Dobbs, Macomb resident and 1970s Macomb High graduate.
