Our Arklahoma Heritage The Day the Elkhorn Valley Held Its Breath - The Life and Legacy of Ila May and Earl Harris McNair

By Dennis McCaslin

Editor and Publisher

It was June 13, 1905, and the Elkhorn River Valley of Nebraska shimmered under the summer sun.

On the Abraham family ranch, seventeen-month-old Ila May toddled through the yard, her tiny hand wrapped around what her mother, Maud, first mistook for a piece of rope.

But when the child began to cry, Maud rushed forward—and froze. The “rope” was a rattlesnake, its fangs buried in Ila’s right hand.

James Abraham came running from the barn, pocketknife in hand. He sliced open the puncture wounds between his daughter’s thumb and forefinger and tried desperately to draw out the venom.

A neighbor raced a buggy into Valley to fetch the doctor, but the poison was already spreading. Ila’s arm swelled grotesquely, the skin turning black as the discoloration crept toward her shoulder and heart.

Dr. Reed warned the family to prepare for the worst.

But the Abrahams weren’t ready to let go. They kept vigil, praying through the night. And then--miraculously--the blackness stopped. Ila survived.

A shortened index finger and a scar from her father’s knife were the only physical reminders of the day the valley held its breath.

News of the “miracle child” spread across the region. One woman walked twenty miles just to see the girl who had defied death.

That same quiet determination would shape the rest of Ila’s life.

In 1916, the Abraham family left Nebraska behind, loading their belongings into a Studebaker-drawn trailer and heading south to Siloam Springs. Ila never forgot the Nebraska farm, but Arkansas became her home

. It was there she met a local tradesman named Earl Harris McNai--a man with calloused hands, a steady temperament, and a knack for fixing what others couldn’t.

Born in Siloam Springs in 1901 to William and Ella McNair, Earl was one of eight children in a family rooted in craftsmanship. His father was a blacksmith, and Earl inherited both the skill and the ethic.

He and Ila married in 1921 and built a life that was equal parts partnership and purpose.

Together, they founded McNair Plumbing Company, serving Siloam Springs and the surrounding countryside for over five decades. Earl handled the fieldwork--nstalling pipes, repairing pumps, mentoring young apprentices--while Ila ran the books, answered the phones, and, when needed, picked up a wrench herself.

Their shop wasn’t just a business; it was a fixture in the community, a place where neighbors knew they’d be treated fairly and with care.

They raised two children—Earl Abraham and Virginia Faye—and remained active members of the First Christian Church. Earl was known for his quiet humor and steady presence, Ila for her storytelling, her tatting, and her ability to make anyone feel at home.

When Earl passed away in 1974, Ila carried on with the same steady grace that had defined their life together. She lived nearly three more decades, her memory sharp and her stories vivid.

She passed away in 2002 at the age of 98.

Today, Ila and Earl rest side by side in Oak Hill Cemetery in Siloam Springs. .

Their lives were not marked by grand gestures or headlines, but by the kind of enduring contribution that shapes a town’s character.

They built, they served, they remembered--and they are remembered still.